Pass Labs XP-10 & XP-20 preamps

That is a very thoughtful, and plain facts review, Alan.

The mute feature of the Fire is to help avoid the powering up of the preamp after the amps. Henry can make the Fire without a remote control. I like the near infinite volume adjustment, and the circuit simplification.

I soldered Sonicap Platinum bypass caps over each poll of the big blues in my amp. You have Thetas, if I am not wrong. The improvement is not small, and it is very easy to do. The highs become even more sweeter. The rest is dialed in a lot clearer.

Also, the ribbon SCs I run from the monos to the speakers made a tremendous improvement. The stage leapt for to aft. The frequency extremes gained a lot too. I have Scintillas, so stage width is not limited.

The the micro-dynamics, you report with the Fire, gained as well with the ribbon SCs.

My little lecture...... Sorry.

Oh, one more thing. Can you tell us what cables you are using? Through my Scintillas all insulated cables inserted noise into the signal path. The Speltz wires showed me where the background noises were coming from. The ribbons extended the highs and lows greatly over the Anit-Cable. I can stand with my ear to the ribbons and hear nothing but clear music.

Hi Muralman,

I have a few sets of cables to choose from, but currently my favorites with the Pass amp are the Alpha Core Boa's, which I didn't like with my H2O amp. I think I am currently using Oval Nine's (I forget the manufacturer's name) upstairs with the H2O amp. I believe I am using Silver Audio Silver Bullet interconnects, although I'm not sure if the company is still around. Nevertheless, I am not the type of audiophile that can tolerate auditioning different cables. As long as they do not pick up RFI and do not sound tizzy or dull I am generally happy.

I took a look at your ribbon cables. I wouldn't use such cables here because I am using a stereo amp and those look a little too flimsy to place in an area where people might be walking.

Alan

Alan,
I thank you and greatly appreciate your very thorough and well-written comparison between the two preamps. And in response to my simple question. Thanks for the effort. I had not heard of the H2O Fire and as Muralman1 writes so favorably about it and his amps, I was curious to know more, especially as I had just upgraded to the new Pass XP-20.

My pre has the separate power supply which the XP-10 does not and my amps are the XA.5 series instead of your X.5. I also find the Pass equipment to be extremely quiet, quite detailed and just slightly warm of neutral. That may be from the class A amps. Classical and complex passages are indeed easier to follow, as you write, and soundstage dimension and instrument location and separation are superb. Timbres, too, are very acurate to my ear. I do not hear the dry bass to which you refer, but again, that may be the amps. I do find the XP series to be cleaner and clearer than the X-1 which it replaced. The latter was darker and richer, but that may have been slight distortions. The XP seems more "accurate" which to me means more "musical" because it brings me closer to the sound of the Boston Symphony Orchestra than did the X-1.

Well, the Fire has some big fans on this site. It sounds like a wonderful preamp. Thank you for sharing your impressions with us.

Peter

Hi Peter, I just know what made the big changes here. I have demonstrated the noisiness of all jacketed cables on the H2O. There are folks in Europe who have gone so far as to use ribbons for speaker interiors.

I arrived at the ribbon SCs through deductive reasoning. Class D is a new field, and require new thinking.

I didn't get to hear the XA 100 monos on my speakers. I did get to hear them on the huge Full Range Apogees. That is a very special amp. The 600.5 amp is similar to the 600. the .5 was clearer than I remember. The bass was way loose on my speaker's panels.

Hi Peter,

The dryness in the bass which I spoke of seems to be going away as the XP10 is burning in.

I took a look at your system and judging from who you were working with when purchasing, we seem to live relatively close. I sent you an email via the Audiogon mail form. You are welcome to check out the Fire at some point if you wish.

Alan