New speakers.


Good evening all. Sorry, but this is one of those posts asking for guidance.

I had a recent post in the digital section which a couple found tiresome, though most were very helpful. In that thread I was asking for CD player suggestions to replace a Droplet cd player. In the end I acquired an AMR cd 77 to accompany a pass xa30.5 ,pass preamplifier and Zingali speakers. The Zingalis are quite old now. I spoke to a dealer over the telephone who stated that speaker technology has moved on quite a bit more than electronics such as pre and power amps etc.

The AMR is absolutely fantastic, considerably better than the Droplet ( which strangely refused to switch on after a couple of months storage in a clean spare room)

Anyway, the AMR is great. I wanted a disc spinner but actually have used the dac a lot more, something I did not expect. To my ears, music from my laptop, even low bit rate ( 128 kbs) sound great. Its convenient and there is the advantage of instant access too. I have compared lower bit rate to higher and to be honest there really is not much in it. its more down to the quality of the original recording. My Queen collection , will never sound as good as a modern recording ( though the actual music is leaps ahead, of course). I have special issue Queen cds that promise extreme resolution, but in all honesty there is little between them and the original issues, remasters etc etc. I think, at the end of the day, its all about money, sadly. For example, I have a special issue of A Night At The opera and compared with a recording of Inna-hot ( Romanian cute chic that makes great modern dance). Worlds apart,I know, but I really love all kinds of music and not just the drab jazz that dealers favour mostly because it is easily replayed by the kit the are trying to sell. Anyway the Inna recording sounds much better, cleaner etc etc even though its at a much lower bit rate to the expensive Queen issue ( over £100). One was recorded 30 yrs ago and no matter the bit rate its going to sound like a modern recording. Thats just my experience.

The Pass XA30.5 does not have huge amounts of power but gives more than enough volume through the Zingalis. I like the zingalis but my main issue is its handling of some of the bass notes. Bass from dance music is relayed very well but its not that big. I seems to struggle with the kind of notes that gets doors rattling at higher volume levels. The Zingali speakers also harden a touch at higher volumes. I was considering adding a subwoofer but I made a huge error some years ago in connection, which resulted in the blowing of a x350 power amp. Also, i think they are difficult to set up properly.

Anyone have any suggestions as to speakers or adding sub woofers? I might even give that option a go ( with extreme caution and advise on connection). in fact this may be a cheaper option, but im quite vague how to connect and integrate the base to extend what the Zingalis provide to create a sound that integrates properly, rather than creating a thumping sound.

Thank you for reading and kind regards to you all.

James
james123

Showing 2 responses by jdoris

I have the Pass Int-30A, and my experience of the bass is consistent with OPs, not great with regards to thump, as was clearly shown in comparisons with A/B and D designs in the range of 200 wpc.

My speakers, btw, are 92/4, and I'd not want less efficiency.

I love the Pass, but I listen to a lot of small scale folk and jazz, at pretty moderate volumes. If listened to the kind of dance stuff the OP listens too, I'd be looking for more amp, probably.

YMMV of course.
Pass is helpful with questions. If you do not have a Pass dealer in your area, Mark at Reno HiFi is very helpful, and offers competitive prices.

John