pass labs x5

krishen · 10-03-2007, 1:21 PM

i have had a look at this amp and really like it. does anyone here own 1 or heard one, how is the performance. it retails at £3800 but have seen for £2000 would u be able to get 1 for less than this. thanks

krishen · 15-05-2007, 12:07 PM

anyone? i am still interested in this amp any1 heard it ?

**alexs2** · 15-05-2007, 7:23 PM

Hi...you could try dropping custodian a line....he owns or has owned a set of the bigger Pass amps here...

What are the most powerful amps in the HC market?

I've only heard one of the Aleph series a while back,which probably wont be much help.

krishen · 16-05-2007, 4:07 PM

thnks for that alex.

Peter Baker · 16-05-2007, 9:52 PM

Reputation on all Pass Labs amps is sky high. I would be tempted to buy with confidence at the price quoted

krishen · 17-05-2007, 3:57 PM

thanks peter have u heard any of the pass labs gear as i am to far to demo but hav heard very gd reviews of them.

krishen · 20-05-2007, 11:50 AM

when eventually i get the pass labs x5 intially i may be pairing it with my current av amp (marantz sr5400) would this be acceptable as the proccesor how much affect will it hav on the sound by not having a dedicated processor

**alexs2** · 20-05-2007, 3:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishen

when eventually i get the pass labs x5 intially i may be pairing it with my current av amp (marantz sr5400) would this be acceptable as the proccesor how much affect will it hav on the sound by not having a dedicated processor

I think that you'll find this will quite severely limit the maximum potential from the X5,but obviously does give you the potential to upgrade to a much better processor and still be able to use the X5 with it.

So,as an entry to use with a good power amp,and saving costs initially,it may be a useful way in.

krishen · 20-05-2007, 7:27 PM

how much of a difference would say a tag mclaren av32r make?

**alexs2** · 20-05-2007, 9:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishen

how much of a difference would say a tag mclaren av32r make?

Please remember this is just my opinion,but based on my finding with a similarly priced receiver when I satrted down the AV rout a few yrs ago.....a lot of difference.

The TAG is still a very decent processor and aside from service issues (which are improving both via IAG and The Audiocellar),the sound steering,sound quality and imaging are all going to be somewhat better.
You are after all comparing a receiver costing about £450 a few yrs ago with a processor alone,which cost approximately 3-4 times as much at the same time.

krishen · 21-05-2007, 12:09 PM

this is wat i thought would be the case. what exactly does the dac do in the proccessor is it the strength of processing?

**alexs2** · 21-05-2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishen

this is wat i thought would be the case. what exactly does the dac do in the proccessor is it the strength of processing?

Being honest its not just one link in the chain.....you'll find a lot of attention to PSU details,better quality components,better DACs,higher powered and better quality processor chips etc etc.

All of it adds up to a much better sound quality overall.

The DAC simply provides the digital to analogue conversion,but there are cheap as well as very expensive examples,and the sound quality differences can be very obvious.

krishen · 02-06-2007, 7:52 PM

would u say the pass labs veers towards being a bright amp or a warm 1? is there any other amps out there that produce a warmer sound

spiver · 02-06-2007, 8:31 PM

Hi Krishen

I have just added an X5 to my setup. It is used with a Myryad MDP500 G6 processor and Proac D15 speakers and the sound is amazing. It is not bright in my setup nor would I expect it to be. The amp produces a very three dimensional sound with excellent bass weight and control. With music it is sublime. I bought it from reputation alone and it is easy to see why when you hear one. £2000 is pretty much the going rate for a second hand one however its an amp that I expect to live with for a long while and would imagine that it will hold its value well.
Most importantly the customer service from Pass Labs is renowned to be second to none. I had a few email queries with them prior to buying and received a virtually instant response. They could not have been more helpful. This is something that is a big deal to me especially when purchasing non UK company products.
Its not hard to see why they have such a great reputation. I would recommend one whole heartedly

Get a dedicated processor. It would be a waste not to.

krishen · 03-06-2007, 8:17 PM

would u say this amp will veer towards being bright with my speakers(monitor audio rs6av) as these speakers hav been known to be bright with bright electronics? i hav jus bought a dedicated processor as i hoping it will make a big differnce to sound quality.

gizlaroc · 03-06-2007, 11:29 PM

Your speakers are fairly bright, the Pass Labs is not bright but quite neautral and will reveal the processor up no end. The Tag gear is verging on bright, the AV32 is teh only processor I have owned and not been able to live with, I just found it quite hard sounding and something that I couln't live with.

krishen · 04-06-2007, 7:05 AM

thats interesting every1 seems to rate the av32r highly and i hav just bought 1. is there any way i could get the sound any less bright e.g with cables etc

gizlaroc · 04-06-2007, 10:24 AM

Sorry, I didn't realise you had bought one. See how you get on with it, I had been using a Lexcion before the Tag and also a Merdian so it may have seemed a bit harsh to me because of that.
You can chage the sound slightly with cables but see how you get on first.

krishen · 10-06-2007, 8:36 PM

has any1 heard the moon aurora 5 channel amp looks gd

krishen · 11-06-2007, 6:35 PM

any1

spiver · 16-06-2007, 7:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishen

has any1 heard the moon aurora 5 channel amp looks gd

It certainly looks the biz. Moon make some gorgeous hifi. Have you seen their Rock Monoblocks - only £34,995 a pair !!!!

krishen · 17-06-2007, 11:57 AM

yh looks like a beast. wat 5 channel amp would u say is most suited to my my electronics currently(tag mclaren av32r processor and monitor audio rs6av speakers). wat would most complement the electronics i hav i want a relaxed and warm type of sound?

spiver · 17-06-2007, 2:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishen

i want a relaxed and warm type of sound?

Prior to aquiring my X5 I have had a variety of power amps in my system such as a Rotel RMB1075, Roksan Caspian, Primare A30.5 MkII and a Myryad MA500 amongst others. My favourite being the Myryad. Its clean and detailed and is great with music. I use a Myryad processor so it was the obvious choice visually but sound quality was my prime requirement. The Primare however had a similar presentation (and price tag new of around £1700) but is slightly warmer. I also seem to remember that it runs quite hot which is something you may need to bear in mind. Whilst I owned the Primare I had to have a small repair done and found the service from the distributor CSE Solutions was superb.

Annoyingly I had a pair of RS6 speakers hooked up to my Myryad amp for a short while but can't remember what the sound was like

I was looking for something for a secondary mainly 2 channel setup. Ended up buying some B&W 805s.

Finding the sound you want will probably have as much to do with the characteristics of your processor as it does the amp.

krishen · 17-06-2007, 3:05 PM

thanks for that any1 else hears any amps wuth the monitor audio's? i heard the parasound a51 was a gd match with the tag mclaren processor

spiver · 17-06-2007, 3:19 PM

krishen where are you based? You are welcome to come and have a listen to the X5 if you want to get an idea what it sounds like. Just drop me a pm.

gizlaroc · 17-06-2007, 3:48 PM

A power amp very its very nature should sound pretty neautral, as you go up in quality it will sound smoother as there is less distortion etc.
The processor is the thing that changes the overall sound, I know you haven't hd the tag long but itt may be worth considering a Meridian 568, a 568.2 if funds permit or a Lexicon MC-1. Other options are the Classé SSP-30 is also a blinding choice and can be picked for peanuts as they are not realy known about, the V1 around £4-600 and the V2 around £800-12000.

I had the Classé CAV-180 which is a very good amp and regarded by many as one of the smoothest in sub £5k amps, and with the Tag processor it was still extremely harsh sounding. I have an MC-1 and a Paraound 1205 amp at the moment and that combo works far better.

Probably not what you want to hear, but I think your chasing your tail trying to get a warm sound with the Tag processor.

spiver · 17-06-2007, 4:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gizlaroc

Probably not what you want to hear, but I think your chasing your tail trying to get a warm sound with the Tag processor.

Thats what I had heard but didn't like to comment without having heard one myself. Try the TAG McLaren Audio Owners' area for some owners thoughts.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/tag-mclaren-audio-owners-forum/http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=117

Classe amps are excellent but may take some searching for on the used market. Owners tend to hang on to them. Obviously a sign of their quality.

gizlaroc · 17-06-2007, 5:56 PM

It would be a good test to try his AV32 on your amp vs your Myryad processor, just with a cd player, I think the AV32 would be up for sale the very next day!

krishen · 17-06-2007, 6:42 PM

very interesting comments i had heard gd things about the tag. unfortunatly i am not in the position to sell the processor at this time. perhaps when i do purchase the power amp then i can see whether or not i like the sound. but idealy i would want a smooth warm sound. i am going london to my uncles house in about a month or so and should be able to go demo some equipment. obviously atm i havent heard the tag as i havent a power amp to hook it up to.