Pass or First Watt

I am not so sure that the Pass would have better resale value than the FirstWatt amps.

Especially not if we are talking about the FirstWatt models that were limited to a production run of only 100 amps (handbuilt by Nelson Pass!).

First Watt all the way. Very, very cool amp btw.

@ Roscoeiii: You have a point there. My point is that the Pass Labs amps are more popular and would move quicker, as well and commanding a better resale value due to demand. I wonder what the blue book says?

Dave,

I am not sure a Pass would move quicker. Pass Labs is well known. But I have sold 3 First Watt amps. None has taken longer than 2 days to sell. They have quite the devoted following, despite their low power and niche applications.

Anyway, not to get sidetracked. I would say buy whatever you think will match best with your speakers (Mark at Reno HiFi could help with that and has a return policy, if there are no dealers in your area). No need to buy with resale value in mind. Both Pass and First Watt amps have active markets for them.

I had a Pass XA 30.5 in my system and I loved it until I too replaced it with a Coincident 300b. Though my auditory recall is not great, the Pass was excellent and very hard for me to sell. I've had a few nice amps and the XA30.5 was at the top of my list. I have not however heard the new SIT amps or a First Watt Amp.