Parasound to Pass Upgrade

You might also ask for comparisons to the BHK in the PS Audio amps forum.

@ddafoe my room is about the same size as yours. Also no AC. The XA30.8 is not terrible in the summer. I would assume the x260.8 gets as hot as x250.8 and adds another chassis. I am still most likely going to try the X260.8 though. I think my speakers will like these amps a bit better than the XA30.8. Plus I’m too curious to hear them and will regret if I don’t try them in my system. 

@taylorro if you pick decide on pass amps, go for pass pre. If you want a tube preamp, audio research Ref 5se or 6se should be great paired with Pass amp. 

It’s funny you suggest that as those are some that I am definitely considering. Thanks very much. 

@taylorro Interesting.

Currently, I own both the X260.8 and the JC1+ and have A/B’ed them several times.

Conclusion: Pass is more musical / euphonic.

I currently have two sets of speakers at home: Focal Scala Utopia (sold to someone, awaiting delivery) and Focal Maestro Utopia III.

The Pass sounds better with the Focal Scala Utopia (and I expect it would sounde better with a majority of speakers). However, the Maestro III are notoriously hard to drive - and with these, I prefer the JC1+.

So, my X260.8 shall be put up for sale soon.