Comparisons of the Pass-Labs XP-22 with the CODA 07X ?

@liquidsound I currently own the CODA #16, #11, and owned the #8 and CSiB. I also owned the latest CODA 07x preamp.

The 07x sounded nice but it was too noisy for me, so I sold it. I love the feature set on the 07x with 2 sets of XLR outputs. Some do not notice the noise but for me I need dead silence on the speakers.

I preferred the following preamps which I owned and paired with the #16 and #11,

• Holo Audo Serene (close to the 07x sound but dead silent)
• Benchmark LA4 and HPA4 preamps. I loved these two on all CODA amps
• imersiv D-1 DAC direct to amp. This DAC must be direct to amp otherwise I am wasting money. Better than ALL preamps I owned.

The Allnic OTL/OCL preamp at a lot more money were the best preamps that I have heard. In fact, I have the Allnic HPA 15000 OTL/OCL in the house until Sunday.

Here is a new review of the lower model,

Allnic Audio HPA-10000 OTL/OCL Line Stage & Headphone Amp | REVIEW - pt.AUDIO

I am waiting on a new amp (which unfortunately may replace my #16) to arrive today or tomorrow to test out the preamp functionality of the Allnic HPA 15000 OTL/OCL (this is in my office system). This is the top end headphone amp from Allnic. It should also be great as a 2-channel preamp. The other preamp I have heard in the house from Allnic was a $33k pure preamp and that thing was at another level of greatness. The best preamp I have ever heard. The best because they are super detailed and very holographic. Allnic OTL/OCL gear is all tubes.

However, all of the preamps I have mentioned are not good with the imersiv D-1 DAC. They ALL restrict the sound of this DAC. The only piece of gear that these preamps are NOT good with.

I am actually mimicking an OTL/OCL preamp in the office system with the $500 Schiit Valhalla 3 OTL/OCL preamp. I had an audiophile level RCA switch made to pair with this preamp. Last night I was comparing the $15k Allnic HPA 15000 OTL/OCL headphone amp with my DIY $500 Schiit Valhalla 3 OTL/OCL setup used as a headphone amp, and I had a big smile on my face, My setup is not as good but pretty close and totally acceptable.

My other preamp is the Meitner MA3i DAC which will be going into my office amp via XLR. That DACs analog preamp is very good. The imersiv D-1 is better but only works with 1 XLR output, not as user friendly.

The Meitner MA3i (on demo) was going into the CODA #16 amp for the last 2 weeks and it is great. My issue with the #16 is that I have a $2000 office speaker with a $16k CODA #16 amp, this is not a smart allocation of audio funds. I am selling the #16 to buy the Meitner MA3i DAC and using a lesser amp in the office. Well, that is the plan so far.

I use the CODA #11 in my best system; it seems to have even better synergy with my Yamaha NS5000 speakers than the #16. I am listening to the #16 | NS5000 | imersiv D-1 as I write this and it is great. My #11 is at CODA getting a refresh for long term usage.

@yyzsantabarbara   I'm surprised that the 07x sounded noisy.  I would think that most well-designed solid state preamps wound be extremely low noise.  I guess it's all relative.  I can't really afford to pay high $$$ for a preamp, especially being retired and on a fairly fixed income.  I do like the XP-22 and the 07x has garnered some good reviews.  Still thinking about it.  

There are a few others on A'gon who found the 07x noisy and few others who thought we were hearing things. My unit was actually stripped to the bare bones and all parts except the case was replaced by CODA. It improved the noise issue but was not pure silence like I want.

One thing you can leverage for your preamp needs is the RCA/XLR toggle switch on the front of the #16. Try the Schiit Valhalla 3 OTL/OCL on the RCA input of the #16. You have 15-days to try this at home on demo and the unit costs $500. I think you may be surprised at how good that thing is. It only has 1 RCA input and 1 RCA output. However, I paid $800 to get Space Tech Lab in Canada to build me a great RCA switch so I have 4 RCA inputs going into the Valhalla 3 OTL/OCL.

Schiit Audio: Audio Products Made in USA

The circuit on this is so clean that the unit does not need break-in. Just let the tubes warm up. I use NO FEEDBACK option on the Valhalla 3.

My complaint was similar to @yyzsantabarbara , though it was not noise that you could necessarily hear. It was just that backgrounds were not dark and everything had a little haze around it. I did some research and the big upgrade to the next generation included transistors with a huge decrease in noise. I suspect the newer version was/is much better. 

I followed that with the Benchmark LA4. I liked this preamp, and it was great for low volume listening, but it is just too stark and sterile for my tastes. The Pass XP-12 was wonderful.

I only switched away from Pass/Coda when I fell into a deal on some Audionet gear, a whole different ball game.

"I'm surprised that the 07x sounded noisy"

From my reading this was only an issue on the first gen models, they solved that issue in the second gen, with other updates.