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Post by kellys on Sept 19, 2010 14:02:04 GMT -5
Just curious as to whether anyone has listened to the XDA? Did they have a working sample at Emofest? I am interested to hear how it sounds, particularly in comparison to the ERC.
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jlafrenz
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I don't want to jump in, unless this music's thumping
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Post by jlafrenz on Sept 19, 2010 15:47:31 GMT -5
Just curious as to whether anyone has listened to the XDA? Did they have a working sample at Emofest? I am interested to hear how it sounds, particularly in comparison to the ERC. There was a working unit at Emofest. I tried to have Emotiva hook it up in a way that we could A/B both of the units, but unfortunately the way it was wired up and the fact that there was not a working XSP-1 would not allow us to do this. It did sound good and all the staff have said that it is a better sounding unit than the ERC-1. |
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Post by roadrunner on Sept 19, 2010 17:40:52 GMT -5
Yes, they had the XDA hooked up in the 2-channel listening room. The ERC-1 was connected to the XDA and the XDA was connected to four XPA-1 Mono-blocks which were driving two ERT-8.3 towers. The speakers were bi-wired, of course... giving 4000 watts to handle any transients.. The sound was excellent but there was really no way to compare how it sounded versus the USP. Both the USP and the XDA sound so good it is impossible to pick a winner without a direct shoot-out.
If you have full range towers, like the ERT-8.3s, the XDA would be a great choice. Keep in mind that if you don't have full range towers capable of reproducing true bass frequencies you would be better served with the USP or the XSP pre-amps because they support sub-woofers with built-in bass management. I would have loved to compare the XDA setup with the 8.3 towers against the USP/XSP with ERM-6.3s and Ultra 12 sub-woofers. Play both systems using good quality HDCD recording of percussion instruments (drums, pipe organs, tuba, etc) like the Reference Recordings Samplers. That would be one fun shootout.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Sept 19, 2010 18:10:13 GMT -5
And I will add that the setup at Emofest that Ronnie refers to was SWEEEEEETTTTT!!!! The sound was impeccably clear and strong.
Mark
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Post by briank on Sept 19, 2010 20:17:36 GMT -5
The set-up was so different than last year, in that same room, that it's impossible to make a comparison with just the addition of the XDA-1. Last year the amp in there was the XPA-2 and this year it was 4 XPA-1's, so it should sound better because of the amps alone and plus, this year they are using their own X-series speaker cable which I feel is superior to what they had in the room last year(I forget the brand but it wasn't Emo). Also, last year they had their Ultra IC's in there which are noticeably inferior to their X-series IC's. All I can say is the sound in that room was substantially better than last year but there was a lot of improvement going on outside the addition of the XDA-1. I reckon' we'll just have to wait till we can try the XDA-1 in our own systems.  ;D |
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Post by kellys on Sept 19, 2010 20:41:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses. That sounds like a pretty amazing system. It will be pretty interesting to hear how it will sounds in users setups at home. I need to have my speakers crossed over to my sub unfortunately. I can't wait to hear how it sounds with either the USP or XSP or even compared to the XMC.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2010 22:58:58 GMT -5
Play both systems using good quality HDCD recording of percussion instruments (drums, pipe organs, tuba, etc) like the Reference Recordings Samplers. on Reference Recordings/HDCD. Wow! That should be some of the "Analog Nirvana" you are always talking about. (Maybe even a little Dueling tubas in Blew-Ray) |
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ddhd
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Post by ddhd on Sept 20, 2010 7:02:57 GMT -5
So does that mean the xda decodes the HDCD signal like the erc-1 does?
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Post by joelovescoffee on Sept 20, 2010 12:03:13 GMT -5
Interesting comments on the setup at Emofest. I was also at Emofest and visited said 2-Channel room...I wasn't as impressed with the sound coming out of that room...Of course I hadn't been out to the refreshment area yet to drink the koolaid... ;D
They did have the XDA-1 acting as the preamp for the awesome XPA-1 setup...but they were also driving 2 of the 12"subs in concert with this setup...I'm not sure how they were driving all the inputs but I assume they were just daisy chaining all the preouts from the XDA...so they could have six outputs needed to run the 4 - XPA-1's and the 2 12" Subs...
Most of the day the music being played was from the NAXOS music label...so I didn't have any real reference to the particular tracks that were being played...
However later in the day I wandered in to find someone playing some of their own music...A John Mayer CD had been thrown in and I graciously listened because I have some listening time with this CD....I asked if anyone knew if the boundary compensation was on the 8.3's...no one was sure but a fellow listener offered to check and switch up the 8.3's settings....because at that point he agreed with my feeling of a very boomy sound coming from the 8.3's....We started a new Mayer track and were pleasantly surprised fo the sound change...HOWEVER...it still didn't sound good...the earlier mentioned 12" subs that were playing were also adding to the boomy sound....I didn't stick around to play with the subs (or for that matter- turn them off) but I didn't leave very impressed with the sound....
This 2-Channel room reminded me of the experience at the Axpona show in Jacksonville.....I thought the 2-Channel setup at the Emotiva room was very unimpressive for their products...and I don't think it was a lack in equipment but more about poor tuning and equipment choices....
I'm familiar with the sounds of the 8.3's because my friend owns a pair....in fact he almost walked away from the purchase over the listening we did at Axpona...thank god we fiddled with the settings more and came away with better results....
Just a reminder...if you visit a 2-Channel listening enviroment with Emotiva equipment....and you don't like what you hear...ask questions and don't be afraid to change settings...obviously this is why they have all the controls...
What does this have to do with the XDA-1...well I don't know how you could grasp what it was doing at Emofest under the circumstances....but....I'm on the preorder list ;D
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Post by joelovescoffee on Sept 20, 2010 12:06:29 GMT -5
Yes, they had the XDA hooked up in the 2-channel listening room. The ERC-1 was connected to the XDA and the XDA was connected to four XPA-1 Mono-blocks which were driving two ERT-8.3 towers. The speakers were bi-wired, of course... Actually in this case I believe they were bi-amped...not bi-wired.... |
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kt10r
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Post by kt10r on Sept 20, 2010 12:39:47 GMT -5
I'm the guy that helped with the switch and totally agree with joe about how the system sounded. Besides the hot subs, to me there was definately something that didnt sound right about the system mainly in the midrange (IMO). Not saying it was the xda's fault because there was no way to compare. If someone tells u they think it sounds better than a usp from listening to it at emofest id take that with a huge grain of salt.
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Post by ripcordaff on Sept 20, 2010 13:59:29 GMT -5
veeeeerrrryyyy interesting.......
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Post by rclark on Sept 20, 2010 21:07:35 GMT -5
all very inconclusive
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;D
