Pass Labs XA100 owner manual Requirements

Requirements

XA100 Owner’s Manual

The XA100 has a massive toroidal transformer coupled to a high current DC reservoir. Recognizing that the XA100’s ability to resolve microdynamics is best experienced with clean power, the extreme low-level resolution of the XA-series benefits from a specially designed power supply that significantly reduces and rejects power line borne noise.

The XA amps open the sonic soundstage to the very limits of the recording format. Through the XA100 complex musical passages reveal themselves in the most dramatic manner. With the XA100 you will hear everything within the upper octaves, which includes any recording, source or loudspeaker issues. Keep this in mind when choosing complementary equipment, remembering that recordings and the other components in the signal chain will strongly dictate soundstage width and imaging and likely be the limiting factors in your listening environment. The room itself will also add its acoustic signature, and should be considered an audio component.

Speaker selection should be strictly a matter of personal taste. The XA100 is unconditionally stable into any load presented by a loudspeaker, but will provide less power into other than 8 ohms. The XA100 accommodates both single ended (RCA) and balanced inputs (XLR). Input impedance’s are 11 kohm unbalanced and 22 kohm balanced to permit integration with the widest possible range of upstream components.

You can position this amplifier anywhere you wish, but it must have ventilation. We do not recommend placing it in enclosed cabinets or small closets without means for air to circulate freely. Stacking these power amplifiers directly upon each other is not recommended for the same reason. This amplifier idles at approximately 300 watts, the equivalent of a large reading light. At idle most of that energy is dissipated across the heat sinks, so the heat generated by each XA100 is likewise equivalent to a large incandescent reading light. To dissipate this heat the product should have about 6 inches clearance to the top and sides for adequate air circulation.

Let’s talk about power requirements. The amplifier draws about 2.6 amps (continuous rms) at 120 volts out of the wall during operation, and this reflects mostly the idle current that we run through the output stage. When not actually intending to play music the XA100 should be left in standby mode. In standby mode it draws only a few watts of power, that necessary to keep the capacitors charged.

We have provided a standard IEC power cord that fits into the standard 15 amp IEC receptacle at the rear of the amplifier chassis.

3