Rhea vs Pass XP-15

I have a Rhea and love it. With a 0.3mv cartridge you are getting to the point where some Rhea's can become noisy, depending on tube selection and maybe age/version. Perhaps the newer ones are quieter, but my 5 year-old Rhea exhibits a bit of tube rush with very LOMC cartridges. I'm quite happy with it, but if you want absolute black backgrounds, you might prefer the Pass, which is definitely quieter.

With a Shelter 501 @ 0.5mv mine is very quiet, but with my low output Dynavector 20xl, I can definitely hear the preamp on very quiet passages or between tracks.

That said, I think the Rhea provides a richer harmonic structure, and it is certainly my preference. Depends on what you value most.

Hope this helps!

Just my 2 cents....I have an original Rhea and I have had no noise problem .....ever. I vote Rhea...!

Rhea too. Not close in my listening experience because I want to feel the instruments being played, not just hear the sound of the music coming out of them.... if that's clear?

"09-23-13: Peterayer
Yes, thank you. I'm more interested in learning how Mechans would describe their different sound. Sorry for being less than clear."

You were very clear. I was just kidding around. I didn't think anyone would my comment seriously. So I'm the one that's sorry.

I own the Pass XOno and have heard the Rhea in a different system. But I have never compared the two directly. So, like the OP, I'm interested in how they sound different. I wish Mechans and others who have a preference for the Rhea would explain why they like it over the Pass. Dfhaleycko does provide a helpful opinion with a clear description.

Dhcod, I too feel the instruments being played, and that is with my Xono in my system. I find the XOno to be very transparent and silent. It adds very little to the signal from what I can tell and it has plenty of gain for a cartridge with .3mv output. The XP-15 is supposed to be even better, though I have not heard it.