SS Amp for natural vocals

04-01-08: Tomcy6
Tvad, How did your Belles compare to the Pass amps? How did the midrange including vocals compare?

No one would believe me if I said the Belles and the Pass were close, but they are...particularly when the Belles are used as monoblocks. It's a matter of degree. Overall, the Pass sounds more natural and refined, but then they are Class A and they cost $10k for a 60wpc pair, versus $6k for 500wpc pair.

The differences between them are more pronounced when comparing them as stereo amplifiers. IMO, running the Belles as monoblocks is the best way to go, and reviews support this conclusion.

Alana Yun, builder of Silverline Audio loudspeakers recommended both Belles and Pass Labs to me, and I have to say he was absolutely correct on both counts.

I heard the DALI Helicon 400Mk.2 a few days ago with the Jeff Rowland Design Group 501 monoblocks, driven by the Rowland Capri. This is a truly smooth and revealing combination. I listened to Karrin Allyson, Rebecca Pidgeon, Livingston Taylor, Kenny Rankin, Chicago Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony and the DALIs really shone well.

Prior to plugging in the 501s were tried a Primare integrated, which did a very poor job of controlling the DALI's woofers, yielding a bloated, bloomy bass. Next, we put in a Rowland stereo 102 and things improved a bunch, but the 501 really took hold of the Helicons and made them sound smooth, deep, detailed and lush, all at once. Those speakers evidently love a bunch of power and high damping.

Dave

Tomcy6, the ARC is a solid state amp. check out the ARC web for more info.

Regarding Pass and Belles, I haven't owned the specific Pass amps you mentioned, but I did own the Pass Aleph 3 for years - while a great amp, I prefered the Belles Reference 150A by a pretty big margin and with several different sets of speakers.

I prefered the Belles Reference 150A by a pretty big margin and with several different sets of speakers.
Fly_fish_nz (Threads | Answers)

The 150A Reference is a darned fine amplifier...underrated and overlooked by many audiophiles.

Disclosure - I have a pair of 150A Reference for sale. They are being replaced by Pass Labs XA-60.5.