Rockitman,
November last year I had listened to the XP-20 and found it 'okay' i.e. did not have the 'vow' surprise. During Christmas, I went back to the same shop with the same set up, I have auditioned the XP-30 and was impressed by the advancement Pass had made over the XP-20. It is a much improved pre-amp in all aspects : ambience, fine fine details, emotion/feelings, dynamics, harmonics, density, deep dark background etc. When it was A/B/C compared with ML326S and JR Corus in the same day and set up, it made me felt that the extra cost (about US$4K) is 'worth every penny of it'. In general, ML326S was similar in details, but more forward and I felt a bit harsh. Corus was more lay back with similar ambience to XP-30. I would say that XP-30 is even above the JR Criterion (US$3K more) and very close in most aspects with Accuphase C3800 (US$5K more). Both Criterion and C3800 is slightly more warmer and more comfortable to listen to. However, if you listen to a wider variety of music, XP-30 can be more appropriate.
For your info, the system components used in the audition were : ML512 CD/SACD with NBS Extreme 1 pc and Remses XLR to pre-amp; NBS Black Label II+ for pre-amps and NBS Extreme 1 XLR to JR 625 power-amp - NBS Extreme 1 pc and Cardas Clear to Dynaudio Confidence C2.
