Pass XA 160 vs. Lamm Hybrids m1.2- 2.2 amps

Fjn04: I'm curious how this turned out for you. What did you buy? What are your impressions? I'm an AA MkII owner with Pass X350 considering M1.2. I'm in the midst of possible speaker change. Right now I'm CLSIIZ and listen primarily to blues and small scale jazz with some clasical now and then. I'm not sure the M1.2 can drive the CLS but I'm debating going cones again. I love the Kharma sound. Thoughts?

Fjn04, Choosing the M2.1 was financial at the time of purchase and a little bit of uncertainty of which speaker I was going to choose to replace my Piega C10 Limiteds. Also the M2.2 was just being released and I didn't have the funds for the ML amps. My initial goal was to purchase Wilson WP7s. But with the return of the ESP Loudspeakers Concert Grands SI, that's now the plan. Both would work well with the power of the ML1.1/2 and I am now planning to purchase the ML 1.1s in the very near future.

Matrix, I did hear the M1.2 driving the Andras briefly and the combo sounded fully fleshed out and musical. Clearly, I have been on the tube side of the fence for (Ahh-ever), but certainly after hearing the M1.2 I believe I could finally be happy without an all tube amp. My last experience with a non- all tube amp was with the Accuphase A50V and it was short-lived , still preferring the CJ prem 8' s at that time over the accuphase, although the A50V did do a better job controlling the bass on the Verity Parsifal. Was there a reason you chose the Lamm 2.2 instead of the 1.2

Having owned the X600s and now LAMM M2.1s, I would STRONGLY recommend the LAMM amps. Although the XA160s are sonically more like the Pass amps of old with a smoother presentation and more musical than the X600's, the Lamm amps are that much more refined. As far as driving the Andra's are concerned, just how loud do you listen? The LAMM 2.2 will drive just about anything and most people rarely use more than 30 watts of power. Using the LAMM M2.1 and the LL2 Preamp, I never turn my volume dials past 9 o'clock (about 10 watts in my system). It's also a hybrid unit where the Pass product is all solid state. The X600s lacked personallity to me and were uninvolving driving the extremely musical ESP Loudspeakers Concert Grands. Although the X600s could drive them loudly ( which was done as a test for a friend) they didn't make music for me. If your music choices and listening habits are in the LOUD arena then maybe the X600s are for you. If you're like me and listen to a wide range of acoustic and electronic music (that excludes Rock and Rap) you'll want a world class product that tells the truth. Long story short, if you're looking for solid state that sounds like tubes, do yourself a favor seek out, listen and buy LAMM M2.2s and forget everything else. Been there, done that!

Jtinn, in 2-3 days I will listen to the X600 in my system with Thiel Cs 7.2. Then I will post again in my thread "Thiel 7.2:amps suggestions please" about the overall sound. Thanks, Luca. Fjn04, check my thread in the next days ;-)

Luca: The problem is Fjn04 likes a very bloomy sound. The XA160 would be a much better choice in that regard, but he needs more power. It is a Catch-22.

If you like Pass amps you should consider the X600.

The LAMM's and Pass Labs' really do not have enough power to drive them. Look elsewhere.