As the owner of a pair of XA 160.5s I've been paying close attention to the information becoming available about the new XA .8 line of amplifiers. One thing that puzzles me though - it appears the .8 amplifiers have significantly lower peak output (current and voltage) than the .5 amplifiers (based on the table shown in this write-up : More on the new Pass Labs Dot-8 Series | Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile and this table from the Pass Labs website: https://passlabs.com/images/uploads/manual/xa.5_specs.pdf
Yet the new line is described as having higher power and more efficiency. Please help me to understand this.
Yet the new line is described as having higher power and more efficiency. Please help me to understand this.
Some of the quoted material is inaccurate, for example there are still three
stages.
Some of the amplifiers have larger output stages, some have larger supplies,
all have more front end bias, some have more output stage bias.
The Toshiba Fets we use are 2SJ74, 2SK170, 2SJ313 and 2SK2013
some mouthwatering details:
By CE Pro Editors, January 09, 2014
At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014, Pass Laboratories, Inc., is introducing the X.8 (or “Point 8”) Series Amplifiers with price points reaching as high as $40,000 per pair.
Point.8 Series amplifiers deliver high power, fewer stages, lower distortion and less feedback. According to the Foresthill, Calif.-based company, the units accurately represent recording venues with very deep bass and extended highs.
The series consists of five Class-A amplifiers and four Class AB amplifiers, four two-channel and five monoblock models. The two-channel amps include the X150.8, the X250.8, the X350.8 and the XA30.8. The mono models include the X600.8, the XA60.8, the XA100.8, the XA160.8 and the XA200.8. Their per-channel power ratings range from 30 for the two-channel XA30.8 to 600 for the single-channel X600.8.
Inspired by Pass Labs’ X.5 Series amplifiers from 2006, the output stages of the larger Point.8 Series have been designed to bias more deeply into the Class-A operating region. They feature large push-pull Class-A operating envelopes for low distortion and good loudspeaker control at ordinary listening levels.
The Class-A amps employ higher power Toshiba MOSFETs (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors) than earlier amps. MOSFETs are typically used to convert voltage. Those in the Point.8 Series run at a fraction of their stated specs. The company also installed many more MOSFETs than usual on most Point.8 models. The X250.8 and XA100.8 amplifiers each use 56, while the X350.8, X600.8, XA160.8 and XA200.8 models each use 72.
Pass Labs also improved the amplifiers’ front ends, which house the input and voltage gain stages. Each of the nine Point.8 models has a front end uniquely molded to the specifics of its output stage so that the nine front ends vary in size, voltage, bias current, dissipation, and the distribution of single-ended vs. push-pull bias.
The improvements yield directly coupled (DC) front ends that boast very high stability, low distortion, low noise, 100-Khz open-loop bandwidths, and high input impedances.
The power supplies are also larger than those of earlier amplifiers with a third more storage capacitance as well as new CRC (capacitor-resistor-capacitor) filtering. The power supplies still use paralleled fast/soft rectifiers and large toroidal transformers from Plitron, but the AC primary circuits now incorporate additional RF filtering. Power on/off switching and a stand-by draw are also new. In addition, Pass Labs improved the amplifiers’ output noise by more than 10 dB, and made the amplifiers much more resistant to variations in the AC power line.
The smaller Point.8 models — the X150.8, the X250.8, the XA30.8, the XA60.8 and the XA100.8 — also feature new and larger heat sinks to lower distortion and dissipate the energy of the larger bias currents.
Export Retail Price List Effective January 2014 for the x.8 Series is:
“XA.8” Pure Class “A” High Current Series
XA200.8 200 watt class A mono block $40,000 /pr
XA160.8 160 watt class A mono block $26,000 /pr
XA100.8 100 watt class A mono block $19,300 /pr
XA60.8 60 watt class A mono block $12,800 /pr
XA30.8 30 watt per channel stereo $6,500
“X.8” High Voltage Series Amplifiers
X600.8 600 watt mono block $26,000 /pr
X260.8 260 watt mono block $12,800 /pr
X350.8 350 per channel stereo $13,500
X250.8 250 per channel stereo $9,600
X150.8 150 per channel stereo $6,400
By CE Pro Editors, January 09, 2014
At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014, Pass Laboratories, Inc., is introducing the X.8 (or “Point 8”) Series Amplifiers with price points reaching as high as $40,000 per pair.
Point.8 Series amplifiers deliver high power, fewer stages, lower distortion and less feedback. According to the Foresthill, Calif.-based company, the units accurately represent recording venues with very deep bass and extended highs.
The series consists of five Class-A amplifiers and four Class AB amplifiers, four two-channel and five monoblock models. The two-channel amps include the X150.8, the X250.8, the X350.8 and the XA30.8. The mono models include the X600.8, the XA60.8, the XA100.8, the XA160.8 and the XA200.8. Their per-channel power ratings range from 30 for the two-channel XA30.8 to 600 for the single-channel X600.8.
Inspired by Pass Labs’ X.5 Series amplifiers from 2006, the output stages of the larger Point.8 Series have been designed to bias more deeply into the Class-A operating region. They feature large push-pull Class-A operating envelopes for low distortion and good loudspeaker control at ordinary listening levels.
The Class-A amps employ higher power Toshiba MOSFETs (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors) than earlier amps. MOSFETs are typically used to convert voltage. Those in the Point.8 Series run at a fraction of their stated specs. The company also installed many more MOSFETs than usual on most Point.8 models. The X250.8 and XA100.8 amplifiers each use 56, while the X350.8, X600.8, XA160.8 and XA200.8 models each use 72.
Pass Labs also improved the amplifiers’ front ends, which house the input and voltage gain stages. Each of the nine Point.8 models has a front end uniquely molded to the specifics of its output stage so that the nine front ends vary in size, voltage, bias current, dissipation, and the distribution of single-ended vs. push-pull bias.
The improvements yield directly coupled (DC) front ends that boast very high stability, low distortion, low noise, 100-Khz open-loop bandwidths, and high input impedances.
The power supplies are also larger than those of earlier amplifiers with a third more storage capacitance as well as new CRC (capacitor-resistor-capacitor) filtering. The power supplies still use paralleled fast/soft rectifiers and large toroidal transformers from Plitron, but the AC primary circuits now incorporate additional RF filtering. Power on/off switching and a stand-by draw are also new. In addition, Pass Labs improved the amplifiers’ output noise by more than 10 dB, and made the amplifiers much more resistant to variations in the AC power line.
The smaller Point.8 models — the X150.8, the X250.8, the XA30.8, the XA60.8 and the XA100.8 — also feature new and larger heat sinks to lower distortion and dissipate the energy of the larger bias currents.
Export Retail Price List Effective January 2014 for the x.8 Series is:
“XA.8” Pure Class “A” High Current Series
XA200.8 200 watt class A mono block $40,000 /pr
XA160.8 160 watt class A mono block $26,000 /pr
XA100.8 100 watt class A mono block $19,300 /pr
XA60.8 60 watt class A mono block $12,800 /pr
XA30.8 30 watt per channel stereo $6,500
“X.8” High Voltage Series Amplifiers
X600.8 600 watt mono block $26,000 /pr
X260.8 260 watt mono block $12,800 /pr
X350.8 350 per channel stereo $13,500
X250.8 250 per channel stereo $9,600
X150.8 150 per channel stereo $6,400
The brochure is more interesting for what it doesn't say than for what it does.
Terms like Ultrasymmetry and Supersymmetry are missing in the .8 description. Maybe we are supposed to assume, or perhaps it was an oversight, or perhaps more will be revealed in the fullness of time.
I noticed too that the Xs pieces and the Integrated amps were not included.
The new casework is lovely though. The entire product line is now of a oneness - cut from the same cloth so to speak.
Terms like Ultrasymmetry and Supersymmetry are missing in the .8 description. Maybe we are supposed to assume, or perhaps it was an oversight, or perhaps more will be revealed in the fullness of time.
I noticed too that the Xs pieces and the Integrated amps were not included.
The new casework is lovely though. The entire product line is now of a oneness - cut from the same cloth so to speak.
The Integrateds do not as yet exist (they are Wayne's responsibility), and
anyway everyone has a full plate at the moment. That the Xs is not
mentioned is purely an oversight.
Maybe we will come up with a new name, or maybe we will just sell a million
.8's and decamp to a high polar orbit.
(Antarctica Starts Here)
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