Parasound JC-1 vs Pass Labs 250.5

Agreed. The JC monos are not in the same league as the Pass X250.5. The Pass is superior in many ways - naturalness, body, soundstaging, sorting out of musical lines, clarity from veiling, and it is just more organic sounding in totality.

Interestingly, the Pass' 250 watts has more bass weight and dynamics than the JC's 400 watts. I was frankly unimpressed with the thinness and look of the metalwork on the JC and the quality of the switches on the back of the unit.

Just as a tonearm and cartridge need to be matched properly for optimal performance, so it is with speakers and amplifiers.

Most amplifiers (speakers) can sound flat or uninvolving with an incorrectly matched speaker (amplifier).

In comparing 2 amplifiers (speakers), it is essential that both work well with the speakers (amplifiers).

Otherwise an accurate evaluation of the component is not possible.

I was in the process of buying a pair of Parasounds a year ago. After I mailed my check, the owner contacted me to say that one amp blew up when he turned it on one day. He sent my check back, but I kept in correspondence with him. After what I learned from his trials with the amps I started searching for those who had negative experiences with these amps. I found all kinds of problems, like how poorly the protection circuitry was designed and that's why some of them blow up. At least three owners said they had problems with the protection circuitry kicking the amps on and off. Then I found another guy who said a quick accidental touching of + and - blew up the whole inside of his amp. I would think carefully before buying these babies. Supposed to sound good though I haven't heard the Pass.

This question has been asked at the Martin Logan owners forum. It seems that Pass Labs is the more popular choice. I do seem to remember something about Martin Logan using Parasound at demos so this match could not be all that bad.
Plinius seems to be the most popular choice for Summits.