worth to upgrade?

[vincedea]

i was looking at the XPA-200 and UPA-200 and I was wondering if there would be any major upgrades from the A-100 amp? Thinking of an upgrade just because I want to have something new and so that If i get bigger speakers that I can run them without issue.

[garbulky]

What do you have currently including source? The mini-x is a surprisingly capable amplifier. The mini-x has a similar sound signature to the X-series amps. Of course it has less watts. But did you know that on average you are using about 1-3 watts to get upto listening volume? at 70-85 db. All the other watts are for dynamic peaks - which granted - can absorb tons of it and may well demand more than what the mini-x has. I listened to the mini-x in a large room on bookshelf speakers. I didn't find myself needing more power (in terms of volume)and it did fine with normal listening volumes. But to be fair, the gent that owns it told me that it can't get as loud as his XPA-2 when pushed. We also auditioned the XPA-2 and I didn't find myself going "Stick the XPA-2 back!" when we tried the mini-x. It held its own quite nicely.

If your choices are XPA-200 vs mini-x, I would do the unconventional choice and get a DC-1. Not dissing the other amps (I own the UPA-2 and love it. Just that's where you will get your performance increase - provided your speakers are upto snuff, speaker setup is done carefully, and room is treated somewhat well to reduce things that can mask subtle differences. If not, then a DC-1 may not provide you the increase in sound quality you were hoping for. So it's a "depends" decision. But my vote is for the DAC.

[vincedea]

Apr 19, 2014 5:19:56 GMT -5 garbulky said:

What do you have currently including source? The mini-x is a surprisingly capable amplifier. The mini-x has a similar sound signature to the X-series amps. Of course it has less watts. But did you know that on average you are using about 1-3 watts to get upto listening volume? at 70-85 db. All the other watts are for dynamic peaks - which granted - can absorb tons of it and may well demand more than what the mini-x has. I listened to the mini-x in a large room on bookshelf speakers. I didn't find myself needing more power (in terms of volume)and it did fine with normal listening volumes. But to be fair, the gent that owns it told me that it can't get as loud as his XPA-2 when pushed. We also auditioned the XPA-2 and I didn't find myself going "Stick the XPA-2 back!" when we tried the mini-x. It held its own quite nicely.

If your choices are XPA-200 vs mini-x, I would do the unconventional choice and get a DC-1. Not dissing the other amps (I own the UPA-2 and love it. Just that's where you will get your performance increase - provided your speakers are upto snuff, speaker setup is done carefully, and room is treated somewhat well to reduce things that can mask subtle differences. If not, then a DC-1 may not provide you the increase in sound quality you were hoping for. So it's a "depends" decision. But my vote is for the DAC.

Thanks for your suggestion. source is my creative ZXR soundcard. the setup would be in my normal size bedroom in a 3 bedroom house. i plan to wall mount my current speakers, which are NHT Superzeros 2.0 but I would like to get some 5.25 or 6.25 size bookshelf speakers. I also use a subwoofer with my mini X. I pretty much want something that will be able to handle bigger size speakers without any problems, since i had an issue when i was trying out the infinity p163 speakers where the sound would get cut out and my mini x would go into flashing amber light.

[garbulky]

Well the ZXR isn't bad. The DC-1 is better....but you haven't got something bad.

I would put a wanted to buy ad in the emporium for a used UPA-2 (not UPA-200). You could get one for about $250-300. It's very close in design to the XPA-200. They both share very similar circuitry (two amp blades etc). The XPA-200 is the rebadged version of the old UPA-2 with a few upgrades (namely more capactiance). Or if cost isn't an issue I doubt you would be at all unsatisfied with either the UPA-200 or the XPA-200 brand new. All three I've mentioned will run tower speakers and bookshelves without an issue. For instance my UPA-2 runs a 8 driver, 4 ohm system no problems
BTW the flashing amber light may have been due to a loose connection or a short between wires touching in your hookup to the infinity. Or it could have been too much for it. I don't know. But....it wouldn't have shut down until you really cranked the volumes on it... Not saying that's not the reason, but it sounds strange to me.