Pass Labs amps questions


SO i started looking into Pass brand amps.  My room is carpeted movie theater of rectangular shape, 18 wide x 26 ft deep.  I'm currently running Audio Research 5SE into Mark Levinson 331 (100 watt RMS SS at 8ohms) then Dynaudio Confidence C4 speakers.  Although I love the sound this gives me, i feel it just doesn't have enough oomph!  For example, in order to sound "right" when i listen to the Eagles Hell Freezes Over DVD, volume is at level 60 on the 5SE.  Im not detecting any clipping at all nor does the Levinson get too warm.  I don't think its straining at all but not sure how to tell.  Its old and i just want to try and get a different or maybe see if i can get a better sound.  I am wondering what the audioafficianados out there would recommend or provide more info on with regards to the Pass Labs line up.  I am specifically wanting a pair of Class A mono blocks.  What falls in my budget is a pair of the XA200.5's on the Agon site here now VS a New/Demo X350.8 demo from Reno Hifi.   Would the X350.8 hold an advantage over the 200 monos with its additional 300 watts of power (C4s are 4 ohms)? I remember needing to double the power in order to move the SPL 3 db???.   If this were correct and given my room size, would this added power benefit my system? All in all would you prefer used pure class A less power or brand new class AB higher power for about the same price?  I'll sit and *listen* for your knowledgeable replies.  Thanks in advance.
chenglo1

Showing 2 responses by dgarretson

@Peterayer

Did you give serious break-in time to the XA-160.8s on trial? I haven’t compared mine to .5s, but after a rather long break-in and some substitutions of PCs and platforms, I find the XA-160.8s excellent in all respects: extended and linear across FR, ample width and depth, accurate pitch and timbre, and most of all, vanishingly low distortion and black background that in some systems might be confused with a loss of airiness. Not mechanical or artificial at all.

+1 EBM, but consider as well that Pass keeps both .5 and .8 series in their catalog.

@jl35 

Indeed. They showed both series for awhile on the web site, but no more.