Pass Labs XP-10 & XP20 Users

"just curious, there is a black ring around the volume knob of the xp-10 and xp-20. anyone knows what material is the black ring made of? plastic? metal?"

Aluminum. You can make out the brushed aluminum texture under the anodizing on the front of the ring.

Just thought I revive this thread. Recently bought a XP-10. I have Pass XA30.5 as well. Any suggestions on PC and SC?

Kzhtoo - I also have the XP-10 and the XA30.5.

My power conditioner (PC) is the Running Springs Dmitri. It is awesome and I highly recommend it. I found a (slightly) used one on Audigon. It still wasn't inexpensive but I am VERY happy I got it.

I'm not sure what you mean by (SC) but I'm going to guess your asking about the power cord (also, er, PC). I use Spiral Groove GrooveLine power cords for both the XP and the XA. (Actually, all my wire--power, inter, speaker--is SG GrooveLine). I don't think these have come to market yet. So that's probably not too much help. But these are very, very neutral. And that seems to suit the Pass stuff (and my system) perfectly.

BTW I moved up from the previous generation of Pass pre and amp and used a mix of cables and went through many gyrations with them. If you want more info, let me know. I won't bore the rest of those on the thread.

Hope that helps.

I meant SC = speaker cable :) thanks for the suggestion.
Do share your Pass experience, I'm sure no one minds.

Btw, I used to run XA30.5 with Anthem MRX as pre/pro (with ARC room correction). Switching in XP-10 doesn't give immediate big improvement. I think it's my source that is limiting. Currently running AppleTV because most of my music is on iTunes. I listen to electronics a lot. Will have to figure something out in that department too.

My speakers are Focal Electra and Paradigm Studio sub.

Kzhtoo - I wrote this really long response and decided it was waaaay to long. So, here's my (somewhat) abridged version.

Start with your source. Your system will never reach it's potential unless you can feed it the right "stuff" played through the best front-end you can afford.

Second, the speaker cables were Stiltech LS-100 G3, which I came to after a lot of experimenting. (Thanks Cable Co! Note, I have no affiliation with them.) My power cords for the front-end were Audience powerChords and for the amp it was a Synergistic A/C Master Coupler. (I ran a Shunyata Black Mamba to my Sony SCD777-ES CD player. I also had an Immedia RMP-1 table and RPM arm with Lyra Helikon cart.)

When I began my upgrade (binge) I started with my speakers going from Audio Physic Spark III to Sonics Amerigo. (Both are easy to drive.) Then, I replaced my PS Audio with the Running Springs Dmitri. If you don't need as many outlets you could try the Haley or, if not quite as much performance, the Elgar.

Then I went through all my other stuff. Big upgrades to my font-end; dropped the CD player. Finally, all my cables--speaker, interconnect, power cords--are Spiral Groove.

I know they guys at Spiral Groove and they were developing a line of cables. It's the same cables they use in their electronics and the Sonics/Canalis speakers (they partner with Joachim Gerhard). It wasn't a difficult choice once I heard it in my system. The bummer is that it's not easy to produce on a large scale, so they've been holding off going to market with them. That way, they can focus on their tables, arms, speakers (they partner with Joachim Gerhard on the Sonics and now Canalis line) and vibration control systems. Otherwise, I would whole-heartedly recommend them to you.

So there you go...my recommendations:

1. Source and front-end
2. Running Springs for power conditioner (PC)
3. Cable Co for finding the right cables for YOUR system

Sorry, Mr OP if I hijacked things. Hope this helped too.