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Post by strindl on Nov 15, 2010 21:13:03 GMT -5
Hah, me too strindl! Although, with two young kids running around, it feels like a full time job lol. Oh, but kids are fun. One of my nephews and his wife just had a baby daughter two weeks ago, so I'll get to go through the diaper changing thing again when I baby sit. Babies are such an enriching part of life. Actually for us retired guys, week days are far better than weekends...the stores and restaurants are less crowded.
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Pauly
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Post by Pauly on Nov 15, 2010 21:16:25 GMT -5
Hah, me too strindl! Although, with two young kids running around, it feels like a full time job lol. Actually for us retired guys, week days are far better than weekends...the stores and restaurants are less crowded. Life is good isn't?
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Post by strindl on Nov 15, 2010 21:23:23 GMT -5
Actually for us retired guys, week days are far better than weekends...the stores and restaurants are less crowded. Life is good isn't? It is indeed. I was able to retire at age 49...had I known how much I was going to enjoy retirement..I would have done it much earlier. The one thing I learned about retirement is to have one of those atomic clocks on the wall that keep track of days of the week. When it doesn't generally matter what day of the week it is..it's easy to lose track.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 22:15:04 GMT -5
ntrain: I have to ask, is that you in your avatar ? My next response depends on your answer Why don't you give me back 2 answers. One based on "yes" and one based on "no". ;D ok, here goes...if "yes", you are one funny f__ _ _ ! I admire your courage. if "no", you still get a prize because you went from the little fat bully of a kid in your previous avatar, to this ... PRICELESS. ;D
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ntrain42
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Post by ntrain42 on Nov 15, 2010 22:34:49 GMT -5
Why don't you give me back 2 answers. One based on "yes" and one based on "no". ;D ok, here goes...if "yes", you are one funny f__ _ _ ! I admire your courage. if "no", you still get a prize because you went from the little fat bully of a kid in your previous avatar, to this ... PRICELESS. ;D Just wait till you see the other 2 avatars I have in the stable. Ill break one of em out after Xmax prolly. ;D They will not disappoint.
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Post by tchaik on Nov 15, 2010 22:57:24 GMT -5
paintedklown,
i am totally jealous. i have looked at those sale prices on the xpa-1s everyday now and wondered 'should i'? but my wife would shoot me. she still hasn't picked out that anniversary ring setting she has been talking about (of which i will pay for anytime she decides), but still, to bring in two xpa-1s in the house before that would be the ultimate 'stupid'.
oh well, i just might have to wait until next xmas.................
maybe i will just enjoy them vicariously through your reviews and comments.
tchaik....................
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2010 0:13:51 GMT -5
Dave, I don't have the room or money for XPA-1's. But I am envious and love the little kid with the world's greatest toy attitude you express very articulately here. It does my heart good to see a nice guy be so excited.
I truly look forward to the rest of this story including your review and photos. Great buy, man boy! ;D ;D ;D (hell, he's only half my age)
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Post by Vermont99 on Nov 16, 2010 9:22:45 GMT -5
Congrats on the pair of XPA-1’s you will love them. I added a pair of XPA-1’s to my system a couple of weeks ago I was a little worried about over powering my PSB’s speakers but they never sounded so good they just came alive like WOW. I also talked to Lonnie before purchasing and he was dead on the PSB’s just love the power.
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Post by paintedklown on Nov 16, 2010 10:49:33 GMT -5
Speaking of kids, as I am sure most of you know, I had a son on August 20th, 2010 at 10:11pm and words cannot describe how much I love him. (note: I had a long story typed out here but decided to delete it due to the fact it would completely de-rail the thread) I am jealous of all the retired guys on here. ;D Thanks for the well wishes guys, my new toys, (Chuckie ;D) should be a lot of fun. To the guys that are already running XPA-1s I have a question. A lot of people mention the XPA-1s being too much amp for their speakers. Being what is considered "overkill" by most people. What do you all think? When using the XPA-1s with smaller speakers, or lower powered speakers, do you get the impression that you have to "hold back" a bit to keep from stressing the voice coils? I know everyone says to ignore a speakers power rating, but surely this has to come into play somewhere...I would think anyway... Any insight would be appreciated. BTW: My GF informed me last night that we can send UPS packages from a local propane/feed store here in town. Yes, we are THAT rural. ;D I am going to try to make it down there Friday to see what shipping on the UPA-1s will be. Then I plan on posting them for sale in the emporium for those that are interested. Thanks for reading. -Dave
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Post by Vermont99 on Nov 16, 2010 11:33:32 GMT -5
What I have noticed with the XPA-1 over the XPA-5 (which is a great amp in it’s self) in 2 channel is I do not have to turn the volume up as much with the XPA-1’s as I did with the XPA-5 there seems to be much more power available to bring out the detail if everything I play, I feel I aim using less power and getting better sound quality. The low end is so much better that I removed my Velodyne sub I needed the space for the amps I have them stacked on the floor where the sub was and I don’t think I will be putting the sub back in my system don’t seem I’ll need it. I do not believe the XPA-1’s will hurt your speakers because you will not have to turn up the volume that far to hear your speakers come alive. I don’t know all the Tec. stuff this is just my opinion.
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Post by razel on Nov 16, 2010 12:30:56 GMT -5
The low end is so much better that I removed my Velodyne sub I needed the space for the amps I have them stacked on the floor where the sub was and I don’t think I will be putting the sub back in my system don’t seem I’ll need it. Same thing happened to me. The XPA-1s put out enough lows that I'm retiring my Velodyne. My lowly front speakers only have a 6 1/2" woofer and it will not replace the REAL sub-woofer shaking that the 15" Velodyne has, but I've been listening sub-woofer free with the fronts running FULL range and am enjoying it minus the room shaking lows. I know that I still should cross the fronts, but I'm still playing around with the new XPA-1 setup.
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Post by razel on Nov 16, 2010 12:33:37 GMT -5
The low end is so much better that I removed my Velodyne sub I needed the space for the amps I have them stacked on the floor where the sub was and I don’t think I will be putting the sub back in my system don’t seem I’ll need it. Same thing happened to me. The XPA-1s brought out enough lows that I'm retiring my Velodyne. My lowly front speakers only have a 6 1/2" woofer and it will not replace the REAL sub-woofer shaking that the 15" Velodyne has, but I've been listening sub-woofer free with the fronts running FULL range and am enjoying it during music listening. During movies with bass, I am missing the room shaking lows, but it doesn't happen often enough that I don't miss it at all. I know that I still should cross the fronts, but I'm still playing around with the new XPA-1 setup.
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Post by paintedklown on Nov 16, 2010 12:51:47 GMT -5
Sweet! ;D You guys are saying exactly what I want to be hearing about these amps. I REALLY want to run my 2 channel without having to use a sub-woofer. I can never get them to blend right, never know where to cross them over, can never get them to sound "natural" and as if they are part of the main speakers, ect...Moving from receiver power to the UPA-1s made a HUGE improvement in the bass dept. It was quite remarkable actually. Now I am reading that the XPA-1s do this to an even better degree! That makes me a happy camper to be sure.
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Post by Vermont99 on Nov 16, 2010 12:53:34 GMT -5
I still have my PSB sub in the system but only use it during HT for that added kick you just have to have. The XPA-1’s added so much to the L/R that even in HT I don’t need or miss the second sub and the one BSB sub is not need in 2 channel. Even my wife who does not like loud music is enjoying her CD’s more she agrees the CD’s sound much more dynamic and life like. ;D
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Post by paintedklown on Nov 16, 2010 13:03:26 GMT -5
I still have my PSB sub in the system but only use it during HT for that added kick you just have to have. The XPA-1’s added so much to the L/R that even in HT I don’t need or miss the second sub and the one BSB sub is not need in 2 channel. Even my wife who does not like loud music is enjoying her CD’s more she agrees the CD’s sound much more dynamic and life like. ;D Nice! I am curious as to what my GF is going to say as well. She kind of "gets it" and she can hear some of the changes as my system gets better, so it will be interesting for me to see her reaction. I will probably have to do a back to back A/B test with her though, otherwise she may not notice. Usually, I will notice a difference, just from having spent so much time with the gear, then I will A/B different things from time to time, so that she can "see" what I am talking about and hearing.
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Post by paintedklown on Nov 17, 2010 22:33:46 GMT -5
Sorry for the double post... Just wanted to give a quick update, my XPA-1s shipped from Tennessee today with the scheduled delivery date of 11/19/10. Right on schedule! ;D
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Post by paintedklown on Nov 19, 2010 1:31:25 GMT -5
As I am anxiously awaiting my XPA-1s tomorrow I have been doing a lot of thinking about the "front end" of my audio system. From my understanding, in order to really take full advantage of the fully differential design of the XPA-1s, I will need fully balanced gear in front of them. My plan (as of now) is to get an XDA-1 dac when I have the funds available. I decided today to go ahead and order up two X series XLR cables in 2 meter lengths, as well as an X series digital coax cable at 2 meters in length. That way I can run my Cambridge Audio CD player via X series coax into the XDA-1, and then X series XLR cables into the XPA-1 amps. I am thinking this will end up being a great digital music setup for me. I am still debating the XSP-1...I go back and forth multiple times a day. ;D I have a quick question, and forgive me if this has been covered a million times, but one solution I had came up with was to hook up the XDA-1 as described above PLUS hook my HT into the XPA-1s via the RCA inputs and just toggle the selector switch on the back of the amps, dependent on weather I am listening to music or watching movies at the moment. Are there any downsides to doing this? Is this 100% safe for my gear at all volume levels (including ear bleed loud) for extended listening sessions? Any help/advice would be appreciated.
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hemster
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Post by hemster on Nov 19, 2010 2:23:06 GMT -5
While it may work, wouldn't it be inconvenient to have to lean over the back of the unit to toggle the switches?
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Post by roadrunner on Nov 19, 2010 2:38:59 GMT -5
Not to mention that the slide switches on the back on the amps are probably not intended to have a heavy duty cycle. They are not intended to be slid back and forth on a daily, or more frequent basis, and might fail rather quickly. By design those switches were intended to be used to pick between RCA and XLR usage -- not as an input selector switch. You may want to call Lonnie and see if he shares my concern.
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Post by fsspete on Nov 19, 2010 3:21:05 GMT -5
I have XPA-1's and an XPA-5, great combination!
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