Pass Aleph P versions

I had the "last generation" Aleph P. It was my Pass dealer's demo, until they got an X1.
It had the remote, and the knobs were silver, instead of matching the faceplate, like earlier Aleph Ps.

Danielk141,
if I got it right, I guess you got an X1 after the Aleph P: how do they compare ?
Moreover, do you know the 'sonic' differences between your Aleph 1.7P and the "first generation" Aleph P ? Which versione is the one to search for ?

Daniele g,

I went from an Adcom GFP750 to the Aleph P.
The Aleph P was slighty better overall, and had a much better motorized volume control.
Then I moved on to an X1 with the full size power supply.
After a couple years I tried the XP-10, and now I have the XP-20.
If your price point is around $1500.00, I'd look for a Primare Pre 30 (fully balanced with a nice digital display volume control) - I have one in my second system. You can find these used for $1,000.00 - $1300.00.

To Danielk141,
i was under the impression that the Aleph-P was a very good preamp with Class-A circuitry honed down to as few parts as necessary. it compared favorably with a passive attenuator in a Stereophile comparison. No doubt Pass has improved their pre's even more over the years, but i have a friend with a very good system using the original Aleph-P and it sounds "real" to my ears.

Daniele g,

The Aleph is very simple & sounds clean. The differences I noticed when I went to the X1 were a bigger soundstage & noticeably better bass.
This is to be expected, since the X1 I had with the full sized power supply contained a circuit board populated with capacitors.
When you compare an X1 to the Aleph, you must decide if the price difference (or savings by getting the Aleph) is justified.