I had 60wpc amp based on a Pass design and it served me well for many years. There was another lower powered model 20wpc by the same company issued at the same time that got rave reviews for even better sound quality. I’ve always had great respect for Pass since the Threshold days. If this amp fits your needs it seems like a real bargain in today’s market.
I'm sure you read Herb Reichert's review of it but it took him a fair amount of time to get along with it. He gives detailed comparisons to other amps (and speakers) you may have heard. Net/net felt it was SUPER transparent. I almost bit the bullet on a first watt but passed. I've only briefly dabbled in pure class a before moving to toobz and can't imagine going back but hey that's me.
OTOH, <someone, Herb?> at Stereophile loved the Harbeths driven by a Shiit Aegir (20+ class A watts) I almost bit the bullet on a first watt but passed.
how would you describe the tone? i have heard everything from thin and midrange forward (to a fault) as well as warm sounding. no in between which is wierd, but predominantly a forward sound that can be too much on some recordings. others say tube like which could also mean forward depending on how you characterize tube sound.
I don't think you can go wrong with a Class A Nelson Pass power amp (whether Threshold, Pass Labs, or First Watt). Just make sure it meets your room needs and impedance matches well with your preamp.
Sorry for the late reply. It's certainly not forwared sounding, nor does it even hint at harshness. Warmish transparency is the way I'd describe it.
I’m curious where this thread will go so I’ll share my Pass experience. I have an X250.8 which is AB but the first 25 watts are class A. I totally agree with the recent post stating Pass isn’t forward sounding or harsh. It throws a deeper soundstage (not quite as wide though) and makes vocals come alive as compared to my previous amp, which was a Benchmark AHB2. The amp’s performance (I also have a Pass linestage) combined with their customer service makes me a customer for life.
My First Watt M2 experiment did not go so well. I find it a bit tipped towards the upper end with less low end. Attack and PRAT are better than my MC275. Does great imaging. It required at least 80% of my preamp to get towards concert level for Tom Sawyer but got there. The Mc275 takes about 50% to get there. I don’t think there should be impedance mismatch with the c2300 preamp but don’t rule that out. I tried adjusting the treble crossovers on the Cheviots, but that just made the sound lacking, rather than balancing the sound. I think the First Watt M2 would be great in a forgiving room. Maybe I’m just too used to the tube sound for music. Going on about 16 years with tube amps. And, yeh, it runs frying eggs hot. Thought the MC275 was hot but it holds no candle to the First Watt.
"avanti1960, post: 27748981, member: 43789"]one on the way, looking forward to putting it through its paces...[/QUOTE] I'm sure we will get a full report, can't wait. These replacing the Rogues?
Oh just looked at the profile, replacing Parasound, interesting. Should be informative reading what you hear are the differences.
I was thinking of the X250.8 before going with my new amps. Pass has the mystic and certainly the dedicated followers. I'm sure you will be plenty pleased. Very happy for you. Enjoy.
on the truck out for delivery ! FYI power should be no issue with the "25 watts" per channel. The Stereophile measurements show that it is slighty more powerful at clipping than my former Rogue Audio Stereo 100 (100WPC) , which was more than enough.
I don't think you can go wrong with any pass made component, everything he has designed is gold, have yet to hear Xa 25 but would like to
I'm supper curious to your findings my list came down to the Xa25 , x250.8 or the Halo series A21+ or Jc5, came home with the Jc5 but do still wonder about the Xa25.
