Integrated Amplifiers - Luxman vs Pass Labs

Interesting that you find Pass to be 'lean'.  From all my reading of Pass and their lower end heft, I would have thought it provides a bigger, fuller body to music; which is to my liking.

Yea, I don't personally get  the description or hear Pass to be 'lean', at all...; as someone who currently owns the XA30.8, have owned the X250.8, Bryston 4B3, Benchmark AHB2, and Modwright KWA 100SE, I would personally place the Pass on the slower rounded side compared to all of the others I mentioned.  To me the Pass adds depth and meat to the sound, and if that is what you like, like I seem to, it sounds so life-like and easy to listen to.   The most recent additions to my system to compare against the Pass amps were the AHB2 and 4B3 and I felt they both offer a more resolving and leaner presentation (still smooth though); you hear more of the recording, but I thought they also lost some of the 3d like humans are playing in your room quality I hear from the Pass.

The only recent Luxman I've heard was the C-900/M-900 combo driving the speakers I ended up purchasing and now own, at a local dealer.   I thought they sounded great, lots of detail and very smooth;  I wouldn't call either of the two Pass amps I've owned 'lean' compared to the Luxman separates.

Definitely try to listen for yourself...; worse case either a Luxman or Pass shouldn't be hard to re-sell if you grab one and end up not being happy with the purchase.

Great posts from those with first hand experience and knowledge.  I really appreciate all of your personal thoughts and feelings on specific gear!

ddafoe:  "depth and meat to the sound" is a good descriptor of how I also like my music presentation. To me, it's about finding the right balance of having enough 'meat to the sound' and natural realism without losing too much detail. And I guess that is where I am at in looking for something that will provide more of that than my current Luxman L-550axii.

@ddafoe 

So the Bryston 4B3 was leaner than the Pass X250.8?

Is the bass more controlled in the 4B3 or is the X250.8

just fuller? I’m looking for an amp for my Magnepans

which needs an amp with meat on the bones.

Pass or Bryston?…….

I think you guys are talking about bloom… it the opposite of thin… where individual sounds are fully fleshed out, typically midrange bloom is the term used but I have found it can be applied to bass as well.

Low>……………..High

Bryston….Pass…………………….Audio Research

When I moved from a Threshold s500 (Pass)… to a Pass x350 the earlier amp sounded thin. Then I swapped in an Audio Research 160s I was stunned how thin the Pass sounded. It can be relative.

So the Bryston 4B3 was leaner than the Pass X250.8?

Is the bass more controlled in the 4B3 or is the X250.8

In my system driving Spendor D9s which are very easy to drive I found the 4B3 to offer a slightly tighter and faster bass.   I also found the Bryston to be just a tad more forward and resolving compared to the X250.8, and yes a slightly more leaner sound.  I also found the X250.8 to be slightly faster, more resolving, and a tad more lean than the XA30.8 with my speakers.   Compared to the pre NRB 4B I used to own many years ago, I was amazed how smooth and refined the 4B3 is.    I kept the Pass simply because to me it offered a better 3d front to back soundstage compared to the 4B3 or AHB2.   I think the XA30.8 beats the X250.8 by a tad in this category in my system.  I can certainly see other folks liking the sound of the these other two very fine amps more to their liking as well compared to the Pass amps.   

I never once noticed my XA250.8 leaving its 18w class A bias which is why I switched to the XA30.8 :)

I've been tempted to try the Luxman L-590AXII with my speakers but am happy with my separates and prefer the flexibility to match pre and amp.   I really wish Luxman offered the amplifier out of that integrated in a standalone power amp...

Cheers