General Asylum: REVIEW: Pass Laboratories Aleph 2 Amplifier (SS) by tritonesub

System:

Martin Logan CLS IIz's
Genesis 900 subs (2)
BAT VK30SE
Pass Aleph 2 mono's
Manley Reference 440 mono's
Sony XA7ES
Oracle Delphi MkII

Amps owned the past 12 months:

BAT VK500 and VK200
Plinius SA100 MkII and MkIII
Aragon Palladium II mono's
Coda 10.5
Pass Aleph 3
Blue Circle BC2 mono's

Get the feeling I've been on a mission of sorts...LOL...it gets worse with the number of preamps I've owned...but I'm having fun.

I've been on a quest of sorts off and on the past 4 years...in search of the best sound I could afford. I've finally reached the end of my search with the Pass Aleph 2's. It's taken me almost 4 years to care more about the performance of a component than its appearance...had that not been the case, I'd probably have tried out the Aleph 2's a few years back...but, had I done so I would not have had the opportunity to experience so many other products.

On to my review of the Aleph 2 mono's...

This pair is brand new...but cold out of the box (after a one hour warmup to peak operating temperature) and requiring break-in, the Aleph 2 is more musical than anything else I've owned to date. Transparency for days...dynamics (?), yes...punch (?), yes...keepers (?), YES...I'm done!

If it gets any better than this, what I don't know won't hurt me...what I do know is, the Aleph 2 mono's are the finest sounding amplifiers I've ever heard. They may have been discontinued, but that doesn't matter to me in the least.

Prior to bringing in the Aleph 2's, I had brought in a pair of BC2 mono's. Interesting that they're both 2 mono's...Well, the BC2's didn't quite to live up to my expectations, especially since some users suggested they'd be an excellent match with my CLS IIz's. Great sounding amps, but no life to the music in my system. I was about to purchase the $12k tube Reference amps from Manley. They sounded absolutely fabulous, although I wasn't looking forward to owning a pair of monster tube mono's (440 watts tetrode, 220 triode). I stumbled upon a give away price for a used Aleph 3...that acquisition peaked my curiosity enough to bring in a pair of Aleph 2 mono's...end of quest. The Aleph 2 mono's are every bit as musical as the Manley Ref 440 mono's...without the hassle of tubes. In some respects, the Aleph 2's are even more revealing than the Manley's...Nelson Pass obviously knows how to design an amplifier.

Does it get any better than this? Hmmmm...I'll never know, as I'm satisfied enough with the 2 mono's to stop searching. They're simply the best amplification I've ever heard.

Enjoy!
tritonesub

REVIEW: Pass Laboratories Aleph 2 Amplifier (SS) Review by tritonesub at Audio Asylum