Pass Labs XP-32

PeterA

New member
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Messages
458
Location
Boston
I have had an XP-32 preamp in my system for about seventeen days now. It has been playing music 24/7 on a digital loop as it continues to settle during the break in period. It will be replacing my XP-22. The improvement is significant and I will be posting my listening impressions of the differences between the two preamps later this week. Wayne Colburn should be commended for the design of this extraordinary three box preamplifier that is placed right below his flagship XS Pre. It is a truly remarkable piece of gear.

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Congrats. Nice looking rack setup to ... I own the XP-22. It's wonderful, but I'be been thinking of upgrading it and my X260.8s as well. Looking forward to your review.
 
Congrats Peter! I owned the XP-30 for several years and used it in conjunction with the XA-100.5 and XA-100.8 monoblocks. It was a terrific preamp. I’ll bet the XP-32 takes it several steps further. Enjoy!

Ken
 
Congratulations Peter!

Please keep us updated. All reports so far have been great.
 
Peter

What happened to the vibraplanes?

Hello XV-1,

The three Vibraplanes, their compressor, and four Townshend Seismic Sink platforms, as well as all acoustic treatments, have been removed from the system and room. I will be putting them up for sale as well as a couple of cartridges and my Transparent Audio phono cable and power cords. I am simplifying the system and experimenting with different gear support options.
 
Congrats on the new preamp. I waited and waited, but the release delays sent me another direction for a preamp.

Looking forward to your updates where it’s characteristics fall (20,30, or XS like..).
 
Hello XV-1,

The three Vibraplanes, their compressor, and four Townshend Seismic Sink platforms, as well as all acoustic treatments, have been removed from the system and room. I will be putting them up for sale as well as a couple of cartridges and my Transparent Audio phono cable and power cords. I am simplifying the system and experimenting with different gear support options.

WOW, you have almost been religious in your praises of the Vibraplane - that was a back flip I did not see coming - what happened? sounds better without I guess.

Didn't you have Jim Smith voice your entire room and system? that gone too?

DDK disease and Ching Cheng cables - :P fun times ahead.
 
WOW, you have almost been religious in your praises of the Vibraplane - that was a back flip I did not see coming - what happened.
Didn't you have Jim Smith voice your entire room and system? that gone too?

DDK disease and Ching Cheng cables - :P fun times ahead.

Tastes change, and systems evolve. Jim Smith voiced my old Magico Mini IIs to my room with all of its treatments. I replaced the Mini IIs with Q3s and changes were made. Jim Smith taught me how to do it myself. I learned a lot from him.

Audiophile nervosa is the desease, DDK advocacy for a more "natural" sound, is the cure. The full evolution is described on my system thread linked in my signature.
 
Audiophile nervosa is the desease, DDK advocacy for a more "natural" sound, is the cure. The full evolution is described on my system thread linked in my signature.
I also replaced all my source PCs with DDK CC for a more natural sound. Sounds pretty good on my high power tube monos but bit light weight.
 
Thank you everyone for your congratulations. I will post my listening impressions in the next few days.
 
I also replaced all my source PCs with DDK CC for a more natural sound. Sounds pretty good on my high power tube monos but bit light weight.

Yes I too tried the Ching Chengs since they were lauded on another site --they sounded clean and certainly smooth but lacked the attack I was used to previous.

An audio friend of mine in Japan sent me some Hirakawa's-he said bested the CC's --I used these and they were definitely more spacious and just as smooth-but too laid back as the CC's.

Have the Shunyata Venoms in situ at present-- and they are burning in nicely, but not convinced as yet they are superior to the Hirakawas--we'll see in time.:)

Bruce
 
Pass Labs XP-32 Listening Impressions

Part 1


System Background and Goals:

I have owned many Pass Labs preamps. I bought my first in the late 1990s and have made steady upgrades ever since: Aleph P, X-1, X-20, XP-22, XP-32. I have always found these products good sounding, extremely well built, and very reliable. The rest of the system is as follows: van den Hull cartridge, SME V-12 and SME 3012R tone arms, SME 30/12 turntable, Pass XP-27 phono, Pass XP-32 preamp, Pass XA160.5 amps, Magico Q3 speakers, DIY cables.

I have owned and enjoyed the XP-22 for about two years. It is the generation after Wayne Colburn designed his flagship XS Preamp and is supposed to benefit from some trickle down improvements over the XP-20, namely a much better umbilical cord, the volume control from the XP-30, and lower noise. The improvement over the XP-20 was worthwhile, but it was more incremental than anything major.

Over the past few years, I have spent more time listening to live acoustic music. I spent five days listening to closed rehearsals at the Vienna State Opera followed by different evening performances from the Director’s box. My mentor and host wanted me to learn more about the sound of real thing and by more closely focusing on the energy of the sound leaving the both singers up on stage and the instruments down in the orchestra pit. I also attended quite a few BSO performances from the seventh row center and some small chamber recitals in a living room setting in Boston. Much of this listening was from a close vantage point where the sound was immediate and direct.

With the memories of these live music experiences in my mind, I began to make some major, some might say radical changes to my audio system in an attempt to better capture that sense of incredible energy, clarity, and natural sound of live music. My system was somewhat artificial and not that natural sounding. It was a bit too “hifi”. It lacked the sense of “life” and energy that I heard live. I did not fully understand what was lacking until I started to experiment and make some changes.

I removed all pneumatic isolation platforms from under each component and replaced them with 14” X 18” X 1” 75 lb. stainless steel plates supported by large rubber O rings. I removed all acoustic treatments from the room, with the exception of one small absorption panel on the back wall 14” behind the listening seat. Upholstered chairs replaced absorption panels at the first reflection points. I played around with the location of the rug. Four 16” tube traps were removed from the front wall corners. I replaced expensive audiophile signal cables and power cords with DIY cables and Ching Cheng cords. Finally, I repositioned my speakers and slowly reduced toe-in to zero, or facing straight ahead.

I wanted to simplify my system, but I was also trying to achieve a more “natural” sound, one with more energy and life. The system is located in my formal living room. For years I sacrificed aesthetics for audiophile accessories and what I thought was my preferred sound. The more I listened to live music, the more I realized it was time for a change. These changes resulted in a less artificial, less focused, less “hifi” sound. Space opened up, timbre and dynamics improved. The sound became more alive and more natural. I was satisfied that I was moving in the right direction.

I made two equipment purchases during this time. I designed and had machined an outboard arm pod for a new SME 3012R tonearm, and I bought a van den Hul Colibri Master Signature cartridge. I mention all of this as background to explain that I think the sound of my system has changed pretty dramatically over the last year or so, but also to suggest that the system sounds less restricting and I think it is very likely that the differences between the XP-22 and XP-32 are more clearly audible than they might otherwise have been without these changes to my system. It is also an attempt to describe the type of sound I am trying to achieve.
 
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