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So this question was asked a bit over a year ago with no real comparisons for the 3.7. I am looking for the 20.7. Anyone have any opinion?
Specs are as follows (sort of):
X350.8
350 /8. 700/4ohm
Damping factor 200
Leaves class A 18 watts
X260.8 monos
260/8. 520/4ohm
Damping factor 150
Leaves class A 34 watts
Any opinion on sonic differences on the two? Which might be more dynamic? Which might be a better fit for a 20.7? My listening habits are 75-85 db - maybe rarely touch 90. Listening position is a 10' equilateral triangle.
X600.8s were suggested to replace my sunfire signature cinema grand amp. Ha - yah that would be nice!! :)
Thanks. Tim.
Follow Ups:
I can't add any input for you, but I sure liked this article from a few years ago from the manufacturer of my front end.
Interesting. 6 moons had a different take on that same room. Also. I heard the exasound room in axpona I think in 2019. Not sure of the amp at the time but they stuffed 4 3.7s in a 12x15 room or so? Decidedly not engaging but it didn't have a chance.
I never cared their rooms at Chicago's AXPONA for that setup, room was way too small for a speaker like the 3.7i's. Though I thought it worked great for the LRS, but obviously much smaller speaker.
Could you survive with a Pair of Parasound JC-1+ mono?
I'll bet those panels would love it.
Maybe even.....Sanders?
Too much is never enough
In general, mono's wil improve on a stereo amp in most criteria (unless output is miles apart) for the obvious reasons. At your listening levels with with a higher class A output you should definitely go for the mono's.
PS Audio M1200s. Class D. Much better damping. Much lighter. Runs a
lot cooler. Draws way less power. Costs less than half as much as the
Pass units.
https://www.psaudio.com/products/m1200-amplifier/#section-904-824
Life is hard. It's harder when you're stupid.
Regardless of the amount of capacitance in the power supply, given two amplifiers of equal RMS power output, the amp with the higher damping factor will be able to supply more current than the other amp. Lower source impedance = higher current capability = higher damping factor. This is just physics. I would predict that the PS Audio amp would be the better amp here.
=====================
Science doesn't care what you believe.
1. Twice the stored power supply energy. 48x10k uF (~480 joules) vs. 6x25k uF (~225 joules using higher rail voltage)
2. Complete isolation between channels.
3. More manageable chassis. 2x88 lbs vs 127 lbs.
4. Better placement flexibility (I place mono amp behind each speaker)
The power difference is marginal.
ditto, units are not sharing the same power supply and the ability to position them immediately behind the speaker allows shorter (ala' cheaper per foot) speaker cables although the RCA cables will need to run longer; choose your poison wisely : ) .
Edits: 12/24/22 12/24/22
Not to derail my own topic but does anyone have any experience with rca hookups to pass vs xlr? I currently am going direct from dac via balanced connections but have a Cary slp98p that is direct coupled which might be interesting. It however is single ended. I found the direct via xlr better in my current setup. Don't know if it's a synergy thing / cable thing or whatever.
Yikes. I didn't think or know the differences in power supply numbers. Did I just miss that in the specs?
to discover capacitance and rail voltage in order to answer that question. Some manufacturers like Audio Research provide that information on their website. The most significant factor is voltage as energy increases with its square value.
If you look at internal photos, the 350.8 uses traditional computer grade "beer cans" like my old Stasis 3 while the 260.8 uses an array of low ESR caps.
Capacitance ESR is another.
If timm is buying used he doesn't have the benefit of a dealer bringing both choices out. If he is buying from a dealer all the better.
Might someone explain the difference of capacitance ESR? And it's perceived 'betterness'? :)
ESR is equivalent series resistance. Basically it is an indication mainly how fast the capacitor(s) discharge the electrons stored. As statman mentioned the Pass 350 has the beer can caps versus the large number of smaller caps in the XA monoblocks. The theory is what good is simply adding more bigger caps with their inherent slower charge and discharge rate (ESR) if they are slow to react to a transient. Is this the reason why the mono blocks sound better to some? It is up to you to decide. In my book either Pass would likely sound excellent in your rig. But knowing Maggies, I'd go for the increased headroom of the X350. I have a small set of modified Maggies, and several Pass amps and a pre amp.
Thanks for that explanation. So this is a similar topology as the xa amps you are saying. I also noted the 350.8 has 72 output devices / ch and the 260s have 40/ch.Doing more homework. The mono:
Max output volts - 80
Max output amps - 28
Stereo:
Max output volts 104
Max output amps 35So I'm thinking the mono has 160 volts / 56 amps combined? Is that a fair assessment when comparing to the stereo amp spec?
Btw. I really appreciate the responses. I'm not as knowledgeable as you guys in this area. Thanks. I have reached out to both pass and a dealer for added info etc. p
Edits: 12/22/22
"Doing more homework"
You can compare figures all day long....... figures never tell the whole story, the only "homework" you need to do is sit down and listen.
If that's not possible, stop busting your brains and go with the mono's. I've never heard a stereo amp that could compete with mono's from the same company (given roughly the same level of class A and output), higher output may create more headroom, but most audiophile criteria's will be better covered through mono's running in a higher level of class A.
With the higher output in class A combined with your medium listening levels the mono's are the obvious choice.
The interesting part is the monos actually seem to be priced less than the x350.8. I don't know how that is possible.
So you are talking about buying used ???
A new pair of 260.8's cost more than a 350.8
So the x350 msrp is 650 dollars more than the x260.8 monos. Which again I find odd.
Let me double check that.
I will buy used. But I'm referring to msrp. I believe the x260.8s are actually a little less than the x350.8.
Not in Europe, the 260's are almost 1k more expensive...-...-.
Strange. Here in Sweden the X350.8 is slightly more expensive than the X260.8 monos.
Thats really strange....... makes you wonder why anyone would consider buying a 350 over 260's in Sweden??
If you look at the prices at Overture Audio (https://www.overtureav.com/shop/pass-labs)
$14.250 for the 260's vs $14.900 for the 350.
In The Netherlands the 350 cost's 19,186$
the 260's cost 19,829$
That makes more sense to me.
Wow. So I see the msrp on the x350.8 as 14,900 and the x260.8 as 14,250 on multiple sites
with marginally more power.
I'd prefer the more robust output stages and power supplies of the monos. As you'd find in greater quantities with the $85k Xs300.
I agree with this EStat. Basically I was told the 260s essentially have the power supply of the x250 in each mono. I think that plus the 34 watts in class A is a winner.
Wow, I'm always baffled by how you guy's do business over there...-...- no one here would, for one second, consider laying down 15k without, at least, a 2-3 wk home trial.
Common practice over here is that customers considering anything from footers to giant speakers have the possibility of a 2-3 wk home trial, otherwise your business is dead and buried before you're even started.
And that imho is a much better way to do business. Dealers that ship in a lot of cases get a 10 day trial. But - if you don't like - you get to ship them back. :)
Thank you my man!! And I'm not a 'specs' guy really ...- but at the moment is all I got for a logical choice. I think you just pretty much culminated all of my mental masturbation in one sentence. :). I'm just surprised that the x260.8 mono doesn't seem to get more airplay.
Either one would be an excellent choice, as they will makevyour Maggies sing. Because Pass! If you've got the coin, go with the mono blocs, and don't look back.
Pass labs dealers are far and few between where I live. Maybe there is one I need to check. I travel down to Florida several times a year and blow past Sarasota. I'm sure my wife would love to stop at suncoast audio?? LOL.
Haha. So what your saying is if I get the x350.8 I get two free cans of beer??? :)
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