Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon View Post
Most hi end manufacturers make several amps...preamps... and so on, in different audio classes. You have entry level all the way up to the highest you can go. So when you talk about the very highest you can go, take Pass Labs Xs300 which retails at $85,000 a pair. And take the Audionet Max mono block amps which retails for $26k a pair. You would think the Pass Labs was in a different league, but not so. The price does not always dictate what class or league a component is in. And there are always trade offs on what different gear in the same calss can do....its always a trade off....no one component is perfect at what it can do. Here is a review of a few amps including the Pass and Audionet among a few others....mind you, its about a few years old, but you get the idea of what I am getting at. All the amps perform in the same league and class. Scroll down to where it says AMP II MAX monoblocks vs. other mighty power amps


and you can see what the finding were in a shoot out....Pass Labs included.

Innerworld Audio - Audionet Amp Max Monoblocks
Frenchmon, I was only comparing the amps that I've heard. The Krell Evolution 2250e, the Ayre V-5xe, and the Bryston 4B-SST2. These are all in the $8,000 to $5000 range.