Pass Labs Aleph 30

bikerboy

Finally the amp arrived from Chicago. Snow delayed it for a couple of weeks. It took at least 30 min to sound good. Its the first stereo gear in the man cave with a blue light. Listening to the Crystal Method-Vapor Trails from the 10 anniversary remix cd. Its live and recorded with great crowd sounds. This amp is very nice. It is a nice step up from the B&K st 202. Now I have to get the balanced ldr preamp finished. Then I will have a complete balanced setup. And a remote!
I wasnt expecting this amp to sound this much better than the B&K!
Now listening to Beastie Boys-The In Sound From Way Out. Cool keyboards, bass guitar, drums. Good demo cd, instrumental. Son of neckbone is very cool. Back to the tunes.

agfrost

Have fun. Don't forget to go to bed at some point!

Jay

[Deleted User]

bikerboy wrote: »

Finally the amp arrived from Chicago. Snow delayed it for a couple of weeks. It took at least 30 min to sound good. Its the first stereo gear in the man cave with a blue light. Listening to the Crystal Method-Vapor Trails from the 10 anniversary remix cd. Its live and recorded with great crowd sounds. This amp is very nice. It is a nice step up from the B&K st 202. Now I have to get the balanced ldr preamp finished. Then I will have a complete balanced setup. And a remote!
I wasnt expecting this amp to sound this much better than the B&K!
Now listening to Beastie Boys-The In Sound From Way Out. Cool keyboards, bass guitar, drums. Good demo cd, instrumental. Son of neckbone is very cool. Back to the tunes.

I just purchased a B&K ST-202+. Haven't received it yet. What are the major differences between the B&K and this one ? (besides price) :cool:

Dawgfish

Nap,

Forgive me for stepping in here. I just wanted to comment that the B&K ST202+ and the Pass Aleph 30 are in totally different classes. The B&K was designed as a solid bang for the buck amplifier. It was never intended to compete with anything like the Aleph 30. The Aleph 30 is a no compromise, built with the best components, state of the art solid state amp. It is severeal rungs up the ladder from the ST202+. Having said all of that, I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised with the ST202+. I have one in my backup system (I'm running an Anthem Amp 2, tube/solid state hybrid in my main system), and it is a fantastic amp. It is more than a match for the Adcoms, Rotells, NADs, Parasounds, etc. of the world. I think you'll really like it. It's just not in the same class as the Aleph 30 however, but you have to pay $$$$ for the Aleph.

reeltrouble1

Does it have tubes in it? Not sure I ever heard of this Amp round here. Does Nelson Pass know about it?

RT1--have fun with your new piece biker, enjoyable ear candy.

heiney9

Just wait, the more time you spend with it the more intoxicating the sound becomes. I have been accused of being over the top, ramming my opinions down peoples throat, elitist, etc............but I am just passionate about Nelson Pass designs.

His designs, IMO, are special.

Enjoy Bikeboy, I hope it continues to push your musical buttons.........I know it does mine. I was glad I finally took the plunge.

H9

bikerboy

Thanks H9 for the info on the Pass amps. I have been thinking about one for a while and thought I would have to get one of the older Aleph 3 amps. When this one came up I decided to get it. It does have a more open, dynamic, and clear sound. The bass is tight, deep, and full when needed. I have always liked the simple, minimalist approach NP has to design and this is a very good example of 2 stage amplification. The 30 watts/ch is more than enough for me. I need to spend more time with it but I have no doubt that it is a very nice amp and will be a part of my system for a long time.
I use a SE LDR passive preamp now and find the gain on this amp is a better match. I was listening to music last night at the 11 o'clock position on the preamp. The B&K had the volume at about 10 o'clock. So I am throwing away less output and in the middle of the series/shunt impedence curve.
I've said for a long time that I would make acoustic panels before I got any new hardware so I need to do that next. I also said I would try to keep my audio purchases in 3 digits(<$1000). Well that idea is out the window. I've built most of the gear in my system for the most part so I cant feel bad about getting a great amp to complete the setup. My mountain bike still costs more than the whole mancave system.
I have most of the parts to build a balanced ldr remote controlled preamp so I need to get on that. I'm also working on building a balanced phono amp from the TPA guys. So then I will have a complete balanced system that sounds better all around.

dbaldus

Any trouble driving those 2.3's to high volumes?

heiney9

Clarity and dynamics are two strong points.........the clarity doesn't come with a sacrifice of it being forward or etched. Images seem to "float" and it never gets harsh, but the stunning clarity and "air" around everything was the thing I always notice the most. This amp sounds fantastic with low level output or very quiet passages (microdynamics). But it can revvvvvvv up on the spot.

So many times I get goosebumps with my favorite well recorded material. Isn't it amazing how different it sounds after about 30-60 minutes of warm-up, when everything is biased up and stabilized?

H9

Ern Dog

Congrats on your new amp Bikerboy! Enjoy the Class A love

danz1906

Congrats on the Pass Labs!

bikerboy

"No, we're never smart, we fake it all the time". LCD Soundsystem is the best.
The amp needs time to warm up and then it makes beautiful music. It loads up the 14 ft wide room very well. Crank it up and the need for acoustic panels becomes really apparent. Image placement is rock solid. The top end is clear, clean, and open. More balanced than the B&K. Sda fx in full effect! Not much I want to do to the setup. Sounds very dynamic and micro details are amazing. The silver rca/solid silver wire ics that were always a little too edgy with the B&K are just fine with the aleph. :biggrin:

organ

Very cool. Congrats and enjoy the new gear.

engtaz

Congrats and enjoy

[Deleted User]

Dawgfish wrote: »

Nap,

Forgive me for stepping in here. I just wanted to comment that the B&K ST202+ and the Pass Aleph 30 are in totally different classes. The B&K was designed as a solid bang for the buck amplifier. It was never intended to compete with anything like the Aleph 30. The Aleph 30 is a no compromise, built with the best components, state of the art solid state amp. It is severeal rungs up the ladder from the ST202+. Having said all of that, I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised with the ST202+. I have one in my backup system (I'm running an Anthem Amp 2, tube/solid state hybrid in my main system), and it is a fantastic amp. It is more than a match for the Adcoms, Rotells, NADs, Parasounds, etc. of the world. I think you'll really like it. It's just not in the same class as the Aleph 30 however, but you have to pay $$$$ for the Aleph.

Thanks, all good. I had to ask since it was coincidental that Op was replacing the same amp I just bought. Cheers. :cool:

Dawgfish

Thanks Nap. I really think you'll like that ST-202+. Let us know what you think about it after you've had a chance to try it out for a while.

zingo

I'm excited to give your new amp a listen Jeff as Pass Labs equipment has been on my list for a while.

I've been very interested in Pass' new 30wpc integrated amp, but at an MSRP of $7100, I don't think it's happening any time soon...

tonyb

Congrats, seems like you found a nice groove, sit back and enjoy.