I can now say I own a Pass Labs XA25 and own a CJ ET-5 as well. I own a PASS Xp-10 pre. The CJ PRE sounds much better as exactly as described above by medeardo. Nelson was right. The Pass Labs dealer did not agree so I guess he has no knowledge or wanted to sell me a Pass pre. Either way the ET-5 was a $10,000 pre. I picked up mine for $3,000. The XA25 is outstanding. What a performer. It’s manhandling my Wilson Audio Sophia’s and showing them more Bass than they are use to; all from a 25 watt amp. Read up on it if you are not familiar.