Anyone auditioned Pass Labs XP-30 preamp?

As you noted, you can read the comparison of the XP-30 to the XP-20 and to your X0.2 on Dagogo or Secrets of Home Theater Hifi. The descriptions of the XP-20, which I owned for a few months, are spot on (I also owned and liked the X0.2). I didn't care for the XP-20 in my system. I replaced it with the ARC Ref 40 Anniversary and for me it was a significant upgrade (Of course it should have been it was $25K!). Like Ed Momkus I found the XP-20 too clinical although a liked the dead quiet background and bass. However, if your power amp is on the warm side it may be just the ticket. The ARC Ref 40 has more warmth, better sound stage, and just a bit of texture resulting in a very natural sound to me. While the bass is very good in the ARC, it will not match the XP-20 for sheer impact if that's important to you, although it has a tactile quality the 20 doesn't have. I have not heard the XP-30 although reviews suggest that I would really like it. You don't say what amp you're pairing the preamp with and that is a major consideration. My tube hybrid Counterpoint NP220 (mid-tweets to 240 Hz) is dead neutral, very immediate and very revealing. Oh, you may have a difficult time finding a used Ref Anniversary as they were a limited run dicontinued since Fall of 2011. If you're seriously consider ARC get the 5SE as it has the bigger power supply and the teflon output caps. These recent upgrades as well as new tubes and transformers are the major drivers of the change in the ARC house sound and the the reason ARC is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. Happy listening and good luck.

I also find Ed Momkus to be too clinical.

Barry, how would you have compared the XP-20 to the X0.2?

Tonyptony - If you read reviews I referenced, you'll get the differences ("Secrets" nails it and also mirrors my preferences - e.g. some tubes in the signal path are a requirement for me). To me, the XP-20 was better in several areas than the X0.2 - noise, bass, clarity and to a lesser extent sound stage. I really wanted to like it (heck I bought it!), but it just didn't sound natural in my system. Perhaps it will in yours. Despite it's shortcomings, I liked and kept the X0.2 and sold the XP-20. However, I never felt quite the same about the X0.2 again having heard what was possible in the areas where the 20 excelled. The XP-30 may fill those gaps but I haven't heard it.

The XP-30 has a low S/N ratio of only 110db's which is a poor number for a three piece system. Why? Old school engineering. Since the early eightie's many designer's including Nelson Pass use local or global feedback technique where the signal current is looped and fed back ("feedback") several times through the Pre-amp then to the ouputs which increase the gain level to the output. The best Pre-amps on the market that are pricey all have S/N ratio's above 125 db's since they are not using feedback looping into the Pre-amp but using a more current technique called feed forward which does not loop the signal current.
The feed forward design was pioneered by FM Acoustics. Feedback results in noise and higher distortion from the parts and boards. The founder and designer of Hegel Audio in Norway, Bent Holter, who has a degree in micro electronics with the emphasis on transistor engineering, took the feed forward technology from FM Acoustics and further enhanced it to a better design he calls his patented Sound Engine technology. The Hegel P-30 Pre-amp uses the Sound Engine feed forward method and the Pre-amp has a S/N ratio of 132db's, the highest ever achieved of any Pre-amp costing up to $20K and higher. The P-30 costs only $7500.00 and performs like a $40K Pre-amp since the noise and distortion is so low which is typical in the best and costliest Pre-amps made.