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PASS LABS XA-30.5 vs XA-60.5

Hello all,
Has anyone heard the differences between these two amps, and have done A/B comparrisons on them? I have a XA-30.5 that I'm using with Totem Hawk Speakers. The XA-30.5 drives them very well, but I have been told the 60.5’s give you much better smoothness and cohesiveness, better imaging, better bass control, greater ease and greater resolution.

Here's the million dollar question:

I am ready for my next upgrade and have roughly $6000. Should I upgrade to the XA-60.5's or upgrade my Esoteric X03-SE cd player to the Esoteric seperates P-05 transport and D-05 DAC??

I have very appealing offers for both options.

Any Thoughts?

My system:

Pass Labs XA-30.5 amp
Pass Labs X0.2 preamp
Esoteric XO3-SE cd player
BPT 3.5 Ultra Sig. power conditioner
Totem Hawk speakers
AudioPath custom IC's and speaker cable
Shunyay Python CX power cords
roor
roor OP
35 posts
 
Improvements are much tighter bass with more weight and "heftyness" in the low end. The mids and highs are just as sweet as the XA-30.5

The 60.5's have more clarity, and overall are smoother than the XA-30.5

I don't like using the sound muddy or cloudy, but honestly when going back from the 60.5's to the 30.5 at any volume, the 30.5 sounds somewhat veiled. It was the same thing as a few years ago when I was going from the X-250.5 to the XA-30.5
In my opinion, the sound just gets more and more refined as I continued up the XA line to the 60.5's. They drive the totem hawks much more effortlessly with added nuances and microdynamics that I just couldn't hear with the 30.5

I'm upgrading speakers to the new Daedalus AP Ulysses. Lou at Daedalus strongly recommended the XA-60.5's and didn't think the XA-30.5 would have enough effortless power really needed to obtain the full effect. This was also the case with my totem hawks.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Interesting Roor. Other than more power, I did not find the XA-60.5 significantly different than the XA-30.5, and in fact I found the XA-30.5 to be the smoother of the two amps in the highs and mids. There was no veiling from either amp.

Probably comes down to different associated equipment and speakers used by us.
roor OP
35 posts
 
With the Esoteric X-03SE single box player, I could not tell the difference between these two amps. As soon as I moved up to the Esoteric P-05 and D-03 I tried the shootout between them again, and it was an improvement that wasn't subtle. The XA.5 amps take a LONG time to burn in properly, which is critical. I had similar results to your comparrison early on, but once the 60.5's had about 300 hours on them, they really came to life... much smoother in the mids and highs. Hope this helps.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I had similar results to your comparrison early on, but once the 60.5's had about 300 hours on them, they really came to life... much smoother in the mids and highs. Hope this helps.
Roor (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
I had my XA-60.5 for nearly two years, and I ran them seven days a week, sometimes 10 hours a day. The XA-30.5 still sounded better in some respects in my system.

Nevertheless, it's good to know you have arrived at something that satisfies you.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
With speakers friendly to both amps, I hear very little difference between them.

Perhaps the XA-30.5 is a bit more polished.

Dealer disclaimer.
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