Executive overview of XPR-5 at Audioholics

Sorry, but in my search I was unable to find the link to the item in question. It all went back to an ongoing thread that was going back and forth early in 2012(pretty vicious)with a few of the "Audioholics" members(one of whom whose name(s) was linked back to the principal mentioned in my previous comment). Ian Colquhoun(CEO of Axiom) announced in a rather long statement on the Axiom forum that they had determined from where most of the vitriol was originating and had already talked to the principals at Audioholics who eventually made an apology on their forum and asked the other "contributors" to tone down the rhetoric.

I am assuming at this stage that because some amends were made between the two and Audioholics resumed some Axiom product announcements(VP 160 CC and LFR1100), that this ongoing battle of wills and rhetoric was eventually erased from either forum, I am not really sure.

Unfortunately, at the time, many assumed because Audioholics was doing a detailed subwoofer review that Axiom disagreed with their approach and didn't want to provide one of their units for review, hence, the beginning of the "battle". However, this really wasn't the case as it came out later it was a marketing disagreement that set it off not the subwoofer issue. In the end, there was only a handful of companies that provided units for testing anyway so Axiom was really only one of many sub manufacturers who didn't want to bother being involved.

I have never understood how people can do critiques of equipment that they have probably never seen or even heard? In the end, Audioholics came up with egg on their face and still to this day, to me anyway,when it comes to their discussions or product reviews, their credibility is questionable at best.

XPR-5 is a nice looking product but why no locking mechanism on the XLR inputs? I use a combination of Pro Amps (QSC and Crest Audio) and Emotiva. The pro amps have locking XLR's the XPA-3, no locking XLR.. The Connection on the Emo feels flimsy and every once in a while I have to check to make sure the connections are plugged in correctly.. The pro amps, I don't even give a second thought.

The locking XLR connectors have the chassis and audio ground tied together. The non-locking XLR connectors keep the audio ground isolated.

All of our amplifiers are designed around a single principle of grounding. Which is the audio grounds are completely isolated from the chassis and electrical primary. We do this to minimize the potential for a ground loop and introduction of noise in the system due to noisy AC lines.

Now if I could find locking XLRs with isolated grounds, believe me, I would start using them immediately. ;D


On a side note, since I am here. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Several people have asked why we use the 20 amp IEC cords. Well the simple answer is that is what was required for it to pass safety certification because they test the amp at balls to the walls full power with sign waves (a condition that would never be done in real life, but that is what they do). Since it was tested and certified that way, we are obligated to ship it with the same cord.

Now the big question is do people really need a dedicated 20amp circuit and power cord? In my humble opinion, I would have to be honest and say that the vast majority of people will never draw enough current through the amp on a continuous bases (because music is all about dynamic peaks and not continuous sine waves) to even draw down a standard 15 amp circuit. I know I would never push it that hard. So if I were going to put one in my house I would probably use a a Nema 5-15P to IEC C-19 power cord. But that is just me. ;D

LOL.. It only cost $.69 each.. and we know Emotiva can eat that $.69 and not increase the price of the amps.

The price isn't so much the factor as the specs are.

Those are actually Neutrik connectors in the first link.

2 of the most dangerous attributes for some audiophiles are: The fascination with name plates and being able to regurgitate audio cliches without any real knowledge of electrical/elecronic engineering. In the 1st instance, for these idiots it means that if a certain name plate adorns a product, it can't be good. And alternately for other name plates, even when the test bench shows them to be lemons, they are the best wet dream ever. In the 2nd category of idiocy, performance specs are ignored in favor of idiotic, non-performance features. But, let everyone be persuaded in his own mind.

It's true.

But it is so difficult to hold back when you see attempts to destroy good people for doing nothing but trying hard to please. I'm trying though ;D

I'd be pretty pissed if my new thousand dollar amp hummed or buzzed, that's a very legitimate gripe. Rather than complain about that customer, it'd make more sense to reach out and try to make it right.

As far as people just spitting hate, that's different. But you need to separate the two. I found out about emotiva via audioholics forum, and there are many good guys there. In fact, Majorlosers input convinced me to buy a umc-1.

Take everyone's opinion with a grain of salt. But a negative opinion doesn't automatically make someone a hater.

Now, where is the XPA7?

Lonnie, the XDA-1 has locking XLR's. Could you make sure that you use the isolated version for the xda-2?