Pass Labs xa - .5 amps

I have ran a Conrad Johnson CT-5 into the 30.5 with excellent results. I've heard many combinations during my time in this hobby and this is one of the best if not the best I have heard. Liked it so much, I got the 100.5's a few weeks ago and will take delivery of the ACT 2.2 next week. I can only imagine.

Mozvz, I responded earlier when you asked about the CJ ACT 2s synergy with the Pass. In a word, wonderful.

With the 100.5's on the Maggies now, I moved the 30.5 into my home office as an experiment. I've had the Cain and Cain Super Abbys in there for several years now and always got the best out of them with tube amps, especially SET's. The Abbys are a single driver/no crossover/fostex kind of speaker. Solid state made them sound hard and actually lose bass. Pass Labs and Mark at Renohifi both thought the 30.5 would pair nicely. I didn't think so. I was wrong. I'm listening to them now as I type. In three words: beautiful, relaxed and detailed. The XA30.5 is really a sweet amp.

Based on what you've said so far, I think you would be very happy with it.

Couple of technical points:

When switched on, it draws a little less than 200 watts from the wall. It does not heat up my office.

In standby, it draws just a few.
Standby generates no heat but keeps the caps charged so warm up is much faster.

Your CJ has a 12v trigger that can be wired to the Pass's trigger. Turning the CJ on turns the Pass on with no thumps or pops, always a concern with tube preamps.

Let us know what you decide. Good luck.

Soren,
50 ohms is great. What brand and how long are your ic's to the Pass? Is the needle on the Pass moving when you are experiencing the flab? My 30.5 had more articulate bass on my Maggie 3.6 than my previous McIntosh 1000 watt monoblocks (as long as the needle wasn't moving). Going to Pass's 100.5 was a noticable improvement in bass. I haven't heard the 60.5. Twice the power would only give you 3db more loudness BUT that plus each channel having its own power supply would give your more control. Maybe not enough for your taste or speakers.

XA power is expensive. Have you thought of trying one of the X.5 series?