Owners of Pass Labs XA30.5

Would an XA30.5 be adequate running my Montana XP speakers? 92 db @ 2 watts 4 Ohms multi driver 2x10" 2x7" 2x4" and 1 tweeter per speaker. Room size is 34x25, but I don't think I play it that loud.

Koestner:

I run the EPS2 with an INT-30A. Pretty similar sensitivity; the design is rather like the XP with the big bass drivers lopped off.

The sound is lovely (warm and smooth), but: my serious listening is pretty quiet (peaks typically below 85, often below 80) with small scale music (female vocal, folk), my room is smaller than yours (13x20), and the combination is not thumping in the lows. I previously ran a pretty powerful A/AB amp (180wpc), which is closer to what PBN builds, and that had more authority on the bottom (but not as sweet elsewhere).

So while I'm very happy with the combo, I could see people who care about drama and bass being less so. Finances permitting, it might be worth going further up the line: some say that the 60 is not hugely different than the 30, so maybe the 100 is what's needed.

John

John,

Thanks for your thoughts. I was using a tube integrated with 80 watts, but was considering the Pass as I'm getting sick of tubes. I also use a Velodyne DD-15 sub, so the bass is plenty as my Montanas are out in the center of the living room and actually lack in the low bass (<50Hz). My finances do not permit the XA60.5, but I could swing a used 30.5 Thanks

Koestner,

It's always a gamble when you take recommendations. Sometimes the odds are better than good. I think the odds are pretty good that you'd be real happy with the 30.5.

I own one and use it with my Guarneri's in my home office but for awhile I had it hooked it up to my Maggie 3.6's in a larger room. The Mags are 4 ohm/low 80's db, and I had to go louder than "I" would like to make the needles move.

A 4 ohm rating is just the "average" impedance and it varies depending on the frequency. The less the impedance varies the better for lower power amps. The 30.5 has so much in reserve and if you prefer mid/lower volume levels, your odds get even better. Good luck.

Thanks Onemug, I am quite close to my decision. The only other candidate is the Modwright KWA 150 SE. Anybody have any thoughts between the two?