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pass labs xa30.5 vs aleph 3

Stereophile reveiwer Erick Lichte has done a head to head review of these pass amps in August 2009 issue. Erick uses the aleph 3 as his main amp feeding a pair or Revel f30 speakers, he also uses Benchmark Dac1 to feed the alpeh as I do as well. He was asked to do a comparison between the pass amps as a follow up to the great reveiw of the xa30.5 which was reviewed by Brian Damkroger in which,I quote "absolutely, positively,and enthusiasticallly recommended" the xa30.5 and, Brian sounds like he perfers high powered amps in the review. In the review Erick thought the Xa30.5 sounded more resolving and a little bit better bass control and can sound louder than the 30 watts. It was leaner in the midbass than the aleph 3 but, had a slightly more presents in the top three octave. he still is in love with is aleph 3 and sound like he is not planning on replacing the aleph 3 with the xa30.5. Anyways I have been waiting for a head to head review of these pass amps since the xa30.5 was released. If anyone would like to see the head to head review send me an email and I will take a high res pictures of the artical and send it to anyone. Also Erick Lichte did a head to head review of the Musical Fidelity's 550k supercharger amp and the Aleph 3 in a December 2008 issue. He concluded the aleph sounded better than the 550's by itself. He then supercharged his aleph 3 but did not like the sound. Very interesting articals about my beloved aleph 3, and a great read for aleph 3 owners. In my opinion the aleph 3 is still a giant killer and is a legend when it comes to amps.
tiverson2000
jbarnett
2 posts
 
Lmcyee, I am currently auditioning a J2 and an XA30.5. They are very different. The J2 has an aliveness that I have never heard before. That thing produces uncanny detail - the kind of detail that lets you know not only what kind of cymbal a drummer is playing, but what kind of stick he is striking it with. And you would swear you can hear individual snares rattling against the bottom skin of a snare drum. In contrast, the XA30.5 is warm and rich sounding. Considerably less micro detail, but more rounded and three dimensional, if that makes sense. I love them both and am having a hard time coming to grips with having to part with either! Startling aliveness versus soothing sweetness. If only there was a way to blend the two...
earflappin
87 posts
 
Jbarnett, thanks for your post. What speakers and pre-amp are you using? I was going to try the J2 but at 25W into 8ohms Nelson and Mark at Reno Hi-Fi thought it wouldn't have enough power to drive my 95db efficient speakers.

Have you auditioned the Atma-Sphere amps? I would describe them as having both of the attributes you mentioned - a startling aliveness with a soothing sweetness, especially the midrange.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
11-18-09: Earflappin
...at 25W into 8ohms Nelson and Mark at Reno Hi-Fi thought it wouldn't have enough power to drive my 95db efficient speakers.
Really?

The issue of sufficient amp power is a bit mysterious.

At RMAF, Audio Note was driving their AN-E SPe HE loudspeakers (95dB...and John Atkinson suggests they are less sensitive than 95dB) with an 8wpc amplifier to very loud and undistorted levels.
earflappin
87 posts
 
I hear ya Tvad..... I thought the same thing...i.e. 25W should be enough power. Once there are some more reviews out there on the J2 I may have to try one just for the sake of curiosity.
jbarnett
2 posts
 
Earflappin, I have the Emerald Physics 2.3 speakers, which are 97dB and bi-amped. I am using a Wyred4Sound 250W ICE amp for the woofer (1000Hz on down) and the J2 / XA30.5 for the compression driver/mid (above 100Hz). My source is exclusively digital - iTunes (lossless) via an Apogee Ensemble firewire interface , which serves as DAC and preamp. This arrangement is provided by Clayton Shaw, founder of Emerald Physics and Spatial Computer. Without getting into analog vs digital and all of that, I'll just say that this system delivers music in a way that I have not heard on any other. Clayton's approach to Speaker and Room Correction Software is completely ear opening.

I too have been dealing with Mark at Reno HiFi. He is fantastic to work with. He had his reservations about the J2's power limitation too, but it sounds so good I am willing to sacrifice that little bit of extra volume on those rare occasions.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Atma-Spheres. I've heard lots of great things about them, but I just don't want to go the tube route. In fact, I just might wind up keeping my J2 and my XA30.5, I love them both so much.
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