Pass Lab owners - Check in!

[JimmyS]

Hello,

I have xa100.5's driving S3's in a 13x14x7.5 room in my basement. I think they do a fine job, however on bass heavy music with the volume "turned to 11" those needles start jumping. Even thought they are jumping I don't notice a sound quality drop like I had when I was using xa60.5's with my Avalon Eidalons (this is the reason I moved to the 100.5's).
Since most of my music listening is not in this "turned to 11" area I haven't felt the need to upgrade.
I think if your in a larger room and like to listen loud, the xa160's may be worth considering.

 

[cjf]

Thanks for the information everyone.

My room is 15 x 24 with 8.5' ceilings. I will be placing the speakers along the long wall and I sit 9' away. I tend to listen to music on the loud side (usually upper 90db with peaks in the 105db range when sloppy drunk). My musical tastes tend to fall mainly within the 60's-80's range with a mix of Rock, Classic Rock, Hair Metal and Disco/Pop.

Due to budgetary reasons I don’t think I’ll be able to swing anything more than the XA100.5's at this time since I just plunked down a bunch of cash to acquire the S3's. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that these amps will be enough to get the job done....at least for now. Either that or I may have to adjust my listening habits (volume) to a stay within the first half of the volume dial which is a decision I'm sure my neighbours wont argue with

 

[cjf]

I had the XA100.5 with my Mini IIs. They are 87dB and 4 ohm load. My room is 15 X 16 X 7.5. The needle only moved rarely meaning that it stayed in Class A for most of the time. However, I switched to the XA160.5 for a more effortless, dynamic sound. Magico speakers are deceiving about how much power they need. The S3 is 88dB and 4 ohms. I think it will depend on your room size, listening volume and music type.

I have always found that more power is better with Magico. The XA100.8 may be different as it has more current, but it also has a different sound and is considerably more expensive than a good used pair of XA100.5s. Is there any way to audition the amps before you buy?

That's crazy that those little Mini II's can suck up all that power. I did a little bit of looking around out of curiosity to see if I could find info on what kind of load the Mini II's place on the amps but wasn't able to find any measurement results. I wonder if they dip into the 1 ohm region at all?

I've read one report (HiFiNews linked below) that states the S3 dips into the 1.6 ohm region way up in the frequency range. Dunno, all their numbers seem off to my eye even on other speakers. They claim low Freq extension is only 43hz on the S3 and that it has a EPDR of 0.5ohm which seems very odd.

http://www.absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/S3_HFN_NOV2014.pdf

 

[PeterA]

That's crazy that those little Mini II's can suck up all that power. I did a little bit of looking around out of curiosity to see if I could find info on what kind of load the Mini II's place on the amps but wasn't able to find any measurement results. I wonder if they dip into the 1 ohm region at all?

I've read one report (HiFiNews linked below) that states the S3 dips into the 1.6 ohm region way up in the frequency range. Dunno, all their numbers seem off to my eye even on other speakers. They claim low Freq extension is only 43hz on the S3 and that it has a EPDR of 0.5ohm which seems very odd.

http://www.absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/S3_HFN_NOV2014.pdf

The Mini IIs are not so little. At 200lbs they weigh 50 lbs more than the S3. They are notoriously difficult speakers to drive. I get mid 20s Hz response in my room. The three colored lines represent different cartridge loading settings.

 

[cjf]

The Mini IIs are not so little. At 200lbs they weigh 50 lbs more than the S3. They are notoriously difficult speakers to drive. I get mid 20s Hz response in my room. The three colored lines represent different cartridge loading settings.

Hey your cheating including the weight of the stands

In any case I hope you didn't take my comment about the Mini II being little negatively as that was not my intent. No doubt that they pack allot of mass in their cabinets

I believe the S3 weighs 150lbs if I remember correctly.

The bass extension on the chart is very impressive for a speaker with a single 7" driver and goes to show that my suspicion of the measurements found in the article for the S3 must be off. I'm hoping the 2 X 8" drivers in the S3 when in-room will look pretty good for bass extension as well.

 

[oldmustang]

Checking In Again

It's been awhile since I checked in -- hard to believe almost three years have gone by since I first started enjoying my Pass X350.5 amplifier. And I've never stopped enjoying it but I saw Mark's liberal trade-in/trade-up policies for the .8 series at Reno Hi-Fi and took advantage of his generous in-home trial to compare an X250.8 to my X350.5. I'll post more about that on the Pass Labs .8 Series! thread. Suffice to say, the .8 has stayed here and the .5 has gone back to find a new home and bring another music lover a lot of listening pleasure.

The reason for this post? Well, as I sit here I am luxuriating -- I can't think of a word that describes the feeling better -- in the sound of a new XP-20 and XP-25 that have joined my X250.8.

What wonderful components these are! What I had before certainly wasn't chopped liver, but the Pass preamp and phono stage are almost otherworldly in their ability to recreate a musical event just for me, right here in my home. These are seriously good electronics and I couldn't be more pleased.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, and many of you lucky souls have gone on to even more highly developed Pass components like the XP-30 and the Xs series. Those remain out of reach for me, but I am enjoying my music so much with what I have now that it's OK -- I know there is another higher level out there that I probably will never get to own, but that thought doesn't diminish my pleasure in the least.

If Nelson Pass and Wayne Colburn could put what their equipment does into a pill, they'd be zillionaires.

 

[LL21]

congrats! Always great to find the upgrade path within a designer you like. REading your post, i just realized i have gone from CJ PV14L to ACT 2 to GAT, from Gryphon Antileon to Colosseum, from older Zanden DAC to latest gen Zanden DAC with its accompanying Transport, from Velodyne VX12 to DD18 to DD18+, and from TA Ref (preXL series) to RefXL/MM (MM2) cables.

 

[oldmustang]

congrats! Always great to find the upgrade path within a designer you like. REading your post, i just realized i have gone from CJ PV14L to ACT 2 to GAT, from Gryphon Antileon to Colosseum, from older Zanden DAC to latest gen Zanden DAC with its accompanying Transport, from Velodyne VX12 to DD18 to DD18+, and from TA Ref (preXL series) to RefXL/MM (MM2) cables.

Thanks very much. I've admired Nelson Pass and Wayne Colburn and their designs ever since the Threshold days, and even built some of their DIY projects from articles they shared in Audio Amateur magazine.

Quite the list of upgrades, but when a designer runs true to form and their house sound coincides with whatever it is within us that triggers musical enjoyment, it's a pleasure to ride that horse as far as it will carry us.

Steve

 

[audiohippo]

Has anyone moved from McIntosh to Pass? If so, From/to which models and what was the driver for the change?

I'm considering the jump to the XP20 with XA100.8 or XA160.8.

 

[ozy]

Had an opportunity to hear a friend's system over the weekend that comprised of pass labs xa200.8, xp30, dvs vivaldi and magico s3...... it was quite incredible. the magico speakers never were my cup- of -tea, but with the pass driving them, they were astonishing!

so what am i missing pass labs owners??

 

[MadFloyd]

Had an opportunity to hear a friend's system over the weekend that comprised of pass labs xa200.8, xp30, dvs vivaldi and magico s3...... it was quite incredible. the magico speakers never were my cup- of -tea, but with the pass driving them, they were astonishing!

so what am i missing pass labs owners??

Sounds like you're missing Magico speakers and Pass electronics!

 

[slowGEEZR]

Since I've owned Pass Labs, I have little desire to change brands, but rather look forward to moving up the Pass line eventually.

 

[PeterA]

Pass/Magico can be a great combination.

 

[rbbert]

Pass/Magico can be a great combination.

Although apparently Magico isn't as enthusiastic (based on their amp choices for shows).

 

[PeterA]

Although apparently Magico isn't as enthusiastic (based on their amp choices for shows).

I think this has more to do with dealer arrangements. Pass/Magico is more popular in Asia and in Europe. The Mini was also designed in part using the Pass X350 amp.

 

[ozy]

I have heard the magico s3s with soulution gear and was underwhelmed... I attribute the change in what I heard a few days ago to the pass amps and pre.

 

[MadFloyd]

I have heard the magico s3s with soulution gear and was underwhelmed... I attribute the change in what I heard a few days ago to the pass amps and pre.

I tried Soulution gear and was also underwhelmed.

 

[ozy]

Madfloyd, how does the xs 150 differ from the soulution you have tried?

 

[PeterA]

I have heard the magico s3s with soulution gear and was underwhelmed... I attribute the change in what I heard a few days ago to the pass amps and pre.

That is the result of Magico speakers being so transparent. Could you describe the differences you heard?

 

[MadFloyd]

Madfloyd, how does the xs 150 differ from the soulution you have tried?

The Soulution amps made the soundstage tiny and thin. At the time I had a Lampizator DAC which had huge bloom and the Soulution made it sound like solid state.

That said, I really liked the Soulution preamp. It was excellent with my Pass amps as was its built in phono stage.