introducing pass labs' first integrated amplifier, one which promises to give local favourite and best-seller, the 150-watter bladelius thor, a run for the money.

the INT-150 is based on the company's acclaimed X-150.5 stereo amplifier. Design technology and refinements include pass labs' patented super-symmetry circuit, said to improve performance by precisely matching characteristics of the two halves of a balanced amplifier. Rated at 150 watt into 8 Ohms (300W@4 Ohms), same as the bladelius thor, INT-50 is touted to be dynamic and can drive difficult loads with ease.

get yourself a chinese new year present, watch out for its arrival at centre circle (03-77282686)....

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

How much is it selling? How much is the Thor?Art Dudley Said in recent Stereophile That if he has his way he would be having Intergrated amp only.Do you agree with Him?

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

i may be wrong, i think thor is selling at RM15,000++ and the pass should be below RM20,000.

integrateds definitely have its advantages - one less interconnect and no preamp.

a good integrated is defintely better than an average pre-power. look at how ASR prices their integrated amps!

the best is to audition them ;-)

Anonymous said...

Dear Maggielurva,
You are a very sensible man!!I thought you were going to wollap mr an for askingabt int amp.
even Gerard Rejskind in his book "the World of High Fidelity" says that an int amp makes more sense.the only problem is that most audiophile shunned the int amp. It is a matter of what customer want .do not forget that Audio note Ongaku is an int amp..

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi zack,

in the 80s, brands like adcom and B&K can sell their pre-power for less than RM3K and the sound is, err.... average, to say diplomatically.

of course, pre-power offers better isolation (divide and conquer) and power supply options but in the hands of inexperienced users, it may not necessary be an advantage.

Anonymous said...

May be out of topic here,I can't afford 20K for Pass int but do you know anyone selling their Aleph 3 or Aleph J ? been following hifi4sale, music-matters and dealer with no success, thanks. need something to partner with my Harbeth.

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi,

the aleph series of amps have always been favourites and they surface once in a while in 2nd hand market. just be patient.

why don't you leave you contact here. and i will help you to source. but no promises ;-)

Anonymous said...

Pass labs has a very good pedigree in pre-power combi.But anyone looking for an int amp should consider the followings;
1]Simaudio moon I-7
2]Gamut I50 ;unbelievable!
3]Spectral design
and certainly the pass labs.I plead ignorance about the thor /bladieurd . Havent heard of them

Anonymous said...

I notice that whenever there is a sensive topics like cables ,amp there seems to bo a lot of response.

Anonymous said...

agree with julian and would also add the followings;
1]gryphon integrated amp
2]Denson i50 int amp
3]Xindak audio
4]sugden masterclass-Pure class a bliss!!!
5]The new Krell int amp
I have actually listened to them all.Among the best amp {in whatever genre] around

Anonymous said...

The Pass Aleph series amps are pretty good and were very popular sometime ago. I have owned the Aleph amp, as well as the integrated from Krell. I have since sold these & gone down a different path and find more musical enjoyment and satisfaction from a SPUD tube amp, as well as a Charlize T-amp. As always, like what Maggielurva says: best to audition them before buying! :) :)

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

topics on recommended amps, cables, tweaks etc etc are always contentious issues that can elicit varied responses from audiophiles.

i always believe that a piece of equipment is fundamentally good, it is up to the skills of the users to maximize its potential and show its true colour.

just don't be a slave to hardware ;-)

yoyoma said...

I agreed with all here, but the most importatnt issue is go and listen for yourself and match with the equipment that you have or going to have. If the new one is too expensive, be patient and wait for the second hand unit. Trust your ears and remember "one man meat maybe another man poison"
Don't listen too much much on other people opinions, don't argue on valve better or ss better, don't argue on planar better or box better. trust your ears, in the end of the day you are the one who spend the money and listen to them. We read review and listen to opinion to build our confident in listening and to get our preference of sound. Bottom ine....you must like it...
chilling here...cheers

Instantclassic said...

I have owned the Aleph 0, and the Aleph 2. (Preamps; P, L, X2 and X2.5.Without hesitation is the INT-150 something that blows ALL earlier non su-sy Alephs out of the window.
To bad people think that Nelson is evolving around the same sound and just changing the names.
The supersymmetry cirquit and the buffered volume control is working very well indeed.
It is a great combination and very conveniant. And a compact everyday wonderful device reproducing music like no other.