Pass X-150 X Levinson 334

I sold my #331 in favor of the Pass Labs Aleph 4. I had both in the house for a couple months, going back and forth to make sure I wasn't crazy. The Pass was much more natural and airy. The Lev sounded dull in comparison. I invited some other audiophile friends over to listen and they agreed. I have a comment about Lev335's response. Nelson Pass is proud of his amp design because its NOT complex. In fact the signal path of the Aleph series is only 2 stages and very few components. I think he was on to something there. Pass amps are a solid state equivilent of the Single Ended Triode.

Thge Pass X150 should not be mistaken for the Aleph series of amps produced for several years by Pass Labs. The Aleph series was built by Pass, the X150 is outsourced for the most part. I had one and the heatsinks are cheap and thin, the IEC P/C socket was loose due to the screws being stripped and the sound is nowhere near the other X amps or the Aleph amps and should not even be compared to the Levinson...with your rig the # 334, 335, and so on would be a great addition. Build quality is superb, the sound, once fully broken in is excellent, and the resale value extremely high. Notice that the X150 sells used for the mid 2k range, while even older #331 amps from Levinson sell for 2.5-3k. Mgl123's report on the Aleph 4 is very accurate, between it, the Aleph 1.2's and the 2's, it would be a coin toss over a levinson, it really matters what is in your system in addition to the amp. The X150 is a horse of a different color...one which I believe would end up sounding more like an expensive millstone...

A bit of advice. The new series Levinson 34 335 336 is much more open and airy and the bass is much much better than the older 300 series levinson They started using the same boards from the 33h mono blocks. Good luck You will be happy either way you go but the Lveinson is a KEEPER

You need to listen for yourself on your system - what sounds good on one system may not make it in another. I compared the Pass 350 to the Levinson 335 on Revel Salons and with these speakers the Levinson was much better. The Pass sounded bright and unnatural with the Revels. Of course, Revel and Levinson are from the same company so they form a synergy. I imagine that with some combinations the Pass may surpass the Levinson. Overall, however, the 334 will be hard to beat - it's a great sounding amp and a good value for the money.