Pass XS Phono....it's here!!!

PeterA said:
Mike, what is the latest with the new phono? How does it compare to what you had previously? This must be one of the first units out there. Are you beta testing or is this a production unit?
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I cannot believe how good it is. So quiet, so musical, balanced. Just over the moon with it. The XS phono is the best Phonostage I've ever owned - by far.

I bought it.
 
Nice looking phono I am sure it sounds great. You mention quiet and better Bass A good phono is a must if you want dead quiet . By the way I run a full balanced set up from the cartridge on down. Works for me. Enjoy your new gear I hope I hear one some day.
 
Mike said:
I cannot believe how good it is. So quiet, so musical, balanced. Just over the moon with it. The XS phono is the best Phonostage I've ever owned - by far.

I bought it.
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Mike,

I figured with all that extra time it took them to finalize it, they would really knock it out of the park. And it sounds like they definitely did. I like that philosophy, don't bring it to market until it's perfect. Is anyone taking notes? ;)

Best,
Ken
 
Mike said:
I cannot believe how good it is. So quiet, so musical, balanced. Just over the moon with it. The XS phono is the best Phonostage I've ever owned - by far.

I bought it.
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Mike, if the Lampi guys in Poland were making a phono stage that sounded like their DAC, do you think you would prefer it? I guess I'm asking that given what you like about the Lampi (tubes) do you prefer the XS pre even though it's solid state? Another way of phrasing this question is: what source do you prefer between the two?
 
Good question, but it's an easy answer. Kronos/ZYX Universe Premium/Pass XS is my favorite source. Let me give you an example: I compared Lampi DSD Miles Davis Kind of Blue to the vinyl version below with the Kronos/ZYX Universe Premium/XS phono and just chuckled to myself. With the vinyl, the instruments had a life like size sound with greater dynamics and impact and the sound was very engaging.

It should be noted that I have NOT tried my new Air Tight ATE-2 Phonostage and Air Tight Reference SUT. I'm waiting on my new rack before giving it a whirl.

My R2R is also very very enjoyable and if for not a lot less material, it would be my favorite source.

However, as for as digital goes, the Lampizator/Aurender combo is excellent. The Lumin S1 is quieter and has more impact and my T+A PDP 3000HV has a "just right" kind of sound. So in summary, all my digital sources have their pro's and con's, but there is no doubt that the Lampizator with the right tube compliment for a particular system is very special.

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madfloyd said:
Mike, if the Lampi guys in Poland were making a phono stage that sounded like their DAC, do you think you would prefer it? I guess I'm asking that given what you like about the Lampi (tubes) do you prefer the XS pre even though it's solid state? Another way of phrasing this question is: what source do you prefer between the two?
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First of all Mike, congrats on your new Pass phono preamp and I'm glad you are very happy with it. As for Ian's question, if you are a die-hard analog guy, you are most probably not going to say that digital from the best Lampi sounds better than a great turntable.
 
mep said:
First of all Mike, congrats on your new Pass phono preamp and I'm glad you are very happy with it. As for Ian's question, if you are a die-hard analog guy, you are most probably not going to say that digital from the best Lampi sounds better than a great turntable.
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Thanks Mark. See above. I would never say never, but I have compared two JT albums, Miles Davis Kind of Blue and the new Mark Knopfler Tracker album. Not a lot, but enough to get a taste.

Let's keep in mind: Kronos + ZYX + XS Phono = $85,000 approx. It SHOULD sound better. [emoji6]
 
Oh boy Mike! I feel like booking a flight to Sarasota to check it out with the rest of your system...enjoy in good health my friend!
 
Let me just add that, as one would expect, the XS phono has this "hand-in-glove" synergy with the rest of the XS gear.
 
Mike congrats on the new phono. Nelson is really a genius. I can only imagine how awesome the synergy must be in the XS line.
 
Mike said:
Good question, but it's an easy answer. Kronos/ZYX Universe Premium/Pass XS is my favorite source. Let me give you an example: I compared Lampi DSD Miles Davis Kind of Blue to the vinyl version below with the Kronos/ZYX Universe Premium/XS phono and just chuckled to myself. With the vinyl, the instruments had a life like size sound with greater dynamics and impact and the sound was very engaging.

However, as for as digital goes, the Lampizator/Aurender combo is excellent.
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Mike, Thats how I felt driving home from Axpona after spending the entire day comparing the two Lampi's (B7 and GG) to many of the analog rigs at the show. As good as I felt it was, particularly the DSD, I was finally certain vinyl would be of the next step in my system.
 
Paul - thanks! You're definitely on the right track. Vinyl has been around longer than any of us, and to say the medium is mature, is an understatement. Digital is still in its infancy and always getting better. DAC's never seem to leap frog one another, they simply nudge ahead of the previous one by a nose. But they are progressing, as are the formats.
 
Mike said:
Paul - thanks! You're definitely on the right track. Vinyl has been around longer than any of us, and to say the medium is mature, is an understatement. Digital is still in its infancy and always getting better. DAC's never seem to leap frog one another, they simply nudge ahead of the previous one by a nose. But they are progressing, as are the formats.
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Digital audio was born perfect remember? The industry just keeps making it more perfect. So who says you can't improve upon perfection? :)
 
I don't want to regress Mike's thread into the same old of battle of the ages, but it is an amazing phenomena. Digital creates a virtually perfect square wave and no one can really argue it's superiority from a quantitative measurables standpoint but it just doesn't do for me what analog does. I am convinced it has something to do with the time domain not measured traditionally. No matter how accurate the clocks get, the time domain is not as natural as analog and the brain evolved around hearing all things analog in nature. I am convinced this is also why vinyl derived from digital masters sounds superior to digital derived from digital masters to my ears.

Vinyl form digital will have more distortion having gone into and out of the digital domain but still sounds better because it returns to its natural time domain (analog) via a mechanical musical instrument (the stylus) as opposed to trying to match it up in the digital word.

I believe this is also why the Lampi DSD is the best sounding digital on the planet---it uses no clock (or converter) and effectively is very close to playing a continuos (read analog) signal (using only filters).

X = Time between Bit Samples (secs)
Y = Time per Bit Sample (secs)
S = Sample Rate (1/secs)

X = 1 - (Y*S)

Analog Equivalence of a Digital Signal = "AE" =1/X

Limit of AE as X approaches 0 = Infinity = 100% Analog

When you playback 256DSD on a Lampi X gets pretty darn close to zero. I am not sure how this concept can really be discussed regarding digital formats that use converters and is why the Lampi sound gets so close to analog. The time domain don't get as mucked up. That said, it still ain't analog.

Ok, now everyone stop laughing at me.
 
We need a separate thread I think.

I've often wondered if it has to do with bandwidth. Less is more? The bandwidth of the digital system is determined, according to the Nyquist frequency, by the sample rate used. The bandwidth of an analog system is dependent on the physical capabilities of the analog circuits. (Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_analog_and_digital_recording)

The comments I've heard from friends who are not audiophiles is that digital sounds "grainy" compared to vinyl. They admit there is associated surface noise with vinyl, but state that the overall sound is more "relaxing, pleasant and natural."
 
Mike said:
We need a separate thread I think.

I've often wondered if it has to do with bandwidth. Less is more? The bandwidth of the digital system is determined, according to the Nyquist frequency, by the sample rate used. The bandwidth of an analog system is dependent on the physical capabilities of the analog circuits. (Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_analog_and_digital_recording)

The comments I've heard from friends who are not audiophiles is that digital sounds "grainy" compared to vinyl. They admit there is associated surface noise with vinyl, but state that the overall sound is more "relaxing, pleasant and natural."
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Digital noise is not natural , analog is, its how we hear things naturally ....
 
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