Pass Labs
X250.8 Stereo Amplifier
$10,500.00 USDFeatures
250 Watts per Channel: Provides a robust 250 watts of power per channel into 8 ohms, suitable for driving even the most demanding speakers.
Symmetrical Circuitry: Ensures balanced and accurate audio reproduction, capturing the subtlest musical details.
High-Quality Components: Meticulously selected components contribute to the amplifier's exceptional sound clarity and dynamics.
Balanced (XLR) and Single-Ended (RCA) Inputs: Offers both balanced and single-ended inputs for flexible connectivity options.
Large Heat Sinks: Equipped with large heat sinks to dissipate heat efficiently, ensuring optimal performance over extended listening sessions.
Robust Power Supply: Features a robust power supply design for stable and reliable performance.
Precision Volume Control: Features precise volume control for fine adjustments to suit individual listening preferences.
Dual-Mono Construction: The X250.8 is built with dual-mono construction to eliminate crosstalk and interference between channels.
Efficient Loudspeaker Compatibility: Ideal for use with a wide variety of loudspeakers, providing engaging and detailed sound reproduction.
Reliable Performance: The X250.8 amplifier is designed for reliability and long-term performance, requiring minimal adjustments.
Musicality: Known for its musicality, the X250.8 amplifier allows listeners to fully immerse themselves in the nuances of their favorite music.
Exceptional Transparency: Delivers exceptional transparency and clarity, allowing the listener to hear every detail in the music.
Minimalist Design: Boasts a clean and minimalist design that reflects Pass Labs' commitment to simplicity and performance.
Solid-State Design: Offers the benefits of solid-state amplification, including efficiency, reliability, and stable performance.
What's in the Box?
Warranty
The Pass Labs X250.8 stereo amplifier is a powerhouse of audio performance that redefines the listening experience. The X250.8 is a flagship stereo amplifier designed to deliver 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms, showcasing Pass Labs' renowned Class A/B topology for exceptional sound quality. Its symmetrical circuitry and meticulously selected components ensure precise and transparent audio reproduction, revealing the finest nuances in your music. Equipped with balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) inputs, large heat sinks, and a robust power supply, the Pass Labs X250.8 offers both raw power and finesse. With its elegant design, exceptional build quality, and unrivaled performance, the X250.8 is the epitome of audio excellence for the most discerning audiophiles.
Dragon Cable Recommendation: we recommend pairing the X250.8 stereo amplifier with our award-winning Bronze Dragon Interconnects. The Bronze Dragon Interconnect is one of our best-selling cables at Moon Audio. With a braided geometry and amazing shielding, this interconnect is a remarkable solution where noise isolation is key. The Black Dragon Power Cable is also recommended to provide the cleanest and unbridled power to your high-end amplifier.
Features:
- Class A/B Topology: Utilizes Pass Labs' renowned Class A/B topology for outstanding sound quality and low distortion.
- 250 Watts per Channel: Provides a robust 250 watts of power per channel into 8 ohms, suitable for driving even the most demanding speakers.
- Symmetrical Circuitry: Ensures balanced and accurate audio reproduction, capturing the subtlest musical details.
- High-Quality Components: Meticulously selected components contribute to the amplifier's exceptional sound clarity and dynamics.
- Balanced (XLR) and Single-Ended (RCA) Inputs: Offers both balanced and single-ended inputs for flexible connectivity options.
- Large Heat Sinks: Equipped with large heat sinks to dissipate heat efficiently, ensuring optimal performance over extended listening sessions.
- Robust Power Supply: Features a robust power supply design for stable and reliable performance.
- Precision Volume Control: Features precise volume control for fine adjustments to suit individual listening preferences.
- Dual-Mono Construction: The X250.8 is built with dual-mono construction to eliminate crosstalk and interference between channels.
- Efficient Loudspeaker Compatibility: Ideal for use with a wide variety of loudspeakers, providing engaging and detailed sound reproduction.
- Reliable Performance: The X250.8 amplifier is designed for reliability and long-term performance, requiring minimal adjustments.
- Musicality: Known for its musicality, the X250.8 amplifier allows listeners to fully immerse themselves in the nuances of their favorite music.
- Exceptional Transparency: Delivers exceptional transparency and clarity, allowing the listener to hear every detail in the music.
- Minimalist Design: Boasts a clean and minimalist design that reflects Pass Labs' commitment to simplicity and performance.
- Solid-State Design: Offers the benefits of solid-state amplification, including efficiency, reliability, and stable performance.
The Pass Labs X250.8 stereo amplifier represents a monumental achievement in audio engineering, standing as a testament to the company's relentless pursuit of sonic excellence. Building upon the foundation laid by its sibling, the X150.8, the X250.8 takes a significant stride forward in both power output and overall performance, setting a new benchmark in high-end audio reproduction. At its core, the X250.8 boasts a formidable 250 watts per channel into 8 ohms, doubling to 500 watts into 4 ohms. This substantial power reserve ensures that the amplifier can effortlessly drive even the most demanding loudspeakers, maintaining composure and control across the entire frequency spectrum. However, raw power is merely the beginning of the X250.8's story.
What truly sets the X250.8 apart is Pass Labs' unwavering commitment to design excellence and component selection. Every resistor, capacitor, and transistor has been carefully chosen not just for its electrical properties, but for its contribution to the overall sonic signature. This painstaking attention to detail extends to the circuit layout, where each trace and connection has been optimized to minimize noise and distortion while maximizing signal integrity.
The amplifier's power supply is a marvel of engineering in its own right. Massively overbuilt, it ensures that the X250.8 has ample current on tap to handle even the most dynamic musical passages with ease. This translates to an effortless quality in the amplifier's sound, where crescendos unfold with natural grace and impact, free from any sense of strain or compression. Pass Labs' signature topology, which operates in a higher Class A range compared to conventional designs, is taken to new heights in the X250.8. This extended Class A operation results in vanishingly low distortion levels, particularly in the critical lower power ranges where much music resides. The sonic benefits are immediately apparent: a purity of tone that allows instruments and voices to emerge from a background of inky blackness, each occupying its own space within a vast, three-dimensional soundstage.
The X250.8's ability to reveal the nuances of a musical performance is nothing short of extraordinary. It peels back layers of a recording, exposing subtle details and micro-dynamics that might go unnoticed with lesser equipment. This is not merely about retrieving more information; rather, it's about presenting that information in a coherent, musical manner that draws the listener deeper into the heart of the performance. Bass reproduction is a particular strength of the X250.8. Low frequencies are rendered with power, precision, and an almost tactile quality. There's a sense of weight and authority to bass notes, yet they never become overbearing or muddy. Instead, the amplifier maintains iron-fisted control over the lower registers, providing a rock-solid foundation for the rest of the musical spectrum to build upon.
The midrange, often considered the heart of music, is where the X250.8 truly shines. Voices and instruments are presented with startling realism, possessing a presence and immediacy that can send shivers down the spine. The amplifier's ability to convey the emotional content of a performance is uncanny, allowing listeners to connect with the artist's intent in a profound and moving way. High frequencies are reproduced with exceptional clarity and extension, free from any hint of harshness or stridency. The X250.8 reveals the air and space around instruments, the delicate decay of a cymbal, or the shimmering harmonics of a plucked string with exquisite detail. This contributes to an overall sense of openness and transparency that is truly world-class.
Perhaps most impressive is the X250.8's ability to disappear as a component, leaving only the music. It possesses a chameleon-like quality, adapting to the demands of different musical genres with equal aplomb. From the delicate interplay of a string quartet to the raw energy of a rock concert, the X250.8 delivers each with the same level of engagement and emotional impact. Physically, the X250.8 is a statement piece that exudes quality and craftsmanship. Its substantial chassis, adorned with massive heat sinks, speaks to the amplifier's power and capabilities. The minimalist front panel, featuring only a power switch and a subtle blue LED, reinforces Pass Labs' focus on performance over unnecessary adornments.
For audiophiles and music lovers seeking the ultimate in stereo amplification, the Pass Labs X250.8 represents a pinnacle achievement. It combines raw power with finesse, technical excellence with musical soul. This is an amplifier that doesn't just reproduce music; it recreates the entire musical event in your listening room, inviting you to explore your record collection with fresh ears and a renewed sense of wonder.
The X250.8 is more than just an amplifier; it's a gateway to a deeper, more profound connection with music. It challenges listeners to rediscover their favorite recordings, to hear familiar tracks as if for the first time, and to embark on new musical journeys with an insatiable curiosity. For those who demand the very best and refuse to compromise in their pursuit of audio nirvana, the Pass Labs X250.8 stands ready to deliver an unparalleled listening experience, one transcendent moment at a time.
Pass Labs and First Watt
Pass Labs and First Watt were founded by hi-fi legend Nelson Pass. After co-founding and later selling Threshold Audio, Pass began working out of his Auburn, California, home in the early 1990s to develop prototypes of single-ended Class A amplifier designs under the name Pass Labs. Pass Labs quickly became known for its commercially produced Aleph, X, and XA Series amps, and preamps. Pass later started First Watt as a passion project focusing on low-power amps for a niche audiophile audience. Today, Pass splits his time between the two companies, with production happening in Pass Labs' facility in Foresthill, California, USA. Some of Pass Lab’s most notable products include the HPA-1 Headphone Amplifier, their integrated amp series (featuring the Pass Labs INT-25, Pass Labs INT-60, and the Pass Labs INT-250), the Pass Labs XA25, and more. If you’re looking for a monoblock amplifier, stereo amplifier, integrated amplifier, or headphone amplifier, then Pass Labs has everything you need for your high-end audio. Visit passlabs.com for more info.
What's in the Box?
- Pass Labs X250.8 Amplifier
- Power Cable
- Manual and Warranty
F.A.Q.
What is the power output of the Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier?
The Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier delivers 250 Watts per channel into 8 ohms. This substantial power output, combined with its Class A/AB operation, provides ample headroom and dynamic capability for driving a wide range of speakers. The X250.8 is designed to deliver exceptional clarity and control, even with demanding speaker loads.
What are the key features of the Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier?
The Pass Labs X250.8 is packed with features designed to satisfy audiophiles seeking uncompromising sound quality. It features a fully balanced input stage and a robust, high-current output stage for low distortion and musicality. The X250.8 includes Pass Labs' proprietary Super-Symmetry circuitry for improved performance, along with a precision volume control for accurate level adjustments. It also offers a remote control for convenience and a home theater bypass mode for seamless integration into multi-channel systems.
Can the Pass Labs X250.8 drive even the most demanding or low-impedance speakers?
Yes, the Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier is engineered to drive a wide range of speakers, including those with demanding loads or low impedances. With its 250 Watts per channel into 8 ohms (500 Watts into 4 ohms), the X250.8 has the power and control to handle virtually any speaker with ease. Its Class A/AB operation ensures stability and clarity, delivering a detailed and dynamic soundstage even with challenging speaker designs.
Does the Pass Labs X250.8 require any special considerations for setup or maintenance?
The Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier is designed for straightforward setup and operation. It does not require bias adjustments, as it is a self-biasing Class A/AB design. However, users should ensure proper ventilation for optimal performance, as higher-powered amplifiers can generate heat. Adequate ventilation will help maintain the amplifier's performance and longevity. Additionally, it is recommended to provide sufficient space around the amplifier for airflow and to follow Pass Labs' guidelines for safe and optimal operation.
Who is Nelson Pass?
Nelson Pass, the man behind Pass Labs and First Watt, has been designing and building amplifiers for decades. His early passion, however, was speakers; at age 14, he started assembling loudspeakers. As a college student studying physics at the University of California-Davis, he co-founded a speaker company called PMA. He also worked for ESS, where he designed crossovers and enclosures. After college, with his interest having shifted toward amplifiers, Pass co-founded Threshold Electronics (now Threshold Audio). His achievements during the Threshold years include developing the first dynamically biased Class A amplifier circuit; developing a fully cascode audio power amplifier; and developing the STASIS stereo preamplifier and power amplifier. During the 1980s, Pass designed the Adcom GFA-555 amplifier. Later, after selling Threshold, he started Pass Labs in 1991 and First Watt in 1997. Pass holds several patents related to audio circuits.
How did Pass Labs make its name?
Pass Labs helped popularize solid-state, Class A power amplifiers. Pass Labs' first product, the Aleph 0 amplifier, operated as a single-ended Class A up to its 70-watt rating and in push-pull Class A at higher wattage. The Aleph series of amplifiers, some of the first solid-state amps that were said to be "tube-like" in sound, operated pure class A and contained internal circuitry using MOSFETs. The Aleph amplifiers had a unique appearance, a cube with heat sinks on all four sides, a solution to the heat generated by the class-A design. This can be attributed primarily to the specific MOSFETs used and the minimum number of gain stages that were implemented in the design. Pass Labs also developed the Super-Symmetry™ ("Su-Sy") circuit, which achieves exceptionally low distortion and noise levels. In 1998, Pass Labs released the X1000, the first amplifier using the patented SuperSymmetric™ topology. The X1000 achieved 1000 watts with high performance, local feedback, and only two gain stages: a cascaded differential pair of transistors and a large bank of complementary output followers. This groundbreaking design informed all subsequent Pass Labs amplifiers.
What else does Pass Labs make?
In 2002, Pass Labs unveiled the first XA amplifiers, combining the X and Aleph topologies into balanced single-ended Class A amplifiers with many of the characteristics of both the X and Aleph series. The current Pass Labs lineup includes Class A amps (XA and Xs Series), Class AB amps (.8 Series), line preamps (Xs and XP Series), phono preamps (Xs and XP Series), integrated amps (INT Series), and one headphone amp.
What is the relationship between Pass Labs and First Watt?
When he started Pass Labs, Pass did everything out of his home. In 1997, having outgrown the space, Pass Labs moved into commercial space in Foresthill, California. When Pass started First Watt, it was a "kitchen table" venture, with work once again happening in his home. In 2016, with production demands not leaving him enough time to pursue the vast array of yet-to-be-designed amps, Nelson handed the business end of First Watt over to Pass Labs. Pass Labs took over the building of First Watt amplifiers as well as marketing and distribution. There's a synergy between the two operations, in that Pass Labs gets to gather up some of the more interesting First Watt finds and repurpose them as more commercially viable designs. Today, Pass splits his time between First Watt and Pass Laboratories.
Specifications
- Class:
- AB
- Type:
- Stereo
- Gain (dB):
- 26
- Inputs:
- XLR/RCA
- Power Output /ch (8 ohm):
- 250
- No Output devices (/ch):
- 56
- Power Consumption (Watts):
- 450
- Standby Power Consumption (Watts):
- <1
- Number of Chassis:
- "
- Dimension:
- W: 19" x D: 21.25" x H: 9"
- Weight:
- 100lb