Post by paintedklown on Nov 15, 2010 13:40:52 GMT -5
Hey all.
As some of you may know, the first amplifier purchases I made were the Emotiva UPA-1 mono blocks. I ordered two of them when they were first released to use for a stereo pair. I really like the UPA-1 amps and they are a great bang for the buck.
I had originally planned on ordering a UPA-5 to pair with these amps to have the ability to externally amplify a 7.X HT system. Well, I missed out on the spooky sale for the UPA-5 and when the current holiday sale began, I didn't want to miss another great deal. I almost immediately decided to jump on the XPA-5. This was a fantastic move, to be sure.
The build quality was excellent, it had more power than I was originally going to buy, and the one thing I found MOST impressive...it had seemingly endless amounts of headroom! 
Seriously, I am amazed at this more than I describe in words.
Well, all of this headroom created a greater "power reserve", and a better revealing of details in the music or movie that I was playing. I now had an itch!
For me, music is more important than movies. I really want to have the best experience as possible when it comes to 2 channel listening...so, I began to do some homework. I started looking at the amplifier spec sheets, trying to figure out what makes them "tick". Why was the performance of one particular amplifier is different from another. What made it better or worse in various areas. I also started reading some more amplifier reviews. Trying to learn from the professionals what I could when it came to amplifier design and performance.
When I thought I had a grasp on the concepts of a single ended vs. a fully differential design, plus the how and why an amplifier has dynamics and headroom, I became enthralled with the idea of the XPA-1 amplifiers.
Well today I decided to call the very nice, and very informative man himself...Lonnie.
After explaining to Lonnie what I heard with my amps and asking a few questions, he asked if I knew how a fully differential amplifier design works. I explained to him my best understanding and he told me "Well, you're close"
;D Then he went on to tell me all of the tech stuff about how the design works, and answered any questions along the way.
I mentioned to him my love of the seemingly endless headroom of the XPA-5 running in stereo mode and he explained to me why.
Basically, Chuckie was correct in the thread I had posted in tech talk where I was comparing amplifier specs. It is because the components inside the XPA-5 are designed to be able to push 5 channels simultaneously. When there are less channels than 5 running OR (for example) the surround channels aren't demanding a lot of power, the extra "juice" is sent to where it is needed among the 5 channels.
I must say that after experiencing the amazing headroom the XPA-5 provides, I REALLY wanted to have that kind of headroom for music. I felt like I would be doing a dis-service to myself if I didn't go for extra clean, dynamic power and headroom. Soooooo.....after I talked tech with Lonnie...I had him go ahead and transfer me over to Sarah, who took my order for two XPA-1 mono block amplifiers.
;D
Needless to say I am more excited than a kid in a candy store. I scheduled Wednesday for my shipping date and I am taking Friday and Saturday off work this week to be home to play!
Thanks for reading.
-Dave
As some of you may know, the first amplifier purchases I made were the Emotiva UPA-1 mono blocks. I ordered two of them when they were first released to use for a stereo pair. I really like the UPA-1 amps and they are a great bang for the buck.
I had originally planned on ordering a UPA-5 to pair with these amps to have the ability to externally amplify a 7.X HT system. Well, I missed out on the spooky sale for the UPA-5 and when the current holiday sale began, I didn't want to miss another great deal. I almost immediately decided to jump on the XPA-5. This was a fantastic move, to be sure.
The build quality was excellent, it had more power than I was originally going to buy, and the one thing I found MOST impressive...it had seemingly endless amounts of headroom! 
Seriously, I am amazed at this more than I describe in words. Well, all of this headroom created a greater "power reserve", and a better revealing of details in the music or movie that I was playing. I now had an itch!
For me, music is more important than movies. I really want to have the best experience as possible when it comes to 2 channel listening...so, I began to do some homework. I started looking at the amplifier spec sheets, trying to figure out what makes them "tick". Why was the performance of one particular amplifier is different from another. What made it better or worse in various areas. I also started reading some more amplifier reviews. Trying to learn from the professionals what I could when it came to amplifier design and performance.
When I thought I had a grasp on the concepts of a single ended vs. a fully differential design, plus the how and why an amplifier has dynamics and headroom, I became enthralled with the idea of the XPA-1 amplifiers.
Well today I decided to call the very nice, and very informative man himself...Lonnie.
After explaining to Lonnie what I heard with my amps and asking a few questions, he asked if I knew how a fully differential amplifier design works. I explained to him my best understanding and he told me "Well, you're close"
;D Then he went on to tell me all of the tech stuff about how the design works, and answered any questions along the way. I mentioned to him my love of the seemingly endless headroom of the XPA-5 running in stereo mode and he explained to me why.
Basically, Chuckie was correct in the thread I had posted in tech talk where I was comparing amplifier specs. It is because the components inside the XPA-5 are designed to be able to push 5 channels simultaneously. When there are less channels than 5 running OR (for example) the surround channels aren't demanding a lot of power, the extra "juice" is sent to where it is needed among the 5 channels.
I must say that after experiencing the amazing headroom the XPA-5 provides, I REALLY wanted to have that kind of headroom for music. I felt like I would be doing a dis-service to myself if I didn't go for extra clean, dynamic power and headroom. Soooooo.....after I talked tech with Lonnie...I had him go ahead and transfer me over to Sarah, who took my order for two XPA-1 mono block amplifiers.
;D Needless to say I am more excited than a kid in a candy store. I scheduled Wednesday for my shipping date and I am taking Friday and Saturday off work this week to be home to play!
Thanks for reading.
-Dave
