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Post by mrranting on May 11, 2018 14:27:05 GMT -5
I can't decide between the dr1 and the xpa1 going to purchace a pair soon. Any feed back would be awesome.
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Post by davidl81 on May 11, 2018 14:55:24 GMT -5
I have a DR-2 and it is a nice amp. It drives my OMD-28 pretty easily. I also looked at the XPA-1's as a used pair was about the same cost as the DR-2. I look at it like this, DR-2 is maybe 95% of the amp that a pair of XPA-1's are. The advantage (and main driver for me) was space wise I only had to have the space for the single amp, not dual monoblocks. If space was not an issue I think I would have gone ahead and gotten the XPA-1's. After owning my DR-2 for a month or so I think I would still lean towards the XPA-1's as long as you could find a Gen 2 used in good shape with good warranty left. If I was paying new retail price for either option I would say get the DR-2 and the difference in performance is not worth the $800 to me.
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Post by teaman on May 11, 2018 15:11:38 GMT -5
I love my XPA-1 monoblocks. I have owned both Gen 1 and Gen 2, I sold the Gen 2 but I simply prefer the higher gain of the Gen 1...the Gen 2 sound fantastic as well. They are big, built like tanks....and weigh as much as one. I have no problem with weight or space restrictions where mine are set up. I honestly have nothing negative to say about the amps at all. I have 102db sensitive Klipsch KLF-30 speakers that, when paired with these amps will show you any poor recordings but will also let great recordings shine. I totally love them and doubt I would part with them.
Tim
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Post by mack71 on May 11, 2018 15:14:42 GMT -5
I have Dr1 for two weeks. I think that these are by far the best Emotiva amplifiers. They are better than XPA 1 (I still have the second system and plan to sell and buy DR2 or DR3), as well as XPR 1, as well as Mcintosh MC452, which I sold a few days ago. I use the pre Mcintosh C52 and it's a fabulous combination - wonderful musicality, detail and quality of bass, which has never been in my system before. I want to try to use the tube MC2600 and see what will change, but now I'm happy like never before. The new Dr1 is a revelation for me
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Post by brutiarti on May 11, 2018 15:17:08 GMT -5
I have Dr1 for two weeks. I think that these are by far the best Emotiva amplifiers. They are better than XPA 1 (I still have the second system and plan to sell and buy DR2 or DR3), as well as XPR 1, as well as Mcintosh MC452, which I sold a few days ago. I use the pre Mcintosh C52 and it's a fabulous combination - wonderful musicality, detail and quality of bass, which has never been in my system before. I want to try to use the tube MC2600 and see what will change, but now I'm happy like never before. The new Dr1 is a revelation for me Nice! That sounds promising. Can you post a picture of your setup?
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Post by mack71 on May 11, 2018 15:22:29 GMT -5
Attachment DeletedI have Dr1 for two weeks. I think that these are by far the best Emotiva amplifiers. They are better than XPA 1 (I still have the second system and plan to sell and buy DR2 or DR3), as well as XPR 1, as well as Mcintosh MC452, which I sold a few days ago. I use the pre Mcintosh C52 and it's a fabulous combination - wonderful musicality, detail and quality of bass, which has never been in my system before. I want to try to use the tube MC2600 and see what will change, but now I'm happy like never before. The new Dr1 is a revelation for me Nice! That sounds promising. Can you post a picture of your setup?
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Post by brutiarti on May 11, 2018 15:27:03 GMT -5
I will have to give them a try
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Post by mack71 on May 11, 2018 15:44:34 GMT -5
I've had Xpr1 for over two years and I think the new Dr1 is better. My Jamo 909 opened as if I pulled a curtain out of them and I also got even better quality and bass control. Now, in retrospect, I think that XPRs are a little subdued in the upper midrange and high tones, they are less detailed This is a photo from last year - I also had Tekton DI, but with jamo they had no chance in every respect. Attachment DeletedI will have to give them a try
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Post by mack71 on May 11, 2018 15:56:54 GMT -5
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Post by mrranting on May 27, 2018 16:29:45 GMT -5
Wow thank you Mack. I was going to wait and order the dr1s. The 20% off close out on the xpa1s was too good to pass up, as the sell used 800 each. But after your review I think a DR3 will be next to round out the system.
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Post by audiophill on May 27, 2018 16:41:07 GMT -5
My buddie has a dr3 in our opinion my XPA-1 gen 2's sound better.
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Post by mack71 on May 27, 2018 18:17:32 GMT -5
The best solution is direct listening and comparison of amplifiers in your own system. I did it and I have no doubts about the decision and the statement that the new Dr1 amplifiers are the best for me. Everyone has their ears and should make such a comparison for themselves and make a decision. I will add that in comparison with Xpr1 I Xpa gen 1 and gene 2 new Dr are completely silent (what could not be said about the transformers of previous models) and completely cold (class A did not quite convince me) In the near future I am also going to replace the new 2 in the Xpa 1 in HT with the new Dr2 or Dr3. My buddie has a dr3 in our opinion my XPA-1 gen 2's sound better.
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Post by mrranting on May 29, 2018 12:31:17 GMT -5
I was just told there will be a 6 to 7 week delivery time? Is this accurate?
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Post by rbk123 on May 29, 2018 14:20:02 GMT -5
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Post by Gary Cook on May 29, 2018 18:07:18 GMT -5
Seriously, another monoblock versus stereo amp comparison, just buy the monoblocks, take full advantage of their physical superiority and avoid the buyers regret. Locate them close by their respective speaker, short speaker cables with long XLR balanced interconnects. Quality power amps last a long long time, decades even and you will always be wondering if you should have bought the monoblocks.
Not as important as the above but a consideration nonetheless, the DR's have switch mode power supplies (SMPS) whereas the XPA-1's have the well proven power supply with a toroidal transformer and very substantial capacitance. How long will the SMPS last in comparison?
Cheers Gary
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Post by Casey Leedom on May 30, 2018 0:09:40 GMT -5
So okay, this is about the Nth time I've seen people recommend short Speaker Cables and Long XPR runs to the Preamplifier (versus the opposite). I'm curious as to the logic of this. XLR carries extremely Low Voltage/Power Signals compared to potential Induced Noice, but is Balanced and Shielded. Speaker cables carry fairly High Power Signals which makes them less sensitive to Induced Low-Level Noise, but are typically not Shielded and never Balanced. So?
Casey
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Post by Gary Cook on May 30, 2018 2:10:33 GMT -5
So okay, this is about the Nth time I've seen people recommend short Speaker Cables and Long XPR runs to the Preamplifier (versus the opposite). I'm curious as to the logic of this. XLR carries extremely Low Voltage/Power Signals compared to potential Induced Noice, but is Balanced and Shielded. Speaker cables carry fairly High Power Signals which makes them less sensitive to Induced Low-Level Noise, but are typically not Shielded and never Balanced. So? Casey A real world example of the difference changing from short RCA interconnects (750 mm) and long speaker cables (5 metres) to long XLR balanced interconnects (5 m) and short speaker cables (750 mm). Before the swap I had noticed the occasional buzz, very infrequent and not very loud. In fact impossible to hear with music playing, so required a silent bit that corresponded with the noise generation. As a result it was very hard to trace, I finally matched it up with the ice maker in the fridge, which BTW is not on the same power circuit and off in the kitchen obviously. The RCA interconnects were good quality and in perfect condition so my guess was the EMI was sneaking into the long speaker cables. Relocate the XPA-1L's next to their respective speaker and swap to long XLR balanced interconnects and short speaker cables and it's dead silent. Not only is the ice maker buzz gone but so is every other little bit of noise that mostly goes unnoticed. For that alone it is worthwhile doing. But there is more, since the XLR balanced interconnects in my system connect an ERC-3 to an XSP-1 and then to the XPA-1L's I now have a completed balanced, discrete, differential circuit all the way from the ERC-3 to the output of the XPA-1L's. So not only is there no induced external noise there is no internal noise from the components themselves either. Which is what a fully balanced circuitry is all about, total noise elimination. There's more again, since the speaker cables are included in the damping factor (together with the speakers) having short speaker cables maximises the damping factor. A higher damping factor facilitates better control by the amplifier over the speakers. I don't believe that it is a big deal (750 mm versus 5 metres), but it costs next to nothing to implement so why the hell not optimise the monoblock advantages. Cheers Gary
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Post by Casey Leedom on May 30, 2018 2:48:09 GMT -5
Thanks. I was curious. It would have been an interesting experiment to just do short XLRs in your previous configuration, or long RCAs in the new/current configuration.
Interesting about the ice maker on a different circuit. I'm not actually sure how much a separate circuit helps with respect to moderate frequency noise. I thought that the main advantage of separate circuits was voltage sag/power loss avoidance.
Glad you solved your noise problem regardless!
Casey
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Post by mgbpuff on May 30, 2018 8:29:00 GMT -5
So okay, this is about the Nth time I've seen people recommend short Speaker Cables and Long XPR runs to the Preamplifier (versus the opposite). I'm curious as to the logic of this. XLR carries extremely Low Voltage/Power Signals compared to potential Induced Noice, but is Balanced and Shielded. Speaker cables carry fairly High Power Signals which makes them less sensitive to Induced Low-Level Noise, but are typically not Shielded and never Balanced. So? Casey A real world example of the difference changing from short RCA interconnects (750 mm) and long speaker cables (5 metres) to long XLR balanced interconnects (5 m) and short speaker cables (750 mm). Before the swap I had noticed the occasional buzz, very infrequent and not very loud. In fact impossible to hear with music playing, so required a silent bit that corresponded with the noise generation. As a result it was very hard to trace, I finally matched it up with the ice maker in the fridge, which BTW is not on the same power circuit and off in the kitchen obviously. The RCA interconnects were good quality and in perfect condition so my guess was the EMI was sneaking into the long speaker cables. Relocate the XPA-1L's next to their respective speaker and swap to long XLR balanced interconnects and short speaker cables and it's dead silent. Not only is the ice maker buzz gone but so is every other little bit of noise that mostly goes unnoticed. For that alone it is worthwhile doing. But there is more, since the XLR balanced interconnects in my system connect an ERC-3 to an XSP-1 and then to the XPA-1L's I now have a completed balanced, discrete, differential circuit all the way from the ERC-3 to the output of the XPA-1L's. So not only is there no induced external noise there is no internal noise from the components themselves either. Which is what a fully balanced circuitry is all about, total noise elimination. There's more again, since the speaker cables are included in the damping factor (together with the speakers) having short speaker cables maximises the damping factor. A higher damping factor facilitates better control by the amplifier over the speakers. I don't believe that it is a big deal (750 mm versus 5 metres), but it costs next to nothing to implement so why the hell not optimise the monoblock advantages. Cheers Gary Wire impedance is in series with speaker impedance and therefore helps with damping factor. I.e. long, more impedance, is better than short. Speaker impedance / amp internal impedance = damping factor ratio.
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Post by leonski on May 30, 2018 15:06:52 GMT -5
I'm sorry. Speaker wire impedance HURTS damping factor. Want a good example? Source a 10 ohm, 10 watt power resistor and put in series with ONE leg of your speaker wire. Bass might suffer, depending on the needs of the speaker for high damping. DF will fall to around 1, no matter WHAT, in this case. Do NOT try this with a TUBE amp, which already has a fairly low DF.
I think GARY had it right> The resistance is Also in series with the amps resistance.
Real world DF of amps is always lower than advertised in practice because of wire / connections.
Carver had 2 outputs on some of his amps. (Sunfire?) one of which had a 1 ohm resistor in series. This was meant to 'simulate' a current source amp, instead of the SS voltage source. Nothing is 'pure' anything, so that is an advisory description only
Some speakers prefer one over the other. 'Old School' big box speakers may prefer a low DF and may also be very high sensitivity so you can easily fill a normal room with a 5 or 10 watt amp. Something like a Lantino sourced 'Stereo 70' would be fine and play louder than most persons would be comfortable with.
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