Difference between the two types as explained by Desmond Harrington.
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Already have the next owner lined up. A gift to my younger daughter.
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The XA60.8s have a midrange that is dreamy wonderful–listen for hours with zero fatigue, while having very articulate highs and bass. When you finally hear them, you will understand what “refined” means in hifi terms.
The point 8 amps have what folks like to refer to as “slam”, dynamics, spooky precise imaging.
I’m lucky enough to have both and can’t part with either.
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In your opinion which ones are preferable if you like/use listening to music at low volume (50-65 dB range), XA-60 or X-260?
Low level listening it’s class A all the way, Luca. The low level dynamic life is fantastic.
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Really either one. At low levels both Pass Class A and Class AB are running in Class A.
When listening at low levels, it’s mostly about the quality of the power supply. And Nelson Pass spends much time and engineering effort on their power supplies across their entire product line.
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Interesting, thanks.
The 260.8 runs the first 34 or so watts (might be 37) in Class A.
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I own a pair of 260.8s, I’ve never seen the class a needle flicker one degree.
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The police will be knocking on your door well before that needle moves.
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All of you Pass Labs owners are you feeding your X-.8 amps by P15/P20 regens or experimented better results going straight to the wall? I heard different schools of thought.
Hi Luca,
My XA160.8’s are each plugged into their own P20 but I am sure that is certified overkill.
Pass recommends just plugging them into the wall using the supplied IEC power cords and call it done. But you know how curiosity and a high credit limit work with stereo bits and pieces.
I have never done that so I cant comment on the application. I will say that they sound pretty glorious plugged into the P20’s with some mid grade power cords.
Vern
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Right now, I’m using an X250.8, plugged into my P20. I think it sounds very slightly better than the wall.
But others who have heard me compare the P20 to the wall (a dedicated 20A line), hear no difference with this amp. It’s not like the source components which benefit greatly by the P20.
As for the power cable, I’m using an Audience Front Row and the improvement over the stock cord is substantial.
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Thank you, very useful!
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As I don’t have two P20s 
, I could only try my 260.8s into either my P20 running my source gear, and my secondary P15. I preferred straight into separate dedicated lines for the pair, rather than the PowerPlants.
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I’ve got my X250.8 plugged into a P12. Honestly, I hear no difference. But I already had the P12 for my DSJunior and BHK Pre-Amp, so I plugged in the Pass amp too. As noted by others, Pass recommends not using power conditioners and going straight to the wall. I’d say in my case, and can only speak for “my” case, they’re right - zero sound benefit here.
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Luca,
I may be over driving my P10 a bit but it seems fine. I would love a P20 but just a bit much for me currently.
I have XA60.8 monoblocks, BHK Preamp, Directstream DAC and the Nucleus NUC/Roon into it.
Upon start up, it goes to 691 watts and 85% load.
After being on for an hour, it drops to 630 watts and 78% load.
I’ve also run the amps directly from the wall and there is very little difference.
I’ve been running monoblock amps for 30 years(Counterpoint, Krell) and these are most likely my last pair. Highly recommended.
Gregory
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XA-160.8’s. Straight into the wall.
Note that the P 20 requires a 20 amp circuit in order to provide the full rated 2000 VA.
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