Pass Labs X 600 Amplifiers

Pass Labs X 600 Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

Mono Power Amplifier

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-6 of 6  
[Aug 31, 2001]
Vincent Quek
Audiophile

Strength:

Pure class A up to 170W.(Told by Pass Labs) And a hell alot of Power.

Weakness:

Excuse me... Weakness???? Can't find one in these mono-block.

I only know how to be a audiophile after I had these amps.
From top to bottom, It is better than my palladium by miles. Incredible Bass, Sweet mid-range and the high freq. comes with unbeleivable clarity.I can sit down there and listen to the music for hours without fatigue now.

Buy one and listen to yourself and you will know what I meant. Before I have decided to purchase the X-600. I was looking into Gryphon Antileon Signature, Mark levinson 336, and Krell FPB 650c. Finally, X-600 is the choosen one. I'am not saying the rest are not as good as X-600, I beleive each has their strong point and weak point, but Pass Labs just happen to suit my speaker and room enviroment.

My equipment:

CD trasport- Metronome T-1i
DAC- Sonic frontier SFD2-MK3(Upgraded to 24/96 by Sonic frontier)
Digital up Sampler: Assemblage D2D
Pre-amp: Ayre K1x
Speaker cable: XLO signature 5.1
Interconnet: XLO sigature 2.1 and Tara lab Decade.
Speaker: Home brewed: Top Drivers fro Dynaudio Driver(Esotar T-330D, Esotar M-560D, Esotec 20W75)


Similar Products Used:

Aragon Palladium 2

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 16, 2001]
Rich
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything I was looking for

Weakness:

Nothing

I am definitely an audio enthusiast, not an audiophile. I listen for sheer enjoyment, not necessarily to dicern every detail or nuance. I hope someday to mature into a phile but for now I'm not.

I had been looking for new amps for over a year, listening, demoing, etc. At the time, I was living in London with access to only Euro products and Bryston. With each new amp, I would insert "Junior Wells, Everybody Wants Some", Track 8, "Use Me". For those who like Blues, and especially Junior Wells, this song is heaven. It's a Telarc recording which means it is crystal clear allowing volume levels to creep into the surreal. So, with each successive amp my hifi guy would bring me, in pops Junior and in a short time the clipping lights start a flashin'. My Dynaudio 3.3's are built pretty tough and could take every thing these amps had to offer (and then some). Chord's top of the line product, the SPM something or other, which retails for nearly $20,000 ran out of gas long before me or my Dyn's did. It was unbelievable. From Chord I moved onto Naim. Same story different product.

So I moved on to Bryston and demo'ed the 7BST's and the new 15B, both with the Bryston rep in the room. A kick drum hits in the middle of one of Junior's songs that instantly clipped the 15B and brought the Bryston rep out of his chair. He swore to me that no one had ever done that before. The 7B's clipped even before the 15B while being rated slightly higher in output. Bottom line, when put up against Junior, I found no amps in Europe that could put out the power and clarity I needed.

Thankfully I moved back to the US before buying new amps. One listen to the X600's and I knew I was sold. Junior has finally found a partner that wouldn't give up on him when he needs them most. I don't think it is humanly possible to clip these amps. I listened to Krell but liked the Pass sound better (not to say that Krell is bad). As far as I can tell, these amps are nothing short of incredible. The highs, the lows, the clarity, the kick.... everything is there. But being the enthusiast I am, I cannot comment on their "audiophile qualities", but what I can say is that I've never heard anything like this. From an aesthetic standpoint, the X600's are beauties as well. All around, my happy meter is 10 on a 10 scale.

Similar Products Used:

Krell, Chord, Bryston, Naim

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 08, 2000]
Steve
Audiophile

Strength:

Amazing realism;
Unending power without electronic signature
Looking at them is nearly as fun as listening to them!

Prior to buying the X600's, I checked here for reviews but found none.

I'm proud to be the first post on what are absolutely among the finest amps on the planet. The sense of realism these reproduce is indescribable. I'm often "startled" as I listen with my eyes shut, and suddenly open them thinking someone entered the room, or a real noise happened in the room, only to find that the amp (and Avalon Eidolon speakers) reproduced with such realism that I thought I could reach it out and touch it.

Had the Aleph 1.2's prior to the 600's. Great amps, but no comparison, at least with a more demanding, less efficient speaker like the Eidolon's.

I have been in this hobby seriously for about 7 or 8 years, and have heard some amazing systems (and most importantly the music). I've never been so moved emotionally by the music as I have been since introducing these amps into my system. Sound to die for, looks to die for, and pride of ownership that's pretty hard to beat!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 10, 2000]
Bernardo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Everything.

Weakness:

Nothing

I was not prepared for the incredible improvement the Pass X600's made on my system. The Threshold T400 is an excellent amp as are the Muse. But the Pass is in another league altogether. To begin with, there is a sense of ease and natural/organic feel to the sound that can only be described as " being there ". There is an enormous amount of detail without being at all fatiguing on the ear. A complete absense of electronic sound, the antithises of bright or hardness is very striking because many reviewers claim a unit has detail when in fact it is just bright. The Pass amps almost seem to have the performers plugged into them and playing in the same room. This is actually a stunning revelation because the recording seems to have come alive for the first time. To sum it all up: transformational, revolutionary, spiritual. This is no BS!

Similar Products Used:

Threshold T400, Threshold s/500, Parasound HDA 2200II, Muse 300 II Signature

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 06, 2000]
Adam
Audiophile

Strength:

Clean, open, phenominally accurate sound. Will drive any speaker - load independent.

Weakness:

Not cheap

I use these incredible amps to drive my very impedence-unfriendly Sound Lab Auras. With these amps, my speakers become as dynamic as horns! The sound is so accurate and clean, on many recordings I hear instruments that I never noticed before. On The Absolute Sound's Hearts of Space CD, you hear EVERYTHING HP says you should as clear as day.

The build quality is unbelievable and those meters are industrial magic. For full-range electrostat speakers, you should use either the X600s or X1000s to get the right dynamics and not overload the amps; the X350 is not enough.

I use Sonic Frontiers Line 1 tube preamp, Meridian 563 DAC, Krell MD-2 CD Transport, and PAD Collossus speaker cables. Everything runs through balanced connections. These amps will only operate in balanced mode.

Similar Products Used:

Krell KSA-300S

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 04, 2000]
Francis Ng
Audiophile

Strength:

True pure class A poweramp

Weakness:

It makes me cannot stop listening to my Jazz CD Collections

I buy the X600 to drive my Acustik Lab Stella Elegans speakers. The result: the musicians are playing live in front of me. The amps are so natural, period.

My system consists of:
Accuphase DP 80 L Cd Transport (will be replaced after the SACD vs DVDA debut settles down)
DCS Purcell
DCS Elgar +
Pass Lab X600
Acustik Lab Stella Elegans Speaker
All cabling by Gryphon (Guideline Reference Interconnect and PSC Reference Speaker Cable)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-6 of 6  

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