Amp/Preamp Asylum: REVIEW: Pass Laboratories Aleph 1.2 Amplifier (SS) by SRMcGee

Model:	Aleph 1.2
Category:	Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price:	$14,000 pr.
Description:	Solid State, Single Ended, Class A, 200 watts, Monoblock
Manufacturer URL:	Pass Laboratories
Model Picture:	View

Review by SRMcGee ( A ) on September 22, 2003 at 12:23:59
IP Address: 167.25.108.29

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for the Aleph 1.2

I've owned the Pass Labs Aleph 1.2 monoblocks for about three years, having purchased them from a former dealer who had picked up one of the last pairs before the Aleph product line was discontinued. The Aleph 1.2s superseded a Classe Fifteen in my system, which I really loved. The Fifteen is a powerful and exquisite-sounding amp, putting out 175 watts into 8 ohms, the first 45 or so in pure Class A (the balance in Class AB, as I recall). In researching a replacement for the Fifteen, I listened closely to amplifiers manufactured by Classe, Krell, Levinson, BAT, Rowland and one or two others. While most of the amps I listened to were at least on a par with the Fifteen, none "wowed" me by such a margin that they were an obvious choice as a replacement. As a lark, I stopped by a particularly snotty high end store in my area and listened to a used Pass Aleph 3 amp, which totally floored me. That amp projected a realistic soundstage, weight, and an amazing sense of “air.” Though it was a little underpowered for my application, I was hooked. The Aleph 3 was the least powerful of the Aleph line; the most powerful was the Aleph 1.2. Both units shared the same pure Class A two-stage design topography and have a very similar sound. The Aleph 1.2, which puts out 200 watts into 8 ohms and weighs just over 100 pounds per monoblock, is simply larger. After a little searching and haggling, I found my pair.
And oh, what a sound it makes.
When I purchased the Aleph 1.2s, I also owned Mirage M1 (bipolar) loudspeakers. Despite the fact that the Pass amp was only marginally more powerful than the Classe Fifteen, the Pass amp was very clearly superior in almost every way of concern to audiophiles. The Aleph 1.2s’ control over the speakers, the soundstage, the resolution, the space or “air” between performers, the sense of “thereness” -- hell, that amazingly liquid midrange – were world-class. Within eight months after the arrival of the Aleph 1.2 monoblocks, my wife urged me to buy myself another expensive present (an amazing woman, and you can’t have her). I sold the Mirage M1s and purchased a pair of Eggleston Andras, after listening to the other speakers in its price range (Watt 5, von Schweikert, and a bunch of other stuff). The Aleph 1.2s and the Andras are extremely well-suited for each other; to paraphrase Edward Rothstein, several veils were lifted between me and the performances I listened (and continue to listen) to.
Most reviews are crap. People proclaim that the component(s) they purchased are giant killers or have no weaknesses. Despite all their protests to the contrary, professional reviewers are beholden to the manufacturers who provide them with equipment and purchase advertisements in their publications. I’m fed up with reading idiotic treatises that proclaim that a particular $29.95 component competes with the “big boys” or hearing about the 1,000th component to make it to the “A” group on a Recommended Components list. That sort of review isn’t just worthless, it is disingenuous. So what I have to say is this: I really liked the Classe Fifteen. It was a damn good amplifier. I think that the Pass Labs Aleph 1.2 monoblocks are considerably better. This ought to come as no surprise, as the Aleph 1.2s retailed for about 4.5 times what the Fifteen sold for.
Here’s what I have learned: while audiophiles constantly seem driven to upgrade their systems and tweak what they have, there are some components that seem to defy replacement. It isn’t that they are necessarily the very best (though they have to be damn good to qualify) – rather, they sound so right that the very idea of swapping them for something else seems pointless and wasteful. When you happen upon one of those components, you buy it, install it in your system, get comfortable mentally with keeping that component as a permanent resident in the system and then you forget about upgrading it. For me (and perhaps only for me), the Pass Labs Aleph 1.2 monoblocks are just such a component. I’m sure that there are competitive amplifiers out there, and there may even be some that improve upon the 1.2, but I am more than just content. These amps are keepers.
Regards, and happy listening.

Product Weakness: Nothing is perfect. The Aleph 1.2 monoblocks are big, heavy and get very hot (so much so that a listening room can get uncomfortably warm).
Product Strengths: It isn't just the extraordinary midrange -- the amps seem to disappear, leaving you in the room with the performers.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Pass Labs Aleph 1.2 Monoblocks
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Rowland Coherence 1 Series II
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Maplenoll Apollo w/ a Lyra Lydian Beta phono cartridge and a Cary CD-306 compact disc player
Speakers:	Eggleston Andras
Cables/Interconnects:	Transparent Reference and Ultra wires
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, jazz, classical, world, whatever
Room Size (LxWxH):	21 x 20 x 7.5
Room Comments/Treatments:	Ceiling is a little low, but not bad
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3+ years
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	5 dedicated circuits
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Nothing is perfect. The Aleph 1.2 monoblocks are big, heavy and get very hot (so much so that a listening room can get uncomfortably warm).
Product Strengths:	It isn't just the extraordinary midrange -- the amps seem to disappear, leaving you in the room with the performers.