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Originally Posted by Accumac
Hello Just came across this thread. Very interesting subject. Already for quite some time I'm also considering changing my set up to something 'I could retire with' stepping finally into Class'A' territory at the same time. At first I thought of Accuphase, but budget and especially the outrageous pricing and service policy of the company in Europe is not very appealing. In search for alternatives, Pass came up and from what I could find on the Internet, could well be the match I am looking for. Amp wise I prefer staying with monos, ideally either a XA60.8 or XA100.8 (bigger - no budget, lousy waf) but not sure whether the XP100.8 brings much more in sound quality. For better synergies I think replacing my C500/P with a XP 10 or 20 as well when changing amps. In order to be able to listen to a Pass combo I need to travel relatively far, so beforehand I have some questions. If anybody has already some experience or thoughts I would be very grateful for sharing: - Comparing a C500P (SS) vs a Pass XP 10 or 20, would this be an upgrade sound wise? - How do the Pass phono stages compare to the built-in phono stages of the C500P? - I have always the feeling that the C500/MC 501 combo comes to life at higher volumes only and therefore some tone controls (as on my old C48)/loudness button would have been helpful. The Pass preamps don't have a loudness button either. So, how are the Pass amps at low level? As said before my preferred amps would be a 60.8 or 100.8. - Any experience with the reliability of Pass gear? As they should always stay on, is there a need of service after some time, especially if I buy a second hand preamp? Btw, the amps should drive a pair of SF Amati Futuras, which shouldn't be a problem. Thanks a lot for your insights.
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I'm coming to the discussion a bit late, but... I talked to the guys at pass about leaving my 30.5 on all the time. They told me they've had Alephs out in the field for 20 years being left on 100% of the time without issue. They also said the XA series is not run nearly as hard as those early amps...