Which preamp to go with pass labs x150.8


Hi all, 

I am getting Pass Labs X150.8. I am considering following preamps: 

Simaudio Moon P740 

Ayre KX-5 Twenty 

Audio Research LS28SE

Pass Labs X12

Which preamp would sound the best with the amp? 

Thanks for your input. 

panerai557

a REF5 or better yet an SE is a formidable preamp…. of course, i am biased….i have 5K hours of happy listening in w mine…..

Best to you and good luck on your musical journey

 

I do not suggest a tube preamp with any SS amplifier,as it is not a good match.
 

There are many including myself that would strongly disagree with this!

For Passlabs  branded preamp, I would look at Xp-22 or higher. Passlabs amplifiers are already dark sounding, so I would recommend matching them with the most transparent preamp you can afford. You already have a relatively smooth sound with the pass lab amps, so I would recommend matching it with a solid state preamp rather than tube, otherwise you risk losing details and dynamics

I owned an Audio Research Reference 5SE for nearly ten years… marvelous preamp.  If I had not upgraded the rest of my system and in the process my ARC to REF6se, I would still be very happy with it. For much of that time I had a Pass x350. A very happy combination.