Pass Labs XVR-1 crossover

We have had the XVR-1 in the system for a year and are very pleased with it. It is capable of literally thousands of different cross-over configuarations at different slope adjustments. Importantly, however, you should be aware that this XO requires manual adjustment. That means that it is up to you to remove the cover and make each micro adjustment yourself by moving the jumpers around on the circuit board. Finding the configuration that is right for your ears is a trial and error process that can (and should) take time as you experiment. Also, you need to proceed with care, because one can screw it up (I did and blew several fuses). However, once you get the theory of the machine in your head, its fun. The folks at Pass were very accommodating and helpful as I went through the process.

I use an XVR-1 to replace the electronic crossover that came with my Apogee Studio Grand speakers. The XVR-1 is much more transparent than the Apogee crossover, and does not leave a signature on the music.

As Whitecap mentions, the XVR-1 is very configurable with many options. It took me about six months of educated trial and error to zero in on the best settings for my system. The settings are a bit of a pain to change but I never blew any fuses or damaged anything.

The settings I ended up with were pretty close to the ones I started with based on basic filter theory and knowledge of my speakers.

I think the XVR-1 is a great crossover.

I have used the XVR-1-3 for the past 6 years. Prior to that, I used 3 other crossovers with different speakers primarily Magnepans. I have been bi and tri-amping for over 30 years. If you're looking for the best in analog crossovers this is it and it is very transparent. It also has more flexibility than you can possibly imagine. While you can use this and adjust by ear, as the manual suggests, it's even better to use some kind of measurement capability, REW or somthing similar. It's much easier to make adjustments when you can see what you're doing. Although not absolutely necessary, you can get a perfect sound stage if you balance left and right gain channels using a test CD or something similar and a digital volt meter or invert the phase of one channel and balance for minimum sound output. It takes some patience so have fun! This thing's a blast!

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I've used the XVR-1 for about 5 years.

I have also used the XVR-1 for a few years, first with a pair of Apogee Duetta Sig., and now with the Apogee Fullrange! I am very satisfied with its performance, which compared very favorably with my previous Bryston 10B and Accuphase 15L!

One very interesting observation, I have been using the XVR-1 as 2-ways, and since I am planning on tri-amping, I got another Xover module while sharing the same power supply (i.e. 2 Xover modules, 1 PS)!

While waiting for the autoformers for the mid-range in the tri-amp setup, I was prompted by my friend to try out a dual mono configuration in 2-ways, i.e. each Xover module only handled 1 channel of input and 2 respective outputs in bass and mid/treble!

I was quite surprised that it made quite an improvement in areas such as the soundstage, imaging and bass authority etc.!

Actually, with this experience, we also tried out dual mono configuration with the Pass Xono phono (i.e. using 2 sets of Xono, 1 for each channel)), and got very noticeable improvements!