The Pass amp is way more powerful than its rating. It is 25 watts class A but it then switches to class AB and is good for over 70 watts.
More watts or better power ?
Hello, I am currently running a PS Audio BHK Preamp, which has a tube input stage, to a Pass Labs XA25, Class A (50watts at 4 ohms) power Amp, into a pair of Sonus Faber Minima Amator II bookshelf speakers. My system sounds very good, and at 4ohms, I have 50 watts of power to my speakers, which is on the lower end of their rating.
What would be a better investment (most bang for the buck) into the system? Replace the XA25 with a higher watt amp (PS Audio BHK 250?), or spend the same money on a power conditioner (PS Audio Power Plant II?) Or upgrade the Minima Amator (which are sounding very good) to another set of speakers.
The system is in my bedroom, I have a very small house, hence the smaller Sonus Faber Speakers. I have beenplaying around with an SVS micro sub as well.
Other system parts, Clear Audio Concept/ Concept MC, Pass Labs XP15, Little Green Roon Server, Schitt Yiggi, and a Luxman MQ 88 Tube amp in rotation.
Appreciate your input
Mark O
What would be a better investment (most bang for the buck) into the system? Replace the XA25 with a higher watt amp (PS Audio BHK 250?), or spend the same money on a power conditioner (PS Audio Power Plant II?) Or upgrade the Minima Amator (which are sounding very good) to another set of speakers.
The system is in my bedroom, I have a very small house, hence the smaller Sonus Faber Speakers. I have beenplaying around with an SVS micro sub as well.
Other system parts, Clear Audio Concept/ Concept MC, Pass Labs XP15, Little Green Roon Server, Schitt Yiggi, and a Luxman MQ 88 Tube amp in rotation.
Appreciate your input
Mark O
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- 65 posts total
We need to get some facts straight here… the XA25 shoots WAY above its ratings, as is typical of Pass Class A amps. The class a’s run very high biased mostly pure class A to the clipping point. Here are the actual measurements for that amp… “Pass Labs specifies the XA25's output power as 25Wpc into 8 ohms and 50Wpc into 4 ohms (both equivalent to 14dBW). However, as you can see in figs. 4 and 5, the amplifier exceeded its specified power output at the clipping point, which we define as when the THD+noise equals 1%. At that THD+N percentage the XA25 delivered 80Wpc into 8 ohms (19dBW) and 130Wpc into 4 ohms (18.1dBW). It appears from the shape of the traces in these graphs that Pass specifies the XA25's power as when the THD+N is close to 0.01%” The amp is not an issue with your speakers. Look into other areas, cables, room, placement etc, as others have mentioned. |
What a crock of sh*t! If you follow all this advice, you'd: replace pre-amp, amp, speakers, speaker cable, interconnects, add a power conditioner/regenerator, DAC, ... Would you be any happier? Would you enjoy your listening sessions any more? If you do make any changes, make them one at a time, giving yourself sufficient time in between changes to understand the differences you have achieved. Fun hobby, but sometimes we stress unnecessarily! |
Sell both of these and get an Integrated 120w Gryphon Diablo 120 it has the Class-A sound of the XA25 but with heap more wattage and grunt (current) also. https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/integrated-amplifiers/diablo-120/ https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/integrated-amplifiers/gryphon-diablo-300-integrated-amplifier/ Cheers George |
- 65 posts total