Pass Labs X350.5 Stereo Power Amplifier Review

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Perhaps I'm a bit too picky at times

We expect nothing less from Audioholics.

 

[cpp]

Yeah, they just buy premium products that generate higher-paying jobs to make and sell them.

But seriously, how many people have a second refrigerator or a freezer, or drive a huge pick-up truck to the office? .

I have a second freezer setting in the garage filled with vension, hog, beef and I used to drive my pickup to the office. Now I just tow my boat, when it's not at the lake house. Got a problem

And I like Gene to be picky, at least he's being honest

 

[Irvrobinson]

I have a second freezer setting in the garage filled with vension, hog, beef and I used to drive my pickup to the office. Now I just tow my boat, when it's not at the lake house. Got a problem

No, other than jealousy over the boat.

 

[Docks]

Hmmm if the ATI AT3000 series is actually the ML 532H, measurements here Mark Levinson No.532H power amplifier Measurements | Stereophile.com
I don't really see the extra 9 grand at work when comparing the Pass to ATI.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Hmmm if the ATI AT3000 series is actually the ML 532H, measurements here Mark Levinson No.532H power amplifier Measurements | Stereophile.com
I don't really see the extra 9 grand at work when comparing the Pass to ATI.

Maybe there's not an audible advantage, but look at the difference in the power levels used for the FFTs. Gene ran one for 1W, Atkinson used 45W for his "low power" shot. Nelson lives up to his reputation of worrying about the "first watt".

 

[mtrycrafts]

Having owned amps that sink a lot of current like these (Krell class A mono blocks, so I had two of them), the truth is that having them turned on a couple of hours per day was invisible on my electric bill.

You mean that 30kw is invisible on your electric bill? Do you have solar power?

 

[Steve81]

You mean that 30kw is invisible on your electric bill? Do you have solar power?

30 kwh isn't a heck of a lot. At say, 10c per kwh (roughly what I pay) its 3 whole dollars

 

[gene]

Maybe there's not an audible advantage, but look at the difference in the power levels used for the FFTs. Gene ran one for 1W, Atkinson used 45W for his "low power" shot. Nelson lives up to his reputation of worrying about the "first watt".

Yep an amp spends most of its time operating at low power so it's good to see how quite and clean it is there.

No doubt the ATI amp is a good one but it's not as powerful as the Pass Labs.

Using square waves to test an amp has little value these days when you can power sweep from 10-20kHz and beyond with modern test equipment.

The Pass Lab's amp displayed extreme linearity at all power levels for the entire audio band.

 

[Irvrobinson]

30 kwh isn't a heck of a lot. At say, 10c per kwh (roughly what I pay) its 3 whole dollars

Exactly. My electric bill varies by more than $3/mo. (I pay 8 cents per KWH.)

 

[mtrycrafts]

30 kwh isn't a heck of a lot. At say, 10c per kwh (roughly what I pay) its 3 whole dollars

I guess when electricity is almost free, it matters not

$3 here, $3 there, pretty soon it adds up.

 

[walter duque]

I guess when electricity is almost free, it matters not

$3 here, $3 there, pretty soon it adds up.

Good point. My electric bill can go up as much as $80.oo+ when I use my amp heavy in a two month period. It uses 5800 watts at test conditions which I usually hit when I do turn on my system.

 

[josko]

I'm just glad that people are still making gear like that and that there's a market to keep them in business. I've got a serious case of upgradeitis on my hands - only time will tell whether my wallet or my illness prevails.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Good point. My electric bill can go up as much as $80.oo+ when I use my amp heavy in a two month period. It uses 5800 watts at test conditions which I usually hit when I do turn on my system.

Now, that is not chicken feed And, that is just from one source.
We have a freezer with no auto defrost. Plugged it into a KillAWatt meter for exactly 30 days, 720 hours; 62 kWh, for two people left in house

 

[craig7]

wow you guys reviewed a product ive actually seen in person before
and yeah... it is a pretty beast amp. ive never heard any system louder than it... it was incredible

 

[surveyor]

Yep an amp spends most of its time operating at low power so it's good to see how quite and clean it is there.

No doubt the ATI amp is a good one but it's not as powerful as the Pass Labs.

Using square waves to test an amp has little value these days when you can power sweep from 10-20kHz and beyond with modern test equipment.

The Pass Lab's amp displayed extreme linearity at all power levels for the entire audio band.

In the fact that it's more powerfull than either the Mark Levinson or the ATI amps says it all- it truly a beast!

 

[Irvrobinson]

In the fact that it's more powerful than either the Mark Levinson or the ATI amps says it all- it truly a beast!

Actually, both the Levinson and the X350.5 are both merely in the middle of the respective manufacturers' product lines. If you want to get really silly with amplifiers both companies will fully accommodate you. Pass makes an X1000.5, and Levinson makes the completely ridiculous No53 monoblocks for $50K per pair. The Pass Labs monster is a comparative bargain at only about $35K per pair.

 

[Rich Davis]

Pass makes nice stuff

Personally, when it comes to power amps, there are so many good amps out there and it's all a matter of matching up with the pre amp, cables, and speakers to achieve the desired end result.

 

[Rich Davis]

There a LOT of VERY expensive amps on the market. In terms of how loud they go? Any good amp will probably drive most speakers past what is considered normal listening levels. I don't know if you've done any dB checks, but most of the time I only have my system at around 85 to MAYBE 95 dB on a continual basis. Anything louder than that is not typically good for your ears to have a system operating much louder than that. Most systems playing at that volume level are not using maximum output. Some speakers can handle large amounts or need large amounts of power to drive. Electrostatic, MBL, and other speakers might require or like large amounts of power, but in most cases, you'll probably not use much more than 20 or 50 watts, especially if you do things like bi-amping.

Don't judge a system by how loud it goes, since most of these places won't even turn up the system to maximum levels, because you can't sit within 60 feet of the speakers when they drive them to maximum spl. I have a pair of Meridian DSP5500s for mains, a DSP5000 center channel, with some other DevTech rears and a Talon sub and I can't sit in the same room after I turn up the volume knob past a certain point. Listening to a system in the 100+dB range is just not something good for your ears. When you go to a concert, break out your smartphone and a dB meter app and see what the dB is at your listening position.

Go to these sites and check out some of the most insane systems available. HigherFi - Worlds Best HiFi High-End Speakers and Audio or HIGH-END PALACE - The place for the world's best music systems!

And $50K for a pair of monoblocks isn't the high end, it's not more mid high end in terms of price. one can spend upwards of $500K for the Pivetta Opera or $200K for the Goldmund Telos 5000's, etc. so $50K for a pair of Pass is pretty cheap.