Pass Labs Aleph Question


Was thinking of trying out the 100 wpc aleph 2's with Dunlavy 4a's. I've heard these amps are some of the most natrual sounding amps out there and was wondering how well they performed in the low frequency area. Are they bass shy or can they be authoritative? How do they sound with complex music ? Rock? Thanks
chris96

Showing 2 responses by jax2

I cannot speak for the Aleph 2, but I owned an Aleph 5 for a while. The midrange on that amp was wonderful, but the low end, in fact, was its weak point, to my ears and in my systems. It was not terribly articulate in the bass and did not grasp the lows with the same authority it did the midrange. I also felt it was underpowered at a rated 50 watts (which I think is exaggerated). From all I've heard the Aleph 2's are better in every way, and even the less expensive 3's and 30 have better lows than the 5. The Aleph series in general are supposed to all excel in the midrange. Mind you, I am not saying the 5 is a dog...in fact I liked it very much. It did do complex music quite well indeed. I just wish it had more power for the large space I was using it in. I thought it worth mentioning that weakness should you look elsewhere in the Aleph range.

Marco
I primarily used the Silverline monitors, but tried out the amp with all of the following.

Silverline SR17 monitors (89db)
Boehlendar Graebner (can't recall the model - around 94db)
Klipsch Heresy's (94db)
Klipsch LaScalas (104db)

I did not like it with the horns as I found it too harsh coming from tube amps, so stuck with the Silverlines where it sounded quite good indeed. The issue of the bass and power became very apparent in switching the Aleph 5 off with the very modestly powered Quicksilver Mini-Mites (35W with KT88s) which gave the SR17s what occured to me as a firmer grip throughout the range, including bass to write home about coming from those small monitors.

Marco