You've tried other amps and ended with Pass, please discuss

I’ve only owned three different sets of amps: McIntosh MC452, PS Audio BHK300 mono’s and a set of PL 60.5’s.  I’ve ran a McIntosh C2500, C50, PS Audio BHK Pre and a PL XP-22.  Every time I swapped something out, it was in the pursuit of something “more.”  The MC452, I sold because though it sounded fine at moderate volumes, if I got on it, you could hear it break up/taper off at the higher volumes.  I moved to the BHK mono’s which I felt sounded damn fine and had power for hours.  We recently moved and I was no longer going to have a nice big dedicated space, so I downsized to a set of PL 60.5’s and Harbeth Super HL5+’s.  I’m sure there are other systems out there that sound better, but to me, it sounds very relaxed and organic.  A guitar sounds like a guitar, I’m able to hear the decay on some recordings last a bit longer, drum tom’s have a little more ring to them...overall, it just sounds right to my ears.  

@richdirector Nelson pass uses tannoys. You'll find various discussions of them if you search...

And you can probably get some good discussion of pass amp recommendations by posting over at the pass labs forum on diyaudio and asking what might be the best fit for your speakers... https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/

I am being completely consistent.

Eric is asking someone, why they do not like the sound of Pass amps, but, refuses to answer my same question to him, as I was the 1st poster to his thread. George, I am with you

I have said in this thread I wanted to listen. A poster made some wildly generic, negative statements, so I asked him to avoid, and if he could not avoid, to at least be specific.

I am very grateful to all the pro Pass posts here which get specific to model of amp and speaker and discuss relative merits.

I am more grateful and lucky when the poster mentions brands  of amps I have heard and the relative differences.

Very happy to read of people enjoying Pass when they give me a reference point.


Best,

Erik

To be clear: What I want to encourage are discussions about your happy Pass model vs. non Pass amps.

If you listened to several OTHER brands and went to Pass, I would love to know what you had, why Pass was better for you, and what speakers you have.

 There is no possible wrong answers here. You like what you like.

Thank you to everyone taking the time to include this much detail.

Erik

Hi Eric,  I've owned a number of higher-end pieces of equipment from various Mfg.'s over the years (decades), all with their specific sonic signature.  As my listening and music tastes evolved, I found myself with fairly efficient (93-db 6-ohm nominal) speakers and have delighted in the micro and macro detail using a very dynamic SET 300-B amp and more recently a SIT-2 First-Watt amp.  Both the SET amp and SIT-2 give me great detail from bass to treble and a wide and deep believable sound-stage.  My listening is mostly to small well-recorded ensembles, male and especially female vocalists with a few instrument backup and jazz.  I have not had any other amps that I've experienced give me the "you're there" feeling and realism than the SET and SIT-2 amps have done.  The SET is slightly smoother than the SIT-2 however both in my opinion are equally-accurate.  While for most of my listening, both of these amps are great, there are times that I do want a little more headroom for my louder listening (rock and some jazz).  I love the SIT-2 Nelson Pass design so much that I wanted to try the XA30.8 stereo Pass-Labs amp...  Since Reno Hi-Fi has such a great return policy, I felt that this would be a good opportunity to try one of his amps with more guts.  I was not disappointed !  While the 30.8 is not quite as micro-detailed as the SET or SIT-2 amps (I'm splitting hairs now) I am thoroughly impressed with this amp from every aspect especially macro-dynamics.  With my 93-db 6-ohm speakers, they never seem to run out of "gas" or even strain with loudly-played music.  If I can say anything about it, it's greatly under-rated, power-wise !  One thing you must do though is give the amp at least 5 full-days of turn-on time (nothing needs to be playing) before the amp sounds terrific.  It needs that break-in time.  This amp tends to have a smooth, slightly warm sound that would give you a sonic impression similar to that of an accurate tube-amp.  It's an amp that I could certainly live with if I didn't have the SET or SIT-02, however I'm glad that I have all three !  Nelson Pass has done a great job of designing this amp and I'd venture to say that the rest of that XA line would be terrific, should you need more power than 30 Class-A WPC.  If you decide to buy Pass-Labs or First-Watt, give Mark @ Reno Hi-Fi a call.  Terrific information, customer service and prices !  

Respectfully, 
John