XPA-3 and the guy who returned

[dmd123]

I am probably one of the few who has returned an amp. But I feel like there were just not enough reviews so I wanted to add my thoughts so that others would be more informed.

First let me comment about the customer service. It was excellent from start to finish. All of my email questions before the purchase were responded to and answered very quickly. When I received the XPA-3 I had some speaker buzzing, with a quick call into EMO TECH, I spoke with Chris who had me replace interconnects and I was back in business. A follow up call was made to Chris with a just a question, and I received an answer that in no way made me feel bad for asking. These guys are here for you, they know what they are talking about, and they are not too busy to help. The final part of Customer service was the dreaded call to get an RMA# for the return. Jennifer was very polite and in no way made me feel bad for the return. The whole experience from start to finish was excellent, everyone was polite and professional.

On to the XPA-3. Of course it was well packaged and built like a tank. One of the reasons I choose the XPA-3 was due to the fact they run cool. In fact it was going to end up under my receiver! For the time I had the unit for demo it was actually inside a portion of my entertainment center that had glass doors. I checked regularly as I put it through its paces and it never got hot just slightly warm. So for those wondering, yes it runs cool, it will NOT double as a space heater.

After hours of listening over the course of a couple of days I came to this conclusion: The XPA-3 was very neutral, no part of the audio frequency seemed out of place. It is not forward sounding or laid back, it just seems right. These factors actually made it hard for me to return it. The soundstage was bigger, the clarity was better, it had enormous amounts of power so what was the problem? Absolutely nothing!

I came to a realization about what I like in my sound. I like the warm sound of my Marantz receiver. I know that it is not neutral or even accurate and has a hump in the mid frequency that gives it that particular sound. This also makes for a little lack of clarity but it also helps hide bad recordings.

This was actually kind of an interesting discovery for me, for I work hard at running everything as flat as possible. I do not boost treble or bass; I have Audyssey on my receiver but refuse to use it. I still set up with a tape measure, SPL meter, and then end up fine tuning by ear. So as much as the XPA-3 excelled in every area imaginable I had the preference of the Marantz sound. Made me realize why some are such die hard McIntosh fans, it has its own sound.

So in conclusion I would just like to say the XPA-3 may not have been a fit for my needs, but these guys build an incredible product for the money and the customer service was always outstanding. I have no issue recommending them to anyone!

[monkumonku]

Well just like people always say, you have to go with what sounds best to you!

About your statement that you don't use Audyssey - I went back and forth between using it and not using it while listening to the ERC-1 and concluded it sounds better to me without it. Using Audyssey added a forward midrange emphasis which I didn't think sounded as natural as using no equalization. Also, comparing the results of the sound level test, I found that using an SPL meter gave me different readings than what Audyssey gave. The SPL meter way sounded more balanced to my ears so I adjusted that and shut off Audyssey.

[Deleted]

Nice post dmd123. Good comments about Emo's customer service.

I do though have a hard time that you seem to be so adamant about having a flat system but do not seem to want an amp that is flat. Sounds rather contradictory to me. If you had used the bass and treble controls or an EQ, if your Marantz had one, (presuming you were using it as the pre/pro) you could have made the XPA-3 sound more like the Marantz.

"I do not boost treble or bass; I have Audyssey on my receiver but refuse to use it. I still set up with a tape measure, SPL meter, and then end up fine tuning by ear." You sound like a stickler for accuracy on one hand but you like your receiver's warm sounding amp which according to you is not accurate. I just don't follow your thinking here. You use a SPL meter then you "fine tune" by ear. The meter is far more accurate than the human ear. If anything you should use your ears first and then fine tune with the meter.

Not trying to give you a bad time here. Just pointing out what seems to be perhaps that you had become so familiar with the Marantz that you were not ready to accept flat accurate sound.

Good luck to you and thanks for your post.

[Deleted]

It has to sound good to you and in your system. That's what matters most. Thanks for your observations and good luck on your quest.

[altpensacola]

"The soundstage was bigger, the clarity was better, it had enormous amounts of power "
You don't mention how much you listened to it in those 30 days (or less) but I guess you just couldn't get used to the fact that it was maybe helping you hear what was actually on those recordings.
I too never like (d) any alteration of the music.
Instead of returning my XPA5 I just gave away the few crappy recordings I discovered I had!
And turn up the rest!

[dmd123]

chuckienut,

I had played with multiple settings including crossover, speaker size, bass and treble and it did not have the sound of the Marantz. Part of my post was a little self discovery, as much as I thought I was trying to achieve a flat accurate sound, I really was used to the Marantz flavor. (Which again is NOT accurate in any way)

Using the SPL meter first, this gets you in the ballpark. I find that most of the time the area that a meter says is right that requires a change by ear is the center channel. Almost every time I have set up systems for myself or friends I end up boosting this until it sounds right by ear. If you check it by meter, it will read as being too high. Sometimes the ear just wins.

So on the path to achieving a better system, I had a little self discovery, found an awesome company that I can recommend to friends and met some great people here online.

Hey by the way what part of Worshington are you in? I am in Tacoma.

[dmd123]

altpensacola,

I did not have the unit for that long, in fact it was kind of a long 4 day weekend deal, listening from morning to night. Believe me it was put to its paces.

I listened to material I was very familiar with, in fact I use the same demo material all the time when testing. Some in fact are bad recordings. At one time a Krell dealer commented that one of the recordings sounded out of phase. Using bad recordings is actually an interesting way to to judge components you listen to.

I do realize that you can not judge anything by bad recordings alone. So I did not base my decision on this. The characteristics in sound I was looking for were just better to my ears with the Marantz. Certain male voices lost a sense of depth when they were neutral. Certain female performances that were very intimate and warm on the Marantz started to sound like they were in a much larger venue. These were the things I was listening for.

Again I want to stress that in NO way did I find the product to be bad. It exceeded all my expectations as to its build, and value for the money. It just was not the flavor of sound that was for my ears.

[jmilton]

Well put, dmd. In Audioland, the candy store is very big...there is a flavor for everyone if you shop around.



....Mmmmm, candy!

[Deleted]

Jun 2, 2009 11:51:56 GMT -5 dmd123 said:

I am in Tacoma.

Now that explains a lot, dmd123!

Tacoma, lets see now, oh yeah, that's between Fife and Fort Lewis. ;D ;D ;D (I was at Ft. Lewis in 1970)

When I was very young and living in Bremerton we used to go to Tacoma to visit relatives. Our trips/picnics at Point Defiance Park were always a great time. Since then I've lived most of my life on the Eastside of Seattle. We now live in the Issaquah area.

This is a fun forum. Stick around, you'll like it here. Take care.

[dmd123]

Yep Tacoma,

We almost have got rid of that smell!

Explanation for those wondering: There is a long time joke in our area because of the industrial plants. As you drove into town you would get a wiff of the "Tacoma aroma". A very pungent rotten egg smell. After years of clean up the smells are gone but the joke still lingers!

[monkumonku]

Jun 2, 2009 16:35:21 GMT -5 dmd123 said:

Yep Tacoma,

We almost have got rid of that smell!

Explanation for those wondering: There is a long time joke in our area because of the industrial plants. As you drove into town you would get a wiff of the "Tacoma aroma". A very pungent rotten egg smell. After years of clean up the smells are gone but the joke still lingers!

Better that the joke still lingers rather than the yolk still lingers.

[broncsrule21]

Its like that old joke....now how do we get that smell out of the fish?

[coyotetu]

Eh, I still get a whiff of the Tacoma aroma every now and then.

[Lsc]

Jun 2, 2009 11:36:15 GMT -5 altpensacola said:

"The soundstage was bigger, the clarity was better, it had enormous amounts of power "
You don't mention how much you listened to it in those 30 days (or less) but I guess you just couldn't get used to the fact that it was maybe helping you hear what was actually on those recordings.
I too never like (d) any alteration of the music.
Instead of returning my XPA5 I just gave away the few crappy recordings I discovered I had!
And turn up the rest!

Good point. There were recording that I used to be able to listen to with my receiver that I can no longer tolerate, it sounded terrible - crappy recording. Even MP3s, I have a hard time listening to the poor ones now.

I like you just don't listen to the crappy recordings anymore on the XPA-5 .. well, I still have them though. :-)

[altpensacola]

May 18, 2010 11:08:04 GMT -5 Lsc said:

Jun 2, 2009 11:36:15 GMT -5 altpensacola said:

"The sound stage was bigger, the clarity was better, it had enormous amounts of power "
You don't mention how much you listened to it in those 30 days (or less) but I guess you just couldn't get used to the fact that it was maybe helping you hear what was actually on those recordings.
I too never like (d) any alteration of the music.
Instead of returning my XPA5 I just gave away the few crappy recordings I discovered I had!
And turn up the rest!

Good point. There were recording that I used to be able to listen to with my receiver that I can no longer tolerate, it sounded terrible - crappy recording. Even MP3s, I have a hard time listening to the poor ones now.

I like you just don't listen to the crappy recordings anymore on the XPA-5 .. well, I still have them though. :-)

I just picked up a copy of Emerson Lake and Palmer greatest hits on CD.
I was listening to it and everything sounded fine, then this one song came on and it was terrible! The highs and voices almost squeaked. *
So here was an example of a poorly mixed recording snatched from somewhere and put with this compilation. At least, most of the disc sounded OK.
I got it at a thrift store, it didn't have a cover so I don't know what version it is. probally an older one. I can't recall what song it was, I'm not where I can look right now. I find most of the crap is early pressing cd's.


*I am sure it was these kinds of recordings people were listening to when they say Klipsch are too "bright".
It's not the Klipsch's fault baby, it's the sound guy's.

[Golden Ear]

Jun 1, 2009 13:46:07 GMT -5 dmd123 said:

I am probably one of the few who has returned an amp. But I feel like there were just not enough reviews so I wanted to add my thoughts so that others would be more informed.

First let me comment about the customer service. It was excellent from start to finish. All of my email questions before the purchase were responded to and answered very quickly. When I received the XPA-3 I had some speaker buzzing, with a quick call into EMO TECH, I spoke with Chris who had me replace interconnects and I was back in business. A follow up call was made to Chris with a just a question, and I received an answer that in no way made me feel bad for asking. These guys are here for you, they know what they are talking about, and they are not too busy to help. The final part of Customer service was the dreaded call to get an RMA# for the return. Jennifer was very polite and in no way made me feel bad for the return. The whole experience from start to finish was excellent, everyone was polite and professional.

On to the XPA-3. Of course it was well packaged and built like a tank. One of the reasons I choose the XPA-3 was due to the fact they run cool. In fact it was going to end up under my receiver! For the time I had the unit for demo it was actually inside a portion of my entertainment center that had glass doors. I checked regularly as I put it through its paces and it never got hot just slightly warm. So for those wondering, yes it runs cool, it will NOT double as a space heater.

After hours of listening over the course of a couple of days I came to this conclusion: The XPA-3 was very neutral, no part of the audio frequency seemed out of place. It is not forward sounding or laid back, it just seems right. These factors actually made it hard for me to return it. The soundstage was bigger, the clarity was better, it had enormous amounts of power so what was the problem? Absolutely nothing!

I came to a realization about what I like in my sound. I like the warm sound of my Marantz receiver. I know that it is not neutral or even accurate and has a hump in the mid frequency that gives it that particular sound. This also makes for a little lack of clarity but it also helps hide bad recordings.

This was actually kind of an interesting discovery for me, for I work hard at running everything as flat as possible. I do not boost treble or bass; I have Audyssey on my receiver but refuse to use it. I still set up with a tape measure, SPL meter, and then end up fine tuning by ear. So as much as the XPA-3 excelled in every area imaginable I had the preference of the Marantz sound. Made me realize why some are such die hard McIntosh fans, it has its own sound.

So in conclusion I would just like to say the XPA-3 may not have been a fit for my needs, but these guys build an incredible product for the money and the customer service was always outstanding. I have no issue recommending them to anyone!

As a long time hobbyist of home audio, there were so many brands to choose from and each brand has their sonic sound signature from their entry level to their flagship. The sounds from each brand vary from warm, bright, neutral, steril, veil and cold. I have listened to many brand to familiarize their sound signature. Just to name a few, I find Yamaha from entry to flagship to be bright and forward sounding, again sound its all subjective and I am only sharing my personal opinion by no means I am recommending any brand. I was not thrilled the way Yamaha (bright) sound and move to another brand which turn out to be Onkyo (steril) and upon listening to it as initial listening and took it home for further evaluation did not find its sound to be my liking. Then I tried Denon (warm) which I find pleasing to my ear as it has same sonic sound as Marantz that I'm using now as preamp. For the most part being warm sound does wonder on music and produce incredibly deep and wide soundstage I was looking for. On certain music, warm sound tend to sound dull because of its high frequency roll-off and I keep asking myself that I may need something in between that is not bright and warm and upon venturing to the web I end up in emotiva website and read about user's review. I purchase UPA-2 to bypass the Marantz internal amps. Upon initial listening to UPA-2, the warm sound was gone and I was having hard time adjusting to its sound signature. Marantz internal amp produce big upper bass and midrange which marantz intended to do to make sound full and warm. We all know doing this is not consider accurate as it color music and this is not the way music was recorded. Anyway, between emotiva sound and marantz there are some trade off. Emotiva is neutral and nothing being added or remove to the sound. It has more treble extension and clarity than marantz. I am looking forward to their upcoming XSP-1 and see how much refined would bring this to USP-1. I will be Emotiva fan from now and it's the best bargain in home audio without breaking the bank.

[xki]

May 18, 2010 12:47:19 GMT -5 altpensacola said:

*I am sure it was these kinds of recordings people were listening to when they say Klipsch are too "bright".
It's not the Klipsch's fault baby, it's the sound guy's.

I am stealing that line!

[thepcguy]

May 18, 2010 12:47:19 GMT -5 altpensacola said:

*I am sure it was these kinds of recordings people were listening to when they say Klipsch are too "bright".
It's not the Klipsch's fault baby, it's the sound guy's.

The Klipschs are Harvard graduates maybe? ;D

[xki]

Feb 17, 2012 15:04:42 GMT -5 thepcguy said:

May 18, 2010 12:47:19 GMT -5 altpensacola said:

*I am sure it was these kinds of recordings people were listening to when they say Klipsch are too "bright".
It's not the Klipsch's fault baby, it's the sound guy's.

The Klipschs are Harvard graduates maybe? ;D

Why, yes! However they were not always so.

My L/R mains "in training":

[hemster]

^

My L/C/R during an extended listening session: