Kent @ Pass just told me to short the center pin and the shield together for all unused RCA jacks using tin foil.... Seriously? That's the fix for this? I have shields on all jacks and the jumper pins in place for all unused XLR's. I'm sorry, but at 15 feet off, with the volume off, and all setting configured as directed, I should not hear a thing from a preamp of this caliber.
He then told me that they were noisy like this from day one, and again, I just cannot accept that Wayne and Nelson would have signed off on this. The noise can even be heard through the music as the volume goes up. There is a problem somewhere for certain.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, TriangleArt Reference SE with Pass Labs Xono Phono Preamp, Walker Precision Motor Drive, ClearAudio Goldfinger Diamond v2 cartridge and Origin Conquerer Mk3c tonearm, Polk Audio "Signature" Reference Series 1.2TL with complete mods, Pass Labs X0.2 three chassis preamp, PS Audio PerfectWave DAC MkII, Krell Evolution 505 SACD Player, Pioneer Elite SC-LX701, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Kent @ Pass just told me to short the center pin and the shield together for all unused RCA jacks using tin foil.... Seriously? That's the fix for this? I have shields on all jacks and the jumper pins in place for all unused XLR's. I'm sorry, but at 15 feet off, with the volume off, and all setting configured as directed, I should not hear a thing from a preamp of this caliber.
He then told me that they were noisy like this from day one, and again, I just cannot accept that Wayne and Nelson would have signed off on this. The noise can even be heard through the music as the volume goes up. There is a problem somewhere for certain.
When I had the XA30.5 amp when using single ended...per the manual
The amplifier may be driven single-end or balanced, your choice.
Single-ended input will always occur through the RCA connector and
balanced input will always occur through the XLR connector.
Again, if you drive the amplifier single-ended then leave the supplied
jumpers in place between pins 1 & 3 on the input XLR.
On the XLR connector pin 1 is ground, pin two is positive input and
pin 3 is inverted (negative) input. Pin numbers are marked on the
XA30.5 Owner’s Manual 8
XLR. If you re-install the jumper incorrectly or leave it lying about,
the amplifier will not work properly, and you will be able to tell.
I had misplaced the jumpers at one time and used a piece of 12awg solid from electrical wire, stripped all the insulation and bent it to fit the XLR pin out
Still listening to it. It exposes things I have never heard before. What has always sounded like a single cymbal tap, has been exposed to be two, three or even four strikes. The same thing for drums and other percussion instruments. I could always hear a vibrato in a voice, but now I can hear the texture of that vibrato as well. So much more detail than before. I really want this solved because for me, this is an end-game piece. The law of diminishing returns stops here. While I am certain I could get more, the gains made from here come at a cost I am unwilling to pursue.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, TriangleArt Reference SE with Pass Labs Xono Phono Preamp, Walker Precision Motor Drive, ClearAudio Goldfinger Diamond v2 cartridge and Origin Conquerer Mk3c tonearm, Polk Audio "Signature" Reference Series 1.2TL with complete mods, Pass Labs X0.2 three chassis preamp, PS Audio PerfectWave DAC MkII, Krell Evolution 505 SACD Player, Pioneer Elite SC-LX701, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
I have owned the X1 and X0.2 and both were dead quiet. Pass Labs is fanatical about quiet electronic design.
"So hot it burnsMice!"~DK
"Polk SDA-SRSs are hopelessly out of date both sonically and technologically... I see no value whatsoever in older SDA speakers."~Audio Asylum Member
"Knowledge, without understanding, is a path to failure."~DK
"Those who irrationally rail against something or someone that is no threat to them, actually desire (or desire to be like) the thing or person they are railing against."~DK
The X0.2 is the most detailed pre I have yet heard on my journey. It is able to resolve three distinct and unique female voices, giving each their own space within the soundstage and keeping them separate through the entire track. The album being played is "My Dear Companion" featuring Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emylou Harris.
The soundstage is breathtaking, with each unique voice dancing within that space. Each has it's own space to bloom and is not smeared by the other or by the instruments within.
This needs to be fixed because I am hooked now on the imaging and detail that smokes the X1. Those who said the differences were subtle need a hearing check.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, TriangleArt Reference SE with Pass Labs Xono Phono Preamp, Walker Precision Motor Drive, ClearAudio Goldfinger Diamond v2 cartridge and Origin Conquerer Mk3c tonearm, Polk Audio "Signature" Reference Series 1.2TL with complete mods, Pass Labs X0.2 three chassis preamp, PS Audio PerfectWave DAC MkII, Krell Evolution 505 SACD Player, Pioneer Elite SC-LX701, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Wayne has commented that the X0.2 should be dead quiet at 1 foot from the speaker, and there is SOMETHING out of sorts. He will be looking at the tests that were done on Monday and getting in touch with me. THAT is what customer service is supposed to look like.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, TriangleArt Reference SE with Pass Labs Xono Phono Preamp, Walker Precision Motor Drive, ClearAudio Goldfinger Diamond v2 cartridge and Origin Conquerer Mk3c tonearm, Polk Audio "Signature" Reference Series 1.2TL with complete mods, Pass Labs X0.2 three chassis preamp, PS Audio PerfectWave DAC MkII, Krell Evolution 505 SACD Player, Pioneer Elite SC-LX701, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
I have owned the X1 and X0.2 and both were dead quiet. Pass Labs is fanatical about quiet electronic design.
Thanks for your response. Have you any ideas as to what may be causing this, or what the solution might be?
The first thing that comes to mind, like others have said, is some incompatibility between the X0.2 and the power amp.
Prior to your issues, I have never read about a noise issue with Pass Preamps.
"So hot it burnsMice!"~DK
"Polk SDA-SRSs are hopelessly out of date both sonically and technologically... I see no value whatsoever in older SDA speakers."~Audio Asylum Member
"Knowledge, without understanding, is a path to failure."~DK
"Those who irrationally rail against something or someone that is no threat to them, actually desire (or desire to be like) the thing or person they are railing against."~DK
Can’t sleep.... another thought popped into my head. My amps are biased up from stock to get a bit more power from them. At the time mine came to life, they were based on the 305 watt version of the amp. Mine run at 385wpc. Can that bias setting be the reason I am having this problem?
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, TriangleArt Reference SE with Pass Labs Xono Phono Preamp, Walker Precision Motor Drive, ClearAudio Goldfinger Diamond v2 cartridge and Origin Conquerer Mk3c tonearm, Polk Audio "Signature" Reference Series 1.2TL with complete mods, Pass Labs X0.2 three chassis preamp, PS Audio PerfectWave DAC MkII, Krell Evolution 505 SACD Player, Pioneer Elite SC-LX701, Oppo UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
I wouldn't think so. I can't imagine how that would have any impact on the input characteristics of the amp.
The output's only juiced by 1 dB. Did they check the distortion and the other operating points of the output tubes when they juiced the amp? One would presume so.
Comments
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
He then told me that they were noisy like this from day one, and again, I just cannot accept that Wayne and Nelson would have signed off on this. The noise can even be heard through the music as the volume goes up. There is a problem somewhere for certain.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Come-on-man!
Nelson Pass couldn't possibly be OK with this.
Hiss in the music from the designs final approval? NO WAY!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/15-Pieces-RCA-Caps-Protector-Brass-Gold-Plated-RF-Shielding-Dust-Audio-TV/153328773011?hash=item23b31b6793:g:troAAOSwfgRcBsx1:sc:USPSFirstClass!61705!US!-1
When I had the XA30.5 amp when using single ended...per the manual
The amplifier may be driven single-end or balanced, your choice.
Single-ended input will always occur through the RCA connector and
balanced input will always occur through the XLR connector.
Again, if you drive the amplifier single-ended then leave the supplied
jumpers in place between pins 1 & 3 on the input XLR.
On the XLR connector pin 1 is ground, pin two is positive input and
pin 3 is inverted (negative) input. Pin numbers are marked on the
XA30.5 Owner’s Manual 8
XLR. If you re-install the jumper incorrectly or leave it lying about,
the amplifier will not work properly, and you will be able to tell.
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Office: PC,EAR Acute CD Player,EAR 834L Pre,Northstar Designs Intenso DAC,PASS ACA Monoblocks,Denon UDR-F10 Cassette,Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers,SVS SB12 Plus sub,MIT AVt2 speaker cables,IFI Purifier2,AQ Cinnamon USB cable,Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks,Tisbury Mini Passive Pre,Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38),Analysis Plus Oval 9's,Zu Jumpers,AudioEngine B1 Streamer,Klipsch RB-61 v2,SVS PB1000 sub,Blue Jeans RCA IC's
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated,Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer,Rotel RCD-1072 CD player,Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner,Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers,Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Something's not right, I'd opine.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
"Polk SDA-SRSs are hopelessly out of date both sonically and technologically... I see no value whatsoever in older SDA speakers."~Audio Asylum Member
"Knowledge, without understanding, is a path to failure."~DK
"Those who irrationally rail against something or someone that is no threat to them, actually desire (or desire to be like) the thing or person they are railing against."~DK
Thanks for your response. Have you any ideas as to what may be causing this, or what the solution might be?
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
The soundstage is breathtaking, with each unique voice dancing within that space. Each has it's own space to bloom and is not smeared by the other or by the instruments within.
This needs to be fixed because I am hooked now on the imaging and detail that smokes the X1. Those who said the differences were subtle need a hearing check.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
The first thing that comes to mind, like others have said, is some incompatibility between the X0.2 and the power amp.
Prior to your issues, I have never read about a noise issue with Pass Preamps.
"Polk SDA-SRSs are hopelessly out of date both sonically and technologically... I see no value whatsoever in older SDA speakers."~Audio Asylum Member
"Knowledge, without understanding, is a path to failure."~DK
"Those who irrationally rail against something or someone that is no threat to them, actually desire (or desire to be like) the thing or person they are railing against."~DK
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
The output's only juiced by 1 dB. Did they check the distortion and the other operating points of the output tubes when they juiced the amp? One would presume so.
I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” .
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”