New Pass Labs X.5 series versus previous X series

Hi Folks,
I just received my new 350.5 48 hrs ago. I owed a 350 for two years, and was very happy with it. But the the boys at Pass talked me into an upgrade. Peter promised me great things. And as you might have it they delivered in spades. Without any break in time the 350.5 dropped my jaw. The sound is sweet, detailed, soft and musical, and all of the usual euphamisms. The bass is the real winner, it has the size and rythm of a tube amp and the controll of the best solid state. I picked up a full octave of bass. By peeking into the top, it looks like the power supply is completely different. The new face plate is real cool, a hybrid between the old and the XA. The 350 took a real long time to get as good as it got, so I really expect great things from the 350.5 in the future. I have to say that his amp has been one of the most exciting changes in my system since a significant speaker upgrade.

Sorry, I meant to say 'I am NOT 100% convinced'

I recently purchased an X250.5 and love it. I've seen several amps go through my system over the years including an X250 and an X350. I've never felt content with my amp and always felt the desire to try something different although I really enjoyed the X350 better than any other I had had at the time. But I doubt the X250.5 will be leaving my system for quite some time. Every time I sit down to listen, it seems to sound better. I would strongly recommend a listen to the X250.5 or the X350.5. I can't really imagine the X350.5 sounding a lot better than the X250.5, but I was surprised at how much of an improvement there was in the X250.5.

Sigmund, it will be interesting to hear your impressions of your new X350.5 as you keep breaking it progressively in.

Last night I stayed up way too late listening. I experienced something with the 350.5 that I didn't with the 350. The 350 was a very exciing amp to listen to in my system. The transients were explosive and exciting. The reproduction of insturmental timbers could not have been better. But the 350.5 sucked me into the music....the only thing I can figure is that the inner detail is so much better I kind of felt like I was listening to a 300B amp. The 350 seemed to take sweveral months to really break in, so it will be interesting to see how far the 350.5 will come.