x250.5 on the way!
 

After reading many great reviews, I decided to take a leap of faith and order the x250.5. I haven't had the opportunity to listen to one, as there aren't any dealers nearby. Worst case, I can return the amp for a full refund if it turns out not to be what I'm looking for, or possibly upgrade. Is there a significant difference in sonics when out of class a? Has anyone here upgraded from the x250.5...if so, what were the reasons?

Thanks in advance...Martin

Congratulations Martin!

What preamp and speakers are you using?

I'm using B&W and a Denon pre/pro for now. Preamp will probably be my next upgrade. I sold off some of my gear a while back...now getting back into the hobby.

Congrats Martin. The x250.5 is a great amp. It has a very tight and fast bass with excellent imaging. Many folks prefer the X series to the XA's. Do let us know how they turn out. Make sure you run them for at least 200 hours to break them in. I'm confident you'll love them and you won't be shipping them back!

Don't forget the amps will take a while to break in and let it run in for 100+ hours before giving serious judgement. I had a Pass X250 and it was a great amp. It took a good hour to settle in after first being turned on and a couple of hundred hours to fully break in and sound its best. Enjoy the ride :)

Thanks everyone! I'm definitely looking forward to it. It seems like the xa series may be a bit more laid back....at least that's what I picked up from some of the reviews.

The Pass website says most of the break in takes place in 24-36 hours.

I think you will be very happy with your X250.5. I ran mine for the first five days around the clock at low volume. The bass quality will improve after about 3 days and the top end will smooth out after 5 days or so. I have not noticed a decrease in sound quality when the amp goes out of class A operation, but I have only been able to get the needle on the meter to move significantly at very, very high volumes. If your speakers are relatively efficient, you will remain in class A almost exclusively.

Davkj, how do you like the Aerial 7Ts?

I like them a lot.:D

I can't add much to what Kal Rubinson said in Stereophile or what the Absolute Sound reviewer stated. The 7T's have great mid-range transparency and pretty amazing bass given their small size. They throw a huge soundstage and seemingly disappear when properly set up. If you are looking for a warm/"musical" speaker, this is probably not for you - it simply presents what is on the recording without sweetening, and will easily reveal any equipment or recording issues.

Stereophile Review - Aerial Acoustics Model 7T loudspeaker | Stereophile.com
Absolute Sound Review - Aerial Acoustics 7T Loudspeaker (TAS 218) | The Absolute Sound