Pass Labs Aleph L vs. Aleph P ?

Hello, I am not as familiar with the P as I am the L. When searching for an Aleph L make sure that you understand there are two versions. They look the same. The original version was built to 09/96 and then the newer version with the 1.2 revision board was introduced. The original was an always on mosfet based preamp and the newer or "revised" version worked in the passive mode until 3 o'clock on the dial and then went active. I just learned all this from the service manual published on their site and a few e-mails with Nelson Pass. I jumped on an Aleph L that was recently on e-bay and paid $650 for it. I later found that the unit was an older version and the seller allowed me to back out after a bit of squabbling. I am sure the older version is probably good as well, but at that price it needed to be the newer more sought after unit. I too was trying to get it to mate with my Aleph 30.

Another good buy out there is the Air Tight passive. There is one of those with a remote on e-bay for $1100 buy now. It is sitting at 950 right now. It is passive only but looks cool and has a remote control.

Thanx Catman!
How can I determine if the L is the latest version?
Can you tell if it is passive until 3 o'clock when inquiring, or is there a date on the unit? And is the L better than the P?

It is nice to see someone hanging onto their Aleph 30. I see so many for sale. I have been wanting to down grade for years to a SMALL SS integrated, but the Aleph 30 is so clean and pure w/o distortion. It is amazing that when you hear amplification w/o distortion you wonder how you have made it so far. You can readily hear any changes in your system with a Aleph 30. I could even hear digititus (my word for digital noise)from great cdps with the 30. Even FM through my B&K TS-108 tuner (predecessor to the Fanfare FT1, also made in Buffulo NY) sounds stuning through the 30.

What is your source, speakers, and cabling? I like getting ideas from fellow users, as I just sold my Cary cdp, and am making changes. I have even considered the Linn Classic cdp/pre/tuner/amp lifestyle system) using it's preamp outputs to the Aleph 30 as a temporary source for the time being.

Looking forward to your comments.

Mike