Quote:
Originally Posted by bakerman
Just read this for the first time today. What a great review, thanks Mike. With more hours on the XA160.5's and sounding like they are the winning ticket for you, are you still planning on bringing in the REF 250's to try out?
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Thank you Doug for your kind words. I have put the thought of trying the REF 250's on hold. The problems others have had have scared the hell out of me. MAYBE a REF 150. But right now, I'm not wanting anything. The ARC REF 10 preamp and EMM Labs DAC2X added that last missing dimension. Now, the synergy is stunning. The XA amps truly give me the best of tubes and the best of SS amps without any of the drawbacks ACCEPT heat! If the Pass amps ran as cool as my Classe amps, I'd call them perfect. Through an imperfect test, I found that they heat up my 15 x 35 room by one degree per hour MORE than the 2301's. I thankfully have a separate AC and thermostat for my room, so it's constantly at 76! So, no worries. If I lived in the North, these babies would keep your house toasty warm! They are wonderful sounding amps - the best I've heard in my room - but I think being honest about the good and bad is most important. If I was looking in on this thread, I would appreciate knowing these babies can kick off some heat! If you live up north, or if your listening room is in a basement, then the Pass would be excellent. If you're thinking of buying the XA100.5's, 160.5's or 200.5' and stick them in a cabinet in your family room - then keep looking!
I found the XA60.5 and the 30.5 didn't get hot at all and they were actually in a cabinet (with about 8 inches clearance above them). It's only once you start getting into the 100.5+ where you can get some heat. As a side, I heard all the XA series amps (except the 30.5) and let me tell you, those little 60.5's are sweet!
Some people look at the wattage and figure they aren't powerful enough. Not true. These babies are all about current. You have 326 watts of pure Class A into 4 ohms and then it can go into class A/B and there is much more power on tap. I've never come close to leaving Class A. I can't even get the meters to move (once the meters go past about 2 o'clock, you are leaving Class A and going into class A/B.....so I'm told).