Quote Originally Posted by Jack in Wilmington View Post
Being a class D guy, I wasn't prepared for the dynamics. It snapped my head around the first time. I have my eye on the CJ 17LS also.
I was also a class D guy recently too. I had Class D Audio SDS-258 which is generally a very good amp and rather amazing for $600. The thing I liked least about it was its bright top highs which could be quite shrill depending on the recording. The last quality was what drove me to consider a change. However I considered the Class D Audio to be dynamic with precise base, and transparent & airy.

Before considering the Pass I listened to comment comments by Mr P, blackraven, harley, et al., and was impressed by comments about the Pass' transparency. So I wasn't surprised by improvement in this area. But the improvement versus the pretty good CDA SDS in dynamics, "PRaT", and bass was genuine surprise.

Not only piano but all percussion instruments really come alive with the Pass X150.5 -- it seemed phenomenal to me. Bass too was improved; since I listen mainly to classical music what struck me was the the Pass was able to replicate the weight & and impact of orchestral bass, i.e. string base, bassoon, bass drum, tympani, etc. (I don't mean to imply that this bass is in the least bloated or exaggeratedly warm.)

Where I'm a little disappointed with the Pass is that I expected a little more smoothness on the top end. So while the Pass is somewhat smoother and less bright than the CDA SDS, it is by no means warm or rolled off. The practical meaning of this is that overly top-end bright recordings -- of which there are many -- still sound that way.

As for the single-ended vs. balanced issue, I have only driven the Pass with a fully balanced preamp, an ARC LS9. I do know that when I got the ARC, the CDA SDS sounded more dynamic -- but I had been using a passive preamp previously, not an active single-end.