Post by jmasterj on Jan 26, 2014 13:22:05 GMT -5
This is my review of the newest additions to my audio equipment the XPA-100's and the Xiang Sheng 728A tube preamp. The first XPA-100 was purchased in November, the second in December, then the preamp this month. I mentioned that just to give an idea of the amount of anticipation I've had just waiting to hear this equipment. I've been a member of the Lounge since 2010, so I've read tons of post about Emotiva amps. I originally wanted the XPA-2 but decided the size, and weight were issues that I could not deal with. I had not considered XPA-100's until the holiday sale. Then I started looking into these mono blocks. The price was a big contributing factor to my purchase. There also seemed to be a stigma about the XPA-100's not being as good as the other XPA series amps. Don't believe it ! these are excellent amps. They sound great and have been problem free.
I hope you bare with me because I wanted to explain why I chose what I did. Some of you my know I have two integrated amps. One is all tube, the other is a tube hybrid, meaning tube preamp mated to a solid state power amp. It's because I really enjoy the sound of that combination amp that I decided to mate a tube preamp with the XPA-100's. I was expecting the same sound quality with more power, and thus more headroom. I expected this would take my MMG's to another level.
Since my M-Lores were already out they were a good place to start. Right out of the box my initial thoughts were the system sounded similar, but different less tube like than my other gear. That is not quite what I expected. It was more bass heavy than the other systems. That prompted me to move the speakers out a little further from the rear wall, break up some of the room boundary support to see if I could balance things out. I was a bit disappointed even after several placement adjustments. Things still seemed out of whack so I decided to just let it play TV sound for a week let the equipment get some run-in time.
My next listening session saw me returning the speakers to their original position. It seems the rest of the sound caught up with the bass. It was much more balanced, and coherent. Something I should mention is how the equipment is situated in my room. It's located on the long wall which is approximately 16 feet long. On the left side is the entry door so that leaves 5 feet between the speaker and the side wall. The right side has a bookshelf in the corner and a half wall that separates the living room from the galley kitchen so there is only 2.5 feet on that side. The sound stage from the XPA-100's and 728A is so vast that I can hear sound well into the five feet area on the left side. On some pieces of music I notice the lack of expansion on the right side due to it being closed in. I find that interesting.
The next thing I found about this set up is it sounds less tube like than my other systems do. That's something I was looking for so it started me thinking about if I should roll the tubes. I have rolled tubes in my other equipment with very positive results so I'm thinking about experimenting with that to possibly give this combo the chance to improve in this area. To best describe what's happening is the other equipment is more lush. Everything has a live quality to it, but when listening to a real live CD the tubes have a uncanny way of placing you in the venue. To me the instruments have more air around them, and sound more alive.
That being said, I switched to the MMG's for a listen.
Wow is what I have to say about that. This is a wonderful combination. The first thing I noticed was how much taller the sound stage grew. The XPA-100's and 728A have added a little more bass to the MMG's. Not taking anything away from the M-Lores the but the MMG's seem to really benefit from the extended headroom from the XPA-100's. The string instruments seem much more extended than with my other gear. The high end is still as good as it was with the other gear, but the middle is a bit lacking in the inner detail that I'm use to. Not to say it's bad, just that it's not quite as good. I think this will improve when I change from the stock Chinese tubes to some more musical tubes.
I haven't mentioned the power beyond the extended headroom it affords. These are very powerful amps. The preamp has steps on the volume control 30 to be exact. Moving from the turned all the way down to the first step you hear nothing, the next step on the volume you can hear music. The third click and I'm basically at where I do most of my listening. The next step which is around nine o'clock and you're moderately playing out of the space. At the ten o'clock position forget about it I might as well go into the other room. These amp don't get as warm as my ERC-1 after playing all day. I didn't mention the tone controls on the 728A. They do work and they add a dimension to tailoring the sound. Funny thing is that when the bypass is engaged the sound initially is much louder than when the tone controls are in the circuit. It seems that when the tone controls are engaged the volume control has less gain for each step allowing for more precise adjustment of the volume. I plan to play with this feature a little more. For the review I listened with the bypass engaged. The Xiang Sheng 728A entry level tube preamp is an excellent piece of equipment. The fit and finish is as good as Emotiva's, and with the features it has it will be hard to beat at the price. In my opinion it is also a excellent match for the XPA-100's.
I've already been looking at some tubes to add more lush to the inner detail. This to suit my own personal taste. I will review this set-up again at that point. I am quite pleased. Now I need a larger place. That's it for now. j
I hope you bare with me because I wanted to explain why I chose what I did. Some of you my know I have two integrated amps. One is all tube, the other is a tube hybrid, meaning tube preamp mated to a solid state power amp. It's because I really enjoy the sound of that combination amp that I decided to mate a tube preamp with the XPA-100's. I was expecting the same sound quality with more power, and thus more headroom. I expected this would take my MMG's to another level.
Since my M-Lores were already out they were a good place to start. Right out of the box my initial thoughts were the system sounded similar, but different less tube like than my other gear. That is not quite what I expected. It was more bass heavy than the other systems. That prompted me to move the speakers out a little further from the rear wall, break up some of the room boundary support to see if I could balance things out. I was a bit disappointed even after several placement adjustments. Things still seemed out of whack so I decided to just let it play TV sound for a week let the equipment get some run-in time.
My next listening session saw me returning the speakers to their original position. It seems the rest of the sound caught up with the bass. It was much more balanced, and coherent. Something I should mention is how the equipment is situated in my room. It's located on the long wall which is approximately 16 feet long. On the left side is the entry door so that leaves 5 feet between the speaker and the side wall. The right side has a bookshelf in the corner and a half wall that separates the living room from the galley kitchen so there is only 2.5 feet on that side. The sound stage from the XPA-100's and 728A is so vast that I can hear sound well into the five feet area on the left side. On some pieces of music I notice the lack of expansion on the right side due to it being closed in. I find that interesting.
The next thing I found about this set up is it sounds less tube like than my other systems do. That's something I was looking for so it started me thinking about if I should roll the tubes. I have rolled tubes in my other equipment with very positive results so I'm thinking about experimenting with that to possibly give this combo the chance to improve in this area. To best describe what's happening is the other equipment is more lush. Everything has a live quality to it, but when listening to a real live CD the tubes have a uncanny way of placing you in the venue. To me the instruments have more air around them, and sound more alive.
That being said, I switched to the MMG's for a listen.
Wow is what I have to say about that. This is a wonderful combination. The first thing I noticed was how much taller the sound stage grew. The XPA-100's and 728A have added a little more bass to the MMG's. Not taking anything away from the M-Lores the but the MMG's seem to really benefit from the extended headroom from the XPA-100's. The string instruments seem much more extended than with my other gear. The high end is still as good as it was with the other gear, but the middle is a bit lacking in the inner detail that I'm use to. Not to say it's bad, just that it's not quite as good. I think this will improve when I change from the stock Chinese tubes to some more musical tubes.
I haven't mentioned the power beyond the extended headroom it affords. These are very powerful amps. The preamp has steps on the volume control 30 to be exact. Moving from the turned all the way down to the first step you hear nothing, the next step on the volume you can hear music. The third click and I'm basically at where I do most of my listening. The next step which is around nine o'clock and you're moderately playing out of the space. At the ten o'clock position forget about it I might as well go into the other room. These amp don't get as warm as my ERC-1 after playing all day. I didn't mention the tone controls on the 728A. They do work and they add a dimension to tailoring the sound. Funny thing is that when the bypass is engaged the sound initially is much louder than when the tone controls are in the circuit. It seems that when the tone controls are engaged the volume control has less gain for each step allowing for more precise adjustment of the volume. I plan to play with this feature a little more. For the review I listened with the bypass engaged. The Xiang Sheng 728A entry level tube preamp is an excellent piece of equipment. The fit and finish is as good as Emotiva's, and with the features it has it will be hard to beat at the price. In my opinion it is also a excellent match for the XPA-100's.
I've already been looking at some tubes to add more lush to the inner detail. This to suit my own personal taste. I will review this set-up again at that point. I am quite pleased. Now I need a larger place. That's it for now. j
