What's a good alternative to Pass Labs?

You may want to RE-visit the review of these speakers. The reviewer says that they are "shouty" at higher volumes. You may be sensitive to this region of hearing frequency??? I think the perceived bass warmth comes from the transmission line architecture. You just will not get the tight/taught response from the drivers with large surrounds and there is an 8" line/port that helps to reinforce the bass, but causes timing issues with the mid bass drivers which are faster. This may cause you to lose some detail/resolution.

Do you always use the JL subs when listening? (they may be faster or slower than the main drivers). Integration can be tricky.

Hey Tom6897, can you link me to the review that called them shouty? I don't think I across that one.

I'm familiar with your amp and preamp. Your issue is your preamp/dac. I think this is the 1st time I've ever heard anyone describe the x250.5 as bright.

I'm not familiar with your speakers.

If you want a forgiving amp, look for so,etching with tubes,,but not AR

Why don´t you try an external power supply unit with the Mac Mini. Thus you will avoid distortion coming from the Mac.

Daniel

I'm in agreement with the others, as I find it hard to believe the Pass amp is the problem. This review on the Pass Labs X250.5 describes the high frequencies as natural, which has been my experience with other Pass products.

This may be the review for your T+A Criterion TCD 110 S that Tom is referring to. The part about being "shouty" is toward the end, but prior to the "Conclusion" section.

IMHO, the issues you describe are not related to each other, so making a single change will not solve both problems. As Peterayer suggests, speaker/room interaction may be a problem.

If you don't use the subs, do you still have the mid-bass bloat? Also, curious as to the cables you are using, digital, IC's, and SC's.