Aleph Owners and Users...

I have owned the Aleph 3 and currently am using Aleph 2 monos in my system. I had a period of around 1 month that I spent A/Bing the two in my system (essentially trying to justify the huge jump in price). There is definitey a sonic difference betwen the two. The 3 was more musical and for lack of a better term more emotional. It was certainly a little muddier in the low end and was slower to respond to snare drums and other fast and low freq's. The two is more precise, somewhat more analytical (and I mean this in the best possible way) - Nelson Pass can do little wrong in my ears. All that said, I did feel less emotionally taken in by the 2's. I spoke to the guys at Pass during my month and they swore the 2 was every bit as good as the 3, just more of it. I am not sure that I agree in the setting of my own system. I thought the 2's could be a little thin compared to the 3's almost etereal sound when listening to female vocals (what I usually listen to). All that said, I still went with the 2's and am very happy with them. They are alot more capable of driving fast loads (not easy for SE amps). I was concerned that if I ever bought less efficient speakers, I would want the 2's. As an aside, I recently got changed out my KCAG to a Cardas Neutral Ref from my D/A to my pre and that helped alot. It is hard to say which amp is better. I think that is personal preference. The guys at Pass say the 2's are their truest amps of their whole Aleph series. To make a short story long as I have, and I'll stop, I guess the gestalt of this is "yes" they sound different. I'm not sure which is better.

I forgot to add. I think the 1.2's were also rated "A" by S'phile. My guess as to why all of them weren't "A" is that either it would be a little unfair to put all 4 amps in that class, or that all of them weren't Class A quality- and please read what the guys at S'phile say about class "A". Essentailly a cost no object, best possible reproduction of the live event. That's a pretty tall order. They did put the least and most expensive ones in the Aleph line up in the "A" category. All that said they are both (the 3 and 2's- only ones I've auditioned) wonderful amps. I can't imagine getting a new amp for many years if ever. I would pick one that you can afford and that you are very happy with. I think the habit (and I'm guilty of it too) of looking for the "best" often keeps us from enjoying something wonderful that's pretty darn close. Also, sorry to all for my typo in my last post. I meant to type ethereal not etereal. Somewhere out there my old English professors are rolling their eyes and shaking their heads. Peace and Happy Listening!

The others weren't Class A because they were not specifically reviewed. A few things are rated without review, but generally not.