Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate — Nelson Pass / 2002

Pass Labs XA Series Power Amplifiers For over ten years, the Aleph series of single-ended Class A amplifi ers have received praise for their outstanding sonic defi nition, warmth, and smoothness; and have often been compared favorably with the very best tube amplifi ers. The Aleph topology achieves state-of-the-art performance with a very simple linear design, and is additionally one of the most stable and reliable audio amplifi ers in existence. A considerable number of audiophiles have found themselves bi-amping their loudspeakers, putting Pass X amplifi ers on the bottom for power and control, conjoined with Alephs on the top… More...

Power Supplies — Nelson Pass / 2001

Lots of people don't understand electricity, but they do understand plumbing. Hydraulics provides a good analogy in understanding basic electrical flow. Wire is a pipe. Water pressure is voltage. Water flow is electrical current. Lakes and storage tanks are capacitors. Diodes are one-way valves. Tubes and transistors are faucets. The entire power circuitry of an amplifier can be seen as a community water system. The sun, driving the weather cycle, deposits water on the landscape, and it collects in a lake behind a dam. The community draws water as needed through pipes. In the winter, the rain collects in the… More...