Aleph 3 - Its 2013, are they still awesome ?

"07-29-13: Mapman
Its probably a really good 30 w/ch amplifier, but still only 30 w/ch. I would not compare it to other good higher power amps that would come in for similar or less cost.

So its about quality more than quality. Gotta have speakers that can reach their full potential with only 30 watts for best results I would say. THat would seem to infer the speakers be fairly efficient, unless litening at higher volumes is not a concern."

That's not always the case. Amp power ratings can be all over the place. There's no standard for measurement. I took my Pass 0s (40 watts x2) and easily drove a pair of B&W 802's. When I put my Krell KAV 250 in the system, there wasn't that much of a difference. The bass was better and you could get a little more volume, but the amp really wasn't necessary. The Pass was more than enough.

Essrand,

Given the above statement, I'm not suggesting that you go out and buy a big, inefficient pair of speakers. The 0s is a much bigger amp than the 3, or even the 5. If you are considering ProAc, I wouldn't go any bigger than the Response 2. I have heard the 3 with the Response 1sc, 1.5 and the 2. Great sound with all 3.

As far as a preamp goes, I never really liked Pass preamps. Its been a while since I've heard one, so its possible they have changed. I wouldn't hesitate to get the BAT. That was the best one I tried. (VK 5i I think was the model). A BAT Vk-50SE should sound even better. The build quality is also as good as it gets. Pick a good source and you will be very happy with the combo.

I did not like the Aleph 30 with a single driver + super tweeter design similar to the Zus. The Aleph overdamped the bass on these speakers. A problem that I did not have when using First Watt amps with these speakers.

Never were

I tried the Aleph 30- agree with everything Ejlif says- nice, magical on some types of music, but forget about big dynamics... I was using on higher efficiency Coincident speakers as well.

I will agree with some of the other posts here on the advancement Pass has made with the First Watt amps- the J2 I tried had fabulous inner detailing; very 'SET like' in that area, and superior to the Aleph amps I have heard in this regard- there is an amazing thread on the First Watt amps on Agon that is very informative. I am one of those guys that was tempted, but ended up keeping my 2-watt 45-based SET as it is still a more 'complete' picture than even the First Watt J2, HOWEVER, if I were to consider solid state in the smaller-room high efficiency system that I have, the FW SIT-1 monos would be a serious contender.

Back to the Aleph series, I also had the preamp, and again agree with Ejlif- 'boring', no life- in fact, I have had TVC-based passives I prefer to the Pass Aleph preamp.

Lastly, I contacted Nelson recently and guess what his preference is for the entire Aleph series- the Aleph 2 monoblocks...

I had the Aleph 2 mono blocks and loved them. I did prefer them to the Aleph 3 and Aleph 5. I do write a little about these amps in my review of the XA100.5. For the current used price, if you can find a pair of Aleph 2s, they are a great value.