Pass X600.5 amps
BlueFox
Posts: 15,251
I told myself after upgrading my pre-amp to a Pass XP-20 that I was not doing anymore upgrades this year. I did want to do an amp upgrade, but was happy with my current Cambridge-Audio 840W amps as this time. My amp research had me looking at the Classe CA M600 amps at the high end of what I was willing to spend. Spec wise, the Classe and Pass are rated similar, 600W/ch @ 8 ohm and 1200/ch @ 4 ohm. Both of these amps have excellent press all over. I could find nothing negative about either. Issues in my my mind are the Classe uses a fan for cooling, and I am anal about unwanted noise, while the Pass pair costs $8000 more than the Classe amps.
Anyway, the 4th of July I was looking at used gear where I bought my pre-amp, and saw a pair of X600.5 amps with 31 months left on the transferable warranty for the same price as the Classe amps. After to many beers, I sent off an email saying I was interested, and would decide by Monday. Monday came and I said what the hey, let's do it, but by then they were sold. However, since I had just bought the pre-amp, he gave me an unused demo pair, with 36 month warranty, for the same price.
They arrived today, and are beasts at around 150 pounds each. I walked each one into the living room, and installed them. I really like that my rack has adjustable shelfs and I was able to get a few more verticals inches for cooling. As of now, they are burning in, along with two new Shunyata Ztron Python power cables. Sorry KooKooNut Audio.
They sound great right from the start, and I have been assured after a week or so they will really shine. I have to admit I am a little irritated with myself for going crazy with spending, but to bad. If worse comes to worse I can always sell and recoup a good portion.
The biggest difference so far is that I need to turn the pre up a bit higher to get the same volume as with my previous amps. Later tonight after they have warmed up for a few more hours, and the outside noise has quieted down I can really start doing critical listening. Another excuse to stay up all night and drink beer. :biggrin:
This is just a quick picture. While things look unlevel, I did use a level on each shelf as I moved it. The problem is the DAC is crooked in the picture.
Anyway, the 4th of July I was looking at used gear where I bought my pre-amp, and saw a pair of X600.5 amps with 31 months left on the transferable warranty for the same price as the Classe amps. After to many beers, I sent off an email saying I was interested, and would decide by Monday. Monday came and I said what the hey, let's do it, but by then they were sold. However, since I had just bought the pre-amp, he gave me an unused demo pair, with 36 month warranty, for the same price.
They arrived today, and are beasts at around 150 pounds each. I walked each one into the living room, and installed them. I really like that my rack has adjustable shelfs and I was able to get a few more verticals inches for cooling. As of now, they are burning in, along with two new Shunyata Ztron Python power cables. Sorry KooKooNut Audio.
They sound great right from the start, and I have been assured after a week or so they will really shine. I have to admit I am a little irritated with myself for going crazy with spending, but to bad. If worse comes to worse I can always sell and recoup a good portion.
The biggest difference so far is that I need to turn the pre up a bit higher to get the same volume as with my previous amps. Later tonight after they have warmed up for a few more hours, and the outside noise has quieted down I can really start doing critical listening. Another excuse to stay up all night and drink beer. :biggrin:
This is just a quick picture. While things look unlevel, I did use a level on each shelf as I moved it. The problem is the DAC is crooked in the picture.
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Post edited by BlueFox on
Comments
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WOW...very nice!2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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Mmmmmm.....pretty!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Two words Blufox... Cable Management!
Congratulations my friend. Those are damn sexy beasts.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
nooshinjohn wrote: »Two words Blufox... Cable Management!
No ****. :biggrin:
That is my biggest gripe with better cables. They are unwieldy. All the power cables coming to the Triton is a pain, and since the rack with no gear weighs almost 400 hundred pounds, there is no getting behind it to tidy up. I just try to get signal cables to cross power cables as close to 90 degrees as I can.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Great Looking Amps and Setup FOX.. ATC SCM40's,VTL TL 2.5 Preamp,PSB Stratus Goldi's,McCormack DNA 500,McCormack MAP-1 Preamp,Pro-Ject Xtension 10 TT,Ortofon Cadenza Red/Nordost RedDawn LS Speaker cables, Bryston BDP-2, Bryston BDA-2,PS Audio AC-3 power cables
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Great Looking Amps and Setup FOX..
Watch out. I read your post where you mentioned you had a change of attitude towards power cords. That is what started me on this path.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Very nice set up,congrats.
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Way to go Blue Fox! You got some killer kick a$$ amps there!
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Those are gorgeous. Enjoy!HT: LSI15, LSIC, LSIFX, Emo XPA-3:biggrin: Onkyo TXNR809, Sony BDP-S500, PannyDMP-BDT320, MIT S1 SC. Mit 73842dlp
2ch: SDA-SRS 2.3 Fully modded. BAT VK500 w/batpak, BAT VK5I, Essence HDACC. -
Yes I have to watch myself I am an impulse buyer which is no good for this hobby I think..
I am willing to try things now before shooting off my yap..
Which is a Good thing..Watch out. I read your post where you mentioned you had a change of attitude towards power cords. That is what started me on this path.ATC SCM40's,VTL TL 2.5 Preamp,PSB Stratus Goldi's,McCormack DNA 500,McCormack MAP-1 Preamp,Pro-Ject Xtension 10 TT,Ortofon Cadenza Red/Nordost RedDawn LS Speaker cables, Bryston BDP-2, Bryston BDA-2,PS Audio AC-3 power cables -
Congrats, BlueFox! Awesome amps! Heard great things about Pass amps. Very nice audio gears you got there. Enjoy. Lov
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Very sexy.
Have to ask, can your floor take all that weight? :razz: -
how do they sound? pretty good?Polk Lsi9
N.E.W. A-20 class A 20W
NAD 1020 completely refurbished
Keces DA-131 mk.II
Analysis Plus Copper Oval, Douglass, Morrow SUB3, Huffman Digital
Paradigm DSP-3100 v.2 -
Very sexy.
Have to ask, can your floor take all that weight? :razz:
I think so. Ground floor of a house sitting on a concrete slab.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
how do they sound? pretty good?
Well, I was told it will take around 5 days for them to reach their potential, especially in regard to bass. So its a bit early to judge. When I first turned them on about 6 hours ago, they sounded good, but appeared a bit harsh. However, now they are sounding pretty good. In fact, I am in awe. I thought my previous pre and amp combination sounded good, and it did, but this is just another level. One nice thing about these amps is they run in class A for about the first 90 watts, and it is a rare moment when I will be using more than that amount of power.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I am a little jealous.... I am new to this journey, but it is Pass amps I dream of getting my ears on. The best I can hope for right now is maybe picking up an Aleph 30, so I applaud your step up. It's a beautiful set up.Well, I was told it will take around 5 days for them to reach their potential, especially in regard to bass. So its a bit early to judge. When I first turned them on about 6 hours ago, they sounded good, but appeared a bit harsh. However, now they are sounding pretty good. In fact, I am in awe. I thought my previous pre and amp combination sounded good, and it did, but this is just another level. One nice thing about these amps is they run in class A for about the first 90 watts, and it is a rare moment when I will be using more than that amount of power.Polk Lsi9
N.E.W. A-20 class A 20W
NAD 1020 completely refurbished
Keces DA-131 mk.II
Analysis Plus Copper Oval, Douglass, Morrow SUB3, Huffman Digital
Paradigm DSP-3100 v.2 -
Those are monsters, and the equipment rack is very nice. What kind is it?Home Theater
Onkyo PR-SC5508 Sharp LC-70LE847U
Emotiva XPA-5 Emotiva XPA-2 Emotiva UPA-2
Front RTi-A9 Wide RTi-A7 Center CSi-A6 Surround FXi-A6 Rear RTi-A3 Sub 2x PSW505
Sony BDP-S790 Dishnetwork Hopper/Joey Logitech Harmony One Apple TV
Two Channel
Oppo 105D BAT VK-500 w/BatPack SDA SRS 2.3 Dreadnought Squeezebox Touch Apple TV -
Hi-Five:cheesygrin: Enjoy. They lokk pretttttttttyyyy!"Everything I ever did in my life worthwhile I caught hell for"
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Those are monsters, and the equipment rack is very nice. What kind is it?
These amps are huge. I need to take a photo with my old amps next to them. My brain is still used to seeing the old amps where these amp are, and there is a mental disconnect. My one big gripe so far is the lighted meter. While nice, I like having the option of turning lights off when I want. Even subtle, these keep attracting my attention, which is distracting. I need to find an esthetic way to cover them.
The rack is a Mapleshade Samson V.3 in rosewood with one 4" solid maple shelf, and three 2" solid maple shelves with 48" solid steel rods.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
My one big gripe so far is the lighted meter. While nice, I like having the option of turning lights off when I want. Even subtle, these keep attracting my attention, which is distracting. I need to find an esthetic way to cover them.
Okay. While not an aesthetic solution, this works. These amps, for whatever reason, have a faceplate on either side of the meters. This means the meters are mounted on the amps proper, and there is an approximate 1/8" gap between the meters and the faceplate. This area is approximately 9 1/2" wide and 10 1/2" high. So I cut two pieces of cardboard slightly less than that size, and slid it into the slot created by the faceplate. Eureka! Problem solved. This is why I are an engineer paid the big bucks. Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Congratualtions on the nice amps BF. Glad you are enjoying them.
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."![:\](https://forum.polkaudio.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
Sweeeet Fox, congrats man.
If this is what your considering as your "retirement system", then WTF are you waiting for ? Retire already and enjoy ! :cheesygrin:HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Stunning! Bet they sound sweet!"Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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If this is what your considering as your "retirement system", then WTF are you waiting for ? Retire already and enjoy ! :cheesygrin:
This just added two more years of working to recover this money. But I can enjoy it now. :biggrin:Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Very, very nice. Who cares about how the cables look....
What speakers are they powering?_________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
It's always fun to see someone who's done messing around. :razz:
I, on the other hand, will be messing around for another decade or two.
Congrats--It looks like it should be sounding great, if that makes any sense whatsoever!Jay
SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0 -
Very, very nice. Who cares about how the cables look....
What speakers are they powering?
It is nice to have good cable management, but it can quickly deteriorate. Speakers are Aerial Acoustics 7T, which I got a year ago May. They are working at their potential now, and sounding great.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
After this, what's next....the carpet?....:cheesygrin:
Congrats!!...did you get a free Corolla with those?Where’s the KABOOM?!?! There’s supposed to be an Earth shattering KABOOM!!! -
After one week I have discovered this. There is a bug in some remote. When using my CD player, and pressing 'play' on the CD remote, the Pass pre display turns on. One more reason to put the CD on the music server.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Sounds like a deal breaker. Better send the whole kit and caboodle to me.
"Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
