Pass Labs amp on the way

It’s been a few weeks now and the X250 amp seems to have found its groove. So now I pretty much leave it in standby and fire it up when I want to hear something and shut it down before retiring for the night, as was recommended to me by Mark from Reno HiFi.
It sounds fantastic from startup and after an hour it’s reached full operational temperature and the bias indicator shows the rise to its optimum current draw. And from that point it’s better sounding still. The extreme clarity and inky black backgrounds from which the music comes from now are startling. There is absolutely zero reason to use the Parasound preamps tone controls because the sound is totally
balanced eq wise. As a matter of fact, using them degrades the sound such that they just seem flawed.

Another surprise is how good this amp sounds at low bedroom levels at night. It’s still giving up a huge, deep and wide soundstage. The bass is all there, the warm midrange, the separation and cohesiveness. Voices sound less and less recorded. Studio wall reflections at times seem to beam above and behind my listening position.

I’m beginning to suspect my preamp may be a limiting factor so a suitable replacement is in order but I’m in no hurry.

There wasn’t a shootout type comparison done with the A21 because I still think that amp needs proper matching to speakers it’s high damping factor will control without strangling. Besides, I’ve had the A21 for over a year and never had the urge to hear it once the Pass amp was put into service.

 

@Pythonman Hi how about a pic of the back side if you can manage it?

 

All of the above rings so true to me now. I got better speakers, better phono preamp, and a better CD player lol. And a new cartridge to boot!


I’ll upload some pictures when I get home later.

 

On this point I can confirm the amp does warm up the listening room 4-5 degrees when switched on. The heat sinks get quite warm but they don’t burn me if I keep my hands on them.

 

Why would a used amp need “broken in”?

 

The Pass Labs pre-amps are spiffy, and, sadly, spendy!

Ewwwww!

 

Heck if I know but for one thing, it’s a freshly refurbished unit. Also after being fully down for a period of time even after being thoroughly broken in, some amps need to run for a week or two to fully come back on song. And I would say that’s just about how long it took this particular amp to reach that point. Now it stays on standby when I’m not using it so just powering it up it’s sounding about 95%’perfect and after maybe an hour is as good as it gets.

 

I really enjoy how my VAC preamp pairs with the Pass XA30.8. I believe this synergy is strongly related to VAC's use of transformer coupling at output and input. I like the tube front end on my sonics and if I weren't using a VAC I would definitely go with a Pass preamp.

 

Untitled by Rick S., on Flickr

 

Thanks for that shot of her backside!

 

Placed my order Thursday for the new Pass Labs XP-32 preamp which will begin shipping in about 3 weeks. The rumor is that it will have many of the attributes of their XS preamp. It’s my finally piece to complete my system move from ARC to Pass.

 

Awesome Tommy! I’m thinking of getting on the list for a refurb/demo XP-20 at a minimum because I still need a tape output. Otherwise an XP-12 would save me a lot of bread.

Can’t wait for your impressions of your new preamp.

 

If you can swing it get the XP-22, I have it in my second system, it is an incredible preamp. If it wasn’t for only two balanced inputs, I would have put it into the main system. Imo it’s a steal for the price.

 

How does the XP-32 differ from the XP-30? I can't seem to find any info on the XP-32 online.

I'm tempted to say that you should be set with that pre-amp, but the Xs will always be out there, eating away at you!

 

Good lord! Power of the GODS!

 

There is nothing yet released on it. Bought on Blind faith.

 

They must L-O-V-E you!!!!!!!

I hope it at least goes 2 louder than the XP-30!

I think a three chassis pre-amp would drive me nuts: to stack, or not to stack.

The Pass pre-amps have a really low noise floor, coupled with great sound, so look forward to lots of long, rewarding listening sessions. Enjoy!

 

Adcom GFA 555, $500 used. Pass designed, still sounds amazing.

 

No. My brother had a GFA 555. It is harsh. Not smooth wonderful sound. He ended up having to use a different amp.
Even back in the day when the GFA 555 was new it needed mods with new caps and such to get it to sound OK.

 

Congrats on you X250. I have owned their XA100.5 and XA30.5 for over 10 yrs now and have not had one issue with either of them. I expect yours will last for a long time also.

 

The XP-32 is being delivered tomorrow.

 

I'm definitely not jealous!

 

Thank you. I‘m very happy with the amp and look forward to hearing it when I’m able to. Hearing what this amp does for my favorite music, which is
amazing, I can only imagine what the XA and XS line amps must be capable of. I’m afraid to find out $$$!! Lol.

I have to say if it wasn’t for Reno HiFi making this purchase entirely possible, I might have had to wait a couple more years while I saved for a new Pass Labs product.

 

+1 - they made the decision quite easy with their incredible pricing and return policy.

 

Hah! This happened to me. You give one component a big upgrade then weaker links in the chain start showing up. It's even worse when you upgrade the speakers.