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Pass Labs unveils next generation amplifiers at CES 2014

With amps from Pass Labs it's always been all about the sound, and the new amplifiers confirm that fact.

Steve Guttenberg
Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Stereophile.
Steve Guttenberg
A stack of new Point.8 power amplifiers from Pass Labs. Pass Labs

Nelson Pass is one of America's leading amplifier designers, but he doesn't change his products all that often, the last time was in 2006, so when he does it's a big deal.

I was knocked out by one of Pass' earliest designs way back in the late 1970s, and over the decades he's always made some of the best sounding high-end amplifiers on the scene. His latest series of X.8 amps come in a variety of power ratings and configurations, but all share the same refinement and purity of sound that Pass Labs amps are known for.

The new two-channel amps include the X150.8, the X250.8, the X350.8 and the XA30.8. The single-channel mono amps include the X600.8, the XA60.8, the XA100.8, the XA160.8 and the XA200.8. Their per-channel power ratings range from 30 watts for the two-channel XA30.8, to 600 watts for the single-channel X600.8. They will all be built in the Pass Labs factory in Foresthill, Calif.

Availability dates and retail prices for the new amplifiers have yet to be determined. They are on display with other products by Pass Labs at the Venetian Tower during CES 2014.