Experience with the Pass Labs XP-15 phono stage?

Soundsmith/VPI Zephyr. I spent quite a bit of time playing around with the capacitance loading. The Zephyr doesn't like loading below 47k, so that's where I left it.

Thanks for the review, Lanetim. Much appreciated.

Dave,
I think in the right system the XP-15 could be the ticket...it was interesting to see just how different these two phono stages sounded. My wife had no trouble instantly picking off the differences, and she's never picked up a Stereophile in her life!

Maybe it's not unexpected that an ARC phono stage would naturally be the synergistic match to a Ref 5 and a Ref 150. The XP-15 certainly gives the user a lot more options with all the cartridges out there, and I think it is a good value. I just couldn't give up the PH7.

Lanetim,

I see. Yeah, that must definitely have been interesting! That's cool. It's always good to have another pair of ears, particularly of someone you trust.

Yeah, that's true. Well, that's ok. You tried it, and that's what counts. I understand totally.

Thanks to all who posted on this thread so far. In the end, you decided that with your Audio Research Pre-amp, the PH7 clearly beat the XP-15.

With my Pass Labs XA30.5 amp and Acoustic Zen Adagio speakers, the XP-15/XP-10 combo definitely beat and Audio Research LS-17 SE/PH7 combo.

The LS17 SE has a lot I like about it, but ultimately seems like a poor match with my amp - the highs can be fatiguing and the bass response doesn't seem flat or coherent. I've read about a possible impedance mismatch between the two, Regardless, I like the LS17SE.

The PH7 is a clearly an amazing phono stage. Wonderful sounding and dead quiet. However, in my system, with the right cartridge loading, the XP-15 is every bit its match, and indeed sounds in some ways like it has as much or more tube magic as the PH7. Regardless, I could live with either for the forseeable future, and indeed give a slight nod to the XP-15 for sound quality with brownie points for not needing to be retubed ever, having more gain (and of course also being dead quiet.) On the PH7's side, the remote with loading and the mono function are really fantastic.

We all read so much into these forum comments that I thought I should share my experience and encourage folks to try both of these amazing units as I think it will come down to system matching and taste more than individual quality.