Devore O/96 with Class A Solid State Amps

It also tells us how good the Pass amp is.

Absolutely agree.  The Pass Labs XA30.8 is an exceptional amp and deserving of all it's praise and positive reviews.  The point 8 series amps from Pass are a great value for their level of performance.  Regarding the Devore O/96, I'm impressed that they are so revealing of changes in electronics and cables.  The O/96 is certainly a very easy speaker load and tube friendly, but they are outstanding with a variety of amp designs.   

This is a great reminder that we not adopt a narrow minded perspective with respect to putting together a system.  I spent most of my audio years in pursuit of achieving my goals with low efficiency dipole speakers and the requisite high current amps, having made up my mind that a speaker in a box couldn't possibly sound like anything but a speaker in a box.  A $2500 experiment on a pair of Coincident Triumph Extreme II's elicited a swift metanoia and now I have two systems using the high efficiency speaker low power SET approach. I most certainly don't expect to own another panel speaker, but I must admit that on occasion the 30.8 or perhaps a First Watt J-2 calls to me, just to satisfy my curiosity.  I spent last night listening to Brahms violin and viola sonatas, and it was pure bliss.  But on occasion, I have to revisit the Ring or Mahler, and I wonder if a really nice 30 W SS amp might not be interesting to have in the bull pen. 

I've also been devoted to SET amps for years and they have many superb qualities, offering an organic, rich tone quality which can be addictive, especially with vocals and small scale recordings.  I've heard the First Watt J2 with the Devore O/96 also.  The J2 is an excellent amp and pairs very well with the O/96, but in my experience the resolution, imaging, detail retrieval and tonal accuracy of the XA30.8 is much higher, especially on complex demanding large scale symphonic and operatic recordings.  

Hi Bill (Brownsfan),
I concur with the open mind approach, you never know unless you try. Joe (Snoblo) has compared the Pass Labs XA 30.8 and a First Watt amplifier to his Frankenstein MK II SET. He was really impressed with both of the SS amplifiers. Ultimately he preferred the Frankenstein but had nothing negative to say about the excellent SS amplifiers. Who knows? Your outcome could be different from his. These are all very fine amplifiers and as always it is a matter of taste. Bill if you decide to try either of the SS amplifiers let us know your listening impressions.
Take care,
Charles