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AR LS 26 and Pass Labs X350.5 Compatible?

Hello to all the audiophiles here on Audiogon. Being new to the high end of audio I was wondering if some of the more knowledgeable experts could give me their opinion on something I've been thinking of.

Recently, I upgraded my venerable Ohm 4s to the 4.5 S3 and I wanted to pair it with an Audio Research LS 26 and a Pass Labs X350.5, both of these choices after reading some of the forum opinions here.

I contacted Pass Labs and a gentlemen named Desmond said there would be no problems with the pairing. However, after reading some opinions on mixing solid state amps with pre amp tubes would they really be compatible or would there be a better alternative? Thanks in advance for any replies!
aurelius
lak's avatar
lak
4,724 posts
 
Tube preamps are often used with SS amps with great success.
Some people prefer an all tube system and some don't.
dev's avatar
dev
832 posts
 
Aurelius, I have a Audio Research Ref3 and had it paired up with PASS X-600.5's and that was a great combo driving Eggleston Andra 2's.
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
One thing to consider is that the Pass amps have a relatively low input impedance while the ARC gear has a pretty high output impedance. Though I cant verify this, I had the nagging feeling that my Ref 3 and XA160 was not a good combo because of this mismatch. I have since changed my pre and amp to ones with a higher ratio of output Z and input Z. I am now very happy with the sound though I cant be sure if it is because of the impedances.
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