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Post by laserman35 on Jul 28, 2014 14:13:31 GMT -5
I currently have the XPA-3 and XPA-5. I don't normally change gear without major new differences.
I Do not normally hear any or little differences in high end home theater amps. I think I'm a sensible audiophile and not the purest of audio type of guy.
The current price of the XPA-1L with 20% off is outstanding and I'm having A problem deciding to go ahead and get it. Is this upgrade worth it in your opinion? Or should I wait for a new tube amp from emotiva?
My front 3 channels ERT-8.3 and ERM-6.3 if I remember correctly.
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Post by sahmen on Jul 28, 2014 14:29:36 GMT -5
Normally, I would say it all depends on what you're looking for in this particular upgrade... However, your insistence on "major new differences" (which I am translating as "differences in sq"), and the contrast you have drawn between the "sensible audiophile" and "purest audio" guy would seem to tilt the balance in favor of remaining with what you already have... I would not expect "Night and Day" differences in sq from the upgrade, assuming sq difference is, indeed, the main objective of this upgrade... Of course, other contributors may have different views... In the interest of full disclosure, I recently acquired a pair of the XPA-1Ls myself, but the reason was not mainly to upgrade what I already have, but to set them up to drive the two mains of another system. Obviously, the current attractive price tag didn't hurt either, but it merely "forced" my hand to fill a long-existing blank spot in the target system. I hope that qualifies as a "sensible" move
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Post by garbulky on Jul 28, 2014 15:35:20 GMT -5
It's always a toss up if you feel new amps are worth the cost it takes to upgrade. So many factors play into it like preference, value, room acoustics, speaker setup. If you can't hear worthwhile major differences in amps currently, then I would suggest staying with the good quality stuff you've got already.
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Post by creimes on Jul 28, 2014 16:03:13 GMT -5
The differences are small, I own them as it's really what I want to keep in my system for a long time and the price is real nice right now, going from XPA-2, XPA-5 to the 1L's is marginal as they are all really great, they look real pretty though Chad
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Post by sct on Jul 28, 2014 17:19:27 GMT -5
Your current XPA-3 and XPA-5 are terrific amps. The sound quality difference between those and the XPA-1L, if any, is vanishingly small. Don't sweat this. There are many more things you could do that would make a much bigger difference. Room treatments come to mind immediately...
SCT
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Post by Dark Ranger on Jul 28, 2014 21:45:41 GMT -5
I agree with the others overall. You've already got two excellent amplifiers. IMO, the change to the XPA-1L probably won't be noticeable. Save your money and treat your room, buy more music, or just save your cash for something else (like a tube amp if you're interested). I own a trio of XPA-1Ls, and was among the very first to order on release day. I upgraded from an XPA-200 and UPA-500. Overall, very subtle differences, but not anywhere near enough to justify the price based purely on SQ (in my opinion). So why didn't I return them? Well, the XPA-1L amps were my end game amps that I'd been waiting for: mono-blocks, fully differential, excellent power reserves, and low-profile. They ticked all the right boxes for me. I was just hoping to hear more of an improvement over my previous amps. No regrets though. I agree the 20% discount is attractive, but I'd save my money based on what you said in your first post.
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Post by laserman35 on Jul 29, 2014 7:41:47 GMT -5
Thanks for your opinions. I have decided to wait for tube mono blocks from Emotiva "MY END GAME AMPS".
There is nothing on the market that compares with the current value of the XPA-1Ls. It's hard to believe they not all gone with the current sale price.
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