I’ve got a DIY Pass F5, but have been offered the Rotel. More power for sure, but a better amp?
Anyone got any experience or insight of both?
Depends on your speakers, I suppose.
I had a First Watt F5 on loan for a month, from a dealer. It was very good indeed, I almost bought it.
I could have easily lived with it, but after some thought and a few lengthy conversations I decided to go for a custom solution. Just as well, the @coco *SIT amp blows it into the weeds.
*If I ever sell this, you can rest assured, I’ve given up listening to music…
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Not so practical for me unfortunately!What don’t you like about the F5 that you think the Rotel will fix? I use a pair of DIY Pass Aleph 60 monoblocks and have tried other amps but I keep coming back to the them because they make music.
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The Pass amps are very clean and fast. The F5 might lack oomph for some speakers, but otherwise is fantastic is the power output works for you.
I like Rotel amps, and I’m sure that one is great, but it’s a totally different beast - designed to drive anything.
Usually the speakers will decide here. For low efficiency or difficult to drive speakers the Rotel will probably win, otherwise the Pass.
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The speakers are good. Very good. Vintage visitors to Scalford Hall may have heard them. (You need to go back more than 10 years!) 
Instead of buying a new mp, I’ll invest in ensuring the one I have is working as well as it can.
What are they?
They were built by Brian Taylor of Impulse, later Aspara Acoustics. They were a prototype for the Impulse H1, but the design was considered too expensive for production. (The H1 was £2,800 in 1988.)
They have an Audax HM170Z18 6.5" Aerogel woofer at the top of a folded exponential bass horn, and a Focal TC120TD5 in the cabinet, with separate a tractrix open horn on top containing a Seas mid-range unit.
Over-exposed and older pic attached.
I’ve done some work on the crossovers, but it has been loyal to the original design.
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Well for speakers like that you would assume that the Pass would be a better match. In general. Usually. Unless you like the Rotel more.
Hard to believe there is no Raspberry Pi solution.
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