Pass XA30.8 vs Luxman m600-a vs Hegel H20

Thanks a lot :) Speakers are the Goldenear Triton One. At 92 dB and with the active bass section they are not a difficult load (the room is not big as well). The Hegel would be my choice taking into account:
1) Price (the least expensive, at least in Europe)
2) Versatility, like you mentioned (if and when I change the speakers)
Having said this, it's more about the absolute sound quality that I'm more concerned about. In a perfect world I woul be able to compare them ... in the real world I can't. I had a very revelatory experience with a Pass Aleph 0 many years ago ... but didn't manage to listen to the .8 series ...
Thank you! :)

btw,  skoczylas, have you auditioned the Luxman? In which way is it below the level of Pass and Hegel?

A potentially VERY IMPORTANT POINT that needs to be looked into before choosing the Pass or Hegel amps: Both of these amps have balanced outputs, meaning that their negative as well as positive output terminals have full amplitude signals on them. Therefore their negative output terminals must not be grounded. Since the Triton One has a built-in low frequency amplifier, and the only input terminals the speaker provides are a single speaker-level input and an LFE input, it is quite conceivable that the negative speaker-level input terminal is connected to the circuit ground of the speaker’s built-in amplifier, and from there to its AC safety ground either directly or via some impedance that is low at some or all frequencies. And the AC safety grounds of the speaker and the external power amplifier will of course be connected together through the AC wiring.

In that event connecting one of those amps to that speaker would cause the signals on the amp’s negative output terminals to be either directly shorted to ground, or connected via a low impedance within the speaker through the AC wiring and from there through some probably low impedance within the amp to the amp’s circuit ground. Which may either trigger a self-protective shutdown of the amp or result in damage.

The method that is commonly used for driving the speaker-level inputs of subwoofers with balanced amps, whereby the sub’s negative input terminal is connected to a chassis screw or a circuit ground terminal on the amp (the Pass amp in fact provides the latter) will not work in this case because the amp would then be unable to drive the passive section of the speaker properly.

What I would suggest is that you contact GoldenEar and ask them about driving the speaker with an amp having balanced outputs. And if they can tell you specifically how or if the negative input terminal of the speaker is isolated from the speaker’s AC safety ground, or if it is not isolated if they can tell you through what impedance those points are interconnected.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Pass 30.8 the best great sound very well made.

Vermeer - i dont know that model of luxman so you are right - i shouldnt cross it off the list. Was based on general and admittedly probably outdated experience with the brand in friends' systems and in showrooms.