Itch again! what do you think: Pass Labs, McCormack, BAT, or Levinson amp?

rydenfan · « **Reply #20 on:** 11 Mar 2008, 05:15 pm »

Quote from: anthony a. on 11 Mar 2008, 04:47 pm

having owned 3 pass amps in the last 4 years, i can say without a doubt these amps are marvelous. i had the x250, x150.5 and now the x350.5. these are the most transparent and neutral amps out there with a touch of sweetness. the bass slam is ridiculously amazing, i have yet to hear another ss amp that can thump the bass on my speakers like the pass. there is definately no rolled off highs or muddy sound out of these amps whatsoever. its the cleanest signal i have heard from an amp without being tizzy or bright or forward. i think it would be a mistake if you pass on the pass (no pun intended) as the x.5 series are much much better than the older x series adding the slightest bit of sweetness to the signal. the older x series were simply very neutral, with no sound characterisitc being exaggerated. the best words i can use to descibe these amps are power, clean and transparent. frequency extremes are stunning.

This is almost verbatum what I was going to write from my experience when I recently heard them. This could not be more similar to how I feel. When I have the room for them Pass Labs will be the amps I own.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #21 on:** 11 Mar 2008, 06:22 pm »

So on the used market x250.5's are about $2k less than the x350.5. Will the 250 get 'er done?

rydenfan · « **Reply #22 on:** 11 Mar 2008, 06:38 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 11 Mar 2008, 06:22 pm

So on the used market x250.5's are about $2k less than the x350.5. Will the 250 get 'er done?

My experience was with the X600.5, so I think Anthony would be better suited to answer that than I would.

rydenfan · « **Reply #23 on:** 11 Mar 2008, 07:05 pm »

Big Red, I thought you would find this interesting. Bob Katz, of Digital Domain and Pink Floyd fame, is using Pass Labs 250's to drive his Lipinksi's.

http://www.digido.com/about-us.html

sbrtoy · « **Reply #24 on:** 11 Mar 2008, 07:11 pm »

Wading in late here, but Pass are amazing amps especially the new .5 series. I have little experience with McCormack so no comments, but BAT products seem to me to be priced well above their value (thousands of $$'s for capacitor upgrades 'Bat packs', give me a break!) , and Levinson is frankly a bit too sterile for me.....again both are just my opinion...

As an aside I am also inclined to buy Pass products because Nelson is such a great person and supports DIY efforts very strongly. He is one of the people who clearly is not involved in audio to get rich, but because he loves it.

anthony a. · « **Reply #25 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 01:58 am »

i agree. pass has always had excellent customer service and i am immensely happy with both their quality and attitude. i have emailed nelson about questions and received a personal reply from him in less than 24 hours. he truly loves what he does and his products speak that. in regards to the 250.5 vs. 350.5, i had originally emailed pass about this and was told a few certain things. first, the 350.5 is the sweet spot in their line. everyone (from the factory), as well as other average joes who hear both always prefer the 350.5. why? firstly, it stays in class a at a much higher wattage than the 250.5. it has bass control like i have never heard from any other ss amp i have auditioned. i use my 350.5 in my room at high volume and still always stay in class a. and if i remember correctly, class a is up to 40 watts per channel, whereas the 250.5 is only 15 watts. once the amps leave class a, they switch to ab. in any case, depending on your room size, the x250.5 may be sufficient and im sure you will be very pleased with it. but, like me when the time came for me to make a decision, i spent the extra money for the 350.5 because yes, the class a made a big difference in overal sound quality. that, and the bass control was awesome. so, depending on your budget and room size, you must decide if the extra $2k is worth it to you. they both have enormous amounts of power, so never feel that the 250 will not be powerful enough.

spudco · « **Reply #26 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 12:46 pm »

I've owned Plinius, Goldmund and now Pass Labs amplifiers in this price range.

Buy from Nelson Pass.

Extremely musical. Muscular enough for full orchestral passages but delicate as well.

Built to last a lifetime. Best customer relations in the world.

Imperial · « **Reply #27 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 09:13 pm »

Well ML335 or ML336 is pretty good stuff! I'd look for one of those. The 336 ought to kick nice!!
Apart from the ones mentioned, there are also others worth looking into!
You got Clayton amps, you do have some of those on a-gon as well.
You have some Classe amps now and then worth looking at. Omicron, Omega and stuff.
Then You get the odd YBA Passion 1000 amp (Now that is a strong BEAST!!!)
You got Mcintosh 501 mono's , You got Gamut D200 MK III's also, from time to time - Kicks way above the rating!!!
There's Spectrons - those are not bad either, far from it!
Electrocompaniet Nemo - If that will float your boat..

You also have the Musical Fidelity KW 750. Awesome piece of gear indeed!!!
From time to Time you will find a Gryphon amp, say a Antileon Stereo.
All of these I believe do go under the suggested limit, from time to time.

But seriously, The ML336 is a superbly balanced amp, I'd really try to get one of those!!

As go for speakers.. I'd also like to mention VAF Research Signature I 93 (It's a kit by the way)

I'm sure the LS6 is a superb piece of wood, but there are also other speakers out there, such as this one.

Imperial

BrassEar · « **Reply #28 on:** 12 Mar 2008, 11:00 pm »

PASS, nothing compares for the build quality and price.

The last amp you will ever need to buy.

pardales · « **Reply #29 on:** 13 Mar 2008, 01:34 am »

I owned a 250.5 for a while. It drove my VR-4JR's. It didn't just drive them, it commanded them, nicely. Very powerful, very musical.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #30 on:** 13 Mar 2008, 06:45 pm »

Quote from: Imperial on 12 Mar 2008, 09:13 pm

Electrocompaniet Nemo - If that will float your boat..

aa aa

ckoffend · « **Reply #31 on:** 13 Mar 2008, 07:32 pm »

What are you presently running (pre, source, speakers) and what is your target sound? Warm, detailed, etc. . .

Personally, I have owned Pass 150.5, Levinson 331.5 and BAT VK 60 monos. I now own Krell FPB Series (200 and a 300-C) which for me have proved to be the best. No experience with McC. If you go with Pass and get used, make sure it is a .5 version, much better. I liked the ML with Thiel, but not as much with either VS VR4 Jrs. or any of my Wilson speakers - though it was pretty good with Totem. I think the BATs are finicky and demanding of the owner and would agree with the aforementioned posts about the price exceeding the value in many regards. I like their preamps better! For me (my system and tastes), none of the above have surpassed the Krells that I am running now.

Imperial · « **Reply #32 on:** 13 Mar 2008, 10:15 pm »

Hehe, the Nemo's are beasts... I've heard them many times, but do not own a pair myself, alas

You know, EC actually did make (Only...) 3 amps called Enigma, they were 3-4 times more powerfull than Nemo.
Now THAT is THE EC amp to own... if you're Bill Gates that is.. aa .
The last one was sold for $35K - $50K (They would cost some 120 - 150 thousand $ today ... give or take) to some lucky dude back 5-6 years now..
Perhaps EC some day will build it again. One can dream... right?` aa

Anyway, You should resolve the "I wanna maybe get another speaker also" issue before you do buy another amp there BRM!
Let the new speaker make the call, that is kinda smart I think!!

Imperial

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #33 on:** 13 Mar 2008, 10:44 pm »

Well if my payments go through okay tomorrow I should have those beasts next week. 90 lbs. each.

In anticipation of any speaker I would ever own, these might be up to the task.

Imperial · « **Reply #34 on:** 13 Mar 2008, 10:45 pm »

You got a pair of Nemo's on the way?
Okay, congrats then!!!

Groovy!!! Yeah, they remain pretty unfazed - sort of regardless of what they drive...

Imperial

rydenfan · « **Reply #35 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 01:53 am »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 13 Mar 2008, 10:44 pm

Well if my payments go through okay tomorrow I should have those beasts next week. 90 lbs. each.

In anticipation of any speaker I would ever own, these might be up to the task.

Did you go with the Pass Labs? or Nemo?

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #36 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 09:56 am »

Nemos. For a skosh more dough, twice the power, full Class A, it was an easy choice. Plus I can stay with monoblocks which suits my room layout better.

Rocket · « **Reply #37 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 11:38 am »

Hi,

I don't really know anything about the electrocompaniet Nemos but I hope they work for you.

I'm going to pm you regarding advice about the Jim Salk speakers.

Regards

Rod

TomS · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 11:39 am »

Nemos are Electrocompaniet

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #39 on:** 14 Mar 2008, 12:48 pm »

So Tom, what do you think?