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Best Pass Labs Amp with B&W 800 Diamonds?

Looking for some help on which Pass Labs Amps would pair best with the new B&W 800 Diamonds. I'm currently driving them with an X250.5 and it sounds really good, but from reading the internet is seems there's room for improvement. The combinations I'm considering are:

1) Buy another X250.5 and Bi-Amp. Read a couple of articles that says this is an excellent route and is definately the cheapest.
2) Go for power with some X600.5s (the .8s are still pricy).
3) Go with the XA series, like XA160.5 or maybe the XA200.5 if I can get a deal.

I really like the Pass Labs stuff, so I'd like to stay with them.

Any help is appreciated,

Kevin
mimskev
mimskev OP
2 posts
 
Just curious, did you end of bi-amping and are you happy?
dave_72
1,399 posts
 
Mimskev: Passive biamping is no big deal, it's not hard. Active biamping with an external crossover, is a bit tricky. Either way, Pass Labs has you covered as they make active crossover units.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Mimskev hi, look at the phase (dashed) v Impedance (solid) at 60hz 4ohm, this is where the two meet, now this is not a 4ohm load, it could be as low as 1ohm and this is where the bass power/control is required. Also up high at 8khz.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/bampw-800-diamond-loudspeaker-measurements

An amp to drive these nasty loads with comfort ease and good amperage, should be able to almost double it's wattage from 8ohm to 4ohm to 2ohms eg: 100w 200w 400w

This sort of amp needs to have bi-polar output devices, not mosfet as I belive the Pass amps you mention are. Sure they will work and sound good but at these points 80hz and 8khz an amp with bi-polar not mosfets will sound better.

Cheers George
mf
20 posts
 
Can you post what are main diff between XA160.5 and X250.5. I own X250.5 and found fail to power B&W801d.
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
I owned 5 different Pass labs poweramps, and in the past I owned the 800 S from B&W. I would go for the 600.5 in your situation. You need a paired set of mono's. The extra current will give you a better result than the XA series. I owned 3 different XA.5 models as well. The Purist Audio Limited Edition is one of the best powercables for Pass. I tested many on Pass Labs for over 6 years of time. I do consulting in sound7vision and I work in this world for over 17 years of time.
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