Gandme. I own the Talon Firebirds with Diamond tweeters. Right now I'm driving them with the Lamm M1.2 Ref. monos. These are rated at 110 watts of class A power. The Lamms easily drive the Firebirds. The XA-160's would have no problem at all with the Firebirds. I used to own the Pass X350. Good amp but too bright on top IMO and a little too S/S sounding. The XA-160's should cure all that. I would keep them and sell the X350.
As I said in my earlier post, the XA 160's will match well with most speakers assuming the rest of the system is well integrated once you have chosen the speakers to be driven by your XA 160's. Your choice of source, pre amp, cables etc. will all play a part in getting the sound that you are looking for.
For instance, if you chose the Firebirds or Karmas (that also use the accutron mid/tweeters) you would want a cd source that can take advantage of the high frequency clairty that these drivers can provide without sounding bright. I'm using the EMM Signature with excellent results but there is a new crop of players that are supposed to be excellent in this regard (if you can believe the reviews)that you could look into.
As for pre amp, I would keep the X-1 for now. It's very good but I'd up-grade that later to a different brand. I still own a Pass 2.5 pre but my EMM DCC-2 Sig. is better IMO. A quiet tubed pre amp like the ARC Ref. 3 would be a good choice.
It's late so that's it for now.
Frank
