Integrated Amplifiers - Luxman vs Pass Labs

Interesting that you find Pass to be 'lean'.  From all my reading of Pass and their lower end heft, I would have thought it provides a bigger, fuller body to music; which is to my liking. I guess that's why being able to listen for oneself is so important. It's unfortunate that is not an option for me in my location, without purchasing.

Good to know from those objective and in the know that Pass are pretty speaker dependent. It sounds like my Coherent speakers may be a better fit for Pass than my Marten's as they are somewhat similar to the Tannoy's. 

Can anyone tell me the differences between the Luxman 550axii vs 590axii

I really like the 550 however I wish for an even fuller sound. This is why I am contemplating either moving up to 590 or Pass Labs.  Will the 590 provide a noticeable upgrade in this regard? 

Erik:  Does the Ayre provide a bigger, fuller presentation than Luxman?

Hi Chorus, thank you for your post.

For the past couple of years I've had the pleasure of a nice 2A3 amp/preamp setup which I absolutely loved with my high efficient Coherent's but I'm moving away from that.  I found that I was constantly worrying about the usual downsides to tube gear such as potential tube failure and degradation etc...  It got to the point where I wasn't able to enjoy the music the way I should have been and found myself listening more out of my SS amp because of it.

I guess I'm trying to re-create as much as possible the sound I was getting from my tube gear - big, detailed yet relaxing, present (in the room) sound without harshness. I would say that my current Luxman has gotten me the closest thus far to that sound but I'm hoping for a bit more body or fullness and a touch more warmth (bottom end maybe??).

How would you describe the sound you are getting from your Pass INT25 and Tannoy's?

How would you describe the differences between the Pass and Luxman gear you've had the opportunity to listen to?

Excellent, thank you for chiming in on the synergy you are getting with the Luxman and Audio Note speakers. 

I was able to briefly listen to a pair (I believe they were either a 'J' or 'E' model) at an Audio Show and I was smitten by their fullness and naturalness of sound.

Have you had an opportunity to pair them with any Class-A amp?

Great posts from those with first hand experience and knowledge.  I really appreciate all of your personal thoughts and feelings on specific gear!

ddafoe:  "depth and meat to the sound" is a good descriptor of how I also like my music presentation. To me, it's about finding the right balance of having enough 'meat to the sound' and natural realism without losing too much detail. And I guess that is where I am at in looking for something that will provide more of that than my current Luxman L-550axii.

Thank you to all that have posted thus far.  There's a lot of great feedback, experiences and suggestions that I'll take into consideration.

I should also add that I've recently owned the Luxman L-505ux so I have had a taste of the A/B Luxman sound vs Class A Luxman.

I very much like the Luxman sound. I find the mids to be wonderful and the vocals to be accurate and life-like.  I guess what I'm yearning for is just a bit more extension in the vocals (maybe the vocal presentation to be slightly more forward in relation to the mids ???) and a bit more presence and warmth in the lower octaves, though Luxman is no slouch in this area. 

I realize that Luxman and Pass are both great brands and produce wonderful products with different sound signatures. In a perfect world I would love the opportunity to A / B both products in-house.  At this time, it is not possible to do. 

I believe it has been somewhat eluded to in a couple prior posts but can anyone be more specific about the Pass sound (more specifically the Integrated's but also the overall house sound of Pass) such as: 

1)  is one frequency a little more pronounced than the others ie. is the treble / vocals a little more forward or recessed from the mids Or is the bass more prominent than the mids which might not make the mids sound as clear Or are the mids the dominant sound quality Etc...  

2)  what is the soundstage like in terms of width and depth 

3)  How would you describe the sound in terms of Hi-Fi vs Natural sounding (I recognize this is very subjective terminology but I think you get the gist of what I'm asking)

4)  Do you find the sound to be veiled in anyway:  No veil (extremely revealing, in the room with you experience), a thin veil (a thin film of dust or piece of paper in front of it), quite veiled (a blanket in front of it)

Answers to these or any other input you may have will help me to get a sense of the Pass sound presentation vs my experience with the Luxman brand.

Again, thank you to all that have so far taken the time to articulate your thoughts and experiences. Keep them coming!