Xs Phono

ack

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I want to listen to it, only to prove or disprove that Pass is/isn't now also becoming fashionably expensive.
 

PeterA

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This may only be a prototype. Remember, the XS Pre prototype from CES a couple of years ago looked different from what became the production units. It is 5X more expensive than the XP-25. I wonder how much better it is.

I guess Pass feels that they need this XS top tier line to compete with Boulder, Solution and D'Agostino.
 

Frank750

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I think it is a prototype but, if the price is going to be $45K they've lost a customer who had every intention of completing the Xs chain. I've been waiting for a while for the Xs Phono to come out and have been discussing this with them periodically. If I had known what they intended to list it at then I would have moved on long ago.
 

MadFloyd

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wow spendy. It better be one of the best ever..... Has it's work cut out against the best tube stages.

Then again it's not tubes so it has that going for it. :)
 

MadFloyd

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I have yet to hear SS deliver what tubes can with a phono stage. There is no contest.

If additive distortion brings you pleasure, why don't you have a tubed preamp as well?

Christian: this probably goes beyond teasing and more like trying to push your buttons here. My apologies.
 
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rockitman

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If additive distortion brings you pleasure, why don't you have a tubed preamp as well?

What I like about tube phono is the natural bloom and decay of notes that tubes bring and transistors fall short. The sense of space and soundstage size volume is also superior with well sorted tube implementations. Using my XP25 as my SS baseline, the overall presentation of the music is more compressed and less natural sounding. That is why I am trading in my xp25 with my xp30 for an xs pre. I have thought about tube pre's but none have been found that give me the number xlr inputs I need in addition to a tape loop which I also require. Your distortion comment is not relevant to what's sound best, imo.
 

PeterA

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I have yet to hear SS deliver what tubes can with a phono stage. There is no contest.

No contest? Christian, this is a pretty definitive statement. Do you mean accuracy or subjective preference or both? Is this in an absolute sense or is it just in your experience with the phono stages that you have had in your own system? I would think that SS phono sections generally have lower noise and measure better but that tubed phono stages may sound better in some systems to some people. Christian, have you heard the Boulder phono stages? I think they are SS and very highly regarded.
 

rockitman

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No contest? Christian, this is a pretty definitive statement. Do you mean accuracy or subjective preference or both? Is this in an absolute sense or is it just in your experience with the phono stages that you have had in your own system? I would think that SS phono sections generally have lower noise and measure better but that tubed phono stages may sound better in some systems to some people. Christian, have you heard the Boulder phono stages? I think they are SS and very highly regarded.

as I had mentioned and understanding how tube electronics sound, I don't feel with any degree of confidence that a SS phono could ever deliver the musical satisfaction I get with my Allnic tube stage. As far as the XP25 vs Allnic comparison, it is no contest. TheXP25 music presentation sounds broken in comparison. That is doing a side by side comparo with the same table/arm/cart combo. Both units are in my system currently. When you had visited over the summer, the XP25 was not hooked up which was a shame as it would of been easy to do the comparison with you in the room.
 

PeterA

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as I had mentioned and understanding how tube electronics sound, I don't feel with any degree of confidence that a SS phono could ever deliver the musical satisfaction I get with my Allnic tube stage. As far as the XP25 vs Allnic comparison, it is no contest. TheXP25 music presentation sounds broken in comparison. That is doing a side by side comparo with the same table/arm/cart combo. Both units are in my system currently. When you had visited over the summer, the XP25 was not hooked up which was a shame as it would of been easy to do the comparison with you in the room.

Thanks Christian. You sound fairly certain that you would prefer your tubed Allnic to all SS phono amps based on your comparison with the XP-25. I'm sorry I could not hear the comparison for myself. Of course, I was unable to ascertain what the Allnic was contributing to the sound of your system. And you have not heard the Boulder. Unfortunately, nor have I. I guess you will not try the XS Phono then.
 

rockitman

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Thanks Christian. You sound fairly certain that you would prefer your tubed Allnic to all SS phono amps based on your comparison with the XP-25. I'm sorry I could not hear the comparison for myself. Of course, I was unable to ascertain what the Allnic was contributing to the sound of your system. And you have not heard the Boulder. Unfortunately, nor have I. I guess you will not try the XS Phono then.
Boulder requires balanced phono cable input. Makes it tough to demo when your cables are rca with a ground wire. Boulder is fully balanced...no rca inputs for phono or main pre. That is too inflexible for me.
 

ack

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XV-1

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PeterA

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I did and I got 3 inputs, but not for 45k to get them thou :eek:

If the performance difference between the XS Phono and the XP-25 is similar to that between the XS Pre and XP-30, it will be even harder to justify the value of the upgrade because the delta between the two phonos ($45K/$10.8K=4.2X) is greater than it is between the two preamps ($38K/16.5K=2.3X).

The XS Phono does offer more functionality than does the XP-25 in terms of three inputs with memory. I wonder if gain and loading can be set with the remote.
 

XV-1

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If the performance difference between the XS Phono and the XP-25 is similar to that between the XS Pre and XP-30, it will be even harder to justify the value of the upgrade because the delta between the two phonos ($45K/$10.8K=4.2X) is greater than it is between the two preamps ($38K/16.5K=2.3X).

The XS Phono does offer more functionality than does the XP-25 in terms of three inputs with memory. I wonder if gain and loading can be set with the remote.

Didn't MaxFloyd prefer the XP-30 to the XS in his system? I guess it is all relative.

No big deal if the XS phono does not have a remote - after all when you have adjusted your cartridge to the preferred gain, cap and load you don't need to adjust it again.

Will there be Zero cap setting as cartridge manufacturers like Lyra strongly recommend as small capacitance as possible in the chain.

Will the 3 inputs be seperate phono boards or a fancy switch?
 

PeterA

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Didn't MaxFloyd prefer the XP-30 to the XS in his system? I guess it is all relative.

He decided not to buy the XS. That does not necessarily mean he preferred the XP-30. Remember, there is a substantial price difference. Perhaps he liked them equally well and he concluded that the money needed to upgrade could be better spent elsewhere in his system.

Interestingly, the XS "seems" to be voiced more like my XP-20 with a more neutral tonal balance than like the XP-30, which I find slightly richer and warmer than either. However, the XS has substantially more resolution and lower noise than both XPs from what I could tell only by comparing them each to the XP-30 in slightly different systems - that is I compared the 20 to the 30 in my system and the 30 to the XS in Madfloyd's system.

It will be very interesting to see how tonally neutral the XS Phono is. I'm sure it will be very transparent, highly resolving, and ultra quiet. The voicing will be interesting, IMO.
 

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