Pass Labs “House Sound” vs. McIntosh “House Sound”

Shannere, I have never owned a Pass, nor an Ayre. I’ve never tried to steer anyone away from either of those brands, which is not the same as saying I don’t like some more than others, I do. Rather, I post amps which to my ears sound pretty different.

I’ve not heard Mc in a very very long time, and not for any period of time, unlike Pass, Luxman and Ayre, which I’ve been fortunate enough to audition for a few hours here and there.

It makes no difference to me if some one buys Pass or Mc, but generally speaking, I do recommend listeners in the price range try a triad:

• Pass
• Luxman
• Ayre

I recommend these exactly because they sound significantly different from each other. I think listeners will immediately develop such a strong preference that nothing I could type would change their mind. especially if they listen with their own speakers, which they should.

In answering the OP’s question, I could not comment on Mc, and didn’t want to comment on Pass, but I felt if the OP listened across these three, he’d have a better feel for the house sound of Pass, and I’m always curious what people think and what they listen to with them.

If I actually tried to steer someone away from Pass it would read very different.

If Pass sounds the best, then no one should worry that listeners go any other way, but I do not believe in absolute truths, and that may annoy the Pass-is-Best camp. You will see my sincere apology to them in a future posting. Please wait for it with bated breath.




Best,
E

How does one know if a Pre amp is truly balanced when shopping. Is my BHK pre truly balanced?

@aberyclark 

I found out by asking on Audio Aficionado McIntosh Forum.  Everyone including Lew who is the head honcho of the group and longtime McIntosh dealer stated as such.  I’m not trying to rain on your parade but didn’t want to see you disappointed if you found out after purchase.  Like I said, on my MA6600 integrated I use the balanced in and it sounds great. I tried it once on my C2500 but I had problems with one of the cables so I went to single ended.  

I don’t always agree with Erik’s posts, but his last post above is great advice.

Buying audio gear requires two main things: time and money. If you really want audio quality you have to spend both. Sure, you can quickly spend $10,000 on a component with little personal audition and just rely on a few comments on an anonymous Internet forum, but you might risk wasting real money while enduring poorly matched sound quality. 
Doing a lot of reading on several forums and doing as much actual listening as possible can get you across the finish line but it takes effort. I think the worst word in audio is “always”. System matching is real. Room differences are real. And individual sound preferences (which can be very difficult to put into words) are real.

Buying some kit used is helpful as you can almost sell pieces for what you paid if you want to try something else. Auditioning one component in a professional dealership sound room with matching components that are way above your budget might not match your system in your room at home. It just takes time and effort. That is why treating this a long term hobby helps: the hunt becomes part of the fun...

I've personally never heard a benefit of fully balanced designs, I'm sorry.

Maybe there are some, but the technology has never attracted me to gear specifically because of it.