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What effects soundstage more ....

I have recently auditioned two sets of separates Pass x2.5/x250 and a Plinius CDLAD mkII/SA102. The speakers I have are on the revealing side, Angstrom Obbligato's. The differences between these two set ups was big. The Plinius set had a wonderful overall tone. The low frequencies sounded awesome, but they lacked some weight at low volumes. The Pass in contrast had weight at the low frequencies at low volumes and the soundstage grew in every direction. The drawback with the Pass was as the volume increased so did the "harshness" or attack. I want the soundstage and low volume "thump" of the pass with the better tone of the Plinius. Is there something that can do that? Would swapping the pre-amps help at all? What has the biggest effect on soundstage and tone ( amp or pre )? Any thoughts would be appreciated
oside_e
cpdunn99's avatar
cpdunn99
639 posts
 
What cabling (IC and S/C) were you using? I've found that to make quite a difference.
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
You might try a larger Pass amp. Soundtage tends to collapse and the sound becomes etched and strained as the amp runs out of gas.
jayctoy's avatar
jayctoy
4,059 posts
 
Cpdunn99 I agree with you, cabling does make a differrence,
I both tried the Pass X250 and the Plinius, I own the
Plinius SA100 for 7 years now, This 2 amps, both have
Big soundstage,with the right cabling.The X250 likes
the Harmonic Tech, The Plinius likes the Tara lab master
gen,I auditioned them both with Art audio preamp,and
Adcom GFP 750.Interconnect I used the Silway and truthlink.
Good Luck.
sean
6,231 posts
 
As far as "harshness" goes with the X2.5 / X-250, look to the source, preamp or cabling, not the amp. As far as cabling goes, Pass X series amps and Goertz MI-2 speaker cables were made for each other as far as i'm concerned. If you want lush sound that is truly clean, coherent and airy with a phenomenally deep and wide sound stage, this is a hard combo to beat. This is especially true if running lower impedance speakers, which the X series seems to work their best with. Can't comment on the Plinius as i have very limited experience with their gear. What gear i was exposed to of theirs wasn't very favourable at the time. It was a completely unfamiliar system though, so that experience doesn't count for much to me. Sean
>

PS... If you're not running your X-250 off of a dedicated 20 amp line, don't expect it to perform like it should. It should also be left on 24/7. Listen to it after three days of continuous power and you'll think that you're hanging out with angels in heaven : )
aaronm's avatar
aaronm
99 posts
 
The Pass gear should not sound harsh when set up properly. I agree with Sean (as i usually do) that you may want to look at your cabling and be sure you are feeding the X250 adequate power. Power cabling also can drastically change the sound of the Pass preamps. Power cables don't have as great an effect on the Amps as much as the preamps.

I use dedicated lines, but I never have had the harshness you report with the non-dedicated lines. Non dedicated lines' quality is also dictated by what else is on the line. I had nothing using the circuits, but they were open and had cabling run to unused outlets via smaller gauge than is used now on my 10ga dedicated lines.

I use Synergistic cables with the Pass gear I own and have never had anyone express any notice of fatigue or harshness with any of my sources.

Ultimately, you should mix and match components to see if you find a mix that suits your tastes. I am fairly certain that the X250 isn't running out gas unless it is receiving an inadequate voltage from the wall. Try a different set of cabling to determine if that is the incompatibility issue causing you to be discontent. Best Regards,
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