|
|
Post by MartinT on May 26, 2015 9:01:04 GMT
If they are as good as the 3a, that could be a worthwhile project on a par with my Gales. A bit pricy to start with, though.
|
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on May 26, 2015 16:36:09 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 26, 2015 17:23:57 GMT
That's a good price for a superbly transparent preamp with the drive and grip to control any power amp.
|
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on May 26, 2015 17:25:53 GMT
If I was building a second serious system I'd snap it up
Not sure where I would put a second serious system mind you............
|
|
|
|
Post by aurender on May 26, 2015 20:22:30 GMT
Xp20 is a really excellent pre. It ran the Ayre KXR a close second when I was shopping to replace my Pass x0 3 box preamp.
If I'd kept my Pass x1000 mono blocks, it might have been the better choice but the Ayre seemed to get more out of the big Halcros.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 27, 2015 6:06:17 GMT
Am I right in understanding that Halcro are no more? I've often thought of the big Pass power amps but I like a cool listening room and they would burn a hole in my leccy bill (especially as I like leaving the system warmed up).
|
|
|
|
Post by aurender on May 27, 2015 9:46:00 GMT
Yes indeed. Halcro was the plaything of one of the family members who owned a major group. Unfortubately I suspect having given him free rein with Halcro, they realised what a commercially difficult business high end audio is, particularly based in Australia. Amps have a huge following down under and I get frequent requests from potential buyers through an Australian stereo forum I belong to.
I liked the Pass Labs a lot. Great company to deal with and very supportive. I remember I needed some longer leads to connect the psu to the preamp and they just send them out from the States FOC. Nelson Pass instructions for the X1000 were a work of art. Paraphrasing his comments on short circuiting the outputs of the X1000: 'I wouldn't recommend it. We designed it to work and it should be ok, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it!"
Preamp (X0) was overtaken by the xp20 and xp30 by a big margin. Tried xp20 and was very impressed with it.
X1000 mono blocks were terrific, having huge power reserves but not quite as resolving as the Halcros which are really wonderful amps, and of course, the Halcros run cool. Ive not heard the latest iterations of the Pass power amps.
In the Pass range, there was a lot to recommend the x350 stereo power amp which I think had slightly better microdynmics than the x1000 for a lot less money.
Comparing the Pass X1000 to the big Krells, the Pass was more pleasant and musical; the Krells had outstanding bass attack. Krell reliability always worried me having had an exploding pair of KMA100 mono blocks way back.
Both Krell and Pass have good service back up, by coincidence, official service resource for both is within a mile or so of J6 on the M25.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 27, 2015 11:31:14 GMT
The XP-20 sounds even better with the Revelation Audio silver link cable I bought. It works very symbiotically with the Chord power amp which I find pretty resolving and has plenty of attack, better than some midrange Krells I once tried. The Linn Klimax wasn't even close.
|
|
|
|
Post by aurender on May 27, 2015 15:04:46 GMT
Couldn't get on with the Chord power amps. I had a pair of 1400 monoblocks which I ended up using as bass amplifiers because they just didn't sound musical enough. Generally I've found Chord amplification none musical but, of course, that's a lot to do with system matching. I've got a lot of respect for the company and the quality of its products; just not enjoyed the sound they made.
I used the Revelation silver cable for FireWire, seemed ok but replaced it with Siltech which I like a lot.
Krell said really do seem to have poor reliability judging by virtually 100% failure in 10 amplifiers owned by my group of friends and myself. At that failure rate, sound is almost secondary.
|
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on May 27, 2015 16:55:37 GMT
My Chord sounds great, another bargain from Ebay
I can believe it can be bettered, but I think you'd have to go some way and spend a lot of dough.
What makes do you see giving Chord a hard time ?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 18:20:24 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 27, 2015 18:24:22 GMT
Z-plugs are good. Never seen them in silver before.
|
|
|
|
Post by aurender on May 27, 2015 18:38:36 GMT
My Chord sounds great, another bargain from Ebay I can believe it can be bettered, but I think you'd have to go some way and spend a lot of dough. What makes do you see giving Chord a hard time ? I know what you mean. I never thought my Pass Labs could be bettered and yet the Halcros made them sound positively slow and at the same time less musical. As I said, a lot is about system matching and maybe my Chord experience has not been with the best equipment matches. |
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on May 27, 2015 19:47:28 GMT
Classic example - those speakers Chord use in their demos, to make them sound 'orrid
|
|
|
|
Post by aurender on May 27, 2015 21:00:45 GMT
You're right. I had a fault on one of my Chords. The founder of Chord invited me down for a "while you wait" repair. Really good service and a really interesting guy. However I've got to say none of the Chord equipment I heard that day excited me.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 27, 2015 22:30:00 GMT
John Franks is a funny one. Very friendly and knowledgeable, but he likes those execrable Wilson Benesch speakers that are so unmusical it's shocking. I told him so!
|
|
|
|
Post by aurender on May 27, 2015 22:34:47 GMT
Yes, I thought he was a really nice guy. It turned out we had some overlapping business interests in Russia so we got on well but I just couldn't get on with the sounds his gear was making. I can't remember what speakers he was using for demos but it wasn't a good choice.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 28, 2015 7:40:05 GMT
He used WB speakers a lot at Hi-Fi shows. I don't think they helped sales at all. Now I think he uses B&W (or, at least, his dealers do) and that is a more acceptable sound.
|
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on May 28, 2015 11:51:08 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on May 28, 2015 12:38:13 GMT
I don't do surround sound.
|
|
