Disappointment with Pass Labs - I'm looking for something else


Hello, I am new to this forum and my mother tongue is not English, so please forgive me if I make mistakes as I use a translator.

I recently bought an XA30.8 and an XP12. I was very happy but as time went by I began to not feel comfortable with the sound.
After doing many tests, I find that the XA30.8 sounds very very sweet but actually too much. I find it to be a loosely defined amp, somewhat muddy and lacks a lot of air and grip. The soundstage is very closed.

The XP-12 is the worst of the two. It is a previous that removes a lot of resolution and information, without transient attacks and sunken mid frequencies. Instead it brings warmth.

Has anyone of you found the same?

If you ask me, I have a Klipsch Cornwall and a dCS BArtok.

Now I want a capable amp, forceful, something warm, decisive, airy and with a great soundstage.

At first I thought of changing my XA30.8 for X250.8, and changing the XP-12 for a second-hand Audio Research Ref5. I am afraid of this change and continue with Pass, since I can go back to the same thing a bit.

On the other hand I have thought of going for a Luxman 900 combo, since it has very good reviews and from what I have read it could be the winning ticket.
opm
So many recommendations

@opm, que genero de música escuchas normalmente, yo por ejemplo jazz, blues, rock, Clásico y eso, lo más difícil en mi opinión es reproducir el rock, Por la dinámica y porque las grabaciones originales son normalmente no son las mejores.
Con que alimentas la Bartok? Con CDs? O música en ficheros?

Yo tengo Klipsch P37F y otros con cornetas AudioKinesis Azels, y he tenido bastantes equipos de tubos y de estado sólido, quizás te puedo ayudar a que depures las respuestas.
While it is true that tubes sound good with Klipsch, so does many solid state amps as well. Midfi, the slightly.warm sound of B&K does the trick, Higher end SS Conrad Johnson solid state sounds delicious. Mcormack amps nice! Don't use the High Definition Audio Research SS amps, a waste of time and money, too bright!  I like the high sensitivity of Klipsch because it don't take a lot of power to get em going plus they are revealing of all the fine details and its like being in a front row seat at a concert.
Cornwall III's can sound dull, muted and warm with many amps/preamps. The new IV is much more alive, lively and sharp. I love my pass gear with Heresy IV and LaScala. Gorgeous, huge soundstage and sweetness that tames the highs of these speakers. The VIII's from Klipsch were much more dull sounding than what they make today. 

I have a set of XA60.8's and an XP-10 running Klipsch version IV's as well as Fleetwood Deville's. The sound is the best I have had in 35 years of HiFi. I know a pre-amp upgrade will improve it further as the XP-10 does lean slightly warm, Even so the sound is wide open and huge. 

The #1 ingredient to a great system is the room, then the speakers, then the pre-amp/amp, then the source/dac. Then cables. The kicker is....synergy. Add in something that doesn't have synergy when all connected together and it can sound awful. 

I wouldn't trade my Pass Labs for any other gear as I have not head anything better in my space, with my gear. But for others it may sound dull, lacking or even bright. All depends on the synergy. 

If you want a nice wide open soundstage, the Heresy IV will do much better with your pass gear than the CWIII. They can do big, sweet soundstage. They are not bright nor warm. They image like mad and sound stunning with Pass Labs. The 30.8 would sound gorgeous with them if they were set up right. Also, you have a world class DAC but it also leans warm. You have a warm amp, warm DAC and warm speakers. Yes, CWIII lean warm and muted. 

I believe if you changed your speakers you would be much happier. The Fleetwood Deville's are a huge step up even from my LaScala in every area. Even something like a set of KEF LS50 could bring you what you look for. Dynaudio bookshelf. B&W also can be fantastic. 

The gear you have far outclasses your speakers here. Even moving to Cornwall IV would shock you as they are much better than the III. Bottom line is that you have world class electronics. The synergy with the speakers is off. 


@hifi59 ugh… zombie thread. Most Pass amp amps “don’t measure well” they aren’t designed to “measure well”. They are designed to sound good. Read Nelson’s take on this on the website.