Finally pulled the trigger......

tonyb

Congrats Broch, sweet amp indeed.

Tom,
I've chastised Broch enough over the years about timely reviews, as you can see, it hasn't worked one bit. lol I do know, he will give a rather in-depth view when he does so there is that.

heiney9

Why did I wait so long.....? The synergy with the Avant pre is superb...I was a bit worried. I've only spent 3 hours total listening. I am not going to swap any tubes for awhile to establish a base line and a reference point in comparing the Aleph 30.

I may have uttered "OMFG" a few times while listening to the new amp.

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heiney9

So I had some free time and g/f free this afternoon to sit and do some critical listening. Listening to all the familiar demo material over about 3 hour session.

Transparency, space, imaging, texture, transients, scale, decay, articulation have all taken on a new meaning. Sounds come from one of the blackest backgrounds I've ever experienced. Zero grain, harshness, listeners fatigue. The amp is quick as snapping a finger when the signal demands. The things I am hearing in the same music I've used for years as my ultra familiar demo sessions is really eerie. All of this and it's so **** musical, not dry or analytical in any way. The L600's disappear.

We use the analogy a "veil has been lifted" or it's like someone cleaned the glass on the window we looked out. I feel on the right recordings I am sitting in the audience or studio and the glass (in the window) is no longer super clean, it's been removed completely.

There are times you just know when something is spectacular right off..........this is a very special amplifier. Even poor recordings have some small level of redemption on the XA25 (the few I've played so far). To use another reviewers words realistic image palpability with realistic height/width/depth.

I spent more on this piece than I really thought prudent.....but so far it's showing to be worth every penny.

These are my first impressions.....more to come as I am simply floored what a difference simple circuits, minimal parts and a completely silent and black background can do to the music.

I have to mention how exceptionally awesome the L600's are too! They too are special. I thought about the night mare of synergy with the Avant and L600's w/the XA25, it has fit in perfect so far.

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heiney9

The first thing I think I noticed was cymbals. More decay and in the right recording, the metallic sound was more realistic and had such clarity, no tizzy edge. I don't know how to explain it no fuzz just a solid real metallic sound(s).

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treitz3

That's awesome! I know exactly what you mean. It's awesome when the signal gets cleaned up like that. Less noise equals better playback and more realism to the reproductive effort.....and yes, sometimes it is very hard to describe. But once you hear it (or don't), you can never go back.

Have you replaced the PS in your BS Node yet?

Tom

heiney9

treitz3 wrote: »

That's awesome! I know exactly what you mean. It's awesome when the signal gets cleaned up like that. Less noise equals better playback and more realism to the reproductive effort.....and yes, sometimes it is very hard to describe. But once you hear it (or don't), you can never go back.

Have you replaced the PS in your BS Node yet?

Tom

I have been so lucky in my journey lately that every change I've made has been meticulously thought out and I have moved a few steps forward each time and not backwards. I don't make changes often and never knee jerk changes.

I will also confess I haven't put the Uptone Audio EtherRegen in service yet. . I need a 1/2 day to completely rewire the entire system and just haven't tackled that yet because it's a huge PITA. But I will be soon.

No, I have not. Once I convinced myself to start looking for an XA25 to purchase, I didn't want to change anything so I'd have the same system when I put the new amp in. As soon as I'm done experimenting with the new amp I will do that as well as start rolling some tubes.

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P.s. Next on the list is a true audiophile power conditioner. I really like what I've read about the Puritan line from users.

treitz3

Man, and people think I am patient....I believe you are holding the world record on patience!

Tom

heiney9

treitz3 wrote: »

Man, and people think I am patient....I believe you are holding the world record on patience!

Tom

Tom, it just comes down to how much time I can actually spend listening to the rig. I don't have near as much time as I've had in the past. It has to do with where the rig is, the main living room. I tend to listen very little in the Summer months. I am not a causal listener. If I'm going to listen it has to be a "event" that I've set aside time for and then I do only that.

So, when I get a new piece of gear, if it's purchased during the "down" time, it takes a while to get it installed. The new amp was plug n play....lol.

I could half-**** hook it up, but I don't tend to do that. Now I feel like I need to get a good idea what the new amp sounds like before installing it...lol.

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treitz3

Brother, you do you. It's your audio journey. Not mine or anyone else's, for that matter.

I am excited for you that you are experiencing what you are with the new amp. 25 watts of Class A....especially with a design like that? You have to be as happy as a clam in mud.

Tom

heiney9

I was grinning ear to ear today. The differences are very noticeable. And man, do the L600's really sound fantastic. I wish more people knew about the L series.....phenomenal.

The L600's sounded great with the Aleph 30 too, but this is a whole other couple of levels. I am thrilled with the synergy so far.

I remember when I first got the Aleph30 I took it to my brother's to plug into his rig. At the time he had a BAT VK30 tubed pre-amp. Plugged the Aleph in and it sounded like mud! I had been going on and on about how good the amp sounded and it sounded terrible with the BAT VK30.

I went home got my Adcom GFP-750 pre and brought it over (I was using the Dared at that time through the HT bypass of the GFP-750). Hooked that up in place of the BAT and boy did the amp sing!! That's when I first encountered poor synergy...lol

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heiney9

To further expand on a comment I made earlier. I'm hearing things in recordings I've never heard before. Like a lip smack, or slight movement in a squeaky chair. Slight inhale before she starts singing, someone bumping a mic stand, slight unintended scrap of the pic on a guitar string. Many of these things on very familiar recordings were masked before or barely intelligable

There are no more rounded edges to the leading edge of instruments. Ani Di Franco's "Plastic Castles" has horns and the bite of the brass is so much more apparent (and realistic). The clarity is startling, that's about the only description I can seem to articulate. Everything is so clear and real and delineated, but 100% cohesive. The imaging is un-exaggerated and instruments and back up vocals seem to be in a realistic spot. It seems to be less "illusional" and more realistic.

Well recorded percussion has taken on a whole new dimension in that timbre and textures of each size and type of drum can be heard. Cymbals are as tizz free and clearer than I have ever heard and the decay is more apparent than ever.

Obviously the recording has to have these traits, they aren't conjured out of thin air for recordings that don't capture these types of aural cues.

This a very fast amplifier and the dynamics are startling and snappy, but never overbearing or in your face. I've listened to fast/overly dynamic amps before and they wear me out because they have that "in your face" quality and everything seems hyper. Not the case at all with the XA25. The rise and fall of the dynamic snappiness is what makes it special and no hint or grain or harshness, no forwardness. Just effortless flow of music ramping up when necessary.

I listened to a bunch of material yesterday for 3 hours straight at a very elevated level and had zero listening fatigue.

The Aleph has some of the same "see into the music" traits, but it's more laid back, a little more diffuse and a bit more rounded out. Still very articulate, but less snappy and slower dynamically.

Ok, I've been teased about not getting reviews out in a timely manner. This one is just sort of started flowing out of me because of the excitement this amp creates. It's not going to take weeks and months to evaluate, you can tell right away. Also, I've read every review/discussion about this amp and it has surpassed my expectations already.

This amp has changed the game. What I am hearing and experiencing right off the bat is exceptional. The complete lack of background noise in this amp has been eye opening. It's hard to explain, you just hear it and know it and go WOW. Nelson has been working on this amp design since 2013, released in 2017.

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Ricardo

Nice move Brock. Sounds like you found your (second) "forever" amp. Congrats.

heiney9

Ricardo wrote: »

Nice move Brock. Sounds like you found your (second) "forever" amp. Congrats.

Ricardo, it sure seems that way. Still more listening to do, but I am amazed how the synergy is with the Avant pre and especially the Polk Legend L600's. They sound phenomenal.

Every review of this amp has been exceptional with most reviewers highly recommending it. I use reviews as one source of information, but when almost all agree this is a new standard or some sort of end point for SS amplification, I had to hear for myself.

I had very high expectations, and so far so good.

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Milito

Congrats Brock. Glad it sounds great with your L600's.

GlennDog

Nice score Brock!
Your research and due diligence has payed off in spades . .

heiney9

Clipdat

I'm glad that you picked this instead of the INT-25.

heiney9

Clipdat wrote: »

I'm glad that you picked this instead of the INT-25.

I think I am too. Glad to still have tubes in the mix as if I got rid of the Avant, I'd be angry at myself. Not that the INT-25 wouldn't sound as superb as the XA25. It's nice to mix it up a bit once in awhile rolling tubes. It doesn't hurt that the Avant is seeming to keep right up with the XA25.

.......and holy cow (again) do the Legend L600's really sound fantastic. They did before with the Aleph 30, but they are keeping pace as the XA25 does it's thing. I took the whole day off Monday for a listening session....that's how good the XA25 is. It makes we want to listen as much as I can, can't get enough.

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nooshinjohn

One of the things that made the SDA’s so great is how they were able to get better over time as higher quality gear came along. I too find that the Legends possess this same quality… the better the upstream gear gets, the speakers step up and give more.

Congrats Brock!

treitz3

heiney9 wrote: »

I took the whole day off Monday for a listening session....that's how good the XA25 is. It makes we want to listen as much as I can, can't get enough.

Worthwhile upgrades to a system tend to do that. Sounds like this one is a definite winner! I am happy for you. Not every purchase you make can make you want to do something like this but I can definitely relate.

Tom

heiney9

Everything about the sound of this amplifier draws you in. The timbre, texture, timing, space, scale, liquidity, definition, transparency, etc make for quite an emotional connection to the music being played. It's so hard to put into words. I have had this type of experience before with certain music, but never like this or on this level. One of the reviewers had a very interesting comment about the psychology of the emotional response we have to music and how the XA25 elicited such responses. I am going to find that passage and post it. Its really part of what makes an audiophile an audiophile.

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heiney9

The new amp has really opened a window to a new level of emotional engagement. It's so hard to put into words how great it sounds. The holographic 3D, and placement of instruments and vocalists. Visiospatial traits are off the charts. This is an organic, realistic presentation.

One of the contrasts is to listen to The Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions which was mostly recorded with a single overhead mic. And then listen to something that is recorded with multiple mics. With this amp you can really tell the difference in how the music is presented. Neither one necessarily better than the other, just very different visuospatial soundscape. I can't recall ever noticing such differences so vividly. Every recording is a new adventure.

Speaking of Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions. The first song on the disc I could always faintly hear the A/C unit running in the background, now I can hear the actual grate over the vent vibrate a couple times.

This is the review that talks about visuospatial traits having an effect on our level of emotional involvement in music.

Ok, now that we've taken a look at performance of the Pass Labs XA25 in reductionist terms with respect to musicality & visuospatial performance as a collection of attributes, let us now do the opposite, and explore how well the XA25 integrates all of those attributes in the holistic context of sounding & feeling like a live music experience in the way it delivers an emotional response from listening to the recorded music.

Regarding emotional response, researchers who study the neurobiology of music have found that certain
elements of musicality and visuospatial presentation stimulates emotional responses in the brain.
Their research results suggest that a home music system that can play at loudness levels realistic
to the music, is realistic in dynamic terms, and can realistically portray timbral textures, tempo,
and beat, will be more emotionally engaging and musically satisfying than a home music system
that can't do those things as well. Note that those are all aspects of musicality.

Also, researchers have found that there is a brain connection that does processing for both
visuospatial artifacts and transposing melodies, and when that brain region is stimulated by the
processing of the visuospatial information in recorded music, it can contribute additional
pleasure to the music listening experience, increasing the emotional impact of listening to music.
So ideally, I want a component that can make any recorded music I want to listen to a
pleasurable and reasonably believable experience in terms of musicality, and if the music
happens to be well-recorded in terms of visuospatial information so that it adds to my listening
enjoyment, so much the better.

I've always had a certain level of the above, but with the XA25 and it's attributes, the emotional connection is off the charts. I also think this one of the thing people who love SDA's experience. I would love to put my SDA's back in with this amp. I may do that if I get the motivation.

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nooshinjohn

This is where the L800’s would have been a better choice perhaps. The Legends do a fantastic job of stepping up their game when fed by better gear.

heiney9

I don't want to admit it, but the L600's are different in every way to the modded SDA 1C's, and dare I say better. This was decided before I bought the XA25. Now the L600's have surpassed the SDA 1C's by a very wide margin running the XA25 and do many of the things SDA does only much more convincingly and to a higher degree. The soundstage is much more defined, larger, and more realistic with the XA25/L600 combo. Granted I haven't heard the 1C's on the XA25.

I know it's blasphemy to say that, I was (am still) a diehard SDA fan, but my eyes have been opened big time. The SDA 1C sounds a bit artificial and closed in compared to the XA25/L600 combo. Nothing else has changed in my rig.

SDA's give me a semi-circle between the two speakers with a great center image, but all singers, musicians tend to stay on the same plane within the semi-circle and occasionally something way outside the sides of the speaker.

XA25/L600 gives me a full 3D circle with a holographic center image and instruments and singers placed within a 3D image that even goes beyond the sides of the speakers at times.

I can go in the other room and listen to dialog or a song and with the XA25/L600 combo you might think they are in the other room and not a recording. I never really had that with the SDA's. From the other room you could still tell it was recording.

I may need to put the 1C's in just so I can know for sure what the XA25 sounds like with them. I am on the fence whether I am going to sell them. I have zero room to store them and if they really aren't going to get any use, I should move them along to someone who can enjoy them.

The L800's would have been too big for my current listening room. I thought long and hard and decided if I couldn't get their full potential, it would be a waste and their greatness would not be realized.

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billbillw

Good old Nelson. He and Wayne are some of the true geniuses in the industry and they are also very generous with all their DIY projects through the years. Simple, but done right has always been their philosophy and it has proven to be among the best. I always wanted one of his big A-biased amps, but things didn't align properly and I'm probably sticking with elevated class-D from here out.

Your amp is beautiful and it is nice to see that is has given some additional magic to your system. I'm glad to have the Nelson/Wayne designed Pearl Phono in my system.

heiney9

I have been too busy lately to listen. Hope to get a few more listening sessions in soon. Simple circuits done with bullet proof design and no compromise parts. Nelson is such a down to earth guy, I'm sure he was a hippie back in the day...lol.

I've been watching some Youtube video's of interviews with him. His approach is fascinating and for as much success and influence his designs have had, not a whiff of condescension or eliteness or holier than thou attitude. Just a dude that likes to tinker and think outside the box. And is willing to help anyone who asks. He eventually, at the end of a product life cycle, will release the schematics so people can DIY a discontinued design. He devotes a good amount of his personal time at DIY Audio. He also answers all emails personally.

He's also a hoarder of parts.....which is probably good. He has (2) parts warehouses filled to the brim with all kinds of parts. He buys entire lots of parts just so he has them if he decides to use them.

The XA25 is an outstanding amp and in some ways an evolution of the Aleph 30 and in some ways completely new w/the very large industrial output FET's (2) per channel. I am a class A junkie and what he has done in the XA25 is pretty remarkable. It gets universal praise, so I was suspicious. But it has Wow'd me so far.

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