Bi-Amp UPA-5 to mains Or XPA-3 for Front three ?

[asterisk *]

I was holding out for an XPA-3 sale, but currently pondering thought of any advantage Bi-Amping UPA-5 to my Outlaw book shelves would yield over L+R of an XPA-3. This is what I do with my Marantz 6003 and there is a noticeable difference in openness as it lets you use unused sbr+sbl channels to bi-amp mains..

I'm about 80% HT but do put music on in the evening, usually light rock or a little jazz. I'm not a critical listener but can hear differences when something is harsh or missing.

I just have a hunch this might be a smoother set up .

[michaeljhuman]

Makes no sense to me. The XPA-3 has a bigger power transformer. How is biamping going to magically make up for that difference? Biamping does not get around the fact it's a shared power supply. And passive biamping does not seem real helpful.

And that's not even getting into topics like limiter circuitry or power supply voltage. Which we might assume the XPA wins those battles (in other words, the UPA will clip at a lower level, which biamping almost certainly does not mitigate.)

Only advantages I see to the UPA-5 is that it's cheaper, lighter, and seems to be quieter (SNR is better.)

[Lsc]

It would not be a bad idea to jump on the UPA-5 deal. I think it will be more than enough power for your bookshelves.

I would probably just run them uni-amp (hehehe) to all 5 speakers - your home theatre will probably sound best this way but you can obviously play around and configure to what sounds best to you.

At $399 w/ free shipping it is a great deal.