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Good Speakers with Pass XA30.5 Power Amp?

I'm currently using a Pass XA30.5 power amp (with Pass XP-10 preamp) to drive a pair of PSB Synchrony One. Cabling is all Wireworld Equinox 7 and room is about 12'(W) x 24'(L) x 12'(H) with speakers firing down the long dimension - although I can only sit about 7' from the plane of the speakers. I find the sound somewhat laid-back, i.e., lacking in liveliness and I'm constantly fussing over the sound of the system. I listen at very moderate levels to a wide variety of music, but typically jazz (vocals), classical and choral music - with the occasional reggae and pop fare.

It's been suggested to me that the combination of the Pass XA30.5 and Synchrony One may not be a good match so I'm soliciting suggestions for speakers that should work better with the Pass amp - i.e., a more lively presentation. I'd prefer full-range speakers at least the equal of the Synchrony One in resolution and frequency extension. My budget is less than $4k used.
partialresponse
cmach
193 posts
 
I have a Pass Labs XA30.8 and its currently powering my Proac D-30Rs.
They are an easy load for that amp and match well together IMO.


lula
213 posts
 
Anyone try original Quads (57s) with the XA30.5? Apparently the XA30.8 is a great match for the Quads according to an online review.

tooblue
1,922 posts
 
I have a Pass XA 30.5 that I switch out time with a pair of VTL MB 125 tube amps and I love it with my Wilson Sophia 1s, really nice combo and our listening taste and music are similar. 

eniac26
97 posts
 
I'm running an XA30.5 at the moment with a pair of Magico S3's in a 15x24 room and find it to be an excellent match short of trying to reproduce Rave/Rock Concert levels in my room.

I would doubt that your speakers load is much of an issue for this amp since the load of my speakers is significantly more brutal and the amp seems barley phased by them. In fact, I've only seen the needle slightly move when cranking it up to a 92-95db level at my seated position 9ft away.

I typically listen to Rock/Metal/Pop so if there were an issue with its output power or lack thereof driving the S3's I would notice it pretty quickly. So far, I haven't witnessed any problems with it.

With that said though, there is no question that the XA30.5 is known to be a laidback sounding amplifier anyway. If you happen to be using cabling that is also laidback then this perception of its sound could be even more compounded.

I would recommend trying a dead neutral set of XLR Interconnects and Speaker cables from Mogami as an inexpensive test to see if it livens things up a bit for you.


kartikeyp
21 posts
 
I am using Pass XA 30.5 with Cary SLP 98 Preamp. I recently bought Coincident super victory II. My source is Sony HAP Z1 ES.

its been about 3 months and the combo sounds great to me. Very clear and detailed sound. I like to listen to Simple Jazz, old classic rock, Instrumental, and Indian Music. The SV II are fantastic in these kinds of music. I have not heard many other speakers though. My room is very live and i am planning to do some room treatment. I am sure that will improve the sound to a great extent.

I believe I saw SV II for sale on audiogon from SIngapore, offered at 3600 USD. Its a great value at that price IMO.
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