Pass Labs XA30.5 — The Best Solid State Amplifier I Have Heard

CLASS A POWER AMPLIFIER  ·  30W/CH  ·  PASS LABS  ·  REVIEW

Nelson Pass has one thing in common across all his amplifier designs: sheer brilliance. From the Threshold designs through the legendary Aleph to the monster X1000 monoblocks — his amplifiers are some of the best designs ever made. I had the XA30.5 on hand for a month or two. I fell in love with it. Unconditionally.

The Look

Strong, modern, industrial. This amplifier is not trying one bit to be subtle. Most people notice it immediately, and for most it is love at first sight. That front meter — unlike McIntosh’s brass band approach, this one is quieter but beautiful. It looks like blue liquid. The interplay of dark and lighter aluminium emphasises the design perfectly. The newer XA30.8 is less striking to my eye.

The Sound

Sublime. That simple. An incredibly smooth, detailed, and pure amplifier — almost like a valve amplifier in the midrange and upper registers, but with that typical hefty solid state control over the notes.

Treble

Take a trumpet — the most contention-generating instrument between valve lovers and solid state fans. It can shout, screech, ring in your ears through the wrong amplifier. Here it just picks up the note and makes it float. Sharp, detailed, and lovely. Never does it lose the ability to portray fine details. Big and wide soundstage full of micro-detail, with an airiness that is remarkable.

Midrange

Voices come out natural and beautiful. Very, very lifelike and clear. I kept throwing one song after another at it — Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Chris Rea. Some instruments were so realistic they jumped at you, producing notes with very little hint of smearing.

Bass

Dynamic, deep, and punchy. Fast, though not the fastest I have heard. Yet it sounds better to me than some 300W amplifiers. Meaty and strong. Driving Sonus Faber Amatis to very loud levels from 30W? It shouldn’t work. But later I confirmed: this is a very, very underrated specification.

Conclusion

After listening to solid state and valve amplifiers for 25+ years, this is the very best solid state amplifier I have heard. It competes for the very top with only one or two very good valve systems.

I compare it to big Levinsons, McIntosh, and other greats — and for me, the Pass brings more music to my ears. The last time I was this surprised was when I first listened to the Hovland HP100 preamplifier.