PASS LABS XA-30.5 vs XA-60.5


Hello all,
Has anyone heard the differences between these two amps, and have done A/B comparrisons on them? I have a XA-30.5 that I'm using with Totem Hawk Speakers. The XA-30.5 drives them very well, but I have been told the 60.5’s give you much better smoothness and cohesiveness, better imaging, better bass control, greater ease and greater resolution.

Here's the million dollar question:

I am ready for my next upgrade and have roughly $6000. Should I upgrade to the XA-60.5's or upgrade my Esoteric X03-SE cd player to the Esoteric seperates P-05 transport and D-05 DAC??

I have very appealing offers for both options.

Any Thoughts?

My system:

Pass Labs XA-30.5 amp
Pass Labs X0.2 preamp
Esoteric XO3-SE cd player
BPT 3.5 Ultra Sig. power conditioner
Totem Hawk speakers
AudioPath custom IC's and speaker cable
Shunyay Python CX power cords
roor

Showing 2 responses by honest1

Wow, Roor, how the heck DID you bury that thing? Did you have to dig a 15' hole, or could you pound it in with a sledge hammer? When I built my deck, I thought it was a chore to dig 4' down, but my soil is a mix of clay and rock that a shovel will not penetrate (had to use a pick).
Roor - I thnk the key ot all of these posts that seem to disgree with you are teh words like "...given a friendly pair of speakers...", "...given speakers that can be driven properly by..." Perhaps your speakers are a difficult load for the 30.5, and that's why you prefer the 60.5. I don't know, just trying to be a peacemaker.