You forget one important part and that is stage depth and width. I will not say anything about a brand of the thread.
But I tested many of these amps (people wrote above) on properties. Most amps of which people think that it is highend is on facts hifi stereo.
Most amps are 2-dimensional( this also counts of the ones named above). You are never allowed ot use the word highend when the stage is 2-dimensional. Based on the fact that 2D is a hifi stereo parameter. And second based on the fact that humans can perceive sound in a 3-dimensional perspective.
Many of the brands who are names are also very limited in diversity in sound. Many of these amps own a sound instead of diversity in sound. They often own what people discribe as a pleasant sound. But you need the layers in sound to experience the emotion of the music. When you use an amp like Pass Labs you can easily hear the differences of the harmonics of instruments and voices.
I give you an example:
When I speak with people at an audio show they often say: all sets had almost no emotion. Or it did not do anything to my emotion. This is based on the fact that most sets lack diversity and 2nd they are often 2-dimensional.
When an audio system can build a huge 3D stage, the level of intimacy becomes larger. This is a property of sound and has a big influence on our emotion.
I would not want to own another brand than Pass Labs. The XS300 is above on my list, and the rest I even don’t F.care.
Pass Labs is great but...it even lacks one important part of sound and that is a realistic individual focus. Based on the fact that both voices and instruments are very small and direct and have a lot of space around them. You need a pre amp, source and even cables to fill in this missing part.
Beside this part in my world Pass owns the best DNA. This is what is most important.
You can listen for hours to amps who own a sound and you are asking yourself where the F. is the emotion of the music. The layers are not there, but you need the diversity the most in the middle frequencies to experience the emotion.
