Pass Labs/Gershman AvanteGarde

i powered my avant gardes with a plinius sa-102 and the pairing was very nice with a tubed preamp. when i switched to a pass x2.5 preamp, the pairing was too sterile for my taste. i also used a pair of aragon palladium ii monoblocks and this pairing was awesome as well.

I heard the combination of Avant Garde, Pass 350XA and Hovland HP200 tube preamp at a local dealer's for an hour or so. The combination struck a nice balance between detail, resolution and musicality.

NOT SET like but very nice for sand amp.

I was there with restock listening to that system and have to agree that it was a really nice combo. The musicality was definitely there in spades.
Listening to "A case of you" by Diana Krall (Live in Paris"), there was a great sense of ambience from the recording venue, without any sibilance (which I am hoping to correct in my system, with perhaps a Hovland HP-100).
Excellent soundstage in both height and width was noted as well.
An excellent combination in my opinion. I wonder what it would have sounded like with the pass labs pre with it...I have no doubts that the hovland was working some tube magic on the system :)
B

Thanks. I presently use Linar amplification, and am very happy. But, I have been thinking about shaking things up a little, and trying something different. It's tough to remember why you love chocolate so much if you don't occasionaly try vanilla.
Pass is an amp that I think Gershmans would pair well with, (low efficiency and high power.)
A tubed preamp I have yet to try in my system. That might also be an idea.