What makes the Bloom around instruments . . .

My question really didn't have anything to do with the quality of the XA30.5, only the Bloom that I got from it.

It probably would have been best if I hadn't mentioned the amp. I did it, not thinking, because that's where I had the Bloom and I really liked that part of the sound.

I didn't take you to be questioning the quality of the XA30.5, and even if you had been, it's no big deal. Nothing is perfect, and it's just stuff anyway. ;-) My comments were intended to offer the perspective of a person familiar with the XA30.5, not to defend it from any possible criticism.

FWIW, I'm guessing that the bloom you heard with the Pass amp in your system was a consequence of its interaction with other components, rather than being an intrinsic characteristic of the amp. But that may be academic at this point.

Bryon

Byron,

I didn't think that you were. There had been a lot of posts talking about the XA30.5 and I was trying to clarify to everyone that in no way was I referring to the XA30.5 as anything other than having that magical Bloom that I really liked and want to have again.

I think that I unintentionally led some posters off of the question that I was asking about the Bloom by mentioning the XA30.5 by name.

Chuck

Frogman and Swampwalker, love your additions to this conversation! I agree, Swampwalker, that one rarely hears "bloom" from a recording done in a studio. I think this goes a long way towards explaining why it is present on some recordings and not others. Good concert halls are of course designed to get the maximum "bloom" from the instruments and voices performing in it, whereas the recording studio is designed so that the recording engineer can make the recording sound how he wants it to - they are generally quite dead, and therefore usually kill "bloom." This is why so many studio recordings have that fake reverb added, to try to get some of that quality back, very unsuccessfully.

one rarely hears "bloom" from a recording done in a studio.

I believe that this is one of the reasons why as the quality of recordings made outside of a studio and the low level resolution of my system have both improved, I find myself drawn to "remote" or live recordings, warts and all. Of course the interaction between audience and artist also improves the emotional aspect of the performance, adding to my enjoyment of those recordings. But then again, I am not an analytical listener.