My last pre-amp, Rowland Capri or Ayre K5xe ?

Can't compare the Capri and the Ayre. But I can tell you that I thought the Capri was just as good, but different than the Pass XP20. Both really superb pre-amps.

Well then here's a biased opinion , I haven't heard an Ayre component I didn't like . I bought Ayre's KX-R preamp after owning ARC's Ref 3 and Levinson's #320s and could not be happier . I doubt it's the last preamp I'll buy , but I won't be parting with it anytime soon . Good luck in your search .

Dear Roscoeiii, The thing that really bothers me about the Pass X2.5, is that the volume settings are too coarse. A lot of the time the volume is too loud or too quiet.

Very happy with the Capri, which replaced an ARC LS25mkll. The volume control is great. Great value too, and if you want analog the phono card is also a great value.

I will second the Klyne recommendation;Stan is one of the best at what he does and a great guy to have a conversation with as well.