Help me spend $3000 on a used amp

Mtrot, did you ever get the pass amp or still have the McCormack? Thats an interesting take on the pass labs amps. Sounds like the x150.5 will sound more solid state and dynamic and xa30.5 more polite like tubes.

Neal, the krell 300cx sold last night that was $3300. I still have more to learn before pulling the trigger, but the krell may have been an option. What did you have before the Krell 300cx?

The krell 300cx seems like it could be more bang for the buck then a pass xa30.5 given the Krell retails for almost double but can be had used for near the same price.

No, I still have the McCormack but i bought a used Krell FPB 400cx, which arrived today. Have not yet hooked it up. If the Krell does not clearly better the McCormack, the Krell may go back in the market.

I'd keep an eye out for a pair of Parasound JC1 mono's. They "might" fall into your price range and are outstanding amplifiers.

I'm also a big fan of Pass and certain Krell amplifiers. I've always felt Ayre was a bit thin for my tastes.

Good luck and let us know what you listen to and your thoughts.

Mtrot, keep us informed on the krell 400cx. Why did you choose the Krell over a pass labs amp?

I have been online all day and the pass labs xa30.5 could be a top choice. I may have put that over the x150.5.

The ayre v5 is loosing favorability when I always hear about the leanness issues.

hk fan I will check out the parasounds.

Freemand, I wanted to try a really big, powerful amp, for a change, so as to see if it lights a fire under my speakers to any significant effect. Also, my listening actually includes more home theater movies than two channel music, so my top priorities were dynamic attack, uncompressed sound, and authoritative bass.

I was leaning Pass, but the more I read, and spoke with a few people, I came to feel the Krell might be more appropriate. Another factor is that, in order to get as much power in a Pass(X350.5) as I got in the Krell, I would have to spend $2000 or $3000 more.

Also, I was able to audition and compare a Krell FPB300cx against a set of Pass XA100.5 monoblocks in the same system. Now, what I observed was that the Krell was indeed more dynamic, while the Pass did render the music with better soundstaging and authenticity of instruments, as should be the case with the Pass pair retailing for $16,500. But the Krell was no slouch either. So, I decided to try a Krell.