Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Bought my legacys sig III from a guy that was using this amp to run them. Legacy's are all 4 ohm speaker systems so that would give this amp a 500 watt per channel rating with this speaker, YEAH...... lets just say that needle never left the 2 o'clock position the whole time they got ran before i bought them. In other words this thing was putting out as much as it could all the time to run the speakers, granted they werent low listening levels either but thats not the point here, there power level is over rated, This thing was oven hot when we were done i kid you not if your hand stayed on the cooling fins for more than a few seconds youd get a minor burn! Now i did sound good, but a little over rated and over priced i think so. I run the same speakers with my McIntosh mc-300, and i tell yah the amp never gets over warm to the touch, and its only rated at 300 watts at 4 ohm, macs power ratings dont change due to impedence levels, lets just say i cant even come close to burying the needles on my mc. Pay close attention when looking at the power levels on the pass amp
250 watts maximum @ 1% THD, 1 kHz, 8 ohms
Mcintosh amp
300 watts RMS @ .0005% THD,20-20k, 8,4,2 ohms
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Pass labs is a joke when they rate there power levels dont get suckered in! Before you dump the money into this thing look at similar products!

Strengths:
Sounded great, looked great

Weaknesses:
Power levels are a joke, who the hell rates there amplifier at a maximum rated level @ 1%thd hahahaha its a joke! I feel bad for the guy who paid 7k for this amp, when u get can more powerfull just as good sounding amps for less.

Similar Products Used:
MCINTOSH

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Price Paid:  $0.00 from Reno HiFi

Summary:
This amp is a masterpiece! Very pleased with the dynamics and imaging. Powerful yet graceful, the x250 is a real winner. The looks are among the best I have seen in a solid state amp. Nelson Pass answers e-mails with set up and maintnance questions. Try getting that service from the mainstream manufacturers.

I have owned Krell and Bryston. Both are very good companies and also have great service records. I have recently settled with Pass because it never seems to interfere with the recordings. No coloration. Very natural and revealing. If a recording is of poor quality, you will hear it. When a recording is superb (Maple Shade or Chesky) it will spook you. Amazing. Even my non-audiophile friends can appreciate the ablity of this amp to bring recordings to life. Wife factor is positive becuase of the stunning appearance.

My speakers are B& W 805's
Speaker Cables-Audio Quest Indigo
Cables- Tara Labs

Strengths:
Powerful and graceful.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Krell, Bryston, Hafler, Rotel, Fosgate, Marantz

Bouman

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $7500.00

Summary:
Quite an amazing amp. It sounds controlled yet relaxed never strained or harsh and soundstage and imaging is almost holographic. I don't think that I've heard a better set then the one I have now. I also liked it better than the Krell amps I've heard (bit harsh and grainy) or Mark Levinson.

Before I used a Bryston 4b-ST, which is probably still one of the best amps for the money, but the X250 is just better though. And so it should be! at the retail price in Europe: 7-8000 euro which is ofcourse an insane amount of money.

But the reason I really bought it was: it is so d@mn good-looking! I just love the massive front with the sculptured handles, soft bluelight Bias meter and the sleek horizontal cooling fins. All my friends love it, except ofcourse for my girlfriend. But I would personally see that as a positive endorsement since she 's got the most hideous taste, god bless her.

Strengths:
Best I've heard yet.
Build quality: all 50 kilos of it and very reliable
16 very expensive, output matched, International Rectifier transistors per channel!
Industrial Design and I do mean "Design"
Relatively cheap when compared with Krell or Mark Levinson and more reliable.

Weaknesses:
A bit expensive when compared with Bryston or Proceed.

Similar Products Used:
Bryston 4b-ST, proceed Amp2/HPA2

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from renoaudio.com

Summary:
Very happy with the x250. Drives my B&W 805s like no other amp I have auditioned.This includes Rotel,Marantz,Fosgate and Bryston. Powerful, true and very honest, this amp will not let you down. It will bring out the best in the recordings and point out the crap.

Strengths:
Powerful, detailed, lush and built like a tank.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Rotel ,Bryston,Marantz andFosgate

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Sound & Cinema, Atla

Summary:
I just purchased a Pass Labs X-1 Pre-amp and X-250 amplifier last week. I knew that they would be a major upgrade from my old integrated amp (an Acurus DIA-100 Mk II), but I really did not expect the level of performance that I have received. My system consists of: Pass Labs X-1 pre-amp Pass Labs X-250 amp Sony SCD-777ES SACD player Conrad Johnson DR-1 CD transport Meridian 563 D/A converter (upgraded to 24 bit status) Polk Audio LS-90 speakers (on Solid Steel stands) Cardas Neutral Reference interconnects Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cables I am amazed at how tonally accurate this system is. When set at the correct listen level for a piece of music, I have never heard better. The tonal qualities do fall apart if I try to play the music too loud. (I think I am overloading the room.) On good recordings, singers often sound like they are right in the room with you. On bad recordings, you can tell how much and what type of artifical processing was used. Dynamics also seem to be perfect. The amp/pre-amp can be very delicate and quiet when the music calls for it. Then, out of nowhere can come the snap of a drum, the resonate clunk of a wood block, or the explosion of a canon can appear. In each case, the micro and macro dynamics of the system seem to be spot on target. The ability of the amp/pre-amp to reproduce the trailing edge of a drum hit, wood blocks, finger snaps, etc is amazing and very realistic. As far as I can tell, the Pass Labs amp and pre-amp are perfectly neutral and very musical. There are no signs of grain, etching, dryness, or veiling of details. The amp and pre-amp are very revealing. I had a set-up problem that was causing some resonances and a loose connection in my speakers. I was able to find and fix both of these problems because the amp/pre-amp highlighted them. I can also now tell that the Meridian D/A converter is much better when using the balanced outputs than when using the single-ended outputs. My old amp only took single-ended inputs. I preferred the Sony player even when playing regular CDs with my old amp. Now using the balanced outputs, the Meridian D/A converter w/ the CJ transport is definitely better for playing CDs. When available, SACDs on the Sony player still have a slight edge over regular CDs on the Meridian/CJ set-up.

Strengths:
Neutral, equally good at delicate details and explosive dynamics, musical, neither dry nor etched without any apparent loss of detail. Styling, fit and finish are all first rate.

Weaknesses:
The wing nut binding posts are placed awkwardly, only work with spades and can be problematic with some spade connectors.

Similar Products Used:
None. I have auditioned amps by Krell, Mark Levinson, and Plinus.