What are the weak points of Pass amps and pre-amps ?

I have owned different Pass power amps and mono amps. I had contact with Desmond Harrington (President of Pass Labs) for a long time. I also owned the XP-20. It is a good preamp, but not a stunning one.

When you judge Pass Labs on all the aspects/properties of sound. It will become clear that they lack realism in the individual focus of voices and instruments. When you listen to voices and instruments in real they are very small and direct. The Pass Labs preamp and power amp are not able to create the intimate focus as in real.

Desmond told me that the 0.8 series make voices and instruments smaller and more palpable. But it is still not among the best. In my world, it is only about the best possible. The rest is 100% useless in my world.

Voices and instruments are not only very small and direct. In real you can even hear the shape of a voice and instrument. I call it a High End ++ property. When you judge Pass Labs on this, it shows that it cannot reveal this part.

When I was in Munich at the High-End show in 2015, only one system of over 700.000 euro who was able to reveal a 3D shape of voices and instruments. The problem in audio is that most people who work in this world or see it as their hobby know very little about sound and music. Even most manufacturers have very limited knowledge and insight in sound in general.

When I talk with them about the acoustics, electro-smog, high-frequency noise and magnetism they still know very little. It becomes clear why so many audio brands and products are still sound so different than music sounds in real.

You need to understand all the aspects that influence both sound and stage. Sound is very complex and can only be understood and guided when you understand the influence of all these aspects. In all other situations, you still do audio by trial&error. This will always be audio without any real foundation. It can only create audio systems that miss essential parts of sound with also many flaws.

I have done thousands of tests in audio in over 20 years of time. I also compared many amps with each other. In stage depth, width and height the differences are huge.

A friend of mine had a concert room with a Steinway wing. I loved the intimate presentation of both voices and instruments during these concerts. It has become an important part of our Tru-Fi. Acoustic recordings need to give the same feeling.

With our Statement Audio Pro-measurement, we can come so much closer to the live experiences I had. It limits the influences of the room and gives access to a superior level in detail and layers of each recording.

Each part in any system owns it’s DNA. I did spend thousands of hours and tests in over 20 years of time to be able to reveal the full DNA of each individual part of an audio system. I have been working in audio full time over 20 years of time now.

Working by Tru-Fi you can create a superior level in realism and emotion compared to any trial&error created system. When we let new clients hear a Tru-Fi system, they understand often after a few sounds how limited their own system is.

The differences are created by the superior level in emotion. Emotion is the only key and way to success in audio. That is why an audio system needs to reveal all the details and layers of the recording. We always ask new clients to bring in their own music they know best.

Then it is very easy to feel and hear that Tru-Fi overrules their incomplete and limited trial&error system. The biggest problem in audio is that almost all brands and products cannot reveal all the aspects of sound. This means that these products will always create a lower level of emotion.

Only those systems who are able to reveal all the details and layers of a recording can create an emotional and addictive sound. Most people own incomplete audio systems with acoustic limitations. This will often keep them from buying new music each week.

In over 20 years of time, I visited hundreds of people with serious systems. I was often surprised by how little music they have. Trial&error will never make them understand what they change in their system. They focus a lot more on the sound and stage of their system. Trial&error will often limit people from listening to their music. The fact that they often have little music proves it.

Tru-Fi stands for True Fidelity. You want to hear all your music as it sounds during the recording. Sound contains different aspects/properties. All different aspects of sound can even influence human emotion.

When you would read about how our emotion works regarding music you will find out that there are 3 aspects that influence our emotion during listening to music. We do a lot of research in sound all the time. As we use many modifications on amps, preamps, sources, power supplies and subwoofers. 

When you judge most audio products on the aspects/properties they can reveal it becomes very easy to understand what is missing and what can be heard. Most people do not understand why their system does not give them the emotional feeling they are looking for.

When you would know more about sound and how the human emotion works it becomes clear why most systems lack emotion. Diversity (lagering) in sound is the most important aspect of sound. Due to the fact that this part can create the biggest influence on our emotion during listening to your beloved music.

But when you would judge most digital sources and even amps these days on this part, the facts (the sound you can perceive) prove how limited the layering in sound is. When a system can only create a low or limited level in diversity in sound all human beings will not feel a lot of emotion during listening to their music.

When we let new clients hear their own beloved music with a Tru-Fi system, they feel and understand the huge difference in emotion. We use different songs to teach people what layering in sound is. And what it does to their emotion.

We use many different songs to explain the aspects which they miss in their system. We want all audio systems we create and adapt to be able to reveal all the aspects of sound. And what it does to all people is always the same. They use their system so much more frequently and longer at the same time ever before.

Tru-Fi proves on facts that it outperforms any created system by trial&error. It also proves that you need all the aspects of sound to be connected to the music. And experience the emotion the music possesses.

Sound will always be about what you can hear. Each human being prefers any audio system that can reveal all the details and layers of the music over any incomplete created trial&error system.

Based on that fact that thinking audio is a matter of personal taste is the biggest scam ever told and believed. Audio=sound= all aspects/properties of sound= the truth.

No human being prefers an incomplete audio system. Our emotion works the same way and again we are talking about a 100% fact. We have our personal preferences regarding music and artists. But.....music will always contain different aspects and you need them all.

Ask any audio lover about what sound is and which aspects/properties it owns? And they often have no F.idea. This is walking on a very thin line and never be able to understand why your sound and stage is what you can hear. So your trial&error system is being created without understanding anything about music and sound. You just gamble and hope it will become alright. When you would use your brain and common sense it is very easy to become aware that you do not know what you are doing.

This is not what you would like to hear maybe. But audio is all about sound and the truth. And has nothing to do with doing audio by trail&error what is doing audio without a real foundation. All manufacturers who work in audio for a long time just like me all agreed. Because we are talking about facts. The sound will always tell the truth. No incomplete audio system will ever be able to experience the emotion of the music.

Ask people how human emotion works and how it relates to music. They all don’t F. know. How for God sake you could think and even believe that you can create a stunning and ultimate audio system without any real foundation by audio-gambling. Trial&error is 100% audio-gambling and again we are talking about a 100% fact. And yes the truth is hard, but you need to accept it to reach that stunning and ultimate level in sound.

Trial&error is the main reason why so many people all over the world are not happy with their system. When you would understand what sound is and what it does it will become clear and even easy to understand why your system lacks emotion. The audio market is decreasing every single year. Ask people why they are not that interested in audio any more..............

They will say that what they heard did not convince them and it did not do a lot with their emotion. Incomplete audio created trial&error systems will always limit people. Based on the fact that you need all the aspects of sound to experience the emotion of your beloved music. Just start to read about music and our human emotion and maybe one day you will understand.

The first Pass Labs I bought were the XA-100.5 with an XP-20 in 2009. But later I preferred the X-series. I find out that using the right source and cables it has more advantages compared to the XA-series.

It has a little more space and details in the high frequencies. And I also prefer more control in the low frequencies with the X-series. When I bought Purist Audio Limited Edition power cables I became the same level in layering as the XA-series. But with more details and control.

At the end, I will go for the XS series. The extra current will be enough!

I love Pass and used different mono amps and power amps of them in the last 8 years of time. I choose products based on their DNA. I think they created stunning amps and very good preamps. But I prefer their amps.

When you work by Tru-Fi you want to use all the aspects/properties of sound at the max. The 3-dimensional sound stage is an aspect/property of sound. I have compared many amps also regarding this part. We create a huge holographic stage thanks to the stage DNA of Pass Labs.

Pass Labs is also able to create a very deep, wide and high stage. Diversity in height we call a High-End ++ property. When an audio system can reveal the differences in height of both voices and instruments the harmonics change of a recording.

When we use amps who are not able to reveal diversity in height we always hear a much lower level in the layering of the sound. The limitation Pass Labs power amps and preamps both own is a limited level in the individual focus of instruments and voices. I had many conversations about this with Desmond Harrington (President of Pass Labs) and he was aware of this.

You can adapt it with cables and a source as well. But when we use preamps who own a superior level in intimate focus it becomes clear that it has a huge advantage. It creates a much more lifelike palpable image of voices and instruments.

That is why I want to do presentations with Conservatorium students at audio shows. To let people experience what intimate focus of voices and instruments is and does. After that, I will give a demo with a Tru-Fi system. So they will understand that it is just like in reality.