Thought on YBA Passion Integre??

I'm still considering an integrated to rplace ny Naim 112/Hicap/150 and have seen a few of these amps available for a good price. Unfortunately there is no YBA dealer in Seattle, so I can't get a listen. Anyone have any experience?

I really hate to but blind, so probably won't. I recently almost bought a Bel Canto Evo Integrated based on reviews alon, but when I finally got one in my house I didn't like it much at all. The rest of the system is a Naim CD5/Hicap CDp and Audio Physic Virgo speakers.

Thanks,

Bruce

 

You also might want to consider the Lavardin IS Reference, although it might be underpowered for your AP speakers.

 

YBA gear in my (not that extensive- a few shows and our Swiss distributor) has great detail retrieval and times well but could be considered a wee bit aggressive all things considered. You can't really sit back and unwind in front of one. Pretty though.

 

Thanks for the input. Doesn't sound like to good one to buy blind.

Bruce

 

Bec,
I think that you need to give us a little more to go on in the way of what you want from your amp.

 

Mr. S.,

There is nothing really wrong with my gear right now, basically I don't see me spending to go up the Naim ladder any further, and I'd like to get rid of a few boxes. I'd like something with a little better bass response, and some more power that would allow me more choices when I decide to change speakers from the Virgos.

My room is quite large (40 ft X 18 ft X 10 ft) so I'll probably get larger speakers and would like an amp with some headroom. I tend more towards warmer rather then leaner and detailed in my preferences. That's what sent me towards something like a Unico to begin with, or some other type of hybrid.

I'm not in a hirry, but like to kep an eye out when something interetsing pops up.

Bruce

Bruce

 

Hey Bruce,

I owned a Yba integrated for a while. It was very open and clear with great detail resolution and great speaker driving ability.

I also owned a naim 112/150/flatcap2 set up which was horrid: Limited loudness, poor dynamics, shoddy resolution of detail and 'hissy' when just stood on standby.It did have great PRAT but that was all. The YBA would have ****ed all over it.

The Naims also had great resale value.... go figure.

In terms of speaker choice, have you thought it may be easier to fill your big room via efficient high sensitivity seakers than to have powerful amps giving it rock all into more average speakers. Another fine choice might be a pair of Magnaplanars or similar these dipoles are remarkably good at filling large spaces and are not difficult to drive....

Best,

Darren

 

"The YBA would have ****ed all over it"

I assume so, but that's what I thought about the Bel Canto too!

 

I almost bought one of the Passion power amps, but it fell through and I bought the Bryston instead...
It sounded like a cross between the Bryston and a Lavardin. French sounding, if you know warrimean.

 

Well I found a Passion for a really good price, and decided to take a punt and compare it with my Naim gear. Will report back in due time....

 

Well my initial impressions have changed a over the week, and we now have developed a clear preference for the YBA amp. This was most evident when I swapped the Naim amos back in. A bit more of everything is the easiest way to put it, and more power in reserve for a speaker upgrade in the future.

The one think I don't like is the tweaky factor that I ignored with Naim. For example, there are two sets of speaker outputs that have different damping factors and clearly sound different. Then they say you need to swap out the power cord, and don't even get me started on speker cables (NACA 5 for now).

Anyway I suspect the Passion will stay.

Bruce