Thank you for the detail. I have not heard the Emotiva amps as of yet. I think if I was going the Halo route I would go JC 1's for sure. The Pass 250.8 seems to be a great amp from I have heard, and a step up from everything we are talking about. Any experience with the D'Agostino Classic Stereo Amp for 12k?
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The Emotiva amps are an excellent choice if your budget is limited. It’s my opinion that you’d have to spend significantly more to get something better. I’m running XPR-1 amps for the main channels and it’s hard to bet something that has 1000W, 240,000uf power supply, 36 output transistors for that price. I’ve looked and the best I can come up with is a Bryston 28BSST, but at 4-6 times the price and the fact that I don’t really like the Bryston signature, it’s just not worth it to me. At this point, I have over $8k in amps. I think you’re already in the range where you will get something better than Emotiva anyways. That D’Agostino is interesting. Definitely a beast: http://www.absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/HFN_0216_DA_ClStereo_4web.pdf If you’re already looking in this price range, Reno Hi Fi has a pair of used (demo) X-260.8 monoblocks for $10k. If I was looking in this price range, I might be leaning towards these Pass monoblocks. Monoblocks are -generally- fully balanced/differential whereas stereo amps are -generally- single ended.. The monoblocks will have completely separate power supplies which will probably help drastically with imaging (D’Agostino has separate power supplies, but with a shared transformer). Also, having two monoblocks there in your room can look more impressive than a single stereo amp (though the Classic Stereo is definitely huge -- but there is some empty space inside the amp case). This is completely an asthetic reason, though. All that with the penchant that Pass has incredible bass slam and overall excellent sound quality would tend to make me choose the Pass monoblocks. Please note that I’m making an educated guess based on what I’m reading on these amps and it could very well be that the D’Agostino is the superior sounding amplifier. |
I have the D'Agostino Classic Stereo in my system and it's a terrific amp! Was trying to decide between it and a Pass x350.5 when I was amp shopping. The D'ag is slightly on the warm side of neutral with a very open sound, imaging is excellent, soundstage is noticeably deep. For a 300 watt amplifier, it's bass is not the powerful tight fisted variety but surprisingly a lot of texture and only shows its power when the music calls for it. I do find that the Dag likes to be warmed up for a long time before sounding its best and this amp only gets slightly warm to the touch after hours of use. I remember my Pass X250.5 getting a lot warmer driving the same speakers. |
My suggestion is to contact Mark at Reno HiFi. He is the distributor for Pass Labs nationally. He will loan you for a cc number an amp, preamp, or integrated. You can use it in your own system, the only way to make a reasonable decision. If you don't care for it, send it back. I recently purchased a 150.8 Pass amp and it has been one of the best audion changes I have made in quite a while. Reno gives super service and great deals on Pass equipment new and used. I am just a happy customer and not connected with Reno. |
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