Parasound or Pass Labs

cstmar01

heiney9 wrote: »

Better is such a relative term. Some of the earlier stuff is "classic" and the .5 series is really a lot better (or different sounding) just ask Erndog who has an X150 and a new X150.5.

If I were going to get a new Pass amp I'd get a .5 series amp if I could afford it. For my SDA's my next amp will probably be the XA30.5. All the benefits of single ended class A and more reserve than what I have now. The XA30.5 is the Aleph meets the X series......an Aleph on steroids if you will.

For a speaker like the Amazings I'd probably go with an X150.5 or X250.5 or even X150 or X250. Ricardo LOVES his X250 with his Maggies, told me it may well be the last amp he needs to buy.

As far as dealers, it's the same as any other high/boutique manufacturer, very few outlets. Again, you are more than welcome to make a road trip to hear my Aleph if that will help you decide. I know Reno HiFi in Vegas is a big Pass dealer and they sell and locate lots of slightly used units and have a great rep and customer service. I believe they have an in home demo too. I believe Tim is the guy to talk to at Reno HiFi

http://www.renohifi.com/

And they are having a July sale!!!!! They have a used refurbished X250 for $2295......pretty damn good deal.

First Watt stuff isn't for your type of speakers

H9

I apologize, I know the term "better" is just a term thrown out there.

Thanks for the link and that is nice they allow the in home trial. I might have to check that out. And I will have to take you up for sure on your offer, I will just have to find a weekend when I'm not swamped with something going on to make it down your way.

Brock what do you recommend for a pre with the Pass amps? Do they better with tubes or solid state?

nooshinjohn

heiney9 wrote: »

Now Bob Carver............I respect him as a designer but I will never own a Carver or Sunfire SS amp (or any other gear) I have never heard one that knocked my socks off.

Anyways that's my personal bias, rational or not.

H9

Have you tried the Tubes?

cstmar01

Well after some more research and reading the reviews I leaning more towards the Pass. I like the pure class A amp style and just from what I hear think it would serve me well....

Now just gotta find a pre I would pair with it....I am also leaning towards the X250 or X250.5 for the amp as budget wise these would leave a good amount of room for a pre amp of decent quality.

heiney9

I know Ricardo was extremely happy when he first heard the X250 with his Maggies. I run both a tube or SS preamp with the Aleph. Either would be fine with my personal choice being tubes. Lots and lots of great tube pre's out there. Let George Daniels make some suggestions...........but there are plenty in the $1200-1800 range that are most excellent.

H9

cstmar01

heiney9 wrote: »

I know Ricardo was extremely happy when he first heard the X250 with his Maggies. I run both a tube or SS preamp with the Aleph. Either would be fine with my personal choice being tubes. Lots and lots of great tube pre's out there. Let George Daniels make some suggestions...........but there are plenty in the $1200-1800 range that are most excellent.

H9

Thanks!

how do you feel about Pass Lab pre's? I see DK has the X0.2 and loves it, however at 4K (there abouts out on the gon for used) I probably wouldn't go that high up on the line. However if I'm only paying 2600 (audiogon for a X250 currently) then 4K for the pre would be just fine. (7-8K budget).

heiney9

His pre's are superb. But I am really liking the soundstage of tubes. As I always state "Tubes add Soul".

Face

Tube pre, SS power, best of both worlds.

nooshinjohn

Face wrote: »

Tube pre, SS power, best of both worlds.

Agreed!:cool:

Ricardo

If you're paying $2,600 for a X250 you're paying too much. With this economy you should have no problem finding one for $2,200 or less.

The X250 is an excellent sounding amp with lots of balls. The Belles 350a reference at around the same used price is also excellent (the base 350a that you can find cheaper does not quite get there).
I have not heard the Parasound monoblocks, but from what I read they are in the same camp as any other high current quality amp.

I am using a tubed BAT preamp, but have thought about going the Pass SS route.....maybe I will when it's time to retube my BAT

cstmar01

Ricardo wrote: »

If you're paying $2,600 for a X250 you're paying too much. With this economy you should have no problem finding one for $2,200 or less.

The X250 is an excellent sounding amp with lots of balls. The Belles 350a reference at around the same used price is also excellent (the base 350a that you can find cheaper does not quite get there).
I have not heard the Parasound monoblocks, but from what I read they are in the same camp as any other high current quality amp.

I am using a tubed BAT preamp, but have thought about going the Pass SS route.....maybe I will when it's time to retube my BAT

Thanks for the info! I really didn't know what is a normal going price for the X250 seeing that was the only one that was still showing the price on audiogon and was one of the first I looked at.

The X0.2 looks tempting though, there is one for 4200 OBO, hmmmm I'll see what come up when I start looking. Like I said I have to save up for this though, so its going to be next spring/summer and I'll start doing my shopping, right now I just want to do the hearing/narrowing down decision time.

heiney9

The X250 from Reno Hifi seems like the one to get at this time, it's been gone through and comes with a warranty from an authorized Pass dealer. Who knows you might be able to negotiate a better price too. But $2295 from a dealer who knows how to ship and gives a warranty is worth it to me.

Not sure when you are looking to buy.

H9

Ricardo

Not saying it's not worth it...but damn, paying over $4,000 for a preamp with so many good options for half the price.......

Just saying.

heiney9

Ricardo wrote: »

Not saying it's not worth it...but damn, paying over $4,000 for a preamp with so many good options for half the price.......

Just saying.

I agree!

cstmar01

yeah I know there is probably something cheaper that could be better....but then again DK said it was better than his X1 he had so IDK. I would probably do the X1 or something like that. They come up on the gon for around 1800-2500 for some the pre's I see from Pass so I might try one of those and see how I like the sound, then if I'm digging some tube flavor then go that way.

But seeing how much I would save on the pre and the amp compared to the Parasound I might be even able to get the XONO phono stage to try....all Pass system, hmmm...

lakesailor

Ern Dog wrote: »

Well, I've never heard the Parasound amp you mentioned, so I really can't offer a fair comparison. I do have the Pass X150 and it is superb, that is if you are looking for a neutral presentation. It is very natural sounding. If you have any gear that is not neutral in the chain, it will stick out like a sore thumb, so careful pairing and synergy is key. For example a bright sounding source would not work well. A tube cdp might work well. I had a Bada HD-22 and it sounded sweet with the Pass amp.

I used to have an X150 as well…..it was a nice amp. I have yet to hear an X 150.5 but am told it sounds a fair bit different. The only Parasound I have had time with was an HCA 3500….it was a monster of an amp and at the time an upgrade from an Adcom 5802….or I so I thought it would be. I preferred the Adcom but as I had already sold it I moved on the Pass X150 to replace the HCA 3500. To me the X 150 was a step up from both.

cstmar01

ahh so I finally figured out what I want, now its just savings time for it all.

I would like to get a BAT pre with the phono board, depending on model keep around 2K mark.

Amp would be Pass either a X250 or X350 depending on what I can find for price at the time ect.

TT I would upgrade as well to a VPI classic. and CDP looking at a Cary. 306 I think on the used market of course, or even looking at the newer model and maybe used at the time when I have all the funds together.

spring time I should have it all together, its just the not buying something else in the mean time I have to make sure I don't do...

asindc

Yes, I realize I'm very late to this party, but I did a similar comparison not too long ago. I have Parasound JC1s. A friend brought his Pass 150.5s down to compare them. It was no contest. The JC1s were the clear winner. Shortly afterwards, the same friend compared the JC1s in his main system (Cary 306 Pro, ARC Ref 5) against his Pass 600.5s. He and another friend clearly preferred the 600.5s, but both said the JC1s performed better against them then they both had anticipated.

dorokusai

Face wrote: »

Tube pre, SS power, best of both worlds.

The best answer ever when it comes to high end.

stretchl

How would you incorporate your DAC into this format?

Tube or tubeless?

Can there be too many tubes in the loop?

I'm really starting to think I need more warmth than I'm hearing right now...

dorokusai

Yes, there can definitely be too many tubes. There was a time that when folks on here started actually getting into tubes, it's became insanity and EVERYTHING had to be tubed. And as we watched the new breed kill one another over them and where they should be and how awesome and how more expensive this or that....they all eventually calmed down and are in the same boat as the ones that suggested they try it in the first place. It's a cycle and I would only know that manic tube craziness if I didn't do the exact same thing, and say the exact same things. Simple is better and just a tube Pre-Amp is enough to really have fun....just one version of what you can do. A tubed Pre gives you a lot of flexibility, more impact on the signal path and flavor that you just won't get rolling a single tube in a CDP, which is a waste of time. Why they became popular I have no idea.

Mark

deronb1

dorokusai wrote: »

Yes, there can definitely be too many tubes. There was a time that when folks on here started actually getting into tubes, it's became insanity and EVERYTHING had to be tubed. And as we watched the new breed kill one another over them and where they should be and how awesome and how more expensive this or that....they all eventually calmed down and are in the same boat as the ones that suggested they try it in the first place. It's a cycle and I would only know that manic tube craziness if I didn't do the exact same thing, and say the exact same things. Simple is better and just a tube Pre-Amp is enough to really have fun....just one version of what you can do. A tubed Pre gives you a lot of flexibility, more impact on the signal path and flavor that you just won't get rolling a single tube in a CDP, which is a waste of time. Why they became popular I have no idea.



Mark

Nice to read ur threads again. But in reference to tubes.....I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!!!

cstmar01

interesting to see this thread again and what I ended up with.

Tube pre, tube amps, SS CDP and SS phono stage. Tube DAC with also SS output. still a lot out there I want to try out but I'm really really happy with everything so far. Just going to go on the hunt for new speakers.

billbillw

asindc wrote: »

Yes, I realize I'm very late to this party, but I did a similar comparison not too long ago. I have Parasound JC1s. A friend brought his Pass 150.5s down to compare them. It was no contest. The JC1s were the clear winner. Shortly afterwards, the same friend compared the JC1s in his main system (Cary 306 Pro, ARC Ref 5) against his Pass 600.5s. He and another friend clearly preferred the 600.5s, but both said the JC1s performed better against them then they both had anticipated.

Not really a fair comparison. 400wpc monos vs a 150wpc 2-ch amp. Put them against the X260.5 monos and it might be less obvious which is better. I tend to prefer the sound of Pass products, but they are typically out of my reach. (I do have a PassDIY phono stage though). Parasound is a great product for the money though. I've had a few of their products and have been happy with all of them, including my current Halo A21.

asindc

billbillw wrote: »

Not really a fair comparison. 400wpc monos vs a 150wpc 2-ch amp. Put them against the X260.5 monos and it might be less obvious which is better. I tend to prefer the sound of Pass products, but they are typically out of my reach. (I do have a PassDIY phono stage though). Parasound is a great product for the money though. I've had a few of their products and have been happy with all of them, including my current Halo A21.

Oh, we knew the first comparison wasn't fair (at least all of us except the buddy who brought the 150.5s to compare; he is a Pass fanatic!), but we were curious nonetheless.

gigbyt

Pass labs is my vote.

gigbyt

i'm still loking for an aleph 30, hard to find piece.

EndersShadow

gigbyt wrote: »

i'm still loking for an aleph 30, hard to find piece.

Only another 7 useless posts till you hit 100...... what you selling :evil:

cstmar01

gigbyt wrote: »

Pass labs is my vote.

glad to see you really read the thread...

reeltrouble1

A hi-fi tube amp trumps a hi-fi sand amp, always has. Do the research.

peace, love, dope, sex, drums, and rocknroll.

RT1

DrkHwk

Never ran Pass labs but really enjoyed my parasound amps.