Parasound JC-1 vs Pass Labs 250.5

If you read my reviews of the Pass Labs X-350.5 and the XA-100's it will give you details about why I found the X.5 series and XA series so musical and pleasing. When I auditioned the Parasound JC-1's I thought they were quite good, but not in the same league sonicly as the Pass amps. The sound of the X-250.5 should be about the same as the X-350.5, therefore it would sound great with your M-L's and drive them easily.

Personally, I've owned the JC-1's and heard them in audio stores, and I find them to be generally uninvolving and flat on the "involving scale". I would look elsewhere. Pass is proabably good. What about some of the big Plinius amps?

Agreed. The JC monos are not in the same league as the Pass X250.5. The Pass is superior in many ways - naturalness, body, soundstaging, sorting out of musical lines, clarity from veiling, and it is just more organic sounding in totality.

Interestingly, the Pass' 250 watts has more bass weight and dynamics than the JC's 400 watts. I was frankly unimpressed with the thinness and look of the metalwork on the JC and the quality of the switches on the back of the unit.

Just as a tonearm and cartridge need to be matched properly for optimal performance, so it is with speakers and amplifiers.

Most amplifiers (speakers) can sound flat or uninvolving with an incorrectly matched speaker (amplifier).

In comparing 2 amplifiers (speakers), it is essential that both work well with the speakers (amplifiers).

Otherwise an accurate evaluation of the component is not possible.