Pass x250.8 vs Boulder 850 vs Spectral DMA250


Hi all, I sold my old integrated amplifier (Vitus RI-100) and now I have a C2550 mcIntosh Preamplifier.
Next month I will have the possibility to make an audition on these amps, some of them are second hand so the resulting price will be more or less comparable:
- the new Pass X250.8 (I am afraid about what I read on burn-in hours required)
- Spectral DMA 250
- Boulder 850 monos
my intention is to drive my Sonus Faber Elipsa Red with a very good slam/control (where Vitus RI-100 lacked) but without loosing the excellent Vitus mids/highs.
Anyone experienced ? Any other suggestion will be appreciated.
Thanks
Massimo
maz65
My dentist plays with the first generation Amati's. He uses Krell amps of about 7 years old. The sound is stunning. I heard these also with ML. It sounded dead, without emotion. Even depth was of a very low level. Yes SF needs power and speed, because SF does not use units with the best response. You need a lot of power and speed to solve this limitation. But....also you need emotion. It is easy to get a clinical sound out of a SF. I love classical music with SF. I think SF will be my new brand in speakers I will start to sell. I will use SF for it's design and for the options of more expensive speakers.
@Bo1972 It is not a mistery that Franco Serblin (r.i.p.) tested its own products, in the first instance, with Spectral, his personal setup, and (maybe not confirmed) Krell stuff.
In 16 years of time I heard many spectral demos. There was
not even one time that it gave me a smile on my face. What I
said earlier; in a few seconds I can hear to all different
parts which need to be there. There is a lot missing with
Spectral in my personal opinion. In a few demos I really
liked the speed and depth. But.....other things were still
missing. For me this is incomplete. I don't want it. I prefer
and even demand a small and realistic intimate sound. I never
heard any Spectral do this as I want it to be. I hate
classical music played by spectral. It irritated me a few
times. I asked the dealer;do you think a violin sounds like
this? I said: it sound like a clinical violin. That is not
how it sounds in real. This brand I also not even want for
free. Pass labs is superior in emotion compared to Spectral.
"08-19-14: Maz65
@Bo1972 It is not a mistery that Franco Serblin (r.i.p.) tested its own products, in the first instance, with Spectral, his personal setup, and (maybe not confirmed) Krell stuff."

Speaker manufacturers test their speakers with a lot of different amps. They have to make sure the speakers work with a large variety of products. Aside from Krell and Spectral, your speakers were probably tested with another 10-15 amps. At least.

Bo's right about the Spectral amps. They do have a unique sound. You may like it, but there's no way I would buy them without listening to them first. Also, with the Pass amp, you can't put it into the same class as other mosfet amps. Pass is the best guy there is with mosfets. He gets them sounding just as clean as most bipolars. Another amp you may want to look at is Ayre. They do use bipolars, but they don't sound like anything else. For solid state, Ayre is my favorite. But whatever you decide to do, you need to listen for yourself. Going by reviews and opinions is very risky.
I tested a few Ayre amps in the past. They do not have the
width and depth of Pass Labs. I know from email contact that
the new .8 series even have a wider and deeper stage. Only
class a will give you all the colours in the mid freq. you
want and need. Ayre is also in my personal opinion
incomplete. It does not have all the parts for what I call
Total Sound. Same thing; I don't even want them for free!!