pass vs. innersound esl power amplifier

[radioman]

Hi to everyone
i apologize for my basic english.
i've a doubt about how amplifier choose for my sl3 between pass x150.5 and sanders power amplifier mkII. http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/ma4.htm
first is well-know and a pleasure to watch, second is made for ESL but niche market product.
pass costs 1.000€ more of sanders, but it's easy to re sell.
thanks for answer
Paolo

 

[bzr]

Hi Paulo, I have the Sanders Magtech amp & I can definitely tell you Roger Sanders knows what he is doing when he builds an amp. They are designed to drive our speakers & do it with ease. If you want the pretty lights & thingy's Sanders don't do those, they do a product that is very neutral & doesn't colour the sound. Be warned though, if you have some recordings that weren't mastered well, the Sanders will not make them sound better, instead it will reveal them even more. Haven't tried the PASS, from what I hear they go good.

 

[tsv_1]

Hi to everyone
i apologize for my basic english.
i've a doubt about how amplifier choose for my sl3 between pass x150.5 and sanders power amplifier mkII. http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/ma4.htm
first is well-know and a pleasure to watch, second is made for ESL but niche market product.
pass costs 1.000€ more of sanders, but it's easy to re sell.
thanks for answer
Paolo

I've owned Pass (and still use Pass in my HT system) and can testify first hand as to it's authoratative, neutral sound. It is also potentially one of the most over-designed (in terms of tolerances) of any amp on the market, which means you are extremely unlikely to ever have any reliability problems with it.

I've neither owned nor heard the Sander's amps, but everyone who has seems to think they are oustanding - at least I've never heard a negative comment or seen a bad review. I think you'd be safe going with either brand. That said, there is no better way to know for sure than to demo them both in your system - if that's at all possible.

Good luck!

 

[Gordon Gray]

Hi bzr,

"Pretty lights and thingy's"? Oh please.

I also have not heard the Sanders amp but both products are owned and praised by MLC members for their performance and the reviews on both are stellar.

As Todd said, you need to audition both products in your system to make the best informed decision. If you can't, I also suspect that you will be happy with either.

GG

PS: Nothing against Roger Sanders but he is a one person company. If he is no longer able to function in his current capacity, who knows what service / support will be available in the future. If long term company viability is an issue in your decision, I'd go with Pass.

 

[churchill]

I'm running Pass XA60.5's Class A monos with my CLS's and love the combo! I've also owned the Pass X250 with excellent results as well.

I've also heard good things about the Sanders amps.

 

[bzr]

Hi bzr,

"Pretty lights and thingy's"? Oh please.......
.

...HUH! couldn't help myself & I knew someone would bite

 

[roberto]

... and I thought that we were in heaven:ROFL:...happy listening!:rocker:

 

[Rich]

I own Pass x350.5 and a pair of Sanders ESL mono blocs. Both make a great amp. Sanders is more neutral; Pass is slightly warmer in tone. Between the two choices you list, I would lean toward the Sanders, which gives you a lot more power for the money.

 

[robertawillisjr]

I own Pass x350.5 and a pair of Sanders ESL mono blocs. Both make a great amp. Sanders is more neutral; Pass is slightly warmer in tone. Between the two choices you list, I would lean toward the Sanders, which gives you a lot more power for the money.

This may not be the place, but would give us a really good AB review? I have been dithering between the two for the past few months while getting the funds together. In the short term the selected amplifier would be pushing a Magnepan 1.7 but late next year I plan to upgrade to the Magnepan 3.7 or a used CLX.

I will try listen to both in my system but I really don't want to hump that big Pass back and forth. BTW, I still have my Quest (loaned out) and Stylos and an Aerius somehow managed to find its way into the house.

 

[roberto]

Hola Robert, did you have a chance to listen the Spires? Your ears can tell how great this speaker is...it is just a preparation for your new goal: The CLXs. I am also a Magnepan lover, but I keep listenig all the benefits that I get from ML, and I read you too, Robert. Your comments and advices here are toward ML great sound and we love the Company Service Dept... please, do not get me wrong here, several ML lovers are (I was) also are Magnepan users... and this is, becasue we are used to a non boxie sound. But the region that matters is the most critical point, this is the crossover high frequency cut region. Becasue ML does not use any crossover point over 500Hz (there are no phase problems at this frequency cut), the coherence and transparency from the new micro perf stat panel is the solution for this matter. Also, another sound benefit is the curvilinear the 30° room dispersion.
You might find a good deal for the Spires, or the Ethos, or Vantages, models that I do recommend a lot for the great, precise, and big sound!. About the amplifiers, the Sanders amps have tons of power with CMOS FET at the output, and their sound is like tubes...the behavior of the C MOS FET semiconductor is like a tube, and it is a device, like bipolar transistors, that can drive direct the load, without any transformer for impedance matching. Mr. Sanders did his homework designing this fantastic amplifier, but also, the Pass is a such wonderful design and it is a high quality watts sounding amp. Your recommendation as always, is: listen to both, and choose the one that you liked most. Roberto, please forgive my dare!...I was just thinking loud... happy listening!

 

[robertawillisjr]

Roberto,

I have listened to the Spires and the Summit Xs, I came close to purchasing the Summit Xs but decided to get the Magnepan 1.7s. They are great sounding speakers for $2k, in fact other than some dynamics and the low end there wasn't a compelling reason to get them. Now that I have had the 1.7s in the house for about a year, I can hear some areas where the sound isn't as refined or distinct as the Summits and I also miss the low end somewhat. Given the difference in price and what I did with the difference, I am satisfied with the purpose.

My plan (such as they are) is to audition the Sanders, Channel Island, and probably the Pass and Coda. I say probably because those are monster amps and I know how difficult it is to move something that big (I have a Levinson 335). If those amps don't sound better than my Levinson, then I can get speakers more costly than the Magnepan 3.7 (which is my next goal shortly after I get a new amp. If it betters the Levinson).

 

[roberto]

Thanks Bob, and again, excuse my dare to ask. You are right also regarding the amplifiers, those are beasts!... and what we like is quality watts, not quantity. By the way, I had the chance to listen a new design power amplifier. The new Anthem M-1 monoblocks. These amps can put 1000 Watts at 8 ohms, and are quality watts, very clean and super dynamic, I know that for a real test, I must have them at least one week or two in my system...also, I did like a lot the way that the designer of the amp, thought of how to cool the output transistors, instead of using a masive heat sinks, he is using a kind of a car radiator. Please guys, if any of you had the pleasure to listened to them, tell us your finding. It is another way to have clean power and a good sound... but a really listening care will tell us how they are. They truly can handle low impedance, and will put 2000 Watts at 4 ohms. Happy listening!

 

[Rich]

Robert,

I don't have time to do an in-depth review right now but I believe I have done so in previous posts. I would say that they are both super quality amps that make Logans sound wonderful. The Sanders are what I call much more "neutral" meaning neither warm or cool in tone, and with no particular emphasis on any part of the spectrum. They are some of the most transparent amps I have ever heard and give you back exactly what you feed into them, unvarnished. They have tons of power to handle any transients with aplomb. They are also not that heavy and don't generate a ton of heat.

The Pass, on the other hand, is a slightly warmer, more full-bodied sound. I believe it puts a little emphasis on the lower mids, which is really nice on vocal recordings. It still does everything well and sounds fabulous with the Logans. But it also puts off a ton of heat and weighs more than the rest of my system combined (ok, slight exaggeration there).

If you are familiar with the tonal differences between the Prodigy and the Summit, I would say the Pass is a Prodigy while the Sanders is a Summit. Both are great speakers that do everything well and sound wonderful, but one has a slightly larger footprint and also has a warmer, more full-bodied tonality to it. For someone looking for a neutral, transparent sounding amp that sounds great across the spectrum, the Sanders is impossible to beat for the money, in my opinion. But for someone that has a little extra cash to burn and is looking for a top-quality amp that has a fuller, richer sound and a depth of tonality, the Pass is the answer. Hope this helps.

 

[roberto]

Hola... Agreed with Rich 100%. I wish that I could speak English so fluent to express that. Thanks Rich!! Happy listening.

 

[robertawillisjr]

Thanks. That helps quite a bit.

 

[eknuds01]

A couple of years back I was in Denver at the RMAF and did visit Roger. Naturally I couldn't do an A/B comparison with his amps vs other similar amps, but I did like the sound.

I was very impressed with Roger's equipment/setup. I only visited a handful of rooms a second time, and Roger was one of them.

Erik

 

[babydoc]

Hi to everyone
i apologize for my basic english.
i've a doubt about how amplifier choose for my sl3 between pass x150.5 and sanders power amplifier mkII. http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/ma4.htm
first is well-know and a pleasure to watch, second is made for ESL but niche market product.
pass costs 1.000€ more of sanders, but it's easy to re sell.
thanks for answer
Paolo

Bongiorno Paolo
I have had the opportunity to have both Sanders and Pass in my systems over the years. Since the designs are substantially different, there is, as we say in the US, a bit of an apple and oranges comparison. The Sanders and Pass X-series are a bit closer in what they get out of the panels. At normal listening levels, which means, very few watts will be needed, either one will do it for you. The differences are greater with the Pass XA-series which is what I am now using. These are pure Class A design, run very warm, and present a body to the music that few other solid state amps will do. You might even consider an XA-60 monobloc which sounds like less power but will amaze you with its sound. In the longer run, price differential is more of a decision based on how long you will own a product. I usually hang on to amps for a long time so the eventual difference per year may not be so substantial.
Ciao