Pass Labs Preamps with tube amps?

From my own experience, Pass preamps overall fail to meet the characteristics of their excellent sold state amps. In general I have found the tube preamp paired with solid state amplification to be a much better match, as you have noted. 

@laaudionut so no experience with a Pass preamp feeding a SET tube amp?

I have several friends that will never rid of their Pass preamps, but with solid state, so trying to get folks that have experienced them with tube amps. 

No, after my experience with Pass preamps(XP-20 and XP30), their sterile and lifeless characteristics, I would not compromise any decent amp, tube or sold state, with Pass preamps. My opinion and stated with no offense intended, those still hanging on to Pass preamps are kidding themselves. Tube preamps are the way to go! 

Friend had great success with Pass XP-22 preamp and Thor tube mono blocks....I always felt the Pass XP were a big step up from the X series

I have a Pass Labs XP-32 pre feeding an Air Tight ATM-300R (low power 300b tube amp).  All sounds great to me.  Best my system has sounded.  Detailed, but great natural timbre as well.

For what it’s worth, I also have a Pass Labs XA 25 solid state amp — relatively low power and very well reviewed.  The XA 25 sounds great with the XP-32 as well, but the Air Tight is much better (as it should be at a much higher price level than the XA 25).  My only point in making the comparison is that a Pass pre with a great tube amp can outperform a Pass pre matched to a good Pass solid state amp.

I have a lot of experience with Pass. They make great amps and ok preamps. This is like riding up the pacific coast highway on a bike South to North… against the wind all the way. 
 

To find a great preamp to match an amp, I would look to Audio Research, VAC, Conrad Johnson… then decide on your amp. 

I have aa Pass XP10 and Pass 250.8- and Audio research REF150SE amp and the LS28SE pre amp; speakers are Wilson Sasha 2. I switch around combinations of the gear every few months to save hours on the tubes in the ARC and or heat generation - sound. The Pass XP10 is good- quiet, built well and neutral sounding. I can't say it's very exciting or musical. More like a functional unit that neither adds no detracts from the music. I wouldn't look to use it as a pre on a tube amp, I think it'd limit the purpose of using a tube amp by being to neutral, almost dry sounding. I do suggest the reverse though- running a good tube pre amp like the ARC LS28SE or REF 5 into a solid state amp like the Pass - this combo sounds great. 

Normally a SS amp then a good tube preamp 

check out Linear Tube Audio they make a excellent tube preamp 

with 6sn7 , plus additional tubes you can use , if xlr you can get too theLundahl C core transformer option  , exceptionally well made David Bearning helped design 

and today improved better still.

I had XP12 paired with Rogue ST100 and it was a good combo. The Rogue amp was a bottleneck but not because it’s tubes.
I run XP22 with X260.8 mono amps now and the synergy is great and I do not miss tubes.
As to the comments above claiming Pass preamps fail, I disagree. I had an Audio Research Ref 6 for over 3 weeks in my system and did plenty of A/B with the XP22 and ended up actually preferring the Pass preamp. I’m a fan of ARC and owned several of their preamps over time. But to my ears in my current system the XP22 is a better choice.

+1 @ghdprentice 

I have owned XP-30 and XP-32 preamps feeding into a very good set of SET hybrid monoblock, not quite satisfactory.  IMO Pass is an excellent amplifier company comparable in their price range, and make just alright preamplifiers.  Again YMMV.

Have an XP-32 and it is excellent.  My friend had an XP22 but I always felt, although a bit more dynamic, it was lacking in naturalness and palpability.  Thx XP32 is in a different category form everything under it.  He ended up selling his 22 for a Coda pre.  He seems happy with that for now.  

Thanks everyone... I've decided to stick to my original plan and get a good tube preamp, and then hookup my SET amps, and get a Pass XA25 for solid state. 

I chose the McIntosh C22 MKIV for couple reasons, mainly: 
* has a tubed MM/MC phono stage (I play vinyl about 30% of time so the C22 should be 'good enough' especially with a tube roll). 
* has tone controls and loudness - I listen alot at lower volumes and it is nice to bump something a tad if I need to. 
 

The name is on it but Nelson does not design his preamps. They are an afterthought for him.

I have both a great tube preamp and a Pass-Labs XP-22 preamp and I love both. I also have a great 300-B SET amplifier and three terrific flea-watt class-A solid-state amplifiers that I use with both preamps. When I first got the XP-22 preamp, I didn’t enjoy the sound as much as the tube preamp, however that soon diminished as the XP-22 broke in. I enjoy both preamps and also enjoy my tube and solid-state amps all of which have their specific sonic nuances. The XP-22 works very well with my SET tube amp. Very articulate and sonically well balanced. And Pass-Labs products are known for their high reliability. While Nelson isn’t the primary design engineer for the preamps, his cohort Wayne Colbern is the designer, and I wouldn’t expect that Nelson would not be involved in releasing any of Waynes preamp designs without extensive listening by Nelson. I like my XP-22 so much that I got an XP-12 for my daughter two years ago for her birthday,