French fries,
I had a ML 333 for 8 years driving a pair of Thiel 3.6s. I had thought it was a good combo, but slightly veiled. For 3 years, I had thought maybe the Thiels were the weakest link in the system, and that they would be the next item for me to upgrade.
My 333 had suffered blown capacitors three times during those 8 years. Twice under my ownership, and once under the dealer's care (I bought it as a demo, and found out last year from Harmon that the dealer had sent it in for repair once for the same issue). Harmon had switched their capacitor supplier after taking over from Madrigal. And the amp sounded better with the new cap. But after the third incident, I was ready to part with ML amps. (I still do have high regards for the 33 and 33H. I think they are miles ahead of the regular 33x series)
But the 33x series is nowhere near the Pass X350.5. I was in awe when I first hooked it up to the Thiel 3.6. With the X350.5, the Thiels had bigger soundstage, deeper (and more) bass, and the midrange sparkle. It made the ML 333 sounded like veiled, flat, and uninspiring. (And the amp has not even been broken in) I had a few friends come over to listen. These guys are very familiar with Thiel 3.6s, either through listening to my and other friends', and/or they had lived with a pair of their own. Everyone was scratching their heads, as they had all thought before that I had pushed the Thiels pretty much to "its limit" with my old setup.
For a while, I had seriously thought about keeping the Thiels longer. But my upgraditis was acting up, so I traded them in for a pair of used Parsifal Encore. (After 15 years of Thiels 2.2 + 3.6) The Parsifals are easier to drive than the Thiels, and sometimes I think the X350.5 is an over kill. But it's better to have more power than not.
FrankC
I had a ML 333 for 8 years driving a pair of Thiel 3.6s. I had thought it was a good combo, but slightly veiled. For 3 years, I had thought maybe the Thiels were the weakest link in the system, and that they would be the next item for me to upgrade.
My 333 had suffered blown capacitors three times during those 8 years. Twice under my ownership, and once under the dealer's care (I bought it as a demo, and found out last year from Harmon that the dealer had sent it in for repair once for the same issue). Harmon had switched their capacitor supplier after taking over from Madrigal. And the amp sounded better with the new cap. But after the third incident, I was ready to part with ML amps. (I still do have high regards for the 33 and 33H. I think they are miles ahead of the regular 33x series)
But the 33x series is nowhere near the Pass X350.5. I was in awe when I first hooked it up to the Thiel 3.6. With the X350.5, the Thiels had bigger soundstage, deeper (and more) bass, and the midrange sparkle. It made the ML 333 sounded like veiled, flat, and uninspiring. (And the amp has not even been broken in) I had a few friends come over to listen. These guys are very familiar with Thiel 3.6s, either through listening to my and other friends', and/or they had lived with a pair of their own. Everyone was scratching their heads, as they had all thought before that I had pushed the Thiels pretty much to "its limit" with my old setup.
For a while, I had seriously thought about keeping the Thiels longer. But my upgraditis was acting up, so I traded them in for a pair of used Parsifal Encore. (After 15 years of Thiels 2.2 + 3.6) The Parsifals are easier to drive than the Thiels, and sometimes I think the X350.5 is an over kill. But it's better to have more power than not.
FrankC