Pass Labs delivers a more open soundstage, and airyness compared to M23. At double the price the X150.8 is a better choice for acoustic music, as in Jazz, Classical, and some world music. For those into pop, rock, hip hop, electronic music then the M23 will do fine at half the price. As for myself neither is to my liking. I'm 62, tube preamp paired with class A monos is my choice. An MSB dac is my secret sauce in this setup. If you have the budget try my set up with the glorious Kharma db7-s. I'm quite sure you will be pleased. Thank you Alpha Audio for your magnificent work.
Thank you for taking the time to put this together, I think it's a very good apples to apples comparison. Putting price aside for a second, I think I actually prefer the NAD. While the Pass does sound a bit cleaner, the NAD sounds a bit fuller to me (a tradeoff I'm willing to make). Either way, the sound quality between the two is pretty close. Now getting back to the price.....I'm very impressed with the NAD. I'm slowly putting a system together and the NAD wasn't on my radar until now. It's definitely something that I'm going to look into further. Having heard the M23 and C 298 in person, what are the main differences between the two? I saw your video of that amp as well. Thanks Again!
Thank you for the video. As always, very nice presentation. IMHO, in a tightly controlled double-blind ABX test, 90% or more listeners, would fail to tell the difference between those two amps.
Have made similar comparison. In my case it was an AUDIOPHONICS LPA-S400ET vs ATC P1 poweramp. clas D has noticeably less "airness" ... BUT ... after a while you feel the D amp as more realistic and honest and A/B as a little bit too much of a good on the top end. In fact, it has always impressed me at live acoustic performances that such "brilliant" highs do not actually exist in reality. But still - on recordings they are pleasant to the ear and I also enjoy them at home. So in that case is more a question of taste. More of the hi-fi people like this kind of airness, so suppose that will be a problem for class D. But beside that in my case the D-amp is more direct and in control.
@@vladimirrusev468 It really does come down to taste indeed. Some people prefer neutrality and "realness", want to listen to the actual recording as good as possible, while for others that's not enough and sounds a bit boring. The good news is that there's really good sounding gear available for all tastes and price ranges. 👍
Tried with an AudioBox USB96 audio interface with HiFiMan Ananda and Sennheiser Momentum 3 headphones. NAD seems to have a bit more extended base. I think it depends on the music. It's hard to tell the difference in later part of the video for me.
These are very close but I give the Pass a slight edge in listening enjoyment and pleasure. There is a touch more resonance and openness, leading to more of a performance rather than just a listening session. The NAD is indeed very good but if cost were no object I'd get the Pass Labs. These are 2 very good amps and I'd be proud to own either of them. I would dare to say the NAD may be more accurate to the signal whereas the Pass adds a little character. I personally believe that the enjoyment of end-user experience is a personal preference rather than ultimate accuracy.
Your wife has better ears than the vast, vast majority of audiophiles who would fail badly at a blind test (scientific standards) of low distortion amplifiers. Introduce a variety of music with time intervals beyond an immediate a/b comparison, and you can forget about anyone consistently delineating between the two.
The M23 sounds like an objectively excellent amplifier. The PASS sounds like the music is happening in the room. I'm listening on LCD-4 with Audio-gd electronics.
The Diptyque speakers are fast and very dynamic, but seem to introduce some distortions in transients, overload on the mics or the UA-cam playback? ( the piano of J Loussier ). Both amplifiers are very powerful. Sound colour is the main difference, somewhat rounder and weighted with the Pass Labs in the mids and somewhat fresher with the M23 in the mids. M23 sounds more upfront. Bass response is more prominent on the M23 but of more quality with the Pass. Reverb with the Pass Labs is longer, instruments are separated a bit better as a result, but that's probably expected with the topology of the amplifiers. If I had to characterise it in one sentence: the M23 shows grip, the Pass Labs has grip.
I hate these "how does this compare to ..." question in the UA-cam comments. So here is my question: "how does the NAD M23 compare to the Hypex Nilai500 Stereo-amp?" thanx and keep up the good work! Cheers Uli
I get the impression that the NAD keeps the timing of the bass (PRAT?) tighter than the Pass Labs in the second track where the bass seems to be struggling to keep up with the rest of the music.
Surprised by this . Female vocals sounded veiled on NAD. The rest is very close. But the Pass takes this one. I imagine the differences in room were significant.
"Veiled"? Ah, so, since the M23 is remarkably flat, you mean that the Pass Labs OVER emphasizes that range. Got it. Oh, and how could the room favor one amp over the other? The speakers and their location were exactly the same. If the amps are truly flat in their response, there will no difference.
@@kx8960 Interesting spin on my comment. I am sitting in a room on the other side of the recording, compressed by youtube. Im not sitting in that listening room. Of course listening to this, even on a luxury audio system would not be as telling as sitting in the actual demo room!!!
Listening to this with headphones and a dac is noticeable that the Pass Labs i has a more clean sound, when the Nad enters it’s like a small veil or filter was put in the mix. But the diference in price between the two is something to take into when listening to both. I suppose the same pre amp was used in both, and the pre in use could match better with the Pass Labs. Great video. Thanks,
Yes, I would love to hear the M23 paired with a M12 pre amp. (Just afraid to buy an M12 as it is normally paired with the M22(.2) so maybe Nad is making a M13 now for the M23?)
Love your channel, outstanding gear. Looking for your TAD speakers for my collection. I owned both Pass (Volksamp Aleph 30) and NAD 23. Nelson Pass in his design always allows for even harmonics distortion, that gives a more palet able sound. If you would have use a « Shindo or Airthight preamp» you would get that liveness and holographic sound that the Pass pre doesn’t provide. The M23 is without almost any mesurable distortion. Garbage in garbage out! Cheers!
For me, the midrange is where the rubber meets the road. Being very familiar with this first track, Hanna Reid's voice has a distinctive clean texture dispersion and decay, which my own system reproduces very well. In this sample, even with YT compression, the difference is noticeable and Pass wins this easily.
Great video as always, very informative! Agree that the Pass edges in front with more openness (for the lack of a better word) - noticed you chose the Grimm for to compare these two amps, given the characteristics of the Sonnet DAC the differences may be even bigger with that DAC - am assuming you tried that 😎
Incredible comparison I think the new class D a lot closer but not yet surpass Nad is 180 pass is 150 but I feel pass has more grip and better overall control and headroom. Overall sound better in Pass If u put price,size into consideration. Then I think at half the price it justified the performance difference
Clearly the NAD is a outstanding value. Audioholics says its the best measuring amplifier in the world I believe them I've seen the numbers. If I sit down with a pad and pencil and rate the individual performance elements it does quite well. In terms of measured performance it beats all amplifiers. As others have said the Pass Lab amp provides more involvement into the music. The shear expansion of the environment be it artificial or real and the expanding dynamic contrast the Pass Labs provides was not subtle at all. Where the Pass Labs really shines though is if any unforseenable problem occurs they will have your back. You cannot put a price on that.
Awesome post! Pass high is more sparkling, mid better, low less straight. NAD high is less, mid less, low better. I'm a NAD lover, but I prefer the Pass without knowing it's price. But...the NAD half priced, the M23 is by far the winner. €3400 vs €7300 is way to much.
@@TheAlphaAudio I see,i see.. I have a pair of old pmc Lb1 monitors completely refurbished with new tweeters and woofers(dynaudio) and an improvement in the crossover with mundorf & duelund caps. Unfortunately for me these speakers need bid amps to play well although it shows easier(86db/4ohms)-pmc suggests 2x250-300w amps. Thank you sir very much for the immediate response Ioannis
The Pass Labs sounds much better. Not surprising. The NAD isn't bad, it just sounds slightly flat and grey in comparison. The Pass is closer to real music.
So your system can play real music if you heard it thru youtube. Do tell us your system when you listened to this on youtube so we can all stop the hunt and get your gears instead 😻
@@yippie6862 who told you i cant hear difference? Of course there is but i just have enough wisdom to know it has no value coming from a youtube clip. Unlike some other people. Come on now 🤡
There is deep bass in this song "Hey Now." I listen to it all the time on my stereo rig. Mind you, l have two SVS Ultra 13 subs with my Magnepan 7's but still, l didn't hear any low frequency
Hey, l did pretty much the same thing as l have a VAC PA 100 100 tube amp and a Spectron musical MK ll class D amp I created two UA-cam videos called "Magnepan 7's doing their thing" one with the VAC & one with the Spectron All my equipment & setup is in the description. So tube magic vs class D insane watts/current
Hey Jaap, thanks for this new demo. Have to get used to the sound of this setup. Sounds a bit weird to me. Is it because of the microphone placement or loudspeakers used? Gr. Jan
Nothing seems to change at the transition from one amp to the other, but you have to listen with your eyes closed because the meter on the Pass Labs is so beguiling. The winner is ..... the Diptique DP107!
If owned these two amps, I would play the NAD louder than it was shown in this video. I hear elevated bass and treble in the Pass. This is where the "air" is coming from. Analog amps control speaker drivers less, so the speakers sounds a little bit different. I am suprised that nobody makes sound modifiers with knobs labeled as "lively bass" and "air"...
Thanks for always posting up this high quality videos. But, in my opinion this is not a very fair comparison, in the car world this would be like comparing a BMW M3 to a Porsche 911 Turbo. Both great cars but at different levels of price.
@@TheAlphaAudio I agree, it is still worth comparing that way you know if it really is worth it spending almost double the money for the Pass. And we know the law of diminishing return in audio can be very small sometimes. It be interesting to see how the M23 sounds compared to other similarly priced class A/B amps.
Pass labs: more open, airy and natural sounding. The NAD has an almost unnatural stop/start to notes, without the decay of cymbals, etc. Just my opinion and ears.
For me the differences in amp sound was most marked in the first choice of music. Maybe its just psychological, but in the first choice of music after the Pass Labs, when music played via Nad the whole tone went one degree lower....
That pass is just so wonderful! The Nad comes very close, but is a little less involving for me. Maybe it's perfect from a measurement perspective but voices stand out a little less and I am musically less drawn into the separate instruments, (like the bassguitar in 2nd track). NAD/purifi is a beast stiller their price. How's this compared to the c298, seems a bit more open/ tad less veiled perhaps? And thanks for the Wonderfull tests yet again!
I think this is what is called a "dry" sound. NAD has everything, and being alone sounds great. But being compared to X150, proves that 0.0001% THD is not all we need.
@@sc0or "Not all we need", IF you like your amp to color the sound. I don't and want mine as flat and true to the original artists vision as possible, and I'll let my speaker choice ONLY be what colors the sound.
The biggest problem with NAD is that it will break down 10 times before a Pass breaks once. NAD is built with garbage-bin tier parts (mainly capacitors) and is guaranteed to fail.
To remove any bias it would be good for the comparison to be blind. Hide the amps so one can't tell which one is playing. Label one component's sound A, the other B. Let youtubers vote and compare the results. Could be fun.
..this fair test and sound demonstration show little differences in the NAD is now the new future and I am a old class A design guy own both designs presently ,I switch back in forth ,, the air in the class A the addiction to the persion and accuracy of the NAD
The Pass hands down. The bass is fuller and more rounded not one dimentional, the highs also have more sustain and larger sound stage. I purchased the M23 because of all the hype and great reviews, I think my old Parasound 1200II may still have the edge on it in the same areas. I will say the background of the M23 is completely silent.
I prefer the Pass Labs. The NAD draws attention to the bass which I find muddy by comparison. With Pass Labs, it is pleasant to follow the piano track. With NAD the piano fades and again you are listening to a bloated bass track. They are both credible performers so as always it is down to personal preference.
I'm betting that the M23 measures better/flatter to much better/flatter (and is more powerful AND load independent), and the people that think the Pass Labs is better, simply prefer the coloration ADDED to the signal by the Pass Labs. Great, if that's your thing, but it's not mine. For me, I want everything in my signal path to be as flat and linear and true to the original signal as possible, and any coloration of the sound will be ONLY my speaker choice. This way I don't have the preamp coloring things, then the amp coloring that, then the speakers coloring all that. To me, anything in the signal path prior to the speakers should simply amplify the original signal as cleanly as possible. Period. That the M23 is flat regardless of the impedance of your speakers is especially impressive, and contributes to the "flatter" response. I plan on eventually getting an M28 to power the 7 Focal Chora 826's in my home theater, and then later (when money allows), getting an M23 to power 2 (probably 4ohm) passive subs I'll design and build. I don't think any active sub will have the same ultra low distortion and flatness the M23 would have driving them, even is the output power is less. I want my subs to be as "musical" as possible since I listen to a lot of live Blu-Ray's. The comparison I'd REALLY like to see, is the original signal overlaid with the mic'd signal from multiple different amps, to see in real time how true to the original signal the actual output is, I think that would be REALLY telling. I'm sure the M23 could power a bunch of different speakers/different loads and still be more true to the original signal that other amps. In other worlds, a more real world measurement test vs a listening test. Numbers don't lie. Long story short, buy what you like, even if it isn't the flattest/cleanest.
@@TheAlphaAudio I don't think that would satisfy the intent of F Dude. He's suggesting you force people to do a blind evaluation (not doing one himself). I agree 100%with him, most of these commenters would have different views if forced to comment on amp A vs. amp B, instead of NAD vs. Pass!
Great comparison. The NAD is no slouch. For strictly sound quality all around the Pass Labs wins but for value the NAD wins. Just bought myself an X250.8 because personally I won’t cut corners on absolute sound quality.
I return to this test 2 years later...Dont like the grainines on the voices of the first song and closed in sound of the NAD. sounds more metalic, machine like. Big difference in sound and price Pass is much better
Oh, and another thing: I had never heard of London Grammar before, and so I'm listening to that album now, starting with Hey Now, and trying to audition ANYTHING from a compressed YT video is a joke. It sounds WAY better on my Tidal subscription. Wanna choose between the 2 amps? Listen to them in person, preferably on the type of speakers you own. For me, accuracy and low distortion are paramount, so the M23 would be my clear choice, though I'm getting the M28 for the 7 channels.
Fantastic job, as always, thank you! The Pass is more live, you can hear for what you have to pay much more.
Pass Labs delivers a more open soundstage, and airyness compared to M23. At double the price the X150.8 is a better choice for acoustic music, as in Jazz, Classical, and some world music. For those into pop, rock, hip hop, electronic music then the M23 will do fine at half the price. As for myself neither is to my liking. I'm 62, tube preamp paired with class A monos is my choice. An MSB dac is my secret sauce in this setup. If you have the budget try my set up with the glorious Kharma db7-s. I'm quite sure you will be pleased. Thank you Alpha Audio for your magnificent work.
ok boomer
Great, great video. Showcases how Pass edges out with clarity and transparency while the NAD sounds duller and veiled.
@drewyoung2102yes there's no life in class d
Thank you for taking the time to put this together, I think it's a very good apples to apples comparison. Putting price aside for a second, I think I actually prefer the NAD. While the Pass does sound a bit cleaner, the NAD sounds a bit fuller to me (a tradeoff I'm willing to make). Either way, the sound quality between the two is pretty close. Now getting back to the price.....I'm very impressed with the NAD. I'm slowly putting a system together and the NAD wasn't on my radar until now. It's definitely something that I'm going to look into further. Having heard the M23 and C 298 in person, what are the main differences between the two? I saw your video of that amp as well. Thanks Again!
what are you listening on?
Thank you for the video. As always, very nice presentation. IMHO, in a tightly controlled double-blind ABX test, 90% or more listeners, would fail to tell the difference between those two amps.
It is very close. The Pass is a bit more open sounding though... once you noticed that, it is easy to pick out.
@@TheAlphaAudio PASS Labs is more musical !!!
@@TheAlphaAudio Thank you. I was searching for the right description "open sounding" hits the mark. A win for the Pass on this one IMO.
@@TheAlphaAudio How do you or anyone else measure this "more open sounding" statement? Can this be shown via measurements?
@@s2kvozac in a way... Yes.
Have made similar comparison.
In my case it was an AUDIOPHONICS LPA-S400ET vs ATC P1 poweramp. clas D has noticeably less "airness" ... BUT ... after a while you feel the D amp as more realistic and honest and A/B as a little bit too much of a good on the top end.
In fact, it has always impressed me at live acoustic performances that such "brilliant" highs do not actually exist in reality. But still - on recordings they are pleasant to the ear and I also enjoy them at home. So in that case is more a question of taste. More of the hi-fi people like this kind of airness, so suppose that will be a problem for class D.
But beside that in my case the D-amp is more direct and in control.
@@vladimirrusev468 It really does come down to taste indeed. Some people prefer neutrality and "realness", want to listen to the actual recording as good as possible, while for others that's not enough and sounds a bit boring.
The good news is that there's really good sounding gear available for all tastes and price ranges. 👍
This is how you are supposed to do a comparison..!!! 👏🏻. Thank you..!!!
Tried with an AudioBox USB96 audio interface with HiFiMan Ananda and Sennheiser Momentum 3 headphones. NAD seems to have a bit more extended base. I think it depends on the music. It's hard to tell the difference in later part of the video for me.
These are very close but I give the Pass a slight edge in listening enjoyment and pleasure. There is a touch more resonance and openness, leading to more of a performance rather than just a listening session. The NAD is indeed very good but if cost were no object I'd get the Pass Labs. These are 2 very good amps and I'd be proud to own either of them. I would dare to say the NAD may be more accurate to the signal whereas the Pass adds a little character. I personally believe that the enjoyment of end-user experience is a personal preference rather than ultimate accuracy.
If you use two M23 in mono , prise wise then the are almost the same . How this compairs with the Pass Labs 🤔
Nice demo video. Thanks for the effort.
I've forced my wife to sit and listen to the comparison she picked the Pass Lab every time. She also told me if I buy it I'll be sleeping in the car
Hahahaha.... Maybe buy her a good dinner?
Make sure you buy a very nice car first!
Your wife has better ears than the vast, vast majority of audiophiles who would fail badly at a blind test (scientific standards) of low distortion amplifiers. Introduce a variety of music with time intervals beyond an immediate a/b comparison, and you can forget about anyone consistently delineating between the two.
😂
Smoother base on the Pass Labs amp, less fatiguing to my ears. Both sound great.
The M23 sounds like an objectively excellent amplifier. The PASS sounds like the music is happening in the room. I'm listening on LCD-4 with Audio-gd electronics.
The Diptyque speakers are fast and very dynamic, but seem to introduce some distortions in transients, overload on the mics or the UA-cam playback? ( the piano of J Loussier ). Both amplifiers are very powerful. Sound colour is the main difference, somewhat rounder and weighted with the Pass Labs in the mids and somewhat fresher with the M23 in the mids. M23 sounds more upfront. Bass response is more prominent on the M23 but of more quality with the Pass. Reverb with the Pass Labs is longer, instruments are separated a bit better as a result, but that's probably expected with the topology of the amplifiers. If I had to characterise it in one sentence: the M23 shows grip, the Pass Labs has grip.
I've listened to Diptyque in person they don't seem to distort. But here I hear something like you say.
I hate these "how does this compare to ..." question in the UA-cam comments. So here is my question: "how does the NAD M23 compare to the Hypex Nilai500 Stereo-amp?" thanx and keep up the good work! Cheers Uli
I get the impression that the NAD keeps the timing of the bass (PRAT?) tighter than the Pass Labs in the second track where the bass seems to be struggling to keep up with the rest of the music.
That is possible. The Eigentakt Class D is very tight in the bass.
Surprised by this . Female vocals sounded veiled on NAD. The rest is very close. But the Pass takes this one. I imagine the differences in room were significant.
"Veiled"? Ah, so, since the M23 is remarkably flat, you mean that the Pass Labs OVER emphasizes that range. Got it. Oh, and how could the room favor one amp over the other? The speakers and their location were exactly the same. If the amps are truly flat in their response, there will no difference.
@@kx8960 Interesting spin on my comment. I am sitting in a room on the other side of the recording, compressed by youtube. Im not sitting in that listening room. Of course listening to this, even on a luxury audio system would not be as telling as sitting in the actual demo room!!!
Listening to this with headphones and a dac is noticeable that the Pass Labs i has a more clean sound, when the Nad enters it’s like a small veil or filter was put in the mix. But the diference in price between the two is something to take into when listening to both.
I suppose the same pre amp was used in both, and the pre in use could match better with the Pass Labs.
Great video.
Thanks,
Yes, I would love to hear the M23 paired with a M12 pre amp. (Just afraid to buy an M12 as it is normally paired with the M22(.2) so maybe Nad is making a M13 now for the M23?)
Love your channel, outstanding gear. Looking for your TAD speakers for my collection. I owned both Pass (Volksamp Aleph 30) and NAD 23. Nelson Pass in his design always allows for even harmonics distortion, that gives a more palet able sound. If you would have use a « Shindo or Airthight preamp» you would get that liveness and holographic sound that the Pass pre doesn’t provide. The M23 is without almost any mesurable distortion. Garbage in garbage out! Cheers!
For me, the midrange is where the rubber meets the road. Being very familiar with this first track, Hanna Reid's voice has a distinctive clean texture dispersion and decay, which my own system reproduces very well. In this sample, even with YT compression, the difference is noticeable and Pass wins this easily.
Great video as always, very informative! Agree that the Pass edges in front with more openness (for the lack of a better word) - noticed you chose the Grimm for to compare these two amps, given the characteristics of the Sonnet DAC the differences may be even bigger with that DAC - am assuming you tried that 😎
Incredible comparison
I think the new class D a lot closer but not yet surpass
Nad is 180 pass is 150 but I feel pass has more grip and better overall control and headroom. Overall sound better in Pass
If u put price,size into consideration. Then I think at half the price it justified the performance difference
Clearly the NAD is a outstanding value. Audioholics says its the best measuring amplifier in the world I believe them I've seen the numbers.
If I sit down with a pad and pencil and rate the individual performance elements it does quite well. In terms of measured performance it beats all amplifiers. As others have said the Pass Lab amp provides more involvement into the music. The shear expansion of the environment be it artificial or real and the expanding dynamic contrast the
Pass Labs provides was not subtle at all.
Where the Pass Labs really shines though is if any unforseenable problem occurs they will have your back. You cannot put a price on that.
NAD c’est du tout bon - pré-ampli + ampli / une valeur sûre. Merci pour le partage 💖
How does m23 compare to gato 150 ?
super cool video! Is the heat fairly minimal with the pass x150.8?
To be honest: no... it gets pretty warm.
I dont like the Steve Wilson song but the engineering on his albums is the best Ive ever heard, and is great for testing a system.
Value for money = M23. Pairing it with with the new M66 pre-amp, it should be a smart sounding combo...
I like the bolder less screechy sound of the pass more in this recording
Awesome post!
Pass high is more sparkling, mid better, low less straight.
NAD high is less, mid less, low better.
I'm a NAD lover, but I prefer the Pass without knowing it's price.
But...the NAD half priced, the M23 is by far the winner. €3400 vs €7300 is way to much.
The price difference is... significant... :-). I do think you are spot on with the differences.
@@TheAlphaAudio NAD half priced is an easy choice to make.
Little difference overall!
@@TheAlphaAudio this post made me clear a M33/M23 combi will be awesome value for money.
I think differences are small enough in some systems that you can make the NAD sound like the Pass Labs with a change in dac/preamp.
I do not know why you guys pick class D amp. To my ear, Pass Labs wins every single time!
Cuz of the power, you don't like class d cuz it is dry or something?
De vraag is luister je graag naar muziek of naar een hele goede versterker, ik kies voor muziek.
Sluit het één het ander uit?
If the difference is that small I would consider price and has the NAD Direct software build in like the lager models ?
Since i am very interested in the Nad M23 power amp do you think my old Symphonic Line rg3 mk3 preamp could work well with it?
thank you
@@ioannisthpapanagiotou9477 i don't know that pre amp. So I cannot say anything about that. But the match with the speaker is much more important.
@@TheAlphaAudio
I see,i see..
I have a pair of old pmc Lb1 monitors completely refurbished with new tweeters and woofers(dynaudio) and an improvement in the crossover with mundorf & duelund caps.
Unfortunately for me these speakers need bid amps to play well although it shows easier(86db/4ohms)-pmc suggests 2x250-300w amps.
Thank you sir very much for the immediate response
Ioannis
what brand/model are the audio rack(s) / amp stands?
Has there been a reply to this, audio racks?
The Pass Labs sounds much better. Not surprising. The NAD isn't bad, it just sounds slightly flat and grey in comparison. The Pass is closer to real music.
So your system can play real music if you heard it thru youtube. Do tell us your system when you listened to this on youtube so we can all stop the hunt and get your gears instead 😻
@@fdude555 sorry your ears are no good.
@@yippie6862 uhm yes it is. More importantly my mind is better informed to not analyze sound through youtube clip.
@@fdude555 Not my fault you can't hear the differences. Don't be angry.
@@yippie6862 who told you i cant hear difference? Of course there is but i just have enough wisdom to know it has no value coming from a youtube clip. Unlike some other people. Come on now 🤡
There is deep bass in this song "Hey Now." I listen to it all the time on my stereo rig. Mind you, l have two SVS Ultra 13 subs with my Magnepan 7's but still, l didn't hear any low frequency
Hey, l did pretty much the same thing as l have a VAC PA 100 100 tube amp and a Spectron musical MK ll class D amp
I created two UA-cam videos called "Magnepan 7's doing their thing" one with the VAC & one with the Spectron
All my equipment & setup is in the description. So tube magic vs class D insane watts/current
Hey Jaap, thanks for this new demo. Have to get used to the sound of this setup. Sounds a bit weird to me. Is it because of the microphone placement or loudspeakers used? Gr. Jan
I think it is the speakers. Magnetostats are bipolar. So you get some smearing.
NAD's bass seems to be tighter, better controlled, while Pass is no slouch either. Great achievement for class D and NAD.
Nothing seems to change at the transition from one amp to the other, but you have to listen with your eyes closed because the meter on the Pass Labs is so beguiling. The winner is ..... the Diptique DP107!
Hahaha... Good one! Very nice speakers indeed.
If owned these two amps, I would play the NAD louder than it was shown in this video. I hear elevated bass and treble in the Pass. This is where the "air" is coming from. Analog amps control speaker drivers less, so the speakers sounds a little bit different. I am suprised that nobody makes sound modifiers with knobs labeled as "lively bass" and "air"...
Can you please advice what AV rack are those? Thank you!
Bassocontinuo
Thanks for always posting up this high quality videos. But, in my opinion this is not a very fair comparison, in the car world this would be like comparing a BMW M3 to a Porsche 911 Turbo. Both great cars but at different levels of price.
It is... But still it can be fun to compare them in my opinion. Both are great...
@@TheAlphaAudio I agree, it is still worth comparing that way you know if it really is worth it spending almost double the money for the Pass. And we know the law of diminishing return in audio can be very small sometimes. It be interesting to see how the M23 sounds compared to other similarly priced class A/B amps.
Pass labs: more open, airy and natural sounding. The NAD has an almost unnatural stop/start to notes, without the decay of cymbals, etc. Just my opinion and ears.
Sounds distorted?
I don't hear distortion...
For me the differences in amp sound was most marked in the first choice of music. Maybe its just psychological, but in the first choice of music after the Pass Labs, when music played via Nad the whole tone went one degree lower....
Exactly how, and how exactly, did you match levels? Comparisons are worthless without that info.
We use a 1 kHz tone and a db meter.
@@TheAlphaAudio Good deal, thanks! I encourage folks to use a voltmeter instead, but you can get close enough with a mic if you’re careful.
Just feel a little bit clearer with PasLab and a little bit warmer with M23.
Realllllllllly wish you’d tell us which one you preferred, since this recording isn’t what we’d hear if we were there.
Pass is more smooth and complete. But it is almost 3x the price. The M23 is very, very good.
I can't hear any discernable difference whatsoever. Shrugs shoulders.
Lucky you
That pass is just so wonderful! The Nad comes very close, but is a little less involving for me. Maybe it's perfect from a measurement perspective but voices stand out a little less and I am musically less drawn into the separate instruments, (like the bassguitar in 2nd track). NAD/purifi is a beast stiller their price. How's this compared to the c298, seems a bit more open/ tad less veiled perhaps? And thanks for the Wonderfull tests yet again!
I think this is what is called a "dry" sound. NAD has everything, and being alone sounds great. But being compared to X150, proves that 0.0001% THD is not all we need.
+1
@@sc0or NAD has a thinner sound indeed
@@sc0or "Not all we need", IF you like your amp to color the sound. I don't and want mine as flat and true to the original artists vision as possible, and I'll let my speaker choice ONLY be what colors the sound.
The Pass is what I clearly prefer here.
The passlab Amp sounds better, but given that you can get a stereo Purifi Amp for $1200, the comparison is impressive for the Purifi.
Devialet vs de pass labs zou mooi zijn!
The biggest problem with NAD is that it will break down 10 times before a Pass breaks once. NAD is built with garbage-bin tier parts (mainly capacitors) and is guaranteed to fail.
NAD improves as well...
Pass Labs employee, Eh?🤣
Nonsense.
M23 has better D.R., soundstage, and value on this video. Lacks a bit on bass control. but, may not its fault.
Just for future reference the yellow captions are very difficult to read.
To remove any bias it would be good for the comparison to be blind. Hide the amps so one can't tell which one is playing. Label one component's sound A, the other B. Let youtubers vote and compare the results. Could be fun.
@@gw8405 that is not the idea of these sample tests.
..this fair test and sound demonstration show little differences in the NAD is now the new future and I am a old class A design guy own both designs presently ,I switch back in forth ,, the air in the class A the addiction to the persion and accuracy of the NAD
Nice test! I prefer the Pass Labs, more space. Nad is less expensive tho..
Nad Much better separation and clarity
The Pass hands down. The bass is fuller and more rounded not one dimentional, the highs also have more sustain and larger sound stage. I purchased the M23 because of all the hype and great reviews, I think my old Parasound 1200II may still have the edge on it in the same areas. I will say the background of the M23 is completely silent.
I prefer the Pass Labs. The NAD draws attention to the bass which I find muddy by comparison. With Pass Labs, it is pleasant to follow the piano track. With NAD the piano fades and again you are listening to a bloated bass track. They are both credible performers so as always it is down to personal preference.
NAD M23 with a nice tube preamp, such as the Doge 8. That's my choice. If money was no object, Pass Labs wins, but the NAD is close enough.
Factor on the price difference and it's a different tune
Surely the m33 is a Nad 298 in a better case if it is then I will keep my superb 298
I meant m23
It isn't. Sorry... Check the review on our Dutch website. The inside is completely different.
@R L the input board and power supply are completely different. Check the photos on our website.
Why do people play demos on UA-cam?
Because they're audiophiles and they don't understand.
I'm betting that the M23 measures better/flatter to much better/flatter (and is more powerful AND load independent), and the people that think the Pass Labs is better, simply prefer the coloration ADDED to the signal by the Pass Labs. Great, if that's your thing, but it's not mine. For me, I want everything in my signal path to be as flat and linear and true to the original signal as possible, and any coloration of the sound will be ONLY my speaker choice. This way I don't have the preamp coloring things, then the amp coloring that, then the speakers coloring all that. To me, anything in the signal path prior to the speakers should simply amplify the original signal as cleanly as possible. Period. That the M23 is flat regardless of the impedance of your speakers is especially impressive, and contributes to the "flatter" response. I plan on eventually getting an M28 to power the 7 Focal Chora 826's in my home theater, and then later (when money allows), getting an M23 to power 2 (probably 4ohm) passive subs I'll design and build. I don't think any active sub will have the same ultra low distortion and flatness the M23 would have driving them, even is the output power is less. I want my subs to be as "musical" as possible since I listen to a lot of live Blu-Ray's.
The comparison I'd REALLY like to see, is the original signal overlaid with the mic'd signal from multiple different amps, to see in real time how true to the original signal the actual output is, I think that would be REALLY telling. I'm sure the M23 could power a bunch of different speakers/different loads and still be more true to the original signal that other amps. In other worlds, a more real world measurement test vs a listening test. Numbers don't lie.
Long story short, buy what you like, even if it isn't the flattest/cleanest.
I would like to challenge this kind of test. Just do sound and no sight of the actual amp playing and lets see what these commenters prefer
Just minimize the screen.
@@TheAlphaAudio I don't think that would satisfy the intent of F Dude. He's suggesting you force people to do a blind evaluation (not doing one himself). I agree 100%with him, most of these commenters would have different views if forced to comment on amp A vs. amp B, instead of NAD vs. Pass!
Ongelooflijk wat de `passlab 150.8 laat horen , dat is een wereld van verschil met wat jullie hadden . Zoveel meer detail en dynamiek .
Ja, we gaat behoorlijk vooruit op gebied van resolutie :-).
There are some other thoughts regarding Pass amps: ua-cam.com/video/uDbfwCo0a3I/v-deo.html
I like Pass lab more..longer reverbs, better spacing and better control on bass.
To me the bass from the NAD muddies the mids. The Pass seems much cleaner.
De Pass Labs klinkt vele malen beter. Makkelijker, opener. Loopt niet dicht in het midden hoog. Klasse D legt het nog steeds af tegen Klasse AB.
The NAD M23 is better
Great comparison. The NAD is no slouch. For strictly sound quality all around the Pass Labs wins but for value the NAD wins. Just bought myself an X250.8 because personally I won’t cut corners on absolute sound quality.
Class A/B over D ANY DAY! Class D's are cheaper to make, weigh less so china can ship more on a boat which translates to bigger profits.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
To my ears, Pass is cleaner with more detail and separation
wow.....class D drive Diptyque！！！
why not ? if anything could drive such things its class D flat resistance even crap class D should perform well.
@@joppepeelenthx! you are top mind
I almosr fell down with my subs playing the first track. Passlabs sound great on my Yamaha amp but at 2x price I would have to think aabout this one.
I return to this test 2 years later...Dont like the grainines on the voices of the first song and closed in sound of the NAD. sounds more metalic, machine like. Big difference in sound and price Pass is much better
Big difference, high definition on NAD side..
5:33
The Pass is the more 'fluid' sounding amp by quite some margin... In comparison the NAD sounds ever so slightly mechanical...
The hell does mechanical sounding mean
@@fdude555 maybe less organic ? Now You know
Nad voicing is kinda recessed...just a feeling but nad bass is stronger
Are you going to actually talk about the differences heard between the two, next time? Significant loss in the translation, for most people
@@dan-qe1tb this is a sample test. Not a review.
Pass is more organic more life like more like real music
Class A any day.
Do not like the sound of the speakers they have no backbone the rest is ok i like it .
Oh, and another thing: I had never heard of London Grammar before, and so I'm listening to that album now, starting with Hey Now, and trying to audition ANYTHING from a compressed YT video is a joke. It sounds WAY better on my Tidal subscription. Wanna choose between the 2 amps? Listen to them in person, preferably on the type of speakers you own. For me, accuracy and low distortion are paramount, so the M23 would be my clear choice, though I'm getting the M28 for the 7 channels.
They don’t seem very level
Matched which will make the pass sound better… sounds louder=== better
So it’s impossible to compare really….
They are level matched.
Sounds exactly like my laptop... after being recorded via your mobile phone... duh
Another sonudnis typical analog if don't believe try in blind test
It's like trying to split a strand of hair!
Didn’t like either
Nelson needs to find a new job.
I hate those Ds
Why?
Whaddayamean why? They sound bad???@@TheAlphaAudio
NAD sounds veiled, less involving, in comparison to Pass. Maybe the word for it is colored, less natural.
That’s because they aren’t level
Matched very well…. The pass is a few db louder.
@@danieleaton3406 If they really are not at the same level, this comparison makes no sense at all…
What the NAD amp does to the sound should be criminal. What Pass Labs charges for their amp should be criminal. :)