Pass Labs XA30.8: is it enough for Wilson Sasha 2?


I’ve Sasha 2 in a small room, connected to a pre ARC LS5 and a Symphonic Line Krafwerk as power amplifier. It’s a good chain, even if it lacks of fineness in the mid range and it has a small sound stage. I would like to substitute the Kraftwerk with the Pass XA30.8.
Does someone own this power unit connected with Sasha 2? Does XA30.8 have enough power?
Thanks for any feedback!
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Showing 4 responses by pinox67

I’d the opportunity to test the integrated amplifier Pass INT-150 in my ‘sound room’, substituting the ARC LS5 + Symphonic Line Kraftwerk.
After some hours of plays, what I can say is that the INT-250’s sound is refined, very clear, with a good dynamic and soundstage. But the old chain remains still winning. The ARC gives to the sound more details to the mid and sweet to the highs. The Kraftwerk after provides more current to loudspeakers and then the sound is more rich, robust. Also bass are more powerful.
I think that I should try a true class A Pass power unit...
At the date the best amplification chain that I tried with Sasha 2, but also with B&W Nautilus 803, is with ARC LS5 + Ahifi 845 pair. The latter is an old power unit built by a small Italian builder, based on a pair of 845 tubes, the same mounted on Nagra VPA.
What you have from Ahifi 845 is not so far from VPA: These ones give to sound an incredible sense of spatialy, in all directions, sounds objects are very well defined, sound is sweet, rich or harmonics, solid. Bass are not so strong, but well controlled.
Magic of 845!
Well, my (dedicated) room is very small 3.45m x 3.25m. Displacements of furniture, loudspeakers and listening point is symmetric. I have also placed two tube traps to control better bass response. I’m going to add some adsorption (behind loudspeakers) and diffusion (behind listening point) panels.

I can add that I tried also another amplification chain: ARC LS5 + 2 ARC Reference 250SE. Well, the sound gains in sweetness, is less strenuous, maybe more recommend for classical music; but it loses a bit in soundstage and in the bass control.
I still prefer the Kraftwerk (and also my friends) for jazz, r&b and rock. Sound has more dynamic, it is fuller, transients are excellent, even if it is more tiring in the middle and highs.
Some news. First of all, I’ve to apologize for a big mistake: in all my previous post, the pre is not the ARC LS5, but the LS2. I don’t way I was convinced that it was this model... maybe I was without my glasses in my first approach!

Second, waiting for a test of a new power amp, I had the opportunity to test the ARC LS25 mkII with the Kraftwerk.
The result is better for soundstage and details in the mid range, very clean.
But it is worse for bass range, very poor, and highs, a bit more harsh. Overall a sound more tiresome. For my taste, a chain one step behind.