Pass Labs Xs Preamp Review

Pass Labs Xs Preamp power supply

The Sound of Specifics Instruments

Ok, it’s time to talk about how specific instruments sound over this system and then play some specific musical tracks. Let’s start with:

Plucked Strings

Instruments such as guitars, basses, harps, and the like, with the Xs Preamp in my system were fast, extremely well place in the space of the hall or club. The leading edge was as good as I have ever heard. The sound was simply extraordinary on delicate music. The decay and air inside and around the instrument were very good, but more in the you-are-there than the more forward sounding of they-are-here sound. The tonal colors of strings are very emotionally moving and highly suggestive of the real thing.

When listening to great guitar players like John Williams, Hendrix, Clapton or Atkins with the Xs Preamp in my system it was very easy to hear the differences of each of their instruments and styles, in a way that is easily distinguishable. Still, each sounded beautiful, natural, with great tonal colors in their own ways.

Other Strings: Violins, Violas, Cellos, and Upright Basses

Violins and violas sounded very detailed and, again, exceptionally well place in the orchestra. You could hear how they sounded in the different halls they were being played. Massed strings were very visceral, and extended. They could swell, and float within the orchestra as the orchestra seemed to float in the air between, around and behind the speakers. Cello and basses were very quick, tuneful, tight and powerful.

To me, solo bowed strings are a big test for any system. For example, one of my favorite recordings is King of the Cellist, Starker plays Kodaly. This is one of the most beautiful recordings of a cello I have heard. I find Starker’s playing to come across as quite intense and full of feelings. With the Xs Preamp in my system his cello was very intense, full of emotion, quick and detailed.

On Ray Brown and Laurindo Almeida’s album the first song starts with over 30 seconds of ‘Moonlight Sonata’ being played beautifully on the guitar by Almeida; then Brown comes in with Monk’s ‘Round Midnight.’ It may not sound like it would work, but it does. When Brown’s bass comes in, it should almost growl and growl, it surely did with the Xs Preamp in my system. I had never heard the deeper registers of his bass sound as good. On the other hand, in my system, the upper areas of his standup bass sounded ever so slightly thinner than I am used to. Also, this cut demonstrates another thing about these speakers. I have always thought of this recording as one where the performers sounded like they were playing in my room. This was not as much the case with the Xs Preamp. The musicians sounded a little more distant and seemed to be spaced in air. This is very pleasant indeed, but it does make it more difficult to hear the air inside the instruments or the fingering of the threads. I don’t know which is more correct; I can only tell you how it sounded in my room.

Horns and Woodwinds

As I have shared before, my father loved New Orleans, and he loved to listen to Pete Fountain and Al Hirt. I own most of Pete Fountain’s records; he played a great clarinet. I also love to hear the great saxophone players of jazz. On the classical side, flutes and oboes really appeal to me. To enjoy woodwinds through your system, your speakers have to have great balance from the upper bass through the top-end. It is necessary to have more than balance. These instruments move small amounts of air, but this air is an essential part of their sound. If your system doesn’t let you hear these nuances, then the music will sound nice, but not alive.

I never became an Al Hirt fan, but I love so many other great jazz horn players. Horns are very demanding in both frequency range and dynamics. It is often difficult to get the explosive dynamics, the bite, and the body of a trumpet right without sounding edgy, bright, or overly muted. With the Pass Labs Xs Preamp in the system, it sounded superb with clarinets and flutes. With oboes and bassoons that thinner upper bass and lower midrange gave them a very detailed sound, but not quite the bloom I would like to hear.

Drums, Cymbals, and Percussion

As I have shared this example before, that points out how hard it is to know if your system is accurate when playing drums. One night at the Pops during intermission, they changed the setup on the stage for the guest artist who was performing after intermission. This included a new drummer and drum kit. The difference was between what we audiophiles would call slow, overdone bass with the first set, and fast, tight bass with the second set, and it was huge. Now, I ask you, how would you know this if you were listening to a recording? There is something in common about both drum sets and drummers; they both carried the rhythm and pace of the music. So, I think that’s what we always have to listen for when we talk about the ability of a system to play drums. It’s easy to rob all the weight and substance from your system if you try to get every recording to have fast and tight bass, but I feel drums should always convey real rhythm and pace. With the Pass Labs Xs Preamp in the system, I have never heard better pace, rhythm and timing from my system. It was simply exceptional. Cymbals were very fast and detailed. They seemed to float in air, though it was very easy to hear when they were recorded too hot.

The Human Voice

Nothing is more important to me in a system’s ability to make voices sound alive, articulate, and real. The Xs Preamp helped my system play voices with great space around the voices in a very open way. This preamp seems to have the sea of air for the voices to float in. Voices were very articulate and precisely portrayed. Voices sounded more as if they were part of the whole than being spotlighted apart from the rest of the music unless they were very closely miked.

As I have reread this review, I feel I have nick picked it a little, but cost-no-object gear opens itself up for that. Still, I stand by what I have said but do admit that with most traditional speakers, Tannoys, for example, the very things I have pointed out as slight weaknesses would be strengths.

Conclusion

I think it is safe to say that in the creation of the Xs Preamp, Wayne Colburn and his team at Pass Labs has set a new standard for transistor preamps and in most ways for all preamps. If you can afford it you need to hear one, just be sure it is well broken in before you make a decision.