As the entry-level Class A/B stereo power .8 amplifier, the X150.8 features many of the same technical and sonic attributes of its larger brethren. It features 150 watts per channel, 100K ohm input impedance and operates “higher” into Class-A than its predecessors.
But knowing the ear is not a microphone and the brain is not a tape recorder, Pass Labs designed this model to bridge the gap between measured performance and outstanding subjective musical experience. Simply put, the X150.8 will compel you to listen to your entire music collection again and again.
The output stages of the larger Point 8 amplifiers bias more deeply into the Class-A operating region. These amplifiers glow with innovation. Their larger push-pull Class-A operating envelopes deliver low distortion and additional loudspeaker control at ordinary listening levels. And higher power MOSFETs, many more than usual, increase the amplifiers’ Class-A operation while running at fractions of their stated specs to enhance both performance and reliability.
Still not content, Pass Labs uniquely moulded each model’s front end to the specifics of its output stage so that the nine amplifiers’ front ends vary in size, voltage, bias current, dissipation, and single-ended vs. push-pull bias distribution. The directly coupled front ends, which house the input and voltage gain stages, maximise each model‘s output stage performance while imparting to each model its own subtle and unique sonic signature.
There’s more — including larger power supplies, more storage capacitance, more precise reference voltages, and new, larger heat sinks — but suffice it to say that with the Point 8 Series, Pass Labs move beyond cookie-cutter circuits.
