bat vk-32se-----pass labs xp10 preamp


are these even close, I've never heard a pass before ?
cshouse007
Cshouse007,

I own the BAT VK31SE & the Pass X1.
Here are my listening observations, in my system.
Both sound very good, with a noise floor low enough
that there is a dead silent backround.
Listening to my favorite female vocal CD (K.D. Lang, Ingenue), with both preamps run balanced in from my Electrocompaniet CD player:

The BAT has all the detail of the X1 and sounds very good, to me.
The X1 has a soundstage just a little larger, than the BAT.

In single ended mode, using my Arcam DV129 DVD player as a source:

The BAT edges out the X1 in deatil, by a small margin.

The X1 has 31 volume settings, the BAT has over 100.
I wish the Pass had more, especially listening late at night, at low levels.

I like both, and I'd suggest you might want to go back one generation in each brand, like me, then you could afford to own both & swap them out like I do.