Pass Labs INT-30A

Up for sale is the extremely well-reviewed Pass INT-30A. As you are no-doubt aware, this is the integrated amplifier version of the XA-30.5. It delivers 30 watts of Class A power into an 8 ohm load or 60 into a 4 ohm load before slipping gently into A/B amplification. This amp is much more powerful than its rating; with a 4 ohm load, it can provide almost 200 watts before clipping. I used it with a pair of Thiel 2.4s which are renowned for being a difficult, power hungry load. It controlled them exquisitely, outperforming both a 400W Mcintosh MC402 and Pass’ own X250.5 (500 watts into 4 ohms). The amp provides beautiful and effortless three-dimensional images that emerge naturally from a perfectly black background. The sound is subtly warm, with an exquisitely natural midrange. The XA.5 series is, quite simply, some of the best solid state amplification ever made. John Atkinson once stated that the XA60.5 (basically the same amp with double the power) was “the best-sounding amplifier I have ever used.” In reviewing the XA30.5 for Stereophile, Brian Damkroger wrote: “Most of all, the XA30.5 is a superb-sounding amplifier. I absolutely loved listening to music through it, album after album and night after night. It's simple to operate, nice to look at, and extremely well built. It will almost certainly extend the bulletproof reliability I experienced over the short term to a lifetime of use, and add to the stellar reputation that previous Threshold and Pass Labs components have established. Plus, in today's high-end audio world, the XA30.5 is a steal. Compared to what else is out there, a price of $5500 is low for an amplifier of this quality.” [http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/pass_labs_xa305_power_amplifier/index.html] If you purchase the INT-30A, you’ll get all of that, plus a top-quality, Nelson Pass designed pre-amp internally wired directly to the amplifier, for well less than the price of a new XA30.5. I am the first owner of this amp which was purchased new from RenoHIFI three years ago. The amplifier is a 9, except for one slight issue (which is unfortunately on the front plate, hence the 7 rating). The amp has a very light (partial) ring around the power light. Unfortunately Nelson chose not to dim the power indicator along with the display, thereby making a bright blue LED light up the listening room whenever the amp was on (it creates shadows). Because I prefer to listen in the dark, I covered this light with an felt pad that had not been moved in the three years I owned the amp. Unfortunately when taking pictures of the unit for sale, I discovered that the adhesive had created a faint mark on some of the finish. This is shown clearly in the attached pictures. I have subtracted $250 off of my listed price because of this issue (I will include the felt pad at no cost). The remote also has two light surface scratches and a tiny black mark smaller than a pencil tip on one side. Finally, I have made one small improvement to the amp, removing the C/E compliant top nuts from the speaker binding posts and replacing them with top nuts that allow you to use banana plugs. These are a drop-in replacement also made by vampire wire (Nelson’s supplier) and sell with the same binding posts used on the INT-30A (just not C/E compliant). Nelson uses this exact same binding post/top nut combination on his First Watt offerings. Full specifications of this wonderful amp are available @ https://passlabs.com/products/amplifiers/integrated/int-30a. Buyer pays shipping and paypal fees. Please contact me if you have any questions. - Chris