Pass Xs Phono Owner's Manual

PASS

®

X Phonos

Dual Chassis Phonostage

WARNING

For your protection please read the following:

Water and moisture: Electrical devices should not be used near water ( as per example,

near a bathtub, washbasin, kitchen sink, laundry tub, wet basement or swimming pool ).
Care should be taken such that objects do not have the opportunity to fall, and that liquid
is never spilled onto or into the device enclosure through openings.

Power Sources: An electrical device must be connected to a mains power source in strict
accordance with the supplied product owners manual. Please verify that the mainsAC
voltage specified in the product manual matches those requirements indicated on the unit
and the voltage provided to your location by the power company.AC

Grounding: Adequate precautions should be taken so that the grounding provisions built
into an electrical product are never defeated.

Power Cords: Pass Labs provides a power supply cord that meets all legislated
requirements for the market in which the product was originally sold. If you choose to
substitute an after-market product we urge you to choose one that is fully safety rated by
the necessary local authority.

Power Cord Protection: Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely
to be walked on, abraded, or pinched by items placed on or against them, paying particular
attention to cords where they enter plugs or exit from a device. Never under any
circumstance insert a cut or damaged power cord into a mains power socket.

Power and Signal: Cables should never be connected / disconnected with equipment
powered up. Failure to heed this warning may damage or destroy equipment.

Ventilation: Power-amplifiers run hot, but you should be able to place your hands on
them without discomfort. You must allow for this heat in installation, by providing for
free air circulation around the product. Electronics should not be subjected to sources of
excessive radiant heat. Excessive heat can shorten the life of the product and may cause
the electronics to self protect and shut down.

Servicing: To reduce the risk of fire, electrical shock or other injuries, the user should not
attempt to service the device beyond that which is described in the operating instructions.
All other servicing must be referred to qualified service personnel.

For Units With Externally Accessible Fuse Receptacle: Unplug the device from all
sources of power before changing or inspecting any fuse. Replace fuse with one of same
physical size, type and rating as that specified by the manufacturer for that product.

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Quick set-up

1) Place the X Phono control anywhere you wish, keeping in mind that you will want thes
wiring from the phono cartridge to the X Phono as short as possible.s

2) Place the X power supply as distant from the control and any low level signals
components as is practical. Most low level components and their interconnects benefit
from electrically quiet environments.

3) If you're thinking of plugging the power supply into the wall, don't!

DO THIS FIRST:

a) Connect the two Powercon ™ cables to the power supply chassis. ( 4, #1, #4)FIG
Turn the connector clockwise till they click into place and lock (1/8 turn to the right)
b) Connect and the other ends of the cables to the gain chassis ( 2, #11, #13)FIG
Turn the connector clockwise till they click into place and lock (1/8 turn to the right)
c) There is no particular preference for which power supply socket feeds either gain chassis
socket, as long as both are connected.

4) Now you can plug the cord into the supply (Fig 4 #3) and the supply into theAC AC
mains.

5) , it takes upwards of a minute for the system to come up and perform variousWAIT
housekeeping functions. When ready, the mute will go out. ( 1, #7)LED FIG

6) Connect the X Phono to your preamp, and the turntable to your X Phono.s s
a) Select an input ( 1, #4)FIG
b) Select Gain ( 1, #3)FIG
c) Select Resistive Load ( 1, #1)FIG
d) Select a Capacitive Load ( 1, #2)FIG

7) Now go listen
Now go about refining your cartridge loading options
When you're done, select "save" from the front panel ( 1, #5)FIG

8) Sonically the Xs Phono will be good right out of the box but it will get better as it
warms up. This can take a few days. Once it does, revisit your cartridge loading selection.
If you need help, call us.

Introduction:

Wayne Colburn and the Pass Labs team were allowed to build the most advanced, best
sounding phono-stage they could imagine; the phono-stage they all wished to have for
their own homes. The X Phono is the result of this ambitious effort.s

The X Phono is a true "dual-mono" design, the only component shared between channelss
other than casework, being the power connection to house power.AC

Once past the power cord the mains feed left and right channel power supplies, eachAC
totally independent from one another with their own dedicated transformer, filtering and
regulation. The control section has its own regulated power supply as well.

Building upon the dual mono theme and topology each of the three inputs feature left and
right gain channels, each on a separate, ceramic substrate circuit boards (6 circuit boards).
This total independence starting at the power cord and continuing right through to the
output connectors guarantees minimal noise and negligible channel to channel "cross-talk".
The result is listening to music emerging from a quieter background and blooming into a
richer, more precise soundstage.

Signal amplification from the phono cartridge inputs occurs prior to any input switching.
This pre-amplification of the incoming signal prior to routing greatly reduces corruption
of the low level analog information.

From the front panel of the X Phono you can select precise resistive loadings from 30s
ohms through 47k-ohms, capacitive values from 100 pF through 750 pF in addition to gain
of 56 dB, 66 dB or 76 dB. Blue 's on the front panel indicate the loading values andLED
gain settings.

For any input, choose the loading and gain settings best suited to that cartridge and push
the "save" button on the front panel. Those values are now saved in memory and
associated with that input. They will be recalled and applied to that input any time you
select that input.

Frequently we come upon recordings which benefit from a slightly different cartridge
loading, as for example slightly more capacitance. From the saved value it is quite trivial to
change the capacitance (or resistance) loading for that one and then revert to the savedLP
settings in memory by reselecting the same input, which restores the saved values.

While internally this makes for a very complex piece of hardware, it was of paramount
concern was to make operation as intuitive and simple as possible. We believe that this
goal has been achieved and the result is a piece which should not require much in the way
of operational instructions.

Mute Function, the mute is applied automatically as inputs are selected and de-selected and
during input or loading option changes. This allows for switching of the various functions
with as few distractions as possible. The mute function may be applied manually, should

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