Pass Labs ALEPH 5 vs ALEPH 2

Subaruguru,
I haven't pay too much attention to P in the past so have no idea about what you said. But I do remember seeing somewhere that Aleph amp prefers higher pre-amp output and a possible stepping attenuator upgrade for P. Also if I use bigger transformer, cap and heatsink, I might be able to increase the bias for better sound and higher current. Now I'm thinking about fine tuning my Aleph 2 and upgrading ARC LS-3b to P. What do you think about P comparing to the others ? a noticable upgrade from LS-3b? Thanks !

Yes, all the 2 stage Alephs need a high-output pre; the Aleph P essentially provides the third stage that was there in the original first Aleph, I think, along with a fine servo-driven stepped attenuator. It's an incredibly quiet, neutral preamp, and of course drives the Alephs seamlessly.
The remote is the best, too. Having separate gain and volume controls allows one a "balance" control as well the ability to dial in a bit of stage depth variability, although I simply follow nelson's advice and use the final attenuator set at upper scale, with gain pots semi-permanently set mid-scale, slightly unqual to offset assymmetry of room. Works great. Let's not hijack the thread....

no hijack subaruguru, always interested to learn something new.

Cdma I would suggest that the P is an idea match to the aleph amps and might suggest that the P doesn't begin to amplify until very late on the gain knob 4 to 5 oclock with mains set at off or 7 oclock. This is the case in my system. I have considered the P as passive in my system until the volume is wound right out, to two or three click to full volume, again with mains set at the off position,

Sayas,
Thanks ! SC-4 is sensitive so I have never gone beyond 12 o'clock.
Back to the orginal topic, IMO, 2 and 3 are the best choices in the Aleph family based on the design and spec if speakers are sensitive enough.

Good point, Sayas. With my EMC-1 and MD100 tuner I set gains at about 10 o'clock, using volume from noon to full max (4 o'clock). Still probably passive, but man does it sound active!