Hi,
Does anyone have experience with both of these amps. Was wondering if I could get some insight. Considering these as my next purchase but wondering what people that have heard both feel about them.
I've done a 3-way shootout between an Accuphase A-70 and C-2850 vs Luxman M900u and C900u vs Pass Labs XA-250.8 and XP-20, with a Luxman D-06u as source throughout. My listening notes show that the Luxman amps were quiet, clean, silky smooth and less warm and rich sounding than the Pass and Accuphase amps. I found the Luxman's bass a bit polite compared to the Accuphase which had more authority. The Luxman combo sounded coherent, which was likely helped by the synergy with the D-06u sacd player. I also noted the Luxman's excellent build quality.
My notes on the Pass combo mention include... a more 'rounded' sound, most tube-like of the 3 different brands, good resolution - though Accuphase has better dynamic shadings/inner detail, bass is good, a little rounded, but still solid, instruments like guitar are very live sounding, I prefer Accuphase' vocals - Pass sounds a bit less natural than Accuphase, airiest of the 3 brands with a large sound stage.
My notes on the Accuphase gear in comparison to Luxman include...a bit softer leading edges, softer bass? resolution and dynamic contrasts are very good, more energy than the Lux amps, delicate on vocals, easy to listen to, gives life to the music, Class A warmth is inviting, slight guitar plucks easier to hear...more insight than Luxman? piano has realistic resonance/decays...engaging like a live recording. I also wrote warm, but not euphonic, good body, smooth...a nice flow, not alalytical or super fast...easy to listen to; relaxing, delicate - would be good with acoustic music.
As you can probably gather from my listening notes, I preferred the Accuphase amps in that shootout. But if you like a softer, more tube-like presentation, you might prefer the Pass amps. Btw, to throw a cat amongst the pigeons, in that price range you should also seek out an audition of the Circle Labs M200 hybrid power amp which is good value, well made, musical sounding & made in Europe. Hope that helps.
