Curl or Pass

I have the XP-15 and it is fantastic.  I also have a Manley Chinook to compare it to.  The XP-15 is a little more detailed and very neutral and has a ton of loading / gain options.  No experience with the Parasound unit.

I had both. The Pass was much quieter and and lots of loading/gain options.

A: please help me choose between product X and product Y. Both are in the same price range...

B: you must buy product Z! No way around it mate. Z was made by Messiah himself!

Why do we always end up here? 🤔 🤔 🤔 For the umpteenth time, please read the text in the first post carefully so as to understand the underlying question and its full context. Then, if you meet the necessary requirements for answering the question or providing the advice needed (in this case, that is having owned and used both product X and Y, having compared them, and actually having found one being superior to the other in some aspect that is tangible for the author of the question) you may proceed to posting your advice.

On the other hand if you don’t meet these requirements, you need to move on to another page where the messiah thing might gain better traction or stll better, start your own post. 

Back to topic, I would also choose for Pass. When we had it in the store as demo it easily outperformed its peers. I listened to the Parasound sometime later and I did not find it special. 

If you look around you can find a new JC 3+ for $2,300.00 to $2,500.00I have a JC 3+ and a JC Jr. and would recommend them both against anything in their price range.Another phono pre amp you might want to consider but is a step up from both is Whest audio but the Whest will also cost accordingly.I have previously owned a Pass Aleph Ono which was a good phono preamp, so I am sure you would be happy with the newer XP-15.

Well, I have had an interesting experience with a JC3+. It overdrove my Bryston preamp because the MM gain was too high. However the lower gain phono stages work great with it such as the Pass Labs Aleph Ono, Musical Fidelity NuVista Vinyl and the PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamp. I love the Aleph Ono. I considered moving up the Pass Labs line but Wayne Coburn increased the MM minimum gain and that was a no-go for my Bryston preamp. I could go to the Pass Labs XOno. But haven’t found the right opportunity.