Man, your audiophile game is absolutely on point! Thanks for sharing this amazing journey.

Amazing Jay, no bullshit, no tie ins, just fact based personal opinion. Really enjoying this journey. Excellent, keep going pal.

Jay, it will be interesting to hear the Pass x600.8 and if the same flavor of sound continues. It will be interesting to hear/see what changes occur considering thata lot

I can't wait for this Jay 😁 Mono shoot out. Great video as always 👍

This is why Jay's Audio Lab is one of the truly great and excellent audio channels on KZfaq (among such bonafides as Audio Excellence Canada and Steve Guttenberg--truly great company). Like the other great audiophile channels, Jay respectfully tells it like it is. He provides the shootouts you want to see among THE BRANDS that you want to know about. And he adds tons of wisdom that saves you tons of money. If I could subscribe 5,000 more times to Jay's Audio Lab, I would.

The liquidity of the Essence is the lack of electronic coloration. Some people arent used to that and prefer the added texture of a noisier amp

Jay Pass Labs makes a new amplifier called the XA25. It is pure class A low power design. It's power rating is 25Wpc 8 ohms, 50Wpc 4ohms or 100Wpc into 2 ohms. The owner's manual claims it can output class A 50W peak into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. It would be interesting to compare it to the Essence to see if it might be an over performer. I wonder if the class A design and output rating might be another hi value product that if you add a great power cord might surprise.

Hi Jay, thanks you’re never ending help. We met in Chicago as you came out of the MBL room. I had my 12 y/o son with me. I wonder if you have any thoughts on Brisasti amplifiers? The M15 or M25 compared to your top picks like Boulder and Gryphon. Best wishes. Thanks for your time.

Pass labs is like an English car, a jaguar or a Bentley, not the fastest not the best specs but so comfortable your can drive for hours. Gryphon is a German car, a Porsche, fast reliable but not comfortable at all. After a couple of hours all your body is hurting you. Both are great it’s really a personal choice.

Your comments are spot on, relating to system influences and the sound of the Essence. I have a new Essence stereo amp in my system, which has slightly warm speakers. Classical music is revelatory, with excellent midrange timbre along with resolution and space between instruments even with complicated passages. 3D depth is very impressive. Jazz is excellent, as there is nice lower midrange weight. Rock from the 70’s and 80’s... not so much. Could use a thicker sound for this, and frankly I usually listen to this on headphones or in the car anyway. 6Moons gave similar descriptors, in their own artsy abstract way. Suspect the faster more neutral sound of the Essence is further advanced on Magico speakers. Perhaps the ideal companion would be a Vinnie Rossie preamp where you can choose between straight AB or add SET influence. At the end of the day, a ski that is best in the bumps, won’t be the best GS ski, or vice versa. (Advance apologies the the Floridian Flatlanders for this analogy). The Essence is analogous to the best All mountain ski, which can accomplish almost anything with a deft operator.

Seems like Pass Labs offers consistency. While Pass Labs offered a lower noise floor and better dynamics, I enjoyed the music more on the Essence. Equipment can be technically accurate (black background, soundstage, etc.), but not get the music.

Hey Jay - Thanks for posting these awesome videos. As a Pass fan, I really enjoy when you pitch other world class gear against the latest and greatest Pass goodies. Again and again, you do all the work, and we just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Thanks for all the hard work! OOOOOHhhh Jay!!!! You got the X600.8s!!!!! Wow! It almost feels like you’re doing me a personal favor by getting all these goodies and putting forth a ton of effort to first go to a shop and buy them, do the back breaking work of lifting these 140 lb monster amps, get cut to pieces when you accidentally brush up against the razor sharp heat sinks, set them up, reviewing them. Most of all Jay, let’s not forget the straight cash. Every time you buy and sell super stereo gear, you never get 100% return on trading gear in. You’ll be lucky if you get 50% I’m guessing. Thanks man. 👍

Gryphon is for sure on the short list, thanks to you. Also curious about Clayton and PBN amps. Have auditioned products from either company?

More Gryphon and Pass coming? Is this indicative of part shortages and shipping issues as a result of the pandemic? Love to see Audionet, Nagra, Goldman, the big Solutions, Technical Brain, etc.. just asking...don’t get me wrong- love your channel!

Interesting, I’m looking forward to evaluate both the Essence and a similarly priced Pass, hopefully X350.8 or X260.8 monos, in the near future. I wonder if the Essence has enough power for the 86db Magnepan 3.7’s 🤔

Jay, part of my earlier comment disappeared. Curious how the 600.8 will sound vs. essence since it has the first 100 watts in pure class A. The 350.8 has only the first 18 watts in class A. How do the M6's react to that.

What's going on with the W20SE in the background? The power button is flashing. Usually that is only when it is shutting down. Weird. (that's my dream server. Have the N10 for several years and love it.) I did not vote, but liked the Gryphon a bit better. But could live with either one. the Gryphon does seem to have more potential since it was just using the stock PC.

Also room acoustics improve sound quality as I have experienced.

Great 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

You compare a class a vs class ab. Mha, try pass xs150 vs essence

Guys, are you familiar with the Pass XA 160.8s ?. A whole different Animal.

What’s your thoughts on Shunyata sigma mains cables, at present use audioquest hurricane . Was going to upgrade to Sigma as they are uncoloured in their make up. Value for you money what would you change to . Thanks Jay

And which one do you sell Jay?

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

It's also 10 thousand more dollars.

@Jay: How does the Ansuz Mainz C2 compare to the Audioquest Dragon please? Many thanks!

Any consideration for Class D such as Digital Amplifier Company

My vote goes to Gryphon 😊❤️

So Essence is the better amplifier. No surprice to me

Gryphon baby. Gryphon