Anyone auditioned Pass Labs XP-30 preamp?

Audiozen,

I'd be very interested in auditioning the P-30, or hearing it at a dealer.
When I go to the Hegel website, they don't even list their U.S. dealers.
Not a good business practice, IMO.
As long as they do business like this, they won't get an appreciable part of the U.S. market, no matter how good their gear is....

hi Audiozen, your emphasis on feed forward tech is noted here. could you describe more about sound character of P-30 or Hegel's "house sound"? i heard Amphion Argon speakers before so it's easy for me to relate your experiences.
If compare to ayre KX-R preamp, would P-30 be similar? as you had mentioned full, controlled & organic with 3D space, i assume it has more air and good at presenting complex orchestra passage without compressing musical notes, that would certainly come with excellent transparency right? higher octave is smooth without harshness, attack & transient of highs also have clean leading edge without roughness. is that the benefits of feed forward? i'm getting interested, thanks

08-13-12: Danielk141
Audiozen,

I'd be very interested in auditioning the P-30, or hearing it at a dealer.
When I go to the Hegel website, they don't even list their U.S. dealers.
Not a good business practice, IMO.
As long as they do business like this, they won't get an appreciable part of the U.S. market, no matter how good their gear is....
Danielk141 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

There's a dealer link on the top of home page.

http://www.hegel.com/usa.htm

Knghifi,

Thanks! I stand corrected. All I could get the other day was the U.S. highlighted in blue.

Philipwu..I would take the Hegel P-30 over the Ayre KX-R in a heart beat. The Hegel is warmer, richer and fuller than the Ayre. One thing I don't like about the Ayre is the loud clicking sound of the volume control when you raise or lower the decibel gain. Damn annoying. The other negative of the Ayre is the output impedance is 300 ohms balanced and 150 ohms single ended.which is too high for my blood. The output impedance of the Hegel is 75 ohms which makes it easier to drive amps with low input impedance. The Ayre has great resolution and detail and is very fast but is not as relaxed and organic as the Hegel. If your looking for an exotic sculptured space age looking piece of aluminum with an interior that looks like the circuit boards inside the dash board of a UFO, then the Ayre is for you. But if musical performance is paramount to your needs you will get a much better sounding Preamp with the Hegel and won't waste $18,500.00 on the Ayre.