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Post by tripjack on Apr 10, 2018 9:05:28 GMT -5
I currently have an XPA-5 gen 2 that I got in 2014 powering my M&K 950 series speakers, however I have added 2 more surrounds for a 7.2 setup and now need 2 more channels of Amplifier.
If I were to sell the XPA-5 and just get an A-700 amp, would I notice the difference in wattage / power?
Or alternately, can I add an A-300 stereo amp to the setup for the new speakers and just keep the XPA-5?
Or should I sell the XPA-5 and get an XPA-7?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
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Post by mshump on Apr 10, 2018 9:15:16 GMT -5
I would try the A-300 since it will be powering surrounds, Worst case basis you can return it in the 30 day window and upgrade to a different amp.
Mark
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Post by wilburthegoose on Apr 10, 2018 9:59:09 GMT -5
For the surrounds/rears, I'd go with something inexpensive.
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 10, 2018 10:01:07 GMT -5
+1 on the A-300. It will pair well with the XPA-5. Unless you are space limited on your shelf I would not swap out the XPA-5 for a XPA-7
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 10, 2018 10:02:19 GMT -5
Or.........
You could buy and XPA-2 (Selfish plug I one for sale on the emporium right now) and use it to power your main L/R speakers, and use the XPA-5 for your centers and your surrounds.
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Post by doc1963 on Apr 10, 2018 10:30:22 GMT -5
Or......... You could buy and XPA-2 (Selfish plug I one for sale on the emporium right now) and use it to power your main L/R speakers, and use the XPA-5 for your centers and your surrounds. If you have the space and don't mind spending a bit more, I highly recommend this option. Those 950's would like this kind of attention. Especially if music is a consideration...  |
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Post by rbk123 on Apr 10, 2018 10:38:22 GMT -5
For the surrounds/rears, I'd go with something inexpensive. What Wilbur said. Keep an eye out for a used UPA-200; something along those lines. The XPA-2 option might give your mains some sonic improvement, so should be considered, but it's no guarantee. |
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Post by tripjack on Apr 10, 2018 12:09:09 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the ideas!
I think I'll go with the A-300, as unless I'm reading wrong it seems to offer the same wattage into 4ohms per channel as my XPA-5 does, so it should (hopefully) blend in well with what I already have. The used UPA-200 also has potential too though so while the A-300 is still out of stock I'll keep an eye out for one of those.
Interesting thought on the XPA-2, but I use this room for theatrical material 95% of the time and I'd be worried about the center channel not matching the L/R in that situation.
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 10, 2018 12:35:40 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the ideas! I think I'll go with the A-300, as unless I'm reading wrong it seems to offer the same wattage into 4ohms per channel as my XPA-5 does, so it should (hopefully) blend in well with what I already have. The used UPA-200 also has potential too though so while the A-300 is still out of stock I'll keep an eye out for one of those. Interesting thought on the XPA-2, but I use this room for theatrical material 95% of the time and I'd be worried about the center channel not matching the L/R in that situation. Don't get too caught up into looking at watts. For movies you will rarely if ever get peak wattage out of any surround speakers, even the L/R speakers. The center channel carries a large majority of your sound. The A-300 will sound exactly the same as the XPA-5 does on your surrounds. If you are not planning on doing any 2 channel stereo listing then no need in getting anything bigger than the A-300. |
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Post by garbulky on Apr 10, 2018 14:08:53 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the ideas! I think I'll go with the A-300, as unless I'm reading wrong it seems to offer the same wattage into 4ohms per channel as my XPA-5 does, so it should (hopefully) blend in well with what I already have. The used UPA-200 also has potential too though so while the A-300 is still out of stock I'll keep an eye out for one of those. Interesting thought on the XPA-2, but I use this room for theatrical material 95% of the time and I'd be worried about the center channel not matching the L/R in that situation. Well I would reccomend the XPA-2 too. That's a gain on the stereo and a gain on the surrounds at the same time. For channel imbalance due to different amps - it's really about the GAIN of the amps - not its max power. I believe the XPA-2 gen 2 and XPA-5 gen 2 have the same 29 db gain. Which means if you fed the same signal from the processor - at the same level on the volume knob - if the speakers were the same - you would have the same amount of volume. The difference is that the XPA-2 gen 2 can go louder and be driven at a higher voltage from the preamp. So it will match the volume of the XPA-5 until the XPA-5 starts clipping, then the XPA-2 will keep going louder. I wouldn't be worried about the imbalance here. Note if you get an XPA-2 gen 1 then the gain is 32 db which can be matched with your processor to be 29. If it's not, then your processor can adjust levels. Just my two cents. The XPA-2 is very good imo. |
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Post by drhatigan on Apr 10, 2018 14:17:27 GMT -5
I ran an XPA-2 and XPA-3 with my s150thx and s150ac. The sonic signature was the same, but having the headroom when in stereo was nice. I never ran out of power even though all 5 speakers were 4ohms. I think I would have run out of living room before running out of power.
Also you never know how long you will keep those speakers.
My vote would be find an xpa-2.
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 10, 2018 14:24:09 GMT -5
It's all a trap!! LOL, really this is what happens, you go to seven channels now you need more channels of amps. If you get the XPA-2 now you have a monster 2 channel amp. Next thing you know you are talking yourself into larger L/R speakers to take advantage of the amp. It never ends, and that's why it is so much fun.
I ran the XPA-2 with my XPA-5 for the last three years. I just upgraded the XPA-2 to a DR-2 and honestly the difference in the XPA-2 and DR-2 is minimal. The XPA-2 is just a beast of an amp. It is way more than you need right now though, so really it is a question of do you buy an amp that could be in your system basically no matter what L/R speakers you run or do you get the very solid A-300 that will do a great job today.
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Post by garbulky on Apr 10, 2018 14:33:46 GMT -5
It's all a trap!! LOL, really this is what happens, you go to seven channels now you need more channels of amps. If you get the XPA-2 now you have a monster 2 channel amp. Next thing you know you are talking yourself into larger L/R speakers to take advantage of the amp. It never ends, and that's why it is so much fun. I ran the XPA-2 with my XPA-5 for the last three years. I just upgraded the XPA-2 to a DR-2 and honestly the difference in the XPA-2 and DR-2 is minimal. The XPA-2 is just a beast of an amp. It is way more than you need right now though, so really it is a question of do you buy an amp that could be in your system basically no matter what L/R speakers you run or do you get the very solid A-300 that will do a great job today. The way I see it the price difference for what you get between an A-300 and a used XPA-2 gen 2 is a nice trade off for essentially getting TWO amps instead of one. You get a new BEAST mode amp for your stereo. And since the XPA-5 powers your surrounds, you get a hefty amp for your surrounds. Remember things aren't always as they seem. The XPA-5 is rated all channels driven. I think it's something ike 300 watts per four ohms @ 0.1% thd the basx a-300 is rated at 1% thd for 300 watts. What this means is that if all channels are fulyl driven that's what you get. BUT.....this is rarely the case. Usually only one or two channels use up power while the others are just coasting. So the XPA-5 can use the unused power to push it in to the channel that needs it. If one channel is driven I believe the XPA-5 is able to pull that unused power and push up to 450 watts of power or something like that one channel driven. Pretty crazy. And what that means is - the XPA-5 has a HUMUNGOUS 1.6 kva power supply while the basx doesn't even get close to that at something like 0.35 kva. So the XPA-5 has bigger power reserves to push out the dynamic peak - if it ever gets called for it - which honestly it won't - and likely neither will the a-300. But it's something worth knowing. |
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Post by rbk123 on Apr 10, 2018 16:56:56 GMT -5
and honestly the difference in the XPA-2 and DR-2 is minimal. We tried to tell you.... |
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 10, 2018 18:07:41 GMT -5
and honestly the difference in the XPA-2 and DR-2 is minimal. We tried to tell you.... I have issues... |
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Post by Gary Cook on Apr 10, 2018 18:16:13 GMT -5
Having faced the same dilemma (XPA-5 plus what?) a few years back I took the opportunity to upgrade the stereo performance by adding a pair of XPA-1L's which drive the FL and FR. Not that the XPA-5 was terrible at it, but the XPA-1L's with their monoblock advantages and Class A option added just a bit of additional sound quality.
So my suggestion, if you enjoy listening to stereo 2.1 music and can justify the cost and space, would be to look at what options achieve both objectives.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by tripjack on May 12, 2018 10:59:44 GMT -5
Just wanted to post an update. I ended up adding in the A-300. It all sounds great, but of note is that when I re-ran my Audyssey setup on my Marantz AV, it lowered all the channel sending to the XPA-5 by about -6db on average, while leaving the 2 channels on the A-300 at 0db. So I guess while the 2 amps are (I think) the same wattage, the power just isn't quite the same. I'm squeezing this system into a room that is not really quite big enough for it, so I'm not having any issues with volume, but my OCD hates seeing such large db cuts in the preamp outputs going to my biggest amp.
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Post by adaboy on May 12, 2018 12:04:17 GMT -5
Just wanted to post an update. I ended up adding in the A-300. It all sounds great, but of note is that when I re-ran my Audyssey setup on my Marantz AV, it lowered all the channel sending to the XPA-5 by about -6db on average, while leaving the 2 channels on the A-300 at 0db. So I guess while the 2 amps are (I think) the same wattage, the power just isn't quite the same. I'm squeezing this system into a room that is not really quite big enough for it, so I'm not having any issues with volume, but my OCD hates seeing such large db cuts in the preamp outputs going to my biggest amp. Understood, so up the xpa-5 6 db to 0 then up the a-300 to +6. |
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