Integrated Amplifiers - Luxman vs Pass Labs

Excellent, thank you for chiming in on the synergy you are getting with the Luxman and Audio Note speakers. 

I was able to briefly listen to a pair (I believe they were either a 'J' or 'E' model) at an Audio Show and I was smitten by their fullness and naturalness of sound.

Have you had an opportunity to pair them with any Class-A amp?

The L-509X is biased to run Class A for the first 6 watts.  The AN-Ks are 90dB efficient.  Given my setup, I do most of my listening under 6 watts/Class A.

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I own a 505uxii and love the simplicity of it. I was looking at a INT-25 or INT 60 but I like the fact that the Luxman integrateds have phono and headphone stages. I didn't want to have to spend more money on phono/headphone amps and additional cables.

Interesting that you find Pass to be 'lean'.  From all my reading of Pass and their lower end heft, I would have thought it provides a bigger, fuller body to music; which is to my liking.

Yea, I don't personally get  the description or hear Pass to be 'lean', at all...; as someone who currently owns the XA30.8, have owned the X250.8, Bryston 4B3, Benchmark AHB2, and Modwright KWA 100SE, I would personally place the Pass on the slower rounded side compared to all of the others I mentioned.  To me the Pass adds depth and meat to the sound, and if that is what you like, like I seem to, it sounds so life-like and easy to listen to.   The most recent additions to my system to compare against the Pass amps were the AHB2 and 4B3 and I felt they both offer a more resolving and leaner presentation (still smooth though); you hear more of the recording, but I thought they also lost some of the 3d like humans are playing in your room quality I hear from the Pass.

The only recent Luxman I've heard was the C-900/M-900 combo driving the speakers I ended up purchasing and now own, at a local dealer.   I thought they sounded great, lots of detail and very smooth;  I wouldn't call either of the two Pass amps I've owned 'lean' compared to the Luxman separates.

Definitely try to listen for yourself...; worse case either a Luxman or Pass shouldn't be hard to re-sell if you grab one and end up not being happy with the purchase.

Great posts from those with first hand experience and knowledge.  I really appreciate all of your personal thoughts and feelings on specific gear!

ddafoe:  "depth and meat to the sound" is a good descriptor of how I also like my music presentation. To me, it's about finding the right balance of having enough 'meat to the sound' and natural realism without losing too much detail. And I guess that is where I am at in looking for something that will provide more of that than my current Luxman L-550axii.