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Upgrading form Pass integrated amplifier to a better one

Hello,

Currently I have a PASS INT-250 integrated amplifier . The Pass INT-250 is a very good integrated (in my system it was overall better than Plinius Hiato, Gamut D150se, Mark Levinson 535, Vitus RI-100,  Accuphase E-470 and some others) but I can't get rid of the feeling that I miss some explosiveness (drum kicks for example) and micro details.

I know that its not the speakers. The new Sonus faber tradition I have are much more open, dynamic and airy than previous Guarneri Evos, Elipasas SE and Amati Anniversarious I used to own. And before buying them I auditioned the Serafinos with Audio Research separates and it was the amazing combo. But I really prefer not to go the separates road ( ICs, power cords and space contribute to financial constrains also) and even so I like the combo of Pass and Serafinos overall but from time to time looking for some better integrated on the market.

Currently I presented with a good opportunity to buy latest Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated or latest just released Accuphase E-650.  No possiblilty to demo them, so I am asking here on the forum if anybody can comment if Gryphon Diablo 300 or Accuphase E-650 will be better integrated than Pass INT250 overall and especially in terms of dynamics, micro details and harmonics.

Any advise and opinion would be very appreciated.

My system: Esoteric K-05x, Pass INT-250, Sonus Faber Serafinos, all cabling are the Shunyata Sigmas.

Room is 12" wide by 17" long. Listen mostly acoustic jazz and chamber classical on low to moderate levels.


Thank you.


denon1
lak's avatar
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lak
4,628 posts
 
@denon1, Thanks for the update. Please let us know after continued hours of break-in if there are any aditional improvements.
Until then, enjoy the music!
inna
7,296 posts
 
Great. Yeah, give it couple of hundred hours to fully burn in. When you recover from your expenses you might consider experimenting with cables. This is a very high performance level, and everything matters even more.
Tube integrateds aside, there are only two that I would consider for myself if I could afford them - Diablo 300 and Ypsilon Phaethon hybrid. Your Diablo should work just fine even if you replace the speakers at some point.
wolf_garcia
6,695 posts
 
The Rogers EHF 200 (or the 100) is a great sounding integrated amp with loads of dynamic slam although sort of pricey…I've heard 'em, know people who have 'em, and if "tube like" is a thing you want out of an amp, get a tube amp. Lifetime warranty for those.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,624 posts
 

Thanks! for the update-  denon1

Happy Listening!

denon1 OP
343 posts
 
Inna, totally agree with your thinking, cables are critically important part of the system and the higher you are - the more significance they bring. For now I am done - exactly like you said - recovering from these

expenses.

My all cabling including speaker cables (with the exception of ICs - here I have Jade gold reference XLRs that I intend keep for a long time) are Shunyata sigma and they are very good. So going forward I'm finally done  with speakers, cables and amplification. The only thing I would like to improve is a frond end, meaning going with a great streamer and dac. But my esoteric k-05x is pretty god and I still like spinning cds and not to be depended on internet connection and streaming provider issues. Ideally I would love to upgrade to esoteric K-01x now but than divorce will become imminent :). 
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