Moon North Collection Versus Pass Labs X350 - Which would have that liquid sound?


Question.... Has anyone heard both the Moon Amp 861/891 preamp and the Pass Labs X350 amp and x22 preamp? 

I would like to know which one would have more of a liquid sound? 

dman777

@dman777 no I didn’t audition the 866. I took a chance with it. 
Auditioning doesn’t always give you all the data points you need to get a good feel for anything you’re auditioning unless you do it at home. 

 

So the way I see it, you’re in a bit of a pickle here. You want sharp resolution and liquid sound? That’s nearly impossible. There’s some degree of a compromise somewhere, always. 
You have Moon paired with Focals. That’s razor sharp all out resolution and detail monster. A good way to warm things up is with bass. Add a sub, and treat your room. Use a tube preamp. Listening to 90s punk ain’t gonna get that system to sound anymore liquid either LOL

 

@audphile1 It is a difficult situation.... because jazz, reggage, and classical sound really good on my system which is bright (Luxman 595, Eversolo A10, Focal). On other music it depends on the recording but it can be a bit unenjoyable. 

Later down the road I might buy Dynaudios if I get some extra money. 

Do you mind if I ask your system that you are currently running with now? I checked your profile but did not see if listed. 
 

@dman777 Sure. Meitner MA3i DAC used as roon end point, tidal connect, jplay renderer into Boulder 866 using Kimber KS1116 XLRs, VPI Prime X with Hana Umami Blue into Lab12 Melto 2 or Whest Two.2 (listed for sale), with Kimber Carbon phono cables and Kimber Carbon XLRs into Boulder, with Wilson Sabrina speakers. 
Kimber PK14 base power cord on phono, Kimber PK14 Ascent on DAC, Kimber PK10 Ascent on Boulder. Audience FrontRow speaker cables. 

Dynaudio won’t save you. What power cable are you using with the luxman? I remember I tried AQ Hurricane on my amps and it was so fat sounding with pass labs that I couldn’t tolerate it. It could be just the ticket for your luxman. TMR usually has a few used ones on sale. It’s not a neutral sounding power cord but in your situation might wanna give it a shot. Best yet, add a sub and balance out the sound. You will probably be happier that way. 

Just sitting on the sidelines here. I understand the liquid sound thing. A friend of mine had a 250W Pass and he also had the high end Moon amp/preamp. The Pass was liquid, the Moon was very neutral to the point I did not like it. Don’t ignore what people are saying about the heat coming off those Pass amps, my friend sold his partially due to that issue.

All that said, back to my view from the sidelines, it sounds like you are trying to tame your speakers. I think you should consider a change in that department.

@dman777 I owned Focal Sopra No2 for a while and used a Luxman M900U amp at that time. I have a decent number of years of experience with the M-900u and have used it many different speakers and source gear and know it well. It’s a wonderful amp, still holds its own today. In my opinion it’s not a dead neutral / uber resolving type of amp, but seems to be voiced for a certain kind of beautiful sound. Don’t get me wrong it is plenty detailed and refined but overall it has a kind of tone or slight sheen to it that is really beguiling; I would never call the amp sharp or hard more along the liquid side. That being said I did not enjoy the pairing with Focal No2. Except for a few recordings which sounded incredible, I found the Be tweeter too forward and with an artificial metallic presence that always called attention to itself. I could not get them out of my system fast enough. 
A few years went by and apparently I didn’t learn my lesson with Focal Sopra and bought a pair of No1’s to use with my Luxman L-509x and L-590mkii, and also an Octave integrated- it was pretty much the same ending. There is something about this sopra series that does not agree with me. I find them to be unnatural and hard to relax with. Now, after having owned a few moon amps, most recently the 761 I can easily understand why you are looking for more liquidity. My recommendation is don’t change your amp. The 861 is killer. Change your speakers.