Of the two you mention I'd choose the PASS F5 any day.
Good Listening
Peter
Good Listening
Peter
25 watts Class A or 70 watts Class A/B ?
I understand these days there are many good examples of both Class A and Class A/B amps. To the point that a well designed Class A/B can beat a similar pedigree Class A amp. However my question is in particular related to these two amps:
1. First Watt F5 (Pass Labs)
2. Naim NAP 300
The speaker to be driven is a Tannoy dual concentric Turnberry SE. It is a 93 db sensitive 8 ohm load and in general considered to go well with both high powered and low powered amps.
F5 is a highly purist class A 25 watts design with a robust power supply. It is a push-pull design so it can generally drive difficult loads better than typical single ended first watt models (F3, F4 etc). I have heard the F5 on an Altec horn system and I loved its pure and direct sound.
Naim amps in general has always appealed to me, again because of their very direct presentation. Music has a certain excitement and bounce through them. The NAP 300 is one of their top models and I am sure it will be a very refined amp.
However I will only buy one. Both these amps must be having few fundamental differences in the way they present music considering they are coming from very different designers. Even the topology is different here.
The first question here is, can a 25 watts F5 drive the Tannoys well ? My room size is 200 sqft and I listen to music at reasonably medium to loud levels. I dont play very loud though. I listen to all kinds of music from Mozart to Metallica.
Qualitatively, sound per sound, how do these two amps compare ?
1. First Watt F5 (Pass Labs)
2. Naim NAP 300
The speaker to be driven is a Tannoy dual concentric Turnberry SE. It is a 93 db sensitive 8 ohm load and in general considered to go well with both high powered and low powered amps.
F5 is a highly purist class A 25 watts design with a robust power supply. It is a push-pull design so it can generally drive difficult loads better than typical single ended first watt models (F3, F4 etc). I have heard the F5 on an Altec horn system and I loved its pure and direct sound.
Naim amps in general has always appealed to me, again because of their very direct presentation. Music has a certain excitement and bounce through them. The NAP 300 is one of their top models and I am sure it will be a very refined amp.
However I will only buy one. Both these amps must be having few fundamental differences in the way they present music considering they are coming from very different designers. Even the topology is different here.
The first question here is, can a 25 watts F5 drive the Tannoys well ? My room size is 200 sqft and I listen to music at reasonably medium to loud levels. I dont play very loud though. I listen to all kinds of music from Mozart to Metallica.
Qualitatively, sound per sound, how do these two amps compare ?
Showing 3 responses by pbnaudio
Don't know where your located, if here in the US you could try one of these out. Liberty B2B-100 Theres a few reviews out Good Sound Review Don't forget to click on the measurement tab, Bascom King performed the technical test of the B2B-100 Positive Feedback Review And yes I do make them Good Listening Peter |
Bombay, Liberty is our direct to the consumer brand which focus more on the entry level to high end. We currently have two products a Phono Preamp the B2B-1 which have received praise form many reviewers and consumers, theres even a few reviews of it here on Audiogon. The other product is the Power amp I mentioned above the B2B-100 which has also been very well received. Currently working on a fully balanced line amplifier hoping to have that ready for the Newport Show where Liberty Audio will have a display room, right next to PBN Audio. Good Listening Peter |