Pass Aleph 3 Review
Scott Weinmann
My experiences and opinions follow:
THE FIRST NIGHT
---------------
I borrowed the Pass Aleph 3 for two nights of listening this week and
although two nights is not much compared to the months that
"professional" reviewers get to spend, it was certainly enough time
for me to formulate some opinions and to get a feeling for the gestalt
of this amplifier.
First of all, the amp. This is the 30 watt, pure Class A,
single-ended, solid state amp from the illustrious Nelson Pass
(Threshold, Adcom, Nakamichi, etc.) The amp is a member of the second
generation of Aleph amps, in that it has only two gain stages (the
Aleph 0 and Aleph 0s had three..) and it doesn't go into push-pull
mode at the onset of clipping, it just clips. It sells for $2,000.
The amp is relatively small, but built like the proverbial "brick doody
house". (I didn't want to lose any right-wing conservatives so early on
by using familiar NY colloquialisms ; ) ) It is dense, and weighs more
than its size would lead you to believe. Fit and finish are superb.
The build quality appears to be the same as their $12,000 Aleph 1 amps.
The only physical drawbacks were two - The binding posts and RCA
inputs are so close together that you can barely get your speaker
cables in there, let alone bi-wire it!! It is a ridiculously tight
fit. All Pass had to do was forego two or three of the ubiquitous
heat-sink fins and all would be fine. But no, they are going to make
us swear at the thing before we even get to turn it on. Wiring it up
as big a hassle as any piece of equipment I've ever seen. Major
no-no. Fortunately, the binding posts use metal nuts/knobs, rather
than the plastic crap we see all-too-often, so I was able to use a
socket driver to tighten the speaker cables down, but let me tell you,
it wasn't easy. Fortunately, my bi-wire setup consists of spades on
one run, and bananas on the other (identical cables, though). This
allowed me to biwire from the "ridiculously-difficult-to-get-to
binding posts. The second stupid thing about the physical design is
that the power switch is in the back, tucked away underneath the
line-level inputs and speaker cable connections, but above the
IEC-standard a/c power cord outlet. In order to turn the amp on and
off, you have to reach around the back. It's not so simple as
reaching over the top to the back, because the switch is not on top,
it is in the middle of a bunch of wires. You have to reach around the
SIDE of the amp to turn it off and on. I keep my Acurus amp on all
the time. I think it draws 35 watts at idle. As green as I am, I
figure 35 watts is not enough to loose sleep over. The Aleph, on the
other hand, draws 250 watts at idle. That's a lot! And, it's
expensive. This baby if left on all the time would empty my bank
account, make Lilco profitable, and probably hit meltdown status
simultaneously, if allowed. No 24 hours of power for this little
titan, no way! It needs to be turned off and on. I keep my amp
inside an entertainment center, so when listening sessions are over,
late at night, and it is time to go to bed and cuddle up with my
honey, turning off the amp is an adventure for the Indiana Jones
within me. I don my fedora and whip (that's for my wife, not the amp)
and, reaching around the back of the amp, gingerly turn off the power
switch.
Performing this operation without burning your wrist is akin to
reaching into the back of your toaster oven to pull out that
over-toasted bagel; you better have the angle just right or else!
They say this baby runs hot, and boy does it! You know what, though?
I like stuff that runs hot! My pre-amp runs hot. My D/A runs hot.
Anything that doesn't run hot isn't working hard enough for this man.
So, how hot is it? Put your hand on top and you'll find it at around
120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncomfortable, for sure, but it doesn't
smell like something's burning or anything, so GET OVER IT!.
"OK, how's it sound?", you ask. Well, let's put it in perspective.
I'm used to listening to a very modest amplifier, the Acurus A-150.
Although ridiculously good for the money (around $695 if I remember
correctly) the Aleph 3 compares to the Acurus A-150 like a Nissan 300
ZX (which I used to own, thank you..) compares to the Ferrari 348.
The Z-car offers many of the qualities of the true high-end sports
car, but in the end doesn't have the refinement that a hand-built
thoroughbred like the Ferrari brings to the seat of your pants.
Often, people that have Honda Accords will comment to a guest
passenger, "Drives like a Mercedes, doesn't it?" They never drove a
Mercedes. Once you do, you come to the humbling conclusion that,
although a mighty-fine car, the Honda Accord is just not in the same
class as the Mercedes E320, thank you very much.
The same is true comparing the Acurus to the Aleph. Although almost
three times the price, comparing the two wasn't an exercise in
banality. The natural upgrade path from a $600-$700 amp is most
definitely a $1500 - $2000 amp, isn't it? Well, as much as the Acurus
does a super job in my system (details of which are coming up in a
minute), the Aleph just shows its tail to the Acurus once the "going
gets going". A natural progression, for sure.
My system consists of:
Digital:
Theta Data Basic (resting on Townsend Seismic Sink)
Madrigal "Fat Boy" Digital Interconnect
Proceed DAP with HDCD (resting on Townsend Seismic Sink)
Cardas Quadlink interconnect
Analog:
Well Tempered Record Player
Monster Alpha Genesis m/c cartridge
AQ Emerald Hyperlitz interconnect
Bright Star "Big Rock" Platform
Aragon 47k Phono Preamp
MIT 330 (original) interconnect
Common:
Melos SHA-1 (Line Level) Preamp (resting on AQ Sorbothane CD feet)
MIT 330 Plus (with Terminator) interconnect
Acurus A-150 Stereo Amplifier
Dunlavy Speaker Cables (bi-wired)
Dunlavy SC-IV speakers
The room is large, with vaulted ceilings, skylights, wide-open spaces
and all of the crappy-sounding trappings of recent construction,
contemporary housing on Long Island. There is an entertainment center
7.5 feet tall and 10 feet wide between the speakers (major faux pas, I
know, but this is my living room!) The fronts of the speakers are 46"
from the back wall. They sit 10' apart (inside edges), toed in
towards the listening position so that the listener is directly
on-axis. The listener sits 10' from each speaker. There is an ASC
Slim Trap (6' high and 12" in diameter) behind each speaker.
The only component that I changed out for this audition was the amp.
I allowed the Aleph 3 to warm up for an hour before I popped in even a
single CD. Nelson tells you that the amp doesn't sound like itself
until it has an hour of warm-up time. He's almost right. It takes
fully 90 minutes for this little beast to fully hit its stride.
Although it sounds good after warming up for an hour, it isn't until
it is really hot that the Aleph sounds its best.
I listened to the Aleph using a number of CDs which I will detail in a
second. I also listened using my trusty Well Tempered Record Player.
I used LP at the end of my listening so as to not "spoil" my listening
sessions with the ever-more-convenient CD. A very wise man once said,
"If you want to enjoy digital, stop listening to analog." My
corollary is, "If you plan to listen to digital and analog in the same
night, listen to digital first." And so it went...
One of the first CDs I played was Basia's "Time and Tide" SBM Gold
Disc, track four, "Freeze Thaw". My thinking was, "If this little 30
watter is gonna have trouble kickin' out the jams, this is the
recording to make short work of the review process. If it can't play
this stuff, box the amp back up and call it a night."
Well, blow me down, Popeye. If this thing isn't a deceptive little
critter!! "Thirty watts, my ass", I thought. Well, referring back to
the manual, it is thirty watts, AT EIGHT OHMS!! My speakers are rated
as 5 Ohms, nominal, but they do dip down to 3 Ohms at some
frequencies.
Although efficient as you could ask a dynamic speaker to be (at 91db
sensitivity for a 1 watt input at 1 meter..), what was really going on
here was that the amp was developing more like 50 watts on the Dunlavys.
You see, the documentation, which I have no reason to doubt, says
that the amp will put out 30 watts at 8 ohms, 60 watts at 4 ohms and
at 2 ohms. On my 5 ohm speakers, I extrapolated that they are
probably putting out around 50 watts. Boy, I'm glad I went to college
to learn how to extrapolate.
So how did Basia "the Czechoslovakian Babe" sound? Pretty DYNAMIC,
that's how. Any sign of clipping? Not in my system. The thing that
struck me on this recording was the sense of "rhythm and pace", to use
Martin Colloms =91lingo. If you listen to this track on your system
and aren't tappin' your foot and wigglin' your butt, your system ain't
got the mojo. Suffice it to say, my foot was a-tappin! Not only was
the pace impressive, but one of the qualities of pace, leading
transient attack was as fast as any amp I'd ever heard. Clean, sharp,
crisp attack. It is this leading edge that imparts the sense of
rhythm that makes me wanna dance. The Aleph can boogie.
Popped out the Basia, in went the Eagles, "Hell Freezes Over" disc,
track 6, "Hotel California". The intro on this track is "to-die-for",
on a good system. When I heard this at Sound by Singer on the Wilson
WITTS being driven by the Chord amp, I just melted... I couldn't
believe the sound (nice job, Ken). Keep in mind, we're talkin' $8,888
worth of speaker and $5,000 worth of amp, and, oh, I forgot to mention,
$2000+ of Transparent Audio speaker cable. I'm not criticizing - hey it
sounded awesome, but damn if my speaker/amp combo didn't come close for
half the price. Only the very lowest octaves were missing in my system.
Listen to this track on your system, when the guitar intro at the
beginning is joined in by the drums, you should grin from ear-to-ear :)
Next, it was time to see if the Aleph could really do a tube-amp
impression. I'm now interested in the midrange. I've heard all of
the hype about single-ended tubes and Class A operation, but 7 watts
for $8,500 just isn't in the cards for this all-american boy. I have,
however, heard the VTL 225s and 300s, the Conrad Johnson Premier 11,
the VAC 120s (yup, the $22,000 / pair ones=85) and there is lots to be
said for tubed amps. There is a certain "grainless" clarity that just
isn't with solid state, including some of the "best" amps that I've
heard, namely Krell, Levinson, Chord, Cello. All solid state amps
I've listened to have some grain, the "balls" of grain just get
smaller with the better equipment. On good tube amps, there is no
grain at all. But let's not get carried away just yet on the 8 watt
bandwagon. As much as I like the way tubes sound, the constant
nervosa about biasing and tube-life, replacing, touching-while-hot,
kids, cats, and the inevitable, keeps me from purchasing a tube amp.
I do use a tubed preamp, but I only have to replace the tubes every 18
months or so, there are only two tubes, they are ubiquitous, and they
are cheap - $30 for a pair. No problem. $300 Western Electric 300Bs
or VAIC tubes (the ONLY way to go, right? ; ) ) are just too "Gindi"
for me.
So, back to the midrange. What did I pull out, you ask? k.d. lang's
"Ingenue". Nothing "lusher" on my rig than track 1, "Save Me" or
track 3, "Miss Chatelaine". (I love lesbians. Howard is right.)
This recording is the lushest CD I've got. It is literally "dripping"
with ambiance. If it sounds at all hard or cold in your system, you
need to change something out. Well the Aleph really started to strut
its stuff on the k.d. lang. The midrange was as lush as k.d. The
Aleph romanced me into a state of Zen hypnotica. The opening of "Save
Me" enveloped me in the warmth of her sound, the passion of her plea.
Damn if I didn't feel connected to the performance. One of my
comments to my wife (not yet a lesbian, but I'm working on it) after
listening was that "it sounds like the acoustic guitars all have new
strings". Hmmmm. Get the picture? Clarity in spades. This amp can
tell you if the guitarist is using D'Addarios or Martin's. The Aleph
3 is clear as a bell. It will let you hear every nuance in the
recorded soundfield, but without that "hyperfi" sound that I've heard
on some Thiel based systems, where if the recording wasn't made on the
Jack Mullin Special, it sounds grating and screachie. No,no. The
Aleph's clarity rings true. "True" as if you were in the third row of
the performance, hearing everything that was going on. No detail
obscured.
The other quality that I'm starting to notice is the lack of depth
that I've always attributed to the entertainment center between my
speakers, well now maybe it's not so attributable to the entertainment
center, and maybe more-so on the Acurus amp. The Aleph was painting a
musical picture that was not only deep, but with clearly delineable
"layers", with instruments in front and behind one. In other words,
two performers, one in front of the other, and you hear them
unobscured, as if you were there at the original event. Quite
amazing...
You know those die-cut, lifesize cardboard pictures of U.S. Presidents
and celebrities that they take your picture with, and all of your
gullable friends think you were REALLY hangin' out with Ronald Reagan?
Well, you know how sometimes they'll use one on TV, and you can't tell
it's not really that character (like Batman, or something) until they
turn it sideways???? (Am I making ANY sense here???) Then, you feel
like a jack-ass when you thought it was really some character, and at
the moment they turn it sideways, you realize you've been duped?
Well, that's what I felt like while listening to the Aleph 3. No, I
didn't feel like Ronald Reagan or Batman, I felt like the Aleph just
turned my Acurus sideways and exposed the Acurus' images as being only
two-dimensional. The Aleph, suavely self-confident, struts its three
dimensionality like the best of the push pull triodes. Notice, I
didn't say it was as three dimensional as the Single ended designs. I
haven't heard 'em. But I will tell you this. If you like the "body"
that a CJ Premier or VTL 225 or 300 can produce, you're gonna dig this
little amp.
It produces an image that one reviewer, I think it was Jonathan Valin
in Fi, said, "allows you to see "around" the performer". I didn't
know what the hell he was talking about when I read his write up in
Fi, but now I feel like his kindred spirit. You can "see" around the
performer.
Not literally, of course. You can't move your head to the left and
"hear" the performer's hind quarters, but the sense that you are not
listening to the "die-cut" figure, and are in fact, listening to the
real thing is incredible.
If you want to see what I am talking about, take the Pretenders, "Isle
of View" CD and cue it up to track number 10, "Hymn to Her". She is
there, right THERE... 15 - 20 feet from you. It was better than
being at the live event. Sounded just right, not too loud, as is all
too often the case with popular live performances. No one sneezing
and coughing on me giving me the flu. No stinkin' cigarettes. And,
best of all, I'm sittin' here in my sweatpants and sweatsocks, with a
glass of the Balvenie Doublewood in my hand. This is the life.
Well, let me tell you. Chrissie literally brought me to tears. With
a frog in my throat, I wept. Just one tear. (Hey, I'm no pussy) But,
I did indeed get choked up. Was this a predictable response as
MMGindi wrote about in this month's Fi / Shrink? Was my expectation
such that I listened that much harder? I don't think so. I think
this amp really brings you closer to the actual event than almost
anything I've ever heard. Yeah, the $22k VAC 120s did a better job.
They'd better for that coin.
Ok, now I was really getting into it. My CDs started piling up on the
coffee table in front of me. I pulled my wife in from the other room
to hear. "What would you like to hear", I asked mon cherie. (Isn't
it abnoxious when Scull writes that way? I hate his pompous guts!)
"How about "More than Words" by Extreme", she replied. I love this
woman. (She's the one that told me to spend the extra bread and get
the Dunlavys, when all I thought I could afford were the Maggie 3.5s.)
In it went. Extreme's "Pornograffitti", track #5, "More than Words".
This is the acoustic ballad that was a big hit a couple of years ago.
She sat in the "sweet seat" and I sat to the side, so I can't comment,
but she was impressed. She said it never sounded better.
I listened to Tori Amos' "Crucify" EP, track #5, "Thank You". Written
by my adolescent heros, Led Zeppelin, this track has lot's of digital
ambiance that sounds oh-so fake. The piano on the other hand,
although potted up with reverb, sounds pretty damn good. Tori's pedal
work is clearly audible, and on some pedal presses, the room you're in
will shudder. Great track if you like Tori or want to like her. Stay
away if you find her annoying.
On the four disc, remastered "Fleetwood Mac - 25 Years - The Chain"
set, disc #3 has one of my all-time favorite demos for unsuspecting
visitors to my lair=85..Stevie Nicks performing "Landslide". It's as
if she came over for dinner, and afterwards was convinced to do just
one song for our guests. I'll eat my shorts if this doesn't sound
awesome. What did the Aleph do for Stevie? More chest cavity, more
resonance. One other thing I'm starting to hone in on with the Aleph
now is how the "bloom" of a vocalist or instrument propagates
semi-spherically from the performer. Like ripples in a pond, the
decaying notes from the instrument propagate, however sort of
"conically", semi-spherically.
They propagate "up and out", as they should since all of the performers
have a floor below them and the decaying ambiance doesn't continue to
spread once it hits the floor. Imagine a "cone" of ambient decay
that propagates up and out from the performer and you get the picture of
what the Aleph is doing. I had NEVER heard this type of ambiance
before.
The Aleph's ability to recreate the sound of the hall was quite
evident on some of my favorite RCA Living Stereo CD re-releases the
Mortie Gould "Billy the Kid" and "Rodeo" disc, (09026-61667-2), the
Rodeo suite was rendered as if I was in the hall. The impact of
"Buckaroo Holiday" was again, more akin to being present at the
original event than I've experienced in any other system. The sense
of space was eerie. I've finally heard "the rear wall" in the
recording. Pretty cool. Again, the bloom and decay were "conical".
Fully three dimensions, as opposed to the two-dimensional "width and
height" that I am used to hearing. Not that my Acurus doesn't do
depth, it does. But it doesn't do depth on the decaying sound of the
wood block being struck. As the initial attack of the wood block
strike dissipates, the decaying sound moves both towards the listener
and away, as well as up. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I swear,
this is what I was hearing.
I finished the first night of listening with Fritz Reiner's 1954
recording of Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra". I can't believe this
recording is 42 years old. Why can't we make 'em all like this today?
On the kettle drum strikes, most notably, you hear the INSIDE of the
drum, not just the mallet and the skin. You hear the cavity of the
drum and its resonance. It sounded as if the kettle drum had been
miked from within, yet we all know that wasn't the case. Remarkable!
This was a night to remember.
Understand that originally, I had planned to spend $4,500 to $7,000 on
my next amplifier purchase. I figured I'd wait another year or so,
save my shekels, and make my move into the big leagues. When I heard
about the Aleph 3, I was skeptical, to say the least. I really didn't
want to like it, to tell you truth. I was probably pre-disposed to
finding it underpowered. I wanted to buy a he-man amplifier that all
my friends would look at and say, "Boy, you've got one pretty serious
amplifier there!" The Aleph 3 although built well enough, isn't
really that big, and as such, probably won't elicit the macho praise
that my ego so desperately desires. Well, so be it. "This is one
amazing $2,000 amplifier", I thought. Let's see what it does
tomorrow". Maybe this was just beginners luck...
THE SECOND NIGHT
----------------
I arrived home on Long Island from a grueling day in New Jersey at
around 7:00 PM, tired, haggard, beat. I drove about 200 miles today.
The first thing I did when I walked in the house was turn on the amp.
Then I kissed my lovely wife, hugged my kids and got changed into my
listening outfit. I like to listen in a T-shirt, socks, and most
importantly, Patagonia Gi pants. 100% cotton, comfortable, durable.
Elastic waistband. After dinner, I poured a glass of GlenKinchie and
planned the final night of auditioning the Pass Aleph 3.
To clear our the cobwebs, I put on James Carter's "The Real
Quietstorm", track #1, "'Round Midnight". Umm, ummm. This kid can
play. Just lovely. Makes me forget the LIE, the BQE, the GW bridge
in 6:04 flat. That's what high-end is about, isn't it. Instant
meditation. It's my transporter from the Enterprise, it just only
sends me to musical happenings.
Once settled into the couch, I chose to see what kind of bass control
I'd get with the little Aleph. In went Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
"Flight of the Cosmic Hippo", track #4, the title track. Victor
Wooten's synth-enhanced bass goes pretty low here, compadre. I'll be
a marmoset's uncle if it didn't go lower and tighter than my 150 watt
Acurus. I wasn't prepared for that. I thought, "Midrange, sure.
Bass control and power, not a chance!" What the hell was I thinking?
Nelson Pass' power supply must be capable of melting steel, because it
took hold of my woofers like a downtown dominatrix and never let go.
This amp sounds like $5,000 of pure pedigree, baby, IF you've got the
91db sensitivity, or better, to go with it. With a sensitive speaker,
this thing shows no sign of being rated for only thirty watts. No
way. Next up, my man, Stanley Clarke. I used to play "School Daze"
on my pathetic Kay bass back in high-school. I sucked, but I had good
taste. "Justice's Groove" from "East River Drive" just took me for a
ride.
It was all there. Dynamics, pace, rhythm, soul. Again, the leading
edge transients are just so fast=85.I'm really diggin' this. On to track
#4, "East River Drive". Oh, yeah! Just 100% nailing it. It really
doesn't get much better than this. I can't bring myself to take this
CD out of the Theta just yet. Skip ahead to track #10, "Illegal"
straight into #11, "Lords of the Low Frequencies". Stanley is THE
man, ladies and gentlemen. This is the living king of bass. On my
system, the tonality of the bass at the lowest registers was
remarkable. The speed, the attack, just lightning quick. Stanley
would dig this if he could hear this. Ever wonder if the recording
artists ever get to hear their own stuff on anything as good as our
systems? I'll tell you what. If Annie Lennox ever heard her stuff on
my system, she'd fire her producer. Love her music, but damn, sounds
like dreck.
Now I'm really into it. Andreas Vollenweider's "Down to the Moon",
track #8, "Drown in Pale Light", and track #3, "Steam Forest" rendered
the faux acoustic space so seamlessly. This is as intimate as you can
get with a recording. The detail level is so high, you can't imagine
it sounding any better in the studio, live. Chris Isaak's "Heart
Shaped World", track #6, "Blue Spanish Sky" will again, separate the
good from the best. This is the closest to "country" as I get. This
is a wonderful record, and now it sounds better than ever. The
lushness that k.d. lang had is here again, in spades. This is another
super-lush sounding recording, made all the better by the Pass amp.
Next up, The Fairfield Four, "Standing in the Safety Zone". On track
two, "My God Called Me This Morning", I experienced something that I
haven't heard on the Dunlavy's. The quintet sounded like they were
below the listening "horizon". I define the "horizon" as simply, a line
from my nose to the tweeters, and beyond. Since my nose and the
tweeters are at the same height, this horizon goes straight out, from
the tip of my nose, basically. Well the Fairfield Four sounded like
they were slightly below the horizon. What I imagine must be the case
here is that they may have been singing into a mike suspended above them
a foot or two, sort of like the cover photograph. Maybe it's
psychosomatic, maybe not. I don't know. Sure was strange though.
Out came Mary Black, Enya, Phil Collins, REM and Everything but the
Girl. Each better than before.
My final CD, Dave Brubreck, "Time Out", Sony SBM re-issue gold disc.
Of course, track #3, "Take Five". Sublime. Again, I'm struck by the
drums (no pun intended..). For some reason, the drums seem to sound
so much more lifelike with this amp. I'm hearing the harmonics and
overtones that drums make when you are on stage with them. Usually
what I hear is a "mock-up" of the sound of the drum. You get the
stick, the stick against the skin, the skin resonating, and a little
of the sense of was it a floor tom, a rack-mount tom, a snare without
the snare engaged, etc. With the Pass, I'm hearing the entire drum
cavity. You hear the entire cylinder reverberating. It really stands
out. I'm jammin'to the groove of "Take Five" when I start to realize
the night is quickly coming to an end. I'd better get some LPs out
and see how it sounds with vinyl.
First LP out of the sleeve and onto the VPI 16.5 vacuum cleaner was
the "Bach Kreisler Ysaye" by Arturo Delmoni on Water Lily Acoustics.
Recorded by Kavi Alexander, this recording is my reference for natural
violin tone. On side #1, "Bach's Partita No. 2 in D-minor", Arturo
Delmoni finds his stride and becomes one with the piece. I sure do.
This it what I spent all this money for, friends. This is beautiful.
THIS is art. Highly recommended.
Next, I wet washed the "Corelli Concerti Grossi Op. 6 1-6" by Nicholas
McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Just fabulous. I'm
really now at a point where all criticisms and observations of the
hardware have just fallen to the wayside. Instead, I'm totally
captivated by the music. It envelopes me, washes over me, soothes me
like nothing else can. I'm at a loss to adequately describe this
experience. Transcendent...
Lastly, I cued up "Art of Noise", "Moments in Love" from "The Best of
Art of Noise". Sure, CDs sound better than LP. Uh huh. ; ) This
recording is very special to me. I'm not sure why, but it evokes
warm, passionate feelings whenever I hear it on LP. Play this for
someone you are trying to seduce. It is modern, contemporary,
romantic, scary, relaxing all at once. The soundfield is expansive.
A fitting end to a special two nights.
Well, that's it gang. As you can tell, I was pretty impressed by this
little mighty-mite. It did so many things so very well, it seems hard
to justify spending twice the money or more on anything else. I do
plan to listen to the BAT VK60, the Mesa Baron and the Levinson 331.
We'll see.
The only concern or shortcoming that I "think" that I experienced with
the Aleph 3 was this: When listening at levels lower than "real", the
magic seemed to dissipate. Now, I'm not talking loud, mind you, just
realistic. Once I turned the volume knob down to "polite", it sounded
the same as anything else. I'm not sure if this was a figment of my
imagination, a characteristic of the amp, a characteristic of my
speakers, or a characteristic of the interaction of the amp and
speakers. I just "think" I heard this, and with only two nights of
listening, I can't really be sure. Just a feeling. Certainly nothing
for me to loose sleep over.
I summary, the Pass Aleph 3 is a $5,000 amp, in $2000 clothing. The
same circuitry is available at higher output levels for an almost
linear increase in price (i.e. the 30 watt Aleph 3 is $2k while the
200 watt Aleph 1 monoblocks are $12k, roughly 6 times the power for 6
times the price.)
If you can get away with the 30 watts, and luckily I feel that I can,
this is the steal of the century! Consider this amp a gift from
Nelson Pass to the lucky few of us (with efficient enough speakers)
that want $5k sound quality, but would prefer to pay $2k.
The Aleph 3 is a gift. Enjoy it, if you can.
Jonathan Rozes
<sco...@interramp.com> writes:
>I like to listen in a T-shirt, socks, and most importantly, Patagonia
>Gi pants. 100% cotton, comfortable, durable. Elastic waistband.
Ah, the Gi pants. Unconditionally my favorite piece of clothing.
Fortunately, I'm a climber, so spring and fall weekends are usually
spent living in mine. Summers are spent in Gi shorts, naturally...
Liked the review too. Can anybody out there offer some comparisons
between the Aleph 3 and the McCormack DNA-1?
--
+++ Jonathan Rozes, Unix Systems Administrator, Tufts University
++ jro...@tcs.tufts.edu, http://gumbo.tcs.tufts.edu/~jrozes/
+ Ultimately, thinking is a very inefficient method of processing
data.... [Surfing the Himalayas, 0-312-14147-5]
Alan Tanakaa
> same circuitry is available at higher output levels for an almost
> linear increase in price (i.e. the 30 watt Aleph 3 is $2k while the
> 200 watt Aleph 1 monoblocks are $12k, roughly 6 times the power for 6
> times the price.)
>
> If you can get away with the 30 watts, and luckily I feel that I can,
> this is the steal of the century! Consider this amp a gift from
> Nelson Pass to the lucky few of us (with efficient enough speakers)
> that want $5k sound quality, but would prefer to pay $2k
I listened to an Aleph Three for about two weeks and agree with
Scott's assessment almost point for point. This amp is a breakthrough
for the price. It is in a completely different league than any other
solid state amp anywhere near the price. It has a midrange purity and
imaging simply not heard before at this price. If you are looking for
an amp in this price range and have relatively effecient speakers, you
would be negligent not to listen to this amp. My only reservation
would be if you are looking for a more euphonic tube sound--not
necessarily a bad thing. In which case you may want to look into amps
such as the Golden Tube Audio SE-40, Quicksilver GLA and their ilk.
If you are looking in the over $5000 price range then there is more
competition both solid state and tube. In this price category
personal taste becomes more important since there are other great
amps.
I didn't keep the amp, much to Steve Zipser's chagrin. But this does
not mean I didn't like the amp. I just preferred my VAC Renaissance
30/30. The VAC has a sense of granduer and orchestral authority that
the Aleph Three just doesn't have. It also has a more lush, beautiful
midrange on vocals that is simply enthralling. The Aleph is more
detailed, transparent, extended, and has much better bass--deeper and
more controlled. For just 40% of the cost of the Ren 30/30 it is a
great amp. I could live with it. It even draws less electricity and
runs cooler than my VAC.
I repeat, if you are looking in this price class, listen to this amp!
Alan Tanaka
TRENT J CITO
>better bass--deeper and more controlled. For just 40% of the cost of
>the Ren 30/30 it is a great amp. I could live with it. It even
>draws less electricity and runs cooler than my VAC.
>
>I repeat, if you are looking in this price class, listen to this amp!
I recently purchased a Pass Aleph 3 after listening to a whole slew of
equipment in the price range... I was very deeply suprised that the
Pass was highly detailed, had excellent base control, and didn't feel
too "solid stste", since I tend to prefer the sound of a good tube
amp.
I compared it head to head with another well-respected solid state amp
manufacturer from Canada that cost about $2300, and I felt the Pass
was the clear winner.
One note, I don't listen loud, and I don't have a large room... this
gives me the ability to listen on average efficiency speakers with no
negative implications.
Defiately worth the price!!
Michael Mutmansky
Scott W.
>> I summary, the Pass Aleph 3 is a $5,000 amp, in $2000 clothing.
>> The same circuitry is available at higher output levels for an
>> almost linear increase in price (i.e. the 30 watt Aleph 3 is $2k
>> while the 200 watt Aleph 1 monoblocks are $12k, roughly 6 times the
>> power for 6 times the price.)
>>
>> If you can get away with the 30 watts, and luckily I feel that I
>> can, this is the steal of the century! Consider this amp a gift
>> from Nelson Pass to the lucky few of us (with efficient enough
>> speakers) that want $5k sound quality, but would prefer to pay $2k
> I listened to an Aleph Three for about two weeks and agree with
> Scott's assessment almost point for point. This amp is a
> breakthrough for the price. It is in a completely different league
> than any other solid state amp anywhere near the price. It has a
> midrange purity and imaging simply not heard before at this price.
> If you are looking for an amp in this price range and have
> relatively effecient speakers, you would be negligent not to listen
> to this amp. My only reservation would be if you are looking for a
> more euphonic tube sound--not necessarily a bad thing. In which
> case you may want to look into amps such as the Golden Tube Audio
> SE-40, Quicksilver GLA and their ilk. If you are looking in the
> over $5000 price range then there is more competition both solid
> state and tube. In this price category personal taste becomes more
> important since there are other great amps.
>
> I didn't keep the amp, much to Steve Zipser's chagrin. But this
> does not mean I didn't like the amp. I just preferred my VAC
> Renaissance 30/30. The VAC has a sense of granduer and orchestral
> authority that the Aleph Three just doesn't have. It also has a
> more lush, beautiful midrange on vocals that is simply enthralling.
> The Aleph is more detailed, transparent, extended, and has much
> better bass--deeper and more controlled. For just 40% of the cost
> of the Ren 30/30 it is a great amp. I could live with it. It even
> draws less electricity and runs cooler than my VAC.
>
> I repeat, if you are looking in this price class, listen to this amp!
I'm glad so many people liked my post re: the Pass Aleph 3 amp. I've
received a number of E-Mails thanking me for it. (Glad to see that
I'm not the only one listening in Patagonia Gi pants, either!) It was
almost as much fun to share my experiences with you all as it was to
listen to the amp.
One of the insecurities that I'm sure that many of us have, (I
certainly do) is when we voice our opinion for the rest of the world
to critique. I could have been shot down by zillions of flames saying
that the Aleph 3 sucked, but thankfully (for my ego) I wasn't flamed.
Whew!
To see that Alan Tanaka (and others that replied through e-mail
only...) heard many of the same qualities is reassuring. It helps me
to confirm my observations, just as reading my notes probably helped
Alan confirm some of his....
I wish that I had more time to spend with the Aleph 3. I'm sure that
Alan was able to get a much better feel for it with two weeks spent
evaluating it. Also, Alan had the opportunity to "compare up",
meaning he compared the Aleph 3 to an amp that cost (more than) twice
as much more, whereas I was comparing it to an amp that cost less than
half as much. When Alan states, "The Aleph is more detailed,
transparent, extended, and has much better bass--deeper and more
controlled. For just 40% of the cost of the Ren 30/30 it is a great
amp. I could live with it." he says it all.
No, it is probably not a "better" amp than the VAC 30/30 (nice piece
of equipment!!), but the fact that a $2k solid state amp can even hold
a candle to amps in the $5k range is what makes this "little monster"
so appealing. It delivers more-than-a-hint of the best available for
a fraction of the price.
Someone asked me how it compares with a McCormack DNA-1 amp. Although
I've always respected Steve McCormack's work, I haven't heard the DNA
amp, so "I don't know".
My next dilemma is: do I go for the Aleph 3, fork up the two grand,
and live the rest of my 20th-century-days wondering if this little
thing has the power to go full-tilt-boogie with Carmina Burana, OR do
I check out the Aleph 2 monoblocks - 100 watts, no excuses.
Stay tuned.....
qaq...@biostat.sph.unc.edu
..
Would you tell us what is the input impedence of the Aleph 3? I know
the Aleph 0's is rather low. People considering the Aleph 3 should
make sure their pre-amp (or source) can handle the low impedence.
bq
Jay Tobias
> Would you tell us what is the input impedence of the Aleph 3? I know
> the Aleph 0's is rather low. People considering the Aleph 3 should
> make sure their pre-amp (or source) can handle the low impedence.
I know that with the Aleph 0S, using the Aleph P preamp makes a huge
difference. It drives the OS the way it needs to be driven, so it may
be the case that you need to pair the Aleph 3 with an appropriate Pass
preamp (I believe there's a less exepensive one out now). Definitely
worth a listen just to make sure.
--
Jay Tobias (jto...@studio.sgi.com) - MTS, SGI/Silicon Studio