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RE: Which Pass Labs power amp for Quad ESLs?

I have not had the pleasure of listening to Pass Labs in my home but I have heard them in several other setups driving QUADs. David Chesky uses the XA160.8 mono amps and it is as good a sound as I have heard anywhere.

I am big proponent of power. Large amps give a grip and control that smaller amps cannot deliver. IME. I am using the ARC REF80 which is a 75 watt tube amp. I also have(had) its bigger brother the 160S. Same circuit topology just twice the power of the 80. No question which one sounds better to my ears. The 160S delivers more grip, control, slam versus the 80. It is a bigger more robust sound.

As lovely as the small Pass amp might be for me it would never work there is just not enough power. I am a QUAD user that likes to drive them loud at times, 100dB+ peaks. 25 watts would be hard clipping.

In the end this really comes down to personal preferences, taste and of course budget. Herb Reichert reviewed the XA25 driving the QUAD 57 for Stereophile Vol. 41 No. 2, February 2018. His conclusion?

'The Pass Labs XA25 delivered a potent transparency the likes of which none of us had heard before. It was as if the audio system had disappeared, making possible a direct view of the what the microphones registered, unmitigated.'

That is very high praise for any power amp.


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