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 1 response by ozzy

I actually had a X350.8 with my X350.5 Amp together at the same time in my home. It was great to demo the X350.8 in which I was considering trading for and purchasing. The X350.8 was provided courtesy of Reno HIFI.

To me, and my system, the X350.5 was far superior in openness and soundstage. The .8 version was very dark sounding. Now this was when the .8 series just came out. I returned the .8 back to Reno. Soon after that, Pass stopped advertising the X350.8 in there line up. I think they also thought something was wrong.

It appears that they have since fixed what ever was wrong and now many report the X350.8 to be the better unit.