It's as good as everyone says it is, but only if you have compatible speakers. CAUTION: sounds best with 30 to 60 minute warm up and use the balanced inputs - there is a difference.

Really wonderful amp. Maybe the best i've heard, also some giant VTL monoblocks.
Sounds pretty much the same that Pass 3, except some more "authority" at the bass. But the same amazingly open, detailed, well defined sound.
A suggestion for these ratings: some statistical clean-up should be made, eliminating in the averages ratings the 10% worst and better ratings, so to avoid those stupid 1 star classifications. On this amp, for exmaple, it is just a moron thing to do.

Over the 30 years I have been in audio, I've owned/used a procession ofamplifiers. Many were excellent: Levinson #23, ARC D-125, Threshold 400A,
etc. I've just acquired the most musically satisfying amp to date, the
Pass Aleph 5. I'm using it in biamp configuration on the midrange/tweeter
panels of Infinity RS-1b's, with the Levinson #23 on bass towers. The
Aleph has a natural harmonic structure, with midrange richness, ambient
air, a spacious & deep soundstage, and the ability to follow complex
instrumental passages without becoming congested or homogenized. It has
excellent dynamics (within it's power range, 60 W/Chan @ 8 ohms), and
accurately conveys the timbre of wooden instruments, plucked strings,
brasses, etc. In summation, I would characterize this amp as honest and
true to the music. I expect it will grow to be an audio classic.

This probably the best sounding amplifier I ever listen to. It looks very ugly. The on/off switch is hide behind the amp in a very difficult place to reach, and it gives off plenty of heat (300W/hr), it's power is only 60W. I have listen to other solid state amps: Krell, MLevinson, Plinius, CJ, but the PASS 5 is the best. With decent bass and quickness; clear, smooth realistic mid & high frequency, the ALEPH 5 stand about the rest is its realistic soundstage & inst. tones. It sounds like you are at the recording event, every instruments has a space around it. I would recommend to any one who like the sound of real music w/o any electronics sound.

Without a doubt the best amp I have ever heard. I had auditioned this amp in a store before, but once I took it home and heard it on my own system I realized just how good it is. Smooth, transparent, detailed, with lots of air and richness is how I would describe it (as the recording permits - it will not make poor recordings sound good). I have owned the Adcom GFA-5800, the Mark Levinson 331, and the Llano A-200 and the Pass is superior to them all when considering the overall performance. Great job Nelson Pass!!

I have tried out MANY amps in the last year and none made much difference...UNTIL I took home a Pass Labs Aleph 5. They could not pry it out of my
dying arms. I know this sounds a bit much but it changed my whole system.
My speakers are Martin-Logan Quests, and people have said they are hard to
drive, you need at least 100 watts etc. etc., but this amp works wonders
with them.

Alright already! Everyone just take a deap breath. Yes, I was the smart-ass who posted the "test" review to see what would happen if...Ahhh, I just don't feel like explaining it right now. Suffice it to say, I would know the difference between this amp and el-cheapos like Toshiba and JVC (which I own as a matter of fact). I've even received a piece of hate-email. What's next, death-threats? I'm a poor audiophile wanna-be but we can dream can't we? I can only imagine what this amp would sound like after reading the reviews in Stereophile, (yeah I'm a subscriber but so what right?) I probably would be in music nirvana if I heard it and never listen to my JVC 1024 again. I'd also run the risk of being tempted to buy the Pass Aleph amp with my meager savings complete with divorce lawyer fees. So in good faith and with sincere apologies I give this amp an enthusiastic 5 star rating albeit on imagination.

great amp i use a conrad johnson pv10a pre-amp and it works great with the aleph

This is truely an amazing amplifier. I have been auditioning amplifiers overthe last while (Krell, YBA, Classe, Bryston) and kept going back to listen to
this one. I purchased one a couple of weeks ago. I found a sence of clarity,
almost 3 dimensional quality to the soundstage and a musicality that I was missing or lacking in the others I auditioned. Associated equipment
is a Sonic Frontiers Line 1 Pre-amp, B&W CDM 7SE speakers, DH Labs cables and
interconnects and a Denon CD-player.

The Aleph 5 is a wonderful amplifier. Midrange is rich, deep soundstage, good power which belies its 60W rating. The amp is very detailed without being analitical. Bass is well represented and natural. I bought this to replace an Adcom 5802 with a bit of trepidation that I might not be satisfied with power output (gladly wrong).
Associated equipment: Pass Aleph P (which is the reason I decided to try the Pass amps), Rega Planet CD Player, Rega 3 Turntable with Grado Reference Platinum Turntable, McCormack "Mod Squad" Phono Stage, Nordost Blue Heaven interconnects and speaker wire (double bi-wire configuration) Audioquest Lapis interconnects on turntable, Paradigm Reference 100 speakers