Pass Labs XA30.5 with Dynaudio Confidence 5


Hi All,

This may sound like a stupid question and most likely is, but do you think a Pass labs XA30.5 would drive Dynaudio Confidence 5 speakers OK? Speakers are in a small room (14ft by 14ft approx).

Listen mainly to soul / RNB / reggae / pop and a small amount of blues. No classical / folk.

Listen at moderate levels. Speakers sensitivity of 83db and rated at 4 ohms.

I have a chance of buying a mint condition second hand unit for a lot less than a new x250.5.

Thoughts please.

Regards
che13
I listen to acoustic zen adagios is a similar room. They are 6 ohms but higher sensitivity. I have to push the volume to levels I don't normally listen at to move the amp out of class a. YMMV
I recently auditioned the 30's on my dynaudio special 25's. It wasn't enough power amp spent a lot of time in AB mode on anything with any bass Others in forums have said they have had success with the C1. At low volumes in a small room it may work. I suspect if you listen to music with much dynamics and want the amp to remain in class a you may be disappointed. If a/b is not an issue for you it might work. I ended up going wih the pass XA 60.5 and am breaking them in. It runs the special 25s very well not leaving class A. I was also very surprised to find they also run my 801 series 3 in class A even wih heavy bass. I just got these and honestly they are fantastic As I picked up the amps my dealer told me these amps have some muscle. He was right. Note many here have said the specials have a bit of bass bloom. I don't hear that at all with my setups. I love them and recently got them as a last couple remaining pair in US from my dealer. Good luck wih your decision. Note I am runnin the speakers and amps wih ref 3, IO phono, basis debut and ovation, triplanar, vector transfiguration and NOS spectral MCR.
I have a pair of Confidence 5 and tried for many years to find the right amp to make them sing. I tried Krell kav 500, NAD M3, Mark Levinson 332, Emotiva XPA -1. These speakers need a lot of power, a lot more than most others! As they are also a bit anemic in the bass response, they want power paired with warmth and sweetness. At the moment I am running mine with a pair of Emotiva XPA-1 directly connected to a PS Audio PWD with bridge ( digital lens ), tweaked with Hifi Tuning Supreme fuses, using Nordost Tyr XLR interconnects. I am loving the clarity and natural details these speakers are capable of revealing. Never give up on them, rather find the right equipment to pair with them.
This may sound like a stupid question and most likely is, but do you think a Pass labs XA30.5 would drive Dynaudio Confidence 5 speakers OK?

Never,IMO...250.5 or even better 350.5 would be the smarter buy
+1 on what Missioncoonery said. That amp is NOT for those speakers.

In fact, what Arned said is spot-on too. Those speakers were meant for serious watts that increase as your ohms go from 8, to 4, to 2. I would not even put a solid state amp on those speakers that was less than 250 watts (regardless of whether it was class A, class b, etc).

Great speakers, btw.