Macintosh vs Pass labs

I own the 501's and when I was auditioning against the 402 I thought there was a big difference, not so much sonics but power and total lack of compression when pushed. This was important to me because I drive Thiel 3.6's.

Auditioning an amplifer at a dealer with unfamilar components is basically useless.

Characterizations such as "strident" or "dry" or "lean" or whatever adjective one chooses, is a function of the system, room, and listener's preferences not a single component.

Thank you all for your responses. While I think they both have thier good and not so good points I get the feeling the Pass is hard to beat. I will second that.Happy listening

I had that same urge as you for years and I am glad I have finally been able to own the Mac gear.

As others have already said, your comments that you are very pleased with your Pass amp speaks plenty. As someone that has messed up systems I have enjoyed, my advise is to keep on enjoying your system, or as others have said, go to the 250.5 if you must. Nelson Pass is highly regarded for the amps he makes and has made through the years.