Experience with the Pass Labs XP-15 phono stage?

How much time did you spend optimizing load? That you would report that it emphasized the treble over the midrange suggests this may not have been dialed in.

My XP-15 was never ever bright. Which cartridge do you have?

Soundsmith/VPI Zephyr. I spent quite a bit of time playing around with the capacitance loading. The Zephyr doesn't like loading below 47k, so that's where I left it.

Thanks for the review, Lanetim. Much appreciated.

Dave,
I think in the right system the XP-15 could be the ticket...it was interesting to see just how different these two phono stages sounded. My wife had no trouble instantly picking off the differences, and she's never picked up a Stereophile in her life!

Maybe it's not unexpected that an ARC phono stage would naturally be the synergistic match to a Ref 5 and a Ref 150. The XP-15 certainly gives the user a lot more options with all the cartridges out there, and I think it is a good value. I just couldn't give up the PH7.

Lanetim,

I see. Yeah, that must definitely have been interesting! That's cool. It's always good to have another pair of ears, particularly of someone you trust.

Yeah, that's true. Well, that's ok. You tried it, and that's what counts. I understand totally.