Is there a Solid State amp that can satisfy a SET guy?

Hi everyone

Pass Labs class ‘A’ amps, to my ears, are magic. I have owned the xa30.8 and I just love it. My speakers are extremely inefficient (83db) and it not only drives them effortlessly but it always remains so musical. I have a tube preamp for that tonal color and accurate timbre. 

To all the other Pass Labs amp owners out here, leave it on always. I have noticed that every time I have to unplug it from the wall, it takes exactly 3 full days until it sounds right again. There are subtle temporal cues that you can hear when it’s been fully warmed up that just aren’t 100% right when it’s just been turned back on. I leave mine on all the time and it always sounds amazing!

Scot

@david_ten My best advise is to forget about specs just go listen to the equipment your interested in first. Let your ears be your guide, knowing specs before hand can influence the brain and what you think your hearing.

I have decades of 211-845 amp use, Audio Note Ongako and Kagura 211 amps, Sophia Electric 845 Mono Blocks and LM 845 amps. If you went by specs alone you would never listen to these amps, sound wise they are some of the best sounding bar none. My personal preference are the 211 tubed amps.

@scothurwitz I purchased a Pass XA25 a couple of months ago and i agree there is some magic (voodoo) going on. Once they get past their burn in time the XA25 took 120 hours there is some magic to be had. When i bought mine it had a ten day trial where i could have sent it back and i almost did a couple of times but once it got beyond the 120 hours it has settled down and has been near perfect and this is coming from a SET guy. The Pass is the best SS amp that i have heard and i have tried many including the latest D amps.

I have a Pass XA25, LTA UltraLinear, SIT 3, FW7

The Pass is a very good amp, much preferred to my ears over the SIT3 however I don’t believe that my speakers are the best match for the SIT3 so please take that into consideration (Tannoy Eaton ~ 89db @ 8 ohm). That said, I find the SIT3 too rounded for my taste.

The XA25 gives you phenomenal transients, accurate bass (not heavy), lots of color, great staging & imaging. It presents an incredible amount of detail while sounding relaxed. However in contrast to the LTA UL - it is drier.  The tone color is there, but the juice and body isn’t there to the same extent. You still know it’s a solid state amp in a A/B comp.  

All in though - very highly recommended. It tends to be the main amp in my rig for most music. Prefer the XA25 for jazz, fusion, blues etc., but the UL takes the cake for classical !

If I could combine the UL and the Pass - I’d be done. The Bakoon 13R is on my list, looking forward to the 6moons review of the XA25 INT vs the Bakoon. I’m curious to know if the Bakoon is less "dry" sounding (again relatively speaking) than the XA25.

Valvet is also on the list

@rh67  Thanks for your advice. I've reached out via PM.