Pre-amp suggestions for Thiel 2.4/Pass Labs XA30.5

The Atma-sphere MP3 would match up very well with the XA30.5, although it also worked very well single-ended with the Joule LA-150 MKII and Signature edition, both of which can be set to a lower output impedance. If the 2.4 is anything like the 2.3 and 3.6s I think the combination of the rich tones of the Joule would do wonders with a speaker as neutral as the Thiel, a little warmth would not be a bad thing. The combo sounded pretty darn good with my Merlin VSMs which are also not particularly forgiving speakers. You would not have suckage with either the Atma-sphere or Joule preamp mated to your Pass amp.

This thread's been dead for a while, but I thought I would chime in with some conclusions now that I've lived with the XA-30.5 and Thiel 2.4s for a while. Anyway, on these speakers the amp is spectacular, beautiful, quiet, delicate, with great imaging... on quiet, delicate music. As the music gets more complex and ads greater bass requirements, it just can't keep up. Certain disks and movies with that complexity (e.g., rap & hip-hop) just sound flat and uninteresting.

I've discussed the issues with some professionals... Reno-Hifi suggested that the XA-60.5 might ameliorate the problem, Pass themselves suggested (in this order) the XA-100.5, X350.5, and then X250.5. In talking to Pass I even mentioned selling the speakers and getting another well imaging speaker that mated better with the XA-30.5. They said to keep the Thiels... even with the implicit understanding that that might mean going with a different companies' amps.

In any case, I think I will probably try a 250.5 next (the only suggestion within my budget) and see what happens from their. Unfortunately the first pre-amp solution I tried was using an INT-30A, which is a nice one-box solution to my prior pre-amp issues (and cost efficient... just $1200 more than the 30.5). I just added an external phono... the Chinese Jasmine LP2 MKII (after trying a pretty poor sounding PS Audio GCPH). Anyway, I'd like to have done it right the first time, but the journey's been educational. And I guess shortly I'll still be looking for a pre to match to a Pass amp. Keep your eyes open for a mint INT-30A going up in the next couple months.

Cal3713...thanks for the update. That was my concern in my post above. I have seen X350.5 often paired with the 2.4s to good effect. I am sure the X250.5 will give you plenty of power and current delivery to drive the Thiels with ease. Good luck with the journey and enjoy it.

Cmalak, all part of the learning process for OP, and sometimes you just have to hear things for yourself to know for sure. The XA30.5 is a magical amp, but not magic, the Thiels simply need more power to play their best. It is a conondrum, I often consider 20-30 watts Class A amps since I think they sound great with the right loads (Luxman for example)but I always fear I'm forcing the power issue and I should know better, even on my easy to drive and relatively sensitive Merlins. If I owned Maggies or Thiels, I simply would not consider driving them with the undoubtedly wonderful Pass XA30.5 and other "low" wattage SS amps, as much as I would like to since those amps sound so darn good at their power rating - but for those speakers give me a 200 watt MAC!

I'm not surprised, but at least you absolutely know for yourself, nothing beats that. If you like Nelson's Class A offerings, but your power requirements and budget only allow for Nelson's Class AB amps, you might want to consider his older Threshold S series amps. They were biased to stay into Class A for the first 20% into their 8 Ohm rating before sliding into Class B, however when they double power down into lower impedance's i.e. 4 Ohms, the biased is halved as well. Still this more Class A bias than the Pass X series, and even with the cost of new caps, re-bias etc., less expensive too. Just a thought.