Pass XA30.5

I own the XA30.5. When I was last auditioning amps, I was originally looking at 300-watt amps. I had previously owned Class D 1000-watt monoblocks. After auditioning several well-known and respected AB amps at various dealers, I stopped at the Pass dealer thinking I would audition the X350.5. After talking to the dealer, he suggested I listen to the XA30.5. I was skeptical that 30 watts could run my speakers (Dynaudio Confidence C2 Mk II), but he assured me it would not be a problem. Well, after listening to the XA30.5, I was floored by how good it sounded compared to some very good amps that I had just auditioned at another dealer. I would describe the sound as lush, full, musical. Sound staging is
excellent. I really love the amp and have not missed the extra watts (meter never leaves Class A), though I do not listen to rock at high levels (mostly Jazz). I suggest you audition the Pass.

I have a Pass XA30.5. It is resolving, dynamic, neutral, and dead quiet. I recently bought a Prima Luna Dialogue 7 amp, because I wanted to try tubes and see what the fuss is about. Not sure which I prefer. The Dialogue 7 is less resolving, less dynamic, less neutral, and less quiet. But it also has adds nice "sheen" to the music. So it depends on what you're looking for.

Bryon

I own the XA30.5 and agree with the two posts above.

Sweet sound, romantic and much more powerful than the rated watts might suggest. Into an 8 ohm load, it easily goes past 100 watts in class A/B (~200 watts for 4 ohm load) before clipping. More bias current than a lot of class A/B amps with much more rated watts. Desmond of Pass once assured me actual class A watts is closer to 60 than 30.

I test the PASS 30.5xa and to disappoint . listen like a good transistor

And if you don't have a local Pass dealer, Mark at Reno Hi-Fi is wonderful to deal with.

I started with the XA30.5 (from Reno Hi-Fi) paired with my Avalon Ascendants. For my ear, this setup makes natural music. A year later, a pair of XA60.5's replaced the XA30.5 (again from Reno Hi-Fi). Worst case it was $70 to ship the XA30.5 from Chicago back to Reno, so small price to pay for a 10 day audition in your own setup.