Guns N’Roses

REVIEW
After about 100 hours of break-in and
about 90 minutes to warm up and stabilize,
the 30.8 fully reveals itself, though
it is great at turn on; a solid, detailed,
yet subtly nuanced performance follows.
Bass is very punchy and tight, but
never to the extent that accuracy forces
over-accentuation of lower registers. The
amp is spec’d to deliver frequencies well
below human hearing, and bass performance
never disappoints throughout
many listening sessions.
High frequency information is relayed
with a high degree of realism, detail and
relaxed naturalness – a tough balance to
achieve. Even with recordings known for
stridency and sibilance, the Pass never
renders those elements in an over-revealing
way. It’s not that the XA30.8 romanticizes
the sound or rolls of high frequency
edge, rather, there’s an organic quality to
188 TONE AUDIO NO.78 Turn the Beat Around
it just as there is with the amp’s midrange
portrayal. When sitting in front of a live
soprano vocalist for example, crescendos
can be piercing at times, but even
in those instances the human behind the
music is evident and artificial glare does
not enter into the equation. The Pass
renders recordings in a way that reveals
the human element in music, not just the
sounds that make their way through the
studio microphones to be captured by
the recording gear.
The 30.8 is among the best I’ve heard
at separating musical elements across,
and into, a seemingly endless soundstage.
Instruments, vocals, and ambient
cues seem layered over and around
each other, rather than being squeezed
into a thin plane between the speakers.
Instead, sound floats all around the room
with no apparent limits to the width and
depth of musical portrayal. (continued)
AUGUST 2016 189