Any thoughts on Pass X150.8 ?


I don't see any reviews or impressions of this amp. Any thoughts?
smodtactical
Hi everyone

Pass labs amps are really great in my opinion, I feels it’s possibly their best products out of everything they build. Their phono preamps are very good as well, their line preamps not so much. I have a close friend who owns a hifi store and I’ve heard just about every amp they make, they’re all good. In my opinion, there’s just something magical with their class A amps. I’ve owned their xa30.8 for a little over five years now and I still can’t believe how good that thing sounds. If you’ve never heard one in your system, you owe it to yourself to bring one home and listen to it for at least 3-5 days without turning it off if your local dealer will let you if you’re thinking of buying a new amp and it’s in the budget. It’s awesome.

Scot
@scothurwitz my dealer actually has XA30.8 and offered a demo (but under the condition i buy it or a higher end amp).

Does it really take days to sound optimal? I would like to keep the amp off unless I Am using it.
I have owned a XP12 and now a XP 22 pre-amp.  

I've owned many pre-amps over the years.  I have to say the Xp12 was in the very good category.  It's quiet, neutral etc.  But, I think there are others in that price range that aren't better or worse, but different and I won't go as far to say the XP 12 is special.  It's very good.

The XP22, for the money is excellent.  I consider it to be in that "special" category for it's price range.  I also consider the 250.8 to be "special".  

Depending on the speakers I was driving...

I would do a XP22 and 150.8 over a XP12 and 250.8.  Unless I absolutely needed the extra power of the 250.8.

But the XP22 and 250.8... Man I love this combo.  I do know that many at Pass consider the 250.8 to be a sweetspot also.


Ya I'd love the 250.8, there was a pretty solid used deal near me but it sold. I think I may buy a used 150.8 instead. Much more affordable and for me room and speakers probably more than enough power.
smodtactical

Sorry for the late reply, I just now saw your question. 

All I’m saying is that if left on 24/7 the xa30.8 will always sound it’s best. I have a friend who has a pair of xa160.8’s and he also turns them off when not using them. In my opinion, he has never heard just how good those amps can sound.  He started talking about the power they draw from the wall and his electrical bill going up and blah, blah, blah. I agree with him, it’s very wasteful to leave them on 24/7. Who buys a $30.000.00 amp and worries about your electric bill? It’s like buying a Ferrari and pulling up to the gas pump and choosing 87 octane gas because it’s cheaper, really! I, personally, am going to put in the 93 octane gas. I’m the type of audiophile that likes to get the best sound quality out of any of my equipment. Every time I unplugged my xa30.8 from the wall (to change something in the system) I noticed that when I plugged it back into the wall, it took at least 3 full days for it to sound as good as it did before I unplugged it from the wall. Every time. It’s not a day or night difference but I heard it every time. I started noticing subtle differences in the timing. Call it pace, rythem & timing, call it forward momentum, or whatever, the improvements were mainly temporal. When left on for at least 3 full days everything just fell into place and sounded “right”. 

If if you open up a Pass Labs amp, they are mainly all power supply. It takes a long time for that huge toroidal transformer and all those caps to fully saturate and for the circuit to stabilize. Trust you ears!

Scot