Pass or First Watt



My speakers will operate great on 2 watts. Currently I am running them with a nice 2a3 tube amp but at times the tubes make alot of noise thru the speakers so I have been looking at Nelsons new STI @10 watts or the Pass 30.5. Any one compare the Pass with any First Watt products?
bobheinatz
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.
@ Roscoeiii: ok, fair enough. I would then say they're about equal?

And good advice there. This Mark guy sounds like a pretty cool dude.