Pass labs x350.5 VS. McIntosh MC402

There you go. Like I said, you have to listen for yourself. Two high quality amps that have made many people happy- but not neccesarily the same people. It is really interesting to think about how we all hear things differently, and just as interesting to realize that even if we all heard the same thing, we would interpret it differently. And then, some would love what they heard, and some would dislike it.

Haha! There you go indeed!

I just love this hobby... enjoyable and ridiculous!

Not only will one person prefer the Mac, another the Pass, but even the same person will prefer one over the other depending on the speaker it's driving.

Thanks for the responses and input. I have a pair of Infinity Kappa 7 speakers that I am currently running with the Levinson amp. I also have a pair of Kappa 9 speakers that I am in the process of re-foaming (waiting for the foam kits to arive). I live in Alaska and we do have a McIntosh dealer here, they have told me that I can bring my speakers in and demo them anytime. A demo with the Pass Labs amp is pretty much out of the question. On my next trip to Seattle I will try to locate a Pass Labs dealer and give a listen on some demanding speakers if possible.

This is yet another example of the compelling differences amoung sonic tastes!! Both are exquisite for sure. A while back I had a Pass X250.5. It was driving my Dynaudio Contour S3.4s. A friend had the MC402 with his Dyn s3.4s. We swapped amps. I would say the Mac was tipped to the warmer side of the spectrum, and the pass, cool neutrality. Depending on program content, each trait of these fine amplifiers would show off it's potential a bit better over the other. If I could get an amp that has the best of both of these amps, I would probably stop writing about the sound so much.

This was the X250.5. I have not yet heard the X350.5, which I hear is a bit better than the X250.5 (perhaps the 'better' translates to a bit more liquid and good tone sounding in the midband, perhaps it means more frequency extension. For me I did not see how this was possible as I felt that the X250.5 was ultra resolving)

I did feel that in my setup they were sonically closer though, than different, but I have to say the Pass has more ass in the lower octaves (in the dyns 4 ohm nominal load, Pass rated for 500 wpc, mc402 being autoformer remains the 400 --but I would not get too hung up on the numbers). Where the MC402 excelled was its laid back warmish perspective of the music. It seemed to pull me in and was ultra easy to listen too. My latest trend about the sound I am going for is taking me away from the ultra resolution sound. I find this tiring and actually boring, as it seems more mechanical in nature than fluid, realxed and inviting ('musical'?). To that end you would be surprised at how the little Audio Research 100.2 makes this a reality.

Get both in your house if possible. Spend hours and hours. Its the only reliable way to know if you have a keeper or next weeks big shipment.