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Musical attributes of the Unforgettable recording like melody and tempo were rendered in an enjoyable and likable fashion by the Pass, and there was a life-likeness to the melody as you would expect when listening to someone playing an arch top guitar. With the Pass there was a natural sense of forward momentum to the tempi but the Patek gave the music an even livelier sense and more than there should have been for this music. Inner detail with the Patek is impressive but it is accompanied by a bit of fine-grained edge that really never allowed me to settle comfortably into the music at normal listening volumes but which was ameliorated somewhat at lower volumes. The Leben was more articulate in the way subtle musical cues were rendered that made it more expressive than either of the transistor amps. However, the Pass always presented the music as smooth and organic, with lots of beauty and ease that really drew me into the music regardless of volume setting.

Next up was the wonderful Getz/Gilberto CD [MFSL] featuring Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The Audiosector threw an extremely wide soundstage of moderate depth on "The Girl From Ipanema", with pinpoint accuracy to images. Detail recovery was a little greater than I'd expect to hear in life, with the perspective of the recording presented a little too sharp-edged for my tastes. Musically the Patek was convincing with a good portrayal of musical feeling. Timbre, tone, and melody all have that verisimilitude about them I find appealing, although ultimate sound quality remained ever so slightly on the edgy and gritty side. The Leben CS660 exceeded the sonic performance of the Patek while at the same time being more listenable and enjoyable on a musical level. The Pass XA30.5 gave a bigger sense of space and a deeper soundstage on "The Girl From Ipanema" than the Patek, with a sweeter, darker, warmer and more liquid overall character that I found appealing. Imaging was about the same as the Patek, both having pinpoint localization and plenty of presence in the way it charged the surrounding space with lots of body. The Pass presented the images with more flesh and blood and life-like presence, with the Patek being subtly more artificial and electronic. Detail recovery with the Pass was very slightly lower than with the Patek but the way the detail was presented more liquid and natural - a fair tradeoff in my playbook. The portrayal of timbre, tone and melody through the Pass was closer to life than the Patek but less so than the Leben. The Pass presented timbres as natural and organic, tone with a deep infusion of color and melody with a natural continuousness and liquid flow.

The Pass is lit less brightly in the higher frequencies than the Patek, has a creditably voluptuous midrange and extended, tuneful and powerful bass. The Pass's greatest strength is how well it conveys the essence of the musical performance. It really gives me a sense of the musical expressiveness of a piece of music and allows me to sink into the musical flow with ease - a true music lover's amp for sure.
Listening to my Analog Productions vinyl test pressing of Curtis Counce's You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce is quite a luxurious musical experience through the Pass
XA30.5. It presents the sound as a big, warm, dark and smooth acoustic environment that makes me feel like I'm in an intimate little jazz club with the musicians in front of me rather sitting in my living room listening to a recording. The Pass XA30.5 is a wonderful amplifier that I think will impress a lot of listeners with its excellent sonics and musical ability.

Summary & Conclusions
The Pass XA30.5 easily surpasses the less expensive but über-performing Audiosector Patek musically and sonically as befits an amplifier selling for more than double. You definitely get what you pay for with the Pass - and then some. The XA30.5 performs nearly in the same league as the Leben CS660P valve amplifier, which has the best combination of sonics and musicality I have ever encountered in a modestly powered amplifier of 40 watts - and the Pass does so at almost half the price.


The Pass XA30.5 is beautifully built and fairly priced for what must be considered to be an ultra-performance amplifier by any measure. The XA30.5's overall character is warm, smooth and a touch dark. It sounds a bit rolled off in the high frequencies but in a very artful fashion that is always consonant with the music. In the bass the Pass is powerful when called on to be as well as taut, extended and tuneful at all times. The overall balance of the amp is hard to fault and likely to be a big hit with listeners wanting a solid-state amp with a musical beating heart. Even though the XA30.5 delivers just 30 watts, it had an authority in the way it drove my Harbeths that suggests far more power. Kick drums were particularly awe-inspiring for their overall impact as they lit up the acoustic of my listening room.


The Pass XA30.5 is very good at reproducing the non-musical sonic aspects of recordings like soundspace, soundstage, imaging and the like. The XA30.5 can give a big billowing soundstage or soundspace if on the recording. Imaging is first rate with lots of body and specificity but it never takes on an overly etched sound that would burst your musical bubble by reminding you that it's just a recording after all. Rather, the sonics are superb at playing a convincing supporting role to the music in what is by all considerations a very canny balance between presenting a recording's full sonic potential plus the full glory of its musical content. Few amplifiers can match the Pass XA30.5 in this regard.

The Pass XA30.5 really impressed me with its ability to reproduce the musical aspects of recordings. Timbre at both the band and instrument level is exquisite. Brass sounds brassy, powerful and spot on; strings are rosiny and harmonically complex; cymbals shimmer and sparkle expressively. Tone color is deeply infused which helps lend expressiveness to the music. Melody, rhythm and harmony all come through with a presentation that is completely engaging and satisfyingly lifelike. It's easy to follow a melodic line through the music and it always makes sense in the way it develops in a continuous musical flow. Melodies flow the way they do in real life. The sense of tempo is artfully presented and always in step with the feel of the music and never slower or faster than appropriate as certain electronics will enforce. The Pass XA30.5 is superb at portraying the emotional expression of music and always, always drew me into the musical experience during listening sessions. At the end of the day, that's what it is all about for me. The Pass XA30.5 amp is the best modestly powered solid-state amp I have ever heard and the best yet to come from the design studio of Pass Labs. Highly recommended.
Quality of packing: Excellent.
Reusability of packing: Can be used at least twice.
Quality of owner's manual: Excellent. Can be downloaded here.
Condition of component received: The first XA30.5 amp I received was dead out of the box. Apparently as part of the final QA testing, Pass technicians remove a ribbon connector but had forgotten to hook it back up. After I pulled off the top of the amp and reconnected the ribbon connector and powered up the XA30.5, it blew a fuse and was then returned to Pass for evaluation. I received a replacement XA30.5 amp, which upon power up worked fine for a while but then also blew a fuse. After replacing the fuse it worked fine for the remainder of the review.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect.
Website comments: Nicely done and very informative.
Human interactions: Professional, helpful and friendly via e-mail.
Warranty: Limited 3-year warranty.
Pricing: Priced fairly for level of performance.
Final comments & suggestions: The top plate of the amp rings like a bell and I suggest placing some type of device on it to damp it. Before playing music on the Pass XA30.5, let it warm up for an hour like I did before listening sessions. It seems to need it before realizing its maximum sonic and musical potential.
Pass Labs website