Pass Laboratories XP-32 line preamplifier Jim Austin June 2022

Jim Austin wrote about the Pass Labs XP-32 in June 2022 (Vol.45 No.6):

I recently replaced my two-box Pass Laboratories XP-22 with the three-box XP-32 from the same company. I had been quite happy with the XP-22, but when JA1 reviewed the XP-32 very favorably, I decided that the review sample should not leave New York City without a listen in my own system. Pass Laboratories was happy to let me hang onto it for a while.

As I already wrote, I’ve been happy with the XP-22. If you’d asked me to describe its deficiencies, I wouldn’t have been able to answer. It’s a transparent, very literal preamp that lets all the music through (or anyway, I thought it was letting through all the music—more on this momentarily) while adding that special something that a good preamp adds. It gets out of the way, yet it somehow makes the music sound better, with a touch more body and life than with no preamp at all. (Anyway, because I play both vinyl and digital, going preamp-less is not a practical option for me.)

I won’t waste space on extensive technical descriptions; for more information on the XP-22 and XP-32, see the original reviews. A key difference between the two is the number of chassis. The XP-22 has its power supply in one chassis and everything else in another. The XP-32 has the power supply and control circuitry in one box then separates the L and R channel audio circuitry into the two other boxes.

Three boxes take up a lot of space, especially if you don’t stack them, and the spacing of my Butcher Block Acoustics rack is just a tiny bit too narrow to allow even two of these chassis to be stacked. The XP-32, then, takes up three full spaces on my rack. Fortunately, I have a very large rack, with four levels, each level with space for three components side by side.

I inserted the XP-32, allowed it to warm up, and put some music on. It took me no more than five minutes to decide to keep the XP-32. Why? The XP-32 was just slightly more explicit than the XP-22. It was immediately noticeable on any music I played. The metaphor of the veil being lifted, or ripped away, is applicable here. Not that it was always obviously for the good:

At one point during those first few minutes of listening, on music I know very well, I heard a touch of brightness I hadn’t heard with the XP-22. Brightness isn’t good, but I knew I was hearing what was on the recording. Sometimes you can just tell. I thought the XP-22 preamplifier let through all the music, or all that mattered, but I guess it didn’t, because the XP-32 lets through just a little bit more.—Jim Austin

Pass Laboratories Inc.

13395 New Airport Rd., Suite G

Auburn, CA 95602

(530) 878-5350

passlabs.com

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Specifications
Associated Equipment
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Jim Austin June 2022

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