Upgrade from X250.5 to XA100.5. Thoughts?

[cma29]

Originally Posted by raidho

Originally Posted by raidho

Style - is one of these your listening room? Nice amps

[cma29]

I'm currently using inexpensive Straightwire Symphony cable between the XA100.5s and the 20.7s, so my next step is to try some "better" speaker cables to see if they make a difference to my ears (I'm sure they will, but, hey, I live in the "Show me State").

I'm going to try The Cable Company since they allow me to try different cables for a small fee that I can later apply to a full purchase with them. The other good thing is that they have a database of cables/hardware combinations that has worked well with their customers. Based on the info I provided, they suggested I try cables from the following companies:
Cardas Audio
Wireworld Cable Technology
Synergistic Research

For now I'm sticking with "good value" cable to see what happens and this is what I chose to try:
Clear Light from Cardas Audio
Equinox 7 from Wireworld Cable Technology
Element Copper from Synergistic Research

Any experience with any of these speaker cables on you Pass Labs amps? Thanks.

[raidho]

Hallo Carlos,

I used kimber cable. interconnect & speaker (monocle xl).
ok good brand, sound good & fine too....expecially with the speakers cable....

Than I have try WireWolrd: silver Eclipse 7: interconnect and speaker.
really "open" no roll off effect....

GREAT. with a good price you have really a sound very fine. i love it.

The Pass in class A play with a silver/copper cable better vs. pure copper.
silver with a AB or a power ampli with a sound not "hot" can give you a sound very analitisch...sure not a pleasure.

At today with the Pass Xp20&X250.5 I use the silver Eclipse 7 xlr (pre to source and pre to powerampli) , same cable for the speaker.
not with crazy price and sound amazing.

The other great cable (imho) is nordost but is min. 2x the price rom wworld.

Bey Omar

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Hi Carlos,

I have the Cardas Clear Light Interconnects and Speaker Cables on an Ayre QB-9, Pass XA-100.5 and Revel Ultima Salon 2. They sound excellent. The cables are very neutral and slightly on the forgiving side. The thing with Clear Light is they just step out of the way and you don't think about them much. They're not big on the wow factor like some MIT cables I demoed in my system but they are very musical sounding cables. I am planning on upgrading to the Clear Cables within the next year because I think they are the best match for where my system is headed. I'll be replacing the QB-9 with an Esoteric CD/SACD Player by the end of the year so I'll want to get every ounce out of the Esoteric/Pass Combo. The Clear cables are more neutral and less forgiving than the Clear Light and several veils are lifted. They are a significant step up from the Clear Light in both performance and cost.

Best,
Ken

[cma29]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Hi Carlos,

I have the Cardas Clear Light Interconnects and Speaker Cables on an Ayre QB-9, Pass XA-100.5 and Revel Ultima Salon 2. They sound excellent. The cables are very neutral and slightly on the forgiving side. The thing with Clear Light is they just step out of the way and you don't think about them much. They're not big on the wow factor like some MIT cables I demoed in my system but they are very musical sounding cables. I am planning on upgrading to the Clear Cables within the next year because I think they are the best match for where my system is headed. I'll be replacing the QB-9 with an Esoteric CD/SACD Player by the end of the year so I'll want to get every ounce out of the Esoteric/Pass Combo. The Clear cables are more neutral and less forgiving than the Clear Light and several veils are lifted. They are a significant step up from the Clear Light in both performance and cost.

Best,
Ken

Thanks for your comments, Ken. I'm glad to hear that one of the cables recommended by The Cable Company is the one you use with good results.

It looks like we have similar taste in equipment (Esoteric, Pass Labs). What's your preamp? Again, I appreciate all your thoughts and recommendations.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by cma29

Thanks for your comments, Ken. I'm glad to hear that one of the cables recommended by The Cable Company is the one you use with good results.

It looks like we have similar taste in equipment (Esoteric, Pass Labs). What's your preamp? Again, I appreciate all your thoughts and recommendations.

Carlos,

Yes, we do have similar taste in equipment. My previous set of speakers were Magnepan 3.7s. I've auditioned the 20.7s and they are terrific speakers. Huge soundstage and piano never sounded so real. I'm currently running without a preamp and will be testing the linestage on the Esoteric player (K-01 or K-03) to determine if I need a preamp.

Ken

[cma29]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Carlos,

Yes, we do have similar taste in equipment. My previous set of speakers were Magnepan 3.7s. I've auditioned the 20.7s and they are terrific speakers. Huge soundstage and piano never sounded so real. I'm currently running without a preamp and will be testing the linestage on the Esoteric player (K-01 or K-03) to determine if I need a preamp.

Ken

Ken - now I understand how you got your "PlanarSpeakerFan" username. Now that I have the XA100.5, I will try running the K-03 directly into the amps to see how that works. (I do like the contribution of the preamp triode tubes to the overall sound of my system, though - we'll see).

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by cma29

Ken - now I understand how you got your "PlanarSpeakerFan" username. Now that I have the XA100.5, I will try running the K-03 directly into the amps to see how that works. (I do like the contribution of the preamp triode tubes to the overall sound of my system, though - we'll see).

Carlos,

From what I've read on AA, all the folks that have coupled their ARC preamps to the Pass XA amps have been very satisfied with the results. There's nice synergy there and hopefully not too much "tube magic". Since I'm going the solid state route this time around (I completely rolled my system in the last 12 months), I'll probably go with the Pass XP-20 or XP-30 if I decide I need a preamp between the Esoteric and the XA-100.5.

But the key words with Cardas cables are neutral and musical. And it just gets better as you move up the ladder. I love their sound or lack thereof.

How long have you had your K-03 and how are you liking it so far?

Ken

[cma29]

Originally Posted by PlanarSpeakerFan

Carlos, From what I've read on AA, all the folks that have coupled their ARC preamps to the Pass XA amps have been very satisfied with the results. There's nice synergy there and hopefully not too much "tube magic". Since I'm going the solid state route this time around (I completely rolled my system in the last 12 months), I'll probably go with the Pass XP-20 or XP-30 if I decide I need a preamp between the Esoteric and the XA-100.5. But the key words with Cardas cables are neutral and musical. And it just gets better as you move up the ladder. I love their sound or lack thereof. How long have you had your K-03 and how are you liking it so far? Ken

Ken - No excess "tube magic" from what I can tell using the LS5 to drive the XA100.5. It's all good Regarding the K-03, I've had it since May 2013. The thing with this component is that it takes a long time to break-in and there are many settings available. At first I did not see a dramatic improvement in sound when I added the K-03 to my rig, but after finding the right filter, upsampling rate and letting it burn in things finally snapped into place. Adding the XA100.5 I think has also allowed the K-03 show what it can do. Overall, I'm glad I have it, but it did not transform my listening experience as much as introducing the XA100.5s did. But then again, I would have said the same thing about the K-03 if the last thing I had added was the CD player.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by cma29

Ken - No excess "tube magic" from what I can tell using the LS5 to drive the XA100.5. It's all good

Regarding the K-03, I've had it since May 2013. The thing with this component is that it takes a long time to break-in and there are many settings available. At first I did not see a dramatic improvement in sound when I added the K-03 to my rig, but after finding the right filter, upsampling rate and letting it burn in things finally snapped into place. Adding the XA100.5 I think has also allowed the K-03 show what I can do. Overall, I'm glad I have it, but it did not transform my listening experience as much as introducing the XA100.5s did. But then again, I would have said the same thing about the K-03 if the last thing I had added was the CD player.

Carlos,

Glad to hear you are enjoying your K-03 after it broke in. I recently auditioned a fully broken in K-03, using 4x oversampling and S_DLY2 filter setting. I was quite simply blown away by the quality of the sound.

Looking at the caliber of your system, if you are seriously considering purchasing Cardas cable, I would recommend auditioning the Clear cables. I have significantly upgraded my system from when I purchased the Clear Light cables last year. The Clear Light is excellent sounding cable but the Clear would really compliment a system of your quality and might be the last cable you ever need to buy. You could avoid the cost of a potential upgrade down the road.

Best,
Ken