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Post by davidl81 on Aug 26, 2019 9:50:55 GMT -5
So I have just bought a Marantz AVR to run my outdoor speakers off of and that has freed up some of my amps. I will have my current A-700 running my four Atmos speakers (Monoprice 8" Alpha) leaving three channels unused. The A-700 has only unbalanced connections. Can anyone think of a decent amp that has four or five outputs that uses balanced (XLR) connections? I don't need anything like another XPA-5, and I may just stick with my A-700, I am just kicking around ideas. I am thinking of re-wiring my cabinet to clean up the rats nest back there, so if I do that it would be the time to also change amps.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Aug 26, 2019 10:20:06 GMT -5
I’m going to use a pair of PA-1’s to add Atmos channels and give me 7.2.2, but if I like it I’ll eventually be looking for something similar to get to at least 7.2.4. Looking for a multichannel Class D with balanced inputs myself, but maybe I’ll just stick with the PA-1’s.
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 26, 2019 11:05:41 GMT -5
Thinking more outside the box now, but one option may be this.
Purchase XPA-9 (G3) $2100 new, but maybe can find a used one.
Sell XPA-5 G2 ($800 ish), sell A-700 ($500 ish).
If I buy the XPA-9 new I'm out of pocket $800 which is a little more than I really want to. If I can find a used one it would work out well. The G3 XPA-9 has more power than my G2 XPA-5 (not that it really matters), but the biggest benefit is that I can remove another amp, making my rack a little cleaner.
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 28, 2019 9:08:54 GMT -5
So I am looking really hard at this XPA-9 option and I think I like the idea. My only "concern" is the A-700 is rated at 110W per channel and the stereo modules on the XPA-9 are rated at 80W. Does anyone think I will lose anything powering these in ceiling speakers with the XPA-9 (stereo modules) versus the A-700? www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13683&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlrnr096l5AIVlJJbCh2QRQFTEAQYASABEgLthfD_BwEMy gut feeling is I will never tell a difference and I may get a benefit on the center channel going from the XPA-5 G2 to the XPA 9 G3, if anything it may be a slightly better match for the DR-2. Really I highly doubt I hear any difference at all, but it will be nice to consolidate down to just two amps and have XLR connections for everything. |
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Post by doc1963 on Aug 28, 2019 10:05:40 GMT -5
So I am looking really hard at this XPA-9 option and I think I like the idea. My only "concern" is the A-700 is rated at 110W per channel and the stereo modules on the XPA-9 are rated at 80W. Does anyone think I will lose anything powering these in ceiling speakers with the XPA-9 (stereo modules) versus the A-700? www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13683&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlrnr096l5AIVlJJbCh2QRQFTEAQYASABEgLthfD_BwEMy gut feeling is I will never tell a difference and I may get a benefit on the center channel going from the XPA-5 G2 to the XPA 9 G3, if anything it may be a slightly better match for the DR-2. Really I highly doubt I hear any difference at all, but it will be nice to consolidate down to just two amps and have XLR connections for everything. I had my XPA-5 (Gen3) upgraded to the XPA-9 and use the two stereo blades to drive my "top" channels. With even moderately sensitive speakers, you'll have no problem driving them. The five mono blades of the XPA-9 drive my center channel and four "bed" surround channels. Together with my DR-2, I LOVE the combination. FWIW, I've recently installed THESE for a friend and am considering them for myself. They are a remarkably nice sounding speaker that punches well above what their price would imply. Just in case you'd like an alternative to the Monoprice...  |
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 28, 2019 10:13:58 GMT -5
So I am looking really hard at this XPA-9 option and I think I like the idea. My only "concern" is the A-700 is rated at 110W per channel and the stereo modules on the XPA-9 are rated at 80W. Does anyone think I will lose anything powering these in ceiling speakers with the XPA-9 (stereo modules) versus the A-700? www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13683&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlrnr096l5AIVlJJbCh2QRQFTEAQYASABEgLthfD_BwEMy gut feeling is I will never tell a difference and I may get a benefit on the center channel going from the XPA-5 G2 to the XPA 9 G3, if anything it may be a slightly better match for the DR-2. Really I highly doubt I hear any difference at all, but it will be nice to consolidate down to just two amps and have XLR connections for everything. I had my XPA-5 (Gen3) upgraded to the XPA-9 and use the two stereo blades to drive my "top" channels. With even moderately sensitive speakers, you'll have no problem driving them. The five mono blades of the XPA-9 drive my center channel and four "bed" surround channels. Together with my DR-2, I LOVE the combination. FWIW, I've recently installed THESE for a friend and am considering them for myself. They are a remarkably nice sounding speaker that punches well above what their price would imply. Just in case you'd like an alternative to the Monoprice... It's great to hear that your setup works well. I really do like the idea of pairing my DR-2 with the XPA-9. I would love to find a used one as $2100 is a lot of money but I highly doubt any XPA-9's come up very often. As far as the speakers go I am pretty happy with the monoprice, and the cutout holes are pretty big for them so even going to a different brand would be tough unless I went with something even bigger. |
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Post by davidl81 on Aug 28, 2019 12:25:05 GMT -5
I had my XPA-5 (Gen3) upgraded to the XPA-9 and use the two stereo blades to drive my "top" channels. With even moderately sensitive speakers, you'll have no problem driving them. The five mono blades of the XPA-9 drive my center channel and four "bed" surround channels. Together with my DR-2, I LOVE the combination. FWIW, I've recently installed THESE for a friend and am considering them for myself. They are a remarkably nice sounding speaker that punches well above what their price would imply. Just in case you'd like an alternative to the Monoprice... It's great to hear that your setup works well. I really do like the idea of pairing my DR-2 with the XPA-9. I would love to find a used one as $2100 is a lot of money but I highly doubt any XPA-9's come up very often. As far as the speakers go I am pretty happy with the monoprice, and the cutout holes are pretty big for them so even going to a different brand would be tough unless I went with something even bigger. I just ordered the XPA-9 G3 from Emotiva. Sure one may have come up used, but best I can tell it may be one every six months or so that actually shows up. I have an interested buyer in my XPA-5 G2 which kinda spurred on my decision to just buy the XPA-9 now. If for some reason the XPA-5 fails to sell I'll post it on here. |
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