Integrated Amp for Focal 1027be speakers

Thanks guys. This is the kind of info I needed and I will give Pass a call.

Bryon- You stated you owned the XA30.5 along with 1027be. What was your impression of both together and did you try another amp with the Focals?

I also read Pass equipment run quite hot and consume alot of power even when idle.

Ronrags,

Yes, Pass will do that. Any amp that runs pure Class A will run hot...the reason is that they are design to effectively run "full blast" all the time in my non-techie understanding...very inefficient, but also very little distortion as a general rule. What does not get used to drive sound, gets dissipated as heat instead. Hence hot and hence drawing a lot of power when idle.

in the case of Pass, i think they may run Class A through 30 watts and then switch to Class A/B...but the first 30 watts actually means much of what you are hearing will probably stay within the 30 watt part of the amp's driving capability.

To those with greater tech-knowledge (probably most)...pls correct me if anything here aint quite right.

Lloyd's comment is correct. The information at the Pass site quantifies it nicely. The INT-30A consumes 200 watts as long as it is operating Class A, which will be most of the time. So it will put about as much heat into the room as two 100 watt light bulbs. Also, the manual for the INT-30A indicates that its heatsinks can be expected to be at a temperature of 25 to 30 degrees C above the ambient temperature, which probably means around 125 degrees F. Not too bad, as Class A amps go.

Also, assuming that the impedance curve for the 1027Be is similar to that of the 1037Be, and would therefore be in the vicinity of 4 to 6 ohms through most of the bass and mid-bass regions (where the greatest amount of musical energy generally occurs), the INT-30A would not leave Class A until something closer to 60 watts is required, rather than 30 watts.

Regards,
-- Al

Bryon- You stated you owned the XA30.5 along with 1027be. What was your impression of both together and did you try another amp with the Focals?

IME, the Electra series (including the 1007be, the 1027be, and the 1037be) is very revealing of distortions in ancillary components, partly due to the tweeter. The Pass XA30.5 is low in distortions that are subjectively objectionable, which is why it, and the rest of the XA.5 series, are often suggested when people want a solid state amp that doesn't sound solid state.

Assuming the rest of the system is up to the job (esp. the source), the 1027be and the XA30.5 together will be resolving, coherent, harmonically accurate, and reasonably dynamic. I'm not saying there aren't other good choices, but IMO this is one of them.

Bryon

Thanks for the technical info. The amount of heat generated is a bite too much for me so I'll stick with class AB amps.