Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2014 21:32:09 GMT -5
Not to get off topic but I once had a hum problem with an XLR connection to my subs off the UMC1 with Emotiva XLR cables. At first I though it might be the XLR splitter (which was also Emotiva). Turns out the solution was simple. One of the screws at the end of one of the XLR connectors was not torqued down solidly enough. I think it's obvious from my posts that I'm not an XLR zealot, but they do work on some (many) occasions. An example, my uncle lived next door to a guy who made furniture in his retirement. He had a big mother woodworking lathe for turning down legs and such and a similar vintage linisher/plainer. The only way I could stop the EMF getting into his audio gear was with XLR cables, every where, the whole lot, no RCA's in sight. Same gear moved to his new house where RCA's worked just fine (he packed the XLR's vey carefully and we couldn't find them for weeks). Since moving my sub amp closer to the sub, but further away from the main rack, I've had to use XLR's, too long a run for RCA's. So XLR's do have their uses, they're just a bit rare in my experience. Cheers Gary |
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Post by monkumonku on Jan 13, 2014 21:49:20 GMT -5
You don't think being fully balanced from source to amp with the -1s got you any benefit either then? I could not tell any difference when I had a pair of 1L's in a fully balanced set up vs the same with un balanced. Don't really know why they make such a big deal of it. Maybe your system isn't "resolving" enough. Or you don't have "golden" ears.  The true test, though, is if your wife wasn't mowing the lawn outside and then all of a sudden stopped and came inside to ask what did you do to make the system sound so much better then she sat down on the sofa with you for 5 hours to listen.. if she didn't do that then you are right, there's probably no difference in the sound. |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jan 14, 2014 6:07:07 GMT -5
Hi GaryCook -
A "side question," please? What do you think of the Behringer UCA202 DAC?
Thanks - Boom
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Post by Boomzilla on Jan 14, 2014 6:51:48 GMT -5
I went back again to listening with my XPR-2 yesterday, and still didn't hear anything that jumped out at me saying "this is NOT the XPA-1L pair!" The sound signatures seem so close as to be the same. So the highly cheered "Class-A mode" just didn't seem to be an issue in my room. We listened to the XPA-1Ls in class AB for about half an hour before we even realized that the switches were set that way. We then switched to class A & listened for a similar amount of time (or more). Even with the four ohm speakers and even with the low speaker sensitivity, we heard no significant difference.
For those who DO hear a difference between class A and class AB operation, what, exactly, are the differences that you hear? More to the point, why didn't we hear any differences? Ideas?
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Post by willcycle on Jan 14, 2014 7:20:36 GMT -5
I would say your speakers are not resolving enough - which may have some benefits. I think people with electrostatic, planar magnetic or ribbon speakers will hear differences in electronics more readily.
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Post by audiobill on Jan 14, 2014 7:30:30 GMT -5
At reasonable listening levels you're in class a on either amp.....?
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Post by Boomzilla on Jan 14, 2014 7:38:53 GMT -5
I would say your speakers are not resolving enough - which may have some benefits. I think people with electrostatic, planar magnetic or ribbon speakers will hear differences in electronics more readily. Maybe - The Paradigms aren't the last word in resolution, but they do sound very good! |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jan 14, 2014 7:49:23 GMT -5
At reasonable listening levels you're in class a on either amp.....? Also possible, but I thought that with the switches in their "Class AB" setting on the XPA-1L that there was virtually no class A envelope left. Also, we played some music loudly (Toccata & Fugue in D minor, for example), and the amps were DEFINITELY no longer in Class A mode there. Again, my gut feeling is that there just isn't a huge difference between the two amplifier class modes providing (as in the Emotiva amps) the voicing is similar. MAYBE someone with an electrostatic speaker and listening near-field could tell a difference? I don't know. I do know that what difference there is (to my ears) is trivial. Also, for me, such a small sound quality difference just isn't worth spending a lot of money for. If I had this to do over again, would I not buy my XPR-2? I don't know. Having made the purchase, I'm very, very happy with it and plan to keep it. If I were starting over from scratch (and budget was a consideration), I'd be looking very strongly at the XPA-100, XPA-200, or even the UPA-200. Those amps would lack the versatility of the XPR-2, but for most speakers, it wouldn't matter. If I were driving some Apogee ribbon speakers with one ohm impedances, then maybe the XPR would be a requirement, but for the vast majority of speakers on the market, a reference grade welding machine may not be the most cost-efficient choice. |
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Post by audiobill on Jan 14, 2014 8:53:18 GMT -5
I have the XPA-1's (G1), but was very happy with the XPA-2(G2) as well.
The sale price on the 1's was just too tempting!!!
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Post by Boomzilla on Jan 14, 2014 8:58:32 GMT -5
Getting what you want for a bargain price is ALWAYS a good thing! So how much actual difference do you hear between the XPA-1s and the XPA-2? Do you attribute the difference to the mono block construction or to other factors? Could you tell the difference blindfolded?
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katzdav
Seeker Of Truth
Emotiva...emotiva....I love that Emotiva!!!
Posts: 3 
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Post by katzdav on Jan 14, 2014 21:32:59 GMT -5
Boomzilla,
After reading what you have written about your XPR 2 for the last few months I wanted to pose a question to you.
I too own the XPR 2 and use a Oppo 105 using the analog outs to a Emotiva Stealth DC 1...
I realize fantastic synergy, detail, resolution, and authority to my two channel listening....I, however, have gone beyond what most people in this forum are comfortable doing and that is connecting all of these components with wire that is much more expensive.
When I use the stock power cord and cheap interconnects the sound field collapses, detail is decreased, and the vocals turn more metallic and unrefined. Basically making the XPR 2 an excellent amplifier and not a world class amplifier. My opinion is just that, my opinion.
My question to you is after owning the XPR 2 would you consider changing out your power cord and interconnects for better ones and write about your findings on this forum?
I welcome your response to my post....
David
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Post by pedrocols on Jan 14, 2014 21:46:12 GMT -5
At reasonable listening levels you're in class a on either amp.....? Well I am a nooby so I don't know what do do mean by "reasonable listening levels." |
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Post by Gary Cook on Jan 14, 2014 21:47:35 GMT -5
Hi GaryCook - A "side question," please? What do you think of the Behringer UCA202 DAC? Thanks - Boom It's a noticeable improvement over the MacMini's inbuilt DAC, sounds really good with the Airmotive 4's, very nice sound "while working at the computer", easily the best I've had. For $A27 it was super value for money. That's about all I've got I'm afraid, connected it up and turned it on. I've done no testing, not compared it with any other DAC and not used it with any other speakers. It was recommended by someone on this forum in a review, I bought it on that alone and it does a good job, better than I thought possible for its tiny cost. Cheers Gary |
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230
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Post by novisnick on Jan 14, 2014 22:09:26 GMT -5
Hi GaryCook - A "side question," please? What do you think of the Behringer UCA202 DAC? Thanks - Boom It's a noticeable improvement over the MacMini's inbuilt DAC, sounds really good with the Airmotive 4's, very nice sound "while working at the computer", easily the best I've had. For $A27 it was super value for money. That's about all I've got I'm afraid, connected it up and turned it on. I've done no testing, not compared it with any other DAC and not used it with any other speakers. It was recommended by someone on this forum in a review, I bought it on that alone and it does a good job, better than I thought possible for its tiny cost. Cheers Gary Has anyone used the Behringer uca 222? |
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Post by milsap195 on Jan 14, 2014 23:15:09 GMT -5
Boomzilla, After reading what you have written about your XPR 2 for the last few months I wanted to pose a question to you. I too own the XPR 2 and use a Oppo 105 using the analog outs to a Emotiva Stealth DC 1... I realize fantastic synergy, detail, resolution, and authority to my two channel listening....I, however, have gone beyond what most people in this forum are comfortable doing and that is connecting all of these components with wire that is much more expensive. When I use the stock power cord and cheap interconnects the sound field collapses, detail is decreased, and the vocals turn more metallic and unrefined. Basically making the XPR 2 an excellent amplifier and not a world class amplifier. My opinion is just that, my opinion. My question to you is after owning the XPR 2 would you consider changing out your power cord and interconnects for better ones and write about your findings on this forum? I welcome your response to my post.... David I recently changed all my stock power cords to the emotiva x series and also use all x series RCA's. I feel it made a positive improvement in my set up. |
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Post by Gary Cook on Jan 15, 2014 0:22:49 GMT -5
Boomzilla, After reading what you have written about your XPR 2 for the last few months I wanted to pose a question to you. I too own the XPR 2 and use a Oppo 105 using the analog outs to a Emotiva Stealth DC 1... I realize fantastic synergy, detail, resolution, and authority to my two channel listening....I, however, have gone beyond what most people in this forum are comfortable doing and that is connecting all of these components with wire that is much more expensive. When I use the stock power cord and cheap interconnects the sound field collapses, detail is decreased, and the vocals turn more metallic and unrefined. Basically making the XPR 2 an excellent amplifier and not a world class amplifier. My opinion is just that, my opinion. My question to you is after owning the XPR 2 would you consider changing out your power cord and interconnects for better ones and write about your findings on this forum? I welcome your response to my post.... David Hi David, have you tried just changing the power cord and comparing the results? Or perhaps just changing the interconnects and comparing their results? Cheers Gary |
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Post by milsap195 on Jan 15, 2014 0:32:10 GMT -5
If all the emo amps sound the same, then what is the point of having so many in the line up.
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Post by creimes on Jan 15, 2014 0:44:34 GMT -5
If all the emo amps sound the same, then what is the point of having so many in the line up. To make money...haha |
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Post by creimes on Jan 15, 2014 0:49:23 GMT -5
I honestly can tell no difference in my XPA-1L's in either class a or a/b, but I really tend to enjoy the music instead of breaking it down to that point, oh and IMO my XPA-5sounds just as good as my 1L's, maybe if I had expensive cables and crazy ass speakers I could tell but I am really not that worried about it  or that rich  Chad |
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Post by repeetavx on Jan 15, 2014 0:57:43 GMT -5
Well I am a nooby so I don't know what do do mean by "reasonable listening levels." Trying to reproduce a rock concert might be considered unreasonable. (I do that sometimes). Turning your system up so that a scene with a jet engine approaches the actual DB level, might be considered unreasonable. (I tried that, but my XPA-2 goes into the red LEDs). I also like turning my system up so that it actually sounds like your next to a helicopter. (My XPA-2 can do that). |
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I think it's obvious from my posts that I'm not an XLR zealot, but they do work on some (many) occasions. An example, my uncle lived next door to a guy who made furniture in his retirement. He had a big mother woodworking lathe for turning down legs and such and a similar vintage linisher/plainer. The only way I could stop the EMF getting into his audio gear was with XLR cables, every where, the whole lot, no RCA's in sight. Same gear moved to his new house where RCA's worked just fine (he packed the XLR's vey carefully and we couldn't find them for weeks). Since moving my sub amp closer to the sub, but further away from the main rack, I've had to use XLR's, too long a run for RCA's.
The true test, though, is if your wife wasn't mowing the lawn outside and then all of a sudden stopped and came inside to ask what did you do to make the system sound so much better then she sat down on the sofa with you for 5 hours to listen.. if she didn't do that then you are right, there's probably no difference in the sound. 
or that rich 
