Amplfiers that Sound like Pass 30.8 that are not so heavy
I am moving to a smaller house and I really need a amp that is not as heavy as the Pass 30.8. Currently it is hooked up to a pair of QLN Prestige 3's with Adrenaline Speaker cables, a SAS 11A preamp recently modified and upgraded and fed by a Pagoda DAC. I love the sound of this amp with a the tube preamp. But....its just really to heavy for me to move around by myself. And yes I do go to the gym. Also it does put out some heat which is not the coolest thing in Florida. Any ideas on an amp that would be a good substitute for the 30.8's would really be appreciated. My listening prefernces lean toward transparency and holographic instrument presentation. Thank all of you for your help and direction on my question. Best wishes to all for a healthy, safe and peaceful New Year.
[please excuse my poor English] Thanks @millercarbon for that interesting input about the 25w Pass XA25’s sound. It weighs 45 lbs/20.4 kg (so it is up to the OP; did he mentioned the maximum weight that he/his back could manage?). Alternatively, the aforementioned NuPrime AMG-STA (8.8 lbs) power amplifiers could do the job, though in a somewhat different way.
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just summarizing a bit for op - with units worth considering imo (sound quality all on par, and outstanding, just somewhat differing sonic characters) pass xa30.8 @ 88 lbs as reference ________________________________________________________________ pass xa25 @ 45 lbs $4000 (lower power though) hegel h20 @ 53 lbs $4000 (much more power, slightly leaner midbass, very pure) agd tempo @ 10 lbs $5000 similar tone, slightly purer overall) linear tube audio zotl ref40 @ 15 lbs $6500 (tubey sweetness, softer bass) i have all these amps currently (my agd’s are the audion monos, whereas tempo is slightly more cost effective stereo version)
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We had 87dB speakers here in my room with 20W Raven Blackhawk they sounded wonderful and played quite loud. Not headbanger loud, but plenty pleasingly high volume. The XA25 is so conservatively rated based on both measurements and user experience it is hard to imagine not being able to get plenty of volume from it. Another example of all watts are not equal. |
