Pass Lab x2.5 preamp owners -- plse help

Hi,

I owned the X2 and thought it was neutral with a liquidty airy presentation not bright at all. I woud suggest selling your Proceed amp and getting a c-j MV-60, Quicksilver Mid-monos, or AES Sixpacs tube amp and your system will start to sing.

Good Luck!

I have owned the X-250 and X-1. What is descriped above is accurate on their sound. When I tried the combo in a buddies system, it did not work and I heard the brightness that you heard. If I recall correctly, it seemed to come from the matching of the Pass gear to his speakers. There seemed to be a certain frequency that was moved forward in the presentation that made the system sound bright. I was using an Elrod EPS Sig 3 power cord so I felt that it was not the power cord. It also could have been the speaker cable and ICs. They were AZ Sil Ref ICs and Home Depot speaker cable. The Cardas Golden Hexlink 5-Cs seemed to reduce the edge or brightness. I'd try a few different cables to see if you can get ride of the brightness and if they don't work, it could be a speaker matching issue.

Happy Listening.

My personal opinion is that using cables as tone controls is just masking (or compensating for) other problems.

(I am not saying that cables make no difference.)

I am growing in the opinion that your system should sound in a manner you like with 'cheap' cables, where better cables simply are less restrictive and allow your gear to show through better; quite frankly better cables may reveal short comings in gear as much as help them.

Anyway, it's early, maybe I am not thinking clearly. :)

So to the point of the post, I think there are some issues in your system where you don't have a system match, outside of cables.

I own the X2.5 and definitely do not find it to be overtly bright, although it certainly provides a clean detailed presentation. I do have it matched with a X150.5 amp, so this synergy is certainly helpful. I have even compared it closely to the Densen pre-amp I was using previously as well as the Primare 5.1 HT pre-amp I use for film viewing/surround sound. The Densen is pretty well known for a 'Naim-like' signature high on PRAT...very musical - definitely not 'bright'. The Pass clearly was more open and relaxed sounding. The Primare is a pretty high-end piece and although it's primary focus is on the processing side of things, it is a pretty musical piece and it's pre-amp is no slouch. I wish it was as good as the Pass Labs since I'd love to consolidate my system...unfortunately it wasn't. This is of course based on my personal tastes and observations, but I might note that there is an issue of synergy in the amp/pre-amp/speaker chain. Hard to say really...I'd hate to see you give up on Pass since I think they make great gear but it's possible the Pass Labs doesn't fit your personal sonic tastes. FYI...even though Brian's probably correct that you won't want to rely on cables to fix something I do find Sonoran cables to be a very sweet complement to my Pass amp and preamp.

I have an X2.5 and don't find it to be bright at all. In my sytem is sounds neutral and clean. It will reprodouce what it is fed.

You might want to look at your source component, the Naim CD3.5 has a reputation for a forward midrange and high frequency brightness. Try to borrow an other CD player and see (hear) what happens.

Rick