Stereophile, Pass Integrated and personal taste

Eric,
I’d love to hear an INT 25; I really like the approach they took with the output stage topology; reminds me of Gamut or Dartzeel;
My speakers are probably not best load for that amp, but I have to admit I was shocked by how great my XA 30.5 sounded through them; on paper many would say don’t bother, but reality was far different;
The m900 is a beast and has bipolar devices but the Int 250, (all MOSFET ) digs deeper with notably better bass; 

I wonder now many of us really are qualified to judge which designer is at the top of the heap or not. The Berning designs are light years better than the Pass products I have heard or owned to my ears. And yes I have owned designs from both. Rave reviews mean less and less as this industry gets smaller. Nelson is an interesting cat and a great designer, which means nothing if you dont like the sound of his products as much as the designs from some neanderthal designer. 

This is an interesting thread from both sides. 

There is no denying that Nelson Pass is a legend in audio design along with the other famous circuit jockeys, Bob Carver, John Curl. 

There are a couple of disturbing points if Nelson sent out a series of products that he knew were under performing that is pretty poor that he rushed the product to market when he knew the product could and should be better. 

As per Dpac prefering Pass, that is his opinion with his matching gear, the Pass signature tends to be a bit laid back the Luxman is a more neutral sound, so it would all depend on cables, dac, speakers, room acoustics.

Pass is but one excellent choice if you like their sound, styling, size, Class of operation, and in the case of his Class A designs the heat output. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

jsautter, what is your system; what speakers are you running and which Berning? I can certainly see how/why you might select another amp as preferred over the past Pass designs. No secret that people have strong preferences as to make and sound signature. 

How do you think the Berning would do with my Kingsound King III electrostatic speakers? My initial reaction to looking at the specs is that I think it would choke. Perhaps that is mistaken, but I am open to being corrected if Ihave missed something about the Berning amp's in relation to driving something let's say a bit different than a Sadurni. So, what if it could not drive the King III anywhere near as well as the Pass? Does that make the Pass light years better? 

In other words, generalizations about which amp/manufacturer is better would be more helpful if speakers were included to give some perspective. I use a variety of speakers along the spectrum, so an amp that can drive all with authority is very important to me. In many cases amps with robust power can drive all the speakers well enough, but lack the erudite nature of the finer amps. On the other hand, several along the lines of the Berning, at about 100 or so Watts have been utterly incapable of driving the King III well.