Short List of Amps I prefer over the Pass Labs XA25 or INT 25

response to the earlier post. i was also considering pass xa25 (according to reviews it gives neutral tuby sound) but i think made a correct decision because this amp would not drive well my thiel cs6 speakers. i am very staisfied with megaschino so far. perhaps, the overall performance might further be improved by replacing the nuprime hpa 9 with one of the preamps from my list, though i have no idea of how much it might really be improved. pha 9 is not bad and the cost of the replacement would be very considerable. both, pass labs and conrad johnson recommend to leave their stuff on all the time, which i do not do in my current settings. 

Yes I do Chorus! The only thing leave on 24/7 is my dac.

"CONRAD-JOHNSON preamps are designed for optimal sonic performance , yet this is not always reflected in the specifications of distortion."

@niodari What this means in a nutshell is the THD is a bit higher but not really audible as it is mostly lower ordered harmonics.

Pulled the trigger on an XA25 today. 12 months old, $3k.

I purchased and am waiting for a CODA Contimuum #8 amp to arrive. I’m betting the other guys from the old Threshold crew can build a good amp.