Pass Labs amp: I've never heard Bass like this before....

Ern Dog · October 2009

First off, my favorite part of the whole sound frequency range is the bass, upper bass, mid-bass and low-bass. Low bass if my favorite, but it's all good.

My Pass Labs X-150 amp arrived yesterday and so I've been listening to it non-stop since I got it. What strikes me most is that the upper bass has a texture and detail that I've never heard before. It's hard to describe, it's like now I can hear this vibration that was never there before. It reminds me of when I had Magnepan MMG's and the bass on that was the cleanest/tightest I think I've ever heard. The MMG's didn't go very low however, so it never reached Low bass. But it's that same type of bass I'm hearing with my Tyler Acoustics! Unreal.

Also this amp is similar to my Rogue Audio Tube amp in that everything sounds very smooth from top to bottom even when cranked up loud. Very nuetral too. Not warm or bright, and yet detailed at the same time.

More to come on this later...

phipiper10 · October 2009

I keep coming across these amps. Just not in the budget at the moment. At some point for sure.

george daniel · October 2009

Congrats,, which model Tylers?

comfortablycurt · October 2009

I want your rig!

That's very similar to the dream rig I've got in mind for several years down the road.

george daniel · October 2009

Eh,, I looked at your sig,, enjoy .

Sherardp · November 2009

Nice and congrats on the new purchase. Ive been working with Tyler on a package for the HT Room, If all goes well I will have a pair of D10s soon.

tonyb · November 2009

Nice amp and congrats. One of the things I dig about this hobby is searching for the limitations of your speakers when coupled with the right gear. You would be surprised at what some speakers can handle and the SQ you could get when you find that marriage of gear. Looks like your finding it,have fun.

heiney9 · November 2009

Nelson Pass knows how to build an amp. That's the first thing I noticed about my Aleph 30. The bass was fantastic and the other thing just as noticeable was the absolutely stunning clarity of everything.

I had not heard this kind of clarity, and especially how deep and wide the soundstage is. The separation of instruments and vocals on well recorded music continues to blow me away.

Enjoy.....Pass pieces are special.

H9

Ern Dog · November 2009

Thanks guys.

This amp is sounds like a combination of tubes and SS! The clarity is over the top. Zero listening fatigue. Very seductive and lush.

heiney9 · November 2009

Ern Dog wrote: »

Thanks guys.

This amp is sounds like a combination of tubes and SS! The clarity is over the top. Zero listening fatigue. Very seductive and lush.

YEP, I fell in love with my Pass amp the first time I heard it; the only thing that will replace it is another Pass amp; higher up the chain. Looking at an X150.5, but they are not common ground so I have to make an AI-1 cable first.

Enjoy........it may be the last amp you'll ever buy!

H9

tcrossma · November 2009

Glad you're liking the new amp. I have no plans to ever replace mine.

Ern Dog · November 2009

heiney9 wrote: »

it may be the last amp you'll ever buy!

I had that thought and was going to say that, but I've said that so many times and then upgraded. I could see myself upgrading to the X-150.5 because of the extra goodies AND it has the very cool looking blue lit dial. :cool:

sagslaax · November 2009

That's great! That's quite a very informative post. Thanks for guy share.

ben62670 · November 2009

reported.

Lowell_M · December 2009

Ern Dog wrote: »

I had that thought and was going to say that, but I've said that so many times and then upgraded. I could see myself upgrading to the X-150.5 because of the extra goodies AND it has the very cool looking blue lit dial. :cool:

After hearing H9's Aleph30, a Pass amp is on my list of future upgrades as well.

dudeinaroom · December 2009

Awesome. Ern, I like the same thing you do. Nothing like that low bass drive. How do the Pass amps sound compared to a GFA 555 (the orignal not the MKII) if you know?

Systems · December 2009

I wonder if those amps are still built at his kitchen table? Good stuff right there.

Face · December 2009

187CAM wrote: »

I wonder if those amps are still built at his kitchen table? Good stuff right there.

AFAIK, only the First Watt amps, Aleph and F series.

Lowell_M · December 2009

dudeinaroom wrote: »

Awesome. Ern, I like the same thing you do. Nothing like that low bass drive. How do the Pass amps sound compared to a GFA 555 (the orignal not the MKII) if you know?

We had a quick comparison in my 2-channel with H9's Aleph30 and my 555, but really didn't have enough listening time. From what I can recall, the Aleph was everything I like about the 555 but much better. Very natural sounding amp, extreme depth and width of soundstage. very nice separation, and even though the Aleph has a measily 30wpc, the bass was excellent and similar to Erndogs description from his X150. I would LOVE to hear an X150 on my LSi's.

Ern Dog · December 2009

A friend in my local Audio club loaned me his Adcom awhile back and I was very impressed with how musical it sounded, it was an old 2 ch 30wpc amp. Don't remember model. A few things were notably different with the pass amp. The pass amp has excellent separation between each instrument. So if you got a full symphony playing, you can hear each individual instrument. Each has its own three dimensional space and texture. This also creates more depth and layers to the music.

I listened to Dark side of the moon last night cranked up and holy ****! Music sounded Very full, robust and had lots of weight.

Pass Labs amp: I've never heard Bass like this before....

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