I matched up the Aleph 3 with a Audible Illusions pre-amp about 1 1/2 years ago and have been very happy ever since. The mid-range is incredible--very realistic and clear. The upper end also has the typical tube advantage of being clear, though perhaps a bit soft. I matched up the amp with Epos 14 speakers, so I don't really know how much of the admittedly weak bass of my system is from electronics versus speaker.
Am now using the Goertz flat speaker cables, which seem to match the Pass very well.

best amp i have ever heard. the sound is so natural and relax and the price is low compare to other high end amplifier.

i have this amp, i am using paradigm studio 100. a good match for this amp. try to get some warth speaker like BMW and psb.i love this amp, good sound, detail, smooth, warth.

System: B&W 804 Meridian 506.18 CD Player
Audio Electronics AE-1 Preamp
Pass Aleph 3 Amplifier
Synergistic Speaker and Interconnect Cables
So far this amplifier never ceases to amaze me. It has a more real presentation than my previous Krell KAV300i or the Krell KST100. Power is not an issue and I like the deep soundatage it throws. Top end is very pleasing and midrange is completely grain free. A bargain on the used market for $1200-$1500. Stereophile seems to have gotten this one right - finally!! I do not think it sounds like a tube amplifier (As all printed brochures and reviews claim) but mixed with a decent tube preamp it is a great combination.

I heard this amp in the context of an audition of the Martin-Logan Aerius i speakers. The front end consisted of a California Audio Labs CL-15 HDCD player connected directly to the amp. I cannot comment definitively on the "sound" of this amp because this was the only time I heard it, but my observations might prove helpful.
The midrange and treble on this thing were magnificent. Airy, spacious and detailed-yet-flowing describe what I heard. However, I was not at all pleased with the bass performance [see my 11/14 review of the Aerius]. While I blame the relative slowness of the M-L's woofer compared to its panel on the speaker, the Pass did not win any points on its bass performance. The M-L's are known to be exceedingly placement sensitive, so perhaps I'm being too hard on the Pass. Nevertheless, I heard no punch or authority on the bass at all, even adjusting for the fact that the Aerius doesn't have any low bass.

So for what it's worth, perhaps the Pass is too "tubey"??? Overall, I'd rate it 3.5 stars.

I am hoping the Pass 3 power amp is one of a number of new products that can act as a balancing force in today's audio market. In a world of flashy dials and lights, ambiant sound fields, gazilians of watts per chanell, 10,000 user selectable settings and all the rest of 90's audio fashion, the Pass 3 is simple.It is designed to do one thing well with no tweaking. (Actually becuase I do not fuss with the equipment, I actually sit down and listen to the music, which is good for me)

Description:
It provides only 30 watts of power into 8 ohms, and about 60 watts into 4 ohms. The exterior of the amp is a simple. The top is a flat aluminum plate. The sides are black fins to disipate heat and there is a lone small blue light wedged between two fins on the front (power indicator).

Aesthetics:
It is kind of ugly/beatifiul and a great conversation piece for anyone interested in this hobby because of its design/philosophy.

Music Quality:
I believe the music gets through this device better than any amp I have auditioned, (that I could reasonalby afford). My concern was that the amp would not have enough power for my B&W 804s, however; I find the bass definition better through the Aleph 3 than my previous Adcom 545 with 100 watts into 8 and 150 watts into 4.

Satifacation with owership:
It is a real pleasure own a machine so well enigneered for its purpose of letting me connect with the music.

Not recommended:
I would not use this piece with low or mid-fi equipment and large speaker systems that need a lot of power to move large low, frequency drivers.

This amp is the finest solid state amp I have heard to date. It has a combination of midrange purity, grain free presentation and holographic soundstaging and imaging that is beguiling. Havingg previously owned Krell and Mark Levinson amplification with huge power reserves, it was astounding what this little power amp could do. However, careful system matching is required because of the ultimately limited power and inability to provide huge current, but used within its abilities it provides some of the finest sound available.
Sytem :
Sony transport, PS Audio Ultralink 2, Levinson 38S, Sonus Faber Concerto

Over the years I've listened to lots of high-end equipment. I have a friend who used to own an audio salon and had the opportunity to listen to lots of expensive equipment. I've heard the likes of Krell, Mark Levinson, CAT, Cello, Conrad-Johnson, Classe, Counterpoint, Klyne, Duntech, Apogee, Magnepan, Thiel, MBL, Sota, VPI, etc., etc. I believe the Aleph 3 to be the best sounding amp around for the bucks. As with any componet with high-end aspirations, it requires very careful matching to associated components. When you achieve an appropriate match it is one of the best sounding amps around. It sounds like it costs thousands more than it does. By the way, I love tubes. There's just something about them! I've been through quite a bit of tube equipment over the years but finally tired of the tweakiness of the whole thing. Along comes the Aleph 3 and I now have a transistor amp I can live with. While it doesn't sound like tubes, it doesn't sound like transistors either! To me, it's the best of both with none of the negatives of either. I've mated mine with the Meadowlark Audio Kestrel speakers (another killer product for the bucks) and it's simply amazing for an inexpensive system. Highly recommended!

I thought I'd share a story about this remarkable product...the most amazing audio demonstration I've ever witnessed.
It was shortly after the Aleph 3 was released, and my local dealer (a member
of AudioWeb...) had gotten his demo. I was thinking of buying a Krell KSA-250, which I regard as probably the best amp Krell ever made (short of the KAS series, of course). He told me not to buy it, that what I really wanted was a Pass, and that he was going to prove it to me. We were going to listen to the 3 vs. the KSA-250.
I don't remember exactly what the rest of the system was. The source was probably a Meridian 508.20; the speakers, definitely Thiel CS1.5s; the preamp may have been an Aleph P, perhaps a Meridian as well; not sure. Anyway, first up was the Krell. I owned a KSA-80B at the time, so I knew what to expect: Solid, deep, powerful, effortless; excellent, overall. Yet as good as it was, I was not at all prepared for what happened when we switched to the Aleph 3: It was so much better than the Krell that I can only say it stomped it, everywhere except (not surprisingly) in the bass. On rock (in that system), the Krell was probably more satisfying; but with folk (say), it was not contest.
I later found out, through more extended listening, that the Krell's superiority with rock had more to do with the system than with the amp itself. The CS1.5s are not tough loads, by any stretch, but they aren't easy ones, either, they aren't real efficient, and they will go down to about 35Hz. Use the Aleph 3 with mini-monitors, or just more efficient speakers, and its a totally different story. It's also important (as a previous reviewer in effect said) to be careful about impedence: Two gain-stage amps, like the 3, don't like driving low, fluctuating impedences.
Many of these remarks also apply, of course, to other of the Pass amps, which tend to be sonically similar and to differ only in their power output. That's one of the things that's so amazing about them: The Aleph 3 really doesn't sound much different from the Aleph 1.2 monoblocks; the difference is that the 1.2s will drive big, power hungry speakers, not that they sound so much better. That is very nice, IMHO, for those of us who can't afford $14K amps.

I love this amplifier.Clean, clear and smooth with details. Together with a CJ 14 pre, a Lehman black cube and Totems - heaven. Haven't heard many tube amps, but this one is certainly a good one! Will probably do even better with easier speakers.