Pass Labs Amps & 800 series

**dyazdani** · 17 January 2007, 18:23 Wednesday

My dad runs a X250 with 802s, it is very nice - it replaced a Levinson 333 with good results.

**Pieter Stolk** · 18 January 2007, 15:53 Thursday

With which amps have you compared the X1?

**sikoniko** · 18 January 2007, 16:37 Thursday

why scaling back?

**dowda** · 19 January 2007, 21:58 Friday

B&W Chord Amp Synergy?

Have you considered the Chord amp

Page not found - Chord Electronics Ltd

http://www.chordelectronics.co.uk/products_cat.asp?cat=3

I got me a 1200e, and love it.
Regards from Ft. Worth Tx,

Dave

**misterdoggy** · 21 January 2007, 05:17 Sunday

Scaling back explained

Originally posted by sikoniko

why scaling back?

I'll explain why the Scale back in an analogy

I live in France. An American comes to Paris and wants fine wine with his meal. He knows the great brands Chateaux Margaux etc and orders a bottle with his meal and it costs $130. And indeed his pleasure was great, and the famous wine lived up to its reputation.

A frenchman, who has grown up with his father drinking all the wines from all over France and let his young son (or daughter) take a sip of this one and that one. He grows up learning about wine and the different regions, almost like an american knows all the players on the winning basketball team of a great year, or an englishman can name who was on the great world cup team.

He goes to the same restaurant as the American, and orders a bottle of wine that is lesser known, but he knows the year was particularly good in this region and the crop yielded good wines everywhere. He pays $25-$30 for a bottle that equals the great Chateaux Margaux and some would say betters depending on your taste.

I'm not saying that Mark Levinson doesn't live up to its reputation, but I am playing with other combinations for less money that I think will render "better" results for much less money.

So my new quest is to create a system for less $$ that will be better than the ALL ML system I had. I know some of you will say ML isn't good, but ditto for Krell and McIntosh and brand X everywhere. I will have an ultimate system and do it at a 1/4 of the cost of my previous investment.

I'm shooting for Amps X5 and X250.5 = 6500 euros (ML's were 16,000 euros) CDDVD Ayre D1Xe 3000 euros (add 5000 euros 390s ML tot he ayre just ofr cd playback) Preamp I need to find one that has bypass (replaces the 326S 6500 euros) Speaker STAYING WITH B&W 802D's

why B&W because without the top speaker you can't hear anything

**Eve** · 22 January 2007, 13:56 Monday

I currently own a Pass 250 amp and the X1 preamp which I use with my 801's. The pass is a great amp and gives the 801 all the power they crave.

I auditioned a pair of Quicksilver V4 monoblocks with the 801's but it did not compare to the pass 250.

I've used the pass 250 with my Legacy 20/20 speakers and it performed beautifully.

The only speakers I've heard with the pass 250 that did not impress me was the Vandersteen 4's. I found that the Quicksilver and the Vandersteens were a perfect match.

As far as preamps go the X1 is the best for the money.

**misterdoggy** · 22 January 2007, 14:16 Monday

Eve

How can I incorporate the X1 into a macro for use in Home Cinema. It has that silly remote that just goes up down left right. I wish there was a straight forward command for "input 1 and 2" .

Otherwise you have to get up each time and switch it manually with the remote taking a couple of minutes and forget about the family using it...

Any thoughts ??

**Pieter Stolk** · 23 January 2007, 14:30 Tuesday

Anybody else who uses the B&W 802D - Pass Labs combination?

**Eve** · 24 January 2007, 21:41 Wednesday

Originally posted by misterdoggy

Eve

How can I incorporate the X1 into a macro for use in Home Cinema. It has that silly remote that just goes up down left right. I wish there was a straight forward command for "input 1 and 2" .

Otherwise you have to get up each time and switch it manually with the remote taking a couple of minutes and forget about the family using it...

Any thoughts ??

Misterdoggy,

I wish I could help but I have only used the pass 1x in stereo, never in a home theater setup. Sorry.

Eve

**tboooe** · 25 January 2007, 01:05 Thursday

I have the Pass LAbs XA160 amps. I had a chance to briefly listen to this amp with 802d. My first comment is that I think Pass Labs are incredible. I personally like the way they combine the dynamics of ss with the warmth of tubes. That being said, I do not think the XA amps are a good match with 802d which already have a slightly warm midrange. The XA amps match better with speakers that are fast, dynamic, and uncolored. For 802d I would suggest sticking with the X.5 series which is not quite as warm as the XA.

**Blewis** · 25 January 2007, 10:38 Thursday

Hi,

I recently bought a Pass X150.5 after having tried it for a day. It is driving my 803s speakers. It gives me the sound I was looking for: Tight and fast bass, smooth mids and clear highs. An overall very convincing sound which does not get annoyed after longer listening.
It is a very big difference compared to Musical Fidelity A5 series. I have experience with the Integrated as well as A5 pre/power combination.

Does anyone have experience with the X2.5 pre amp?

Regards,
Louis

**Pieter Stolk** · 01 February 2007, 16:51 Thursday

Which pre-amp do you use with your x150.5?

**Pieter Stolk** · 04 February 2007, 11:41 Sunday

.....

**Blewis** · 07 February 2007, 06:00 Wednesday

I don't have a separate preamp yet. I use my NAD T762 surround receiver as preamp, so I guess there is some room for improvement.

**misterdoggy** · 07 February 2007, 06:09 Wednesday

Well Guys the Pass Labs X250.5 arrived and have been living with it for about a week. There is a perceptible improvement over the X5 and its right where I was hoping it would be in the mids and bass. More Gusto, timbre is deeper.

Nice sounding Amp not as bright as Krell, but not as subtle as Mark Levinson. Very detailed especially in the highs.

This is all coming thru the Lex12B as a Preamp. I am still inthe search of a suitable preamp to run the HT thru in bypass. I was considering Audio research LS16mkII or LS25mkII but these are tube amps and if I ran the HT thru it in bypass they would have to be on all the time as we watch TV.

Any Comments on using HT bypass thru Tube Preamps from the peanut gallery.

The results are conclusive that Pass Labs 250.5 and 802D's are a super combination !!

**Blewis** · 07 February 2007, 16:13 Wednesday

Hi,

The Pass Labs X2.5 preamp has HT throughput, they call it Unity Gain. You can set input 4 to connect to a HT amplifier. See the manual on their website.

Regards, Blewis

**misterdoggy** · 07 February 2007, 16:29 Wednesday

Originally posted by Blewis

Hi,

The Pass Labs X2.5 preamp has HT throughput, they call it Unity Gain. You can set input 4 to connect to a HT amplifier. See the manual on their website.

Regards, Blewis

Yes they do make a provision for HT bypass with unity gain. That isn't the problem. The problem is putting it into a macro to go direct to ht or stereo. Its a bunch of ups downs and over ever time you want to go to one from the other. You MUST get up and walk over and do the changes physically or with their primitive remote.

This is not wife or family friendly

**dknightd** · 07 February 2007, 16:45 Wednesday

misterdoggy, maybe you should stick with your high end system. It seems to do everything you want. If you keep buying and selling you loose money unless you are lucky. If you think you can find something better for less money then you should have gone with that on your way up. If you spent more than you could afford and now regret it - bummer. But realize it is hard to go backward.

**misterdoggy** · 07 February 2007, 17:29 Wednesday

Originally posted by dknightd

If you spent more than you could afford and now regret it - bummer. But realize it is hard to go backward.

Someone who has $100,000 to throw away on a stereo system, isn't going to sell it because he "regrets not being able to afford it"

I've probably lost $20k playing and changing. No regrets

I am just accepting the fact that it isn't about how much you spend, its more about the decisions you take.

I'm happier with the Pass Labs than I was with the Levinson. If I can spend less and have it better then thats good "n'est pas"

**dknightd** · 07 February 2007, 18:59 Wednesday

"n'est pas" - Yep.

**dknightd** · 07 February 2007, 19:41 Wednesday

I think I understand it now. Using your wine analogy.
You are trying to become the french stereo (wine) consumer instead
of being the the US tourist. i.e spend less and get the same or better quality.

Really I think you like to buy new stuff, and are using down scaling as an excuse to buy still more stuff. Nothing wrong with that if you can afford it. Have fun.

**misterdoggy** · 08 February 2007, 03:56 Thursday

Probably the fun of buying and changing and playing around is as interesting as the listening.

But, it you take a close look at all the participants on these forums, a large percentage are doing the same thing, and everyone is doing it within 'their' means.

Its all monopoly money and its a fun game. After All Stereo's aren't milk. They are not a necessity. Its a fun hobby. .