Pass Labs XP 30 VS Ayre KXR Pre

hi Peterayer, Thanks for your detail effort in describing their differences & yes, your definition on airy, transparency is spot on. i would bear in mind the gears associated in your comments.
750D is CDP which i ordered, huge open soundstage, slight laidback presentation, not the in your room,in your face type, so it's good for grand orchestra & some rock\pop music\concert if recorded well. i have not decide on any pre/power yet but i already got ML electrostatics.
coming back to your opinions specifically for Higher FR on openness,airyness of both pre, your ending statement said the difference are really small, do both preamp differ on higher FR by about 5%-8% or easily noticeable by large margin say around 18% or more? anyone with untrain ear would simply notice that difference? my local dealer have no intention to bring XP30 for demo citing XP20 should suffix! So i can only lean on forums for help. thank you and certainly appreciate any input from you. regards

Well, I don't know about percentages. But I would say that while listening to analog, the difference with high frequencies was noticeable, but not great. Over a longer period of time, I would find the Ayre a bit bright. On digital, it was much more noticeable and within a few minutes on a recording with lots of high frequency energy and a bit of compression, the Ayre was fatiguing to me. My friend did not mind it that much and would probably describe the Pass as a bit recessed or relaxed in the upper frequencies.

I own the XP-20. If you can hear one in your own system, you will get a good sense of how the XP-30 sounds. It is just a bit smoother and more refined. Slightly better low level information retrieval and slightly less noise for blacker backgrounds and better spacial relationships and layering. The 30 is also a bit more extended. I also suggest you audition the Pass preamp with a Pass amp.

I heard the new X2 pre amps are more resolving and detailed while the X0 pass pre are smoother and more analog.