Amps for Sasha


Thinking of the Pass Lab X350.5 or X260.5 as they're about the same price. Heard the class A INT30 is also a good match. Any comments?
hifinuts
I'd take the John Atkinson numbers from that review with a grain of salt as far as their delivering insight to what works well with the Sasha. The Wilson guys, as well as other reviewers, are apt to tell you 'listen first - then consider measurements'. For that matter, consider Dudley's comments based on listening with his Shindo gear. Room size and acoustics will also be factors.

Not that the test numbers are inaccurate for the test Atkinson did in the context he did it, however they don't tell us how the speakers sound or interact with different amplifiers. As far as I know Atkinson only uses a solid state amp for his measurements - does anyone recall his saying what is that amp?

Traditionally Atkinson has been somewhat er, uh, 'rigid' when it comes to matching amps and speakers. If you read past reviews of other Wilson speakers he tends to claim they require high power solid state amps to drive them. But, if you look at the amps Wilson chooses to show with, it has not been uncommon to find them paired with, for example, lower wattage Audio Research or Lamm tube gear. Also consider that Wilson speaker impedance plots will have dips in the upper frequencies - consider what happens there with solid state gear that increases voltage when impedance goes down.

I'm not suggesting that John Atkinson's opinion should be ignored - far from it and I'm glad we have his measurements - but my own experience along with reports from different reviewers and folks whose ears I trust have taught me the Sashas and other Wilson speakers can deliver very satisfying results when driven by amplifiers outside Atkinson's parameters. In the case of Sasha it probably is a good idea to pay attention to Wilson's minimum wattage suggestions.

I'll suggest dropping a line to Wilson customer service (which is excellent btw). They and their dealers do a lot of Sasha in-room setups and I'll bet they have direct experience with the amps you mention.
I've heard them with the BAT 600se and the sound was very good. Also heard them with the Mcintosh 301 monoblocks (tube). Also good but the BAT amps had something special going on with the Sashas.
No offense, but I know a person who is running them beautifully with a pair of 30 SET tube amps. On paper you would think so, but numbers only tell half the story
Different strokes for different folks. I know of examples of people driving them with 100+wpc SS amps and not being happy with the bass performance they are getting. As with all things if you can audition the amp/speaker combo you are contemplating, that is the best way to make any purchase decision. Good luck.
I would definetively take the stereophile measurements seriously ,i consider it a magazine with a more scientific aproach ,the rest is more screaming about whats the next best thing " or what is the bestëver" or "what is absolutely the best"
With a impedance drop to 2 ohm at 86 herz i would definetively take a stable amp with good currentdelivery at that impedance, to make sure you hair a drumsolo on high volume without strain when you want it