My 1st separate power Amp-XPA-5

[copperband]

Hi all,

Finally got it yesterday. Like most people's experience, this thing is so heavy(front end part), both my arms and back feel so sore after placing it next to my TV stand, I put it on the floor now. I bought Emo's X series digital/coaxial cable to connect.

I played 5 hours of mostly music(both 2 channels and 5.1 DTS & DTS Master), a few songs, about 30 minutes of movie(Terminator Salvation-blu ray) and documentary(Life-blu ray).

Overall bass is better and deeper...but I am curious why? I played two old albums from Kenny G and the bass are very good. The sub has built-in amp so it does not draw power from either the receiver or the XPA-5, right? Why is the bass better with XPA-5?

I expect a lot from this amp based on so many good comments from this forum. With these 5 hours of testing I do not have the Wow or stunning experience like most others. I mean so far I don't hear a BIG difference yet when compare to my stand alone receiver.

My questions:

-Does XPA-5 needs to be break in? if so how many hours, and at what volume level?

-when compare to the receiver alone on 2 channels listening, I find XPA-5 less loud at the same volume level. For one song I turned to -10 db on my volume control and I still feel not very loud, but with the receiver I feel very loud already at -20db and I cannot stand at -10db, i.e. too loud and it hurts my ears. Is that distortion when I feel too loud?

-I always hear the technical term "headroom" and all of you said XPA-5 has lots of headroom. Does headroom mean at very loud volume level it is still comfortable to our ears? Or at loud level there is still no distortion?

-My receiver's pre-out input show red and white hole, does it matter which color to use for front right and left speaker?

-What do I need to pay attention on setting after connecting the XPA-5? I run SPL meter at 75db for all 5.1 channels. I didn't do anything on EQ, Standing wave and X-curve on my receiver, don't know how to set them My receiver is Pioneer VSX 9040 TXH.

-Any suggestion on which movies or type of songs for testing?

I know very little about this hobby so pls bear with me with all these probably 'stupid questions".

Thanks.

[Deleted]

To answer your break in question, No there is no break in period. They are ready to plug and play

[bongteo]

As for your sub question, my guess is what you hearing is actually the lower mid bass from your speaker that gave you the illusion that your sub is tighter and deeper or it might be due to better integration between your speaker and sub becos now your speaker is as "fast" as your sub.

[Deleted]

To answer the question you have about your receivers pre outs. 99% of the time red will be right and white will be left. Left can also be black but not usually.

Hope this helped

[NorthStar]

Nov 21, 2010 0:43:58 GMT -5 copperband said:

Hi all,

Finally got it yesterday. Like most people's experience, this thing is so heavy(front end part), both my arms and back feel so sore after placing it next to my TV stand, I put it on the floor now. I bought Emo's X series digital/coaxial cable to connect.

I played 5 hours of mostly music(both 2 channels and 5.1 DTS & DTS Master), a few songs, about 30 minutes of movie(Terminator Salvation-blu ray) and documentary(Life-blu ray).

Overall bass is better and deeper...but I am curious why? I played two old albums from Kenny G and the bass are very good. The sub has built-in amp so it does not draw power from either the receiver or the XPA-5, right? Why is the bass better with XPA-5?

Because the XPA-5 is much mass macho compared to your Pioneer VSX-9040TXH receiver.
And it brings the mid bass out of your Mirage OMD-15 speakers with much better gusto!

I expect a lot from this amp based on so many good comments from this forum. With these 5 hours of testing I do not have the Wow or stunning experience like most others. I mean so far I don't hear a BIG difference yet when compare to my stand alone receiver.

Crank it up!

My questions:

1. -Does XPA-5 needs to be break in? if so how many hours, and at what volume level?

I'd say YES. Give it 50 hours or so...

2. -when compare to the receiver alone on 2 channels listening, I find XPA-5 less loud at the same volume level. For one song I turned to -10 db on my volume control and I still feel not very loud, but with the receiver I feel very loud already at -20db and I cannot stand at -10db, i.e. too loud and it hurts my ears. Is that distortion when I feel too loud?

This is all relative. And it means absolutely NOTHING at all!
If you truly want to hear the real difference, crank it up, both your receiver's internal amps by themselves, and then the XPA-5; and see which one will choke first!

3. -I always hear the technical term "headroom" and all of you said XPA-5 has lots of headroom. Does headroom mean at very loud volume level it is still comfortable to our ears? Or at loud level there is still no distortion?

Headroom is simply extra room on the power, dynamic reserves, extra juice storage, special underground cave where cans of food are stored for emergency, like a nuclear attack!

4. -My receiver's pre-out input show red and white hole, does it matter which color to use for front right and left speaker?

[/color]

Nope, simply use the preout for the Left front (white) for channel #1.
Right front (red) for channel #2.
Left Surround (white) for channel #3.
Right Surround (red) for channel #4.
Center (white, or black) for channel #5.

* But it don't really matters.

5. -What do I need to pay attention on setting after connecting the XPA-5? I run SPL meter at 75db for all 5.1 channels. I didn't do anything on EQ, Standing wave and X-curve on my receiver, don't know how to set them My receiver is Pioneer VSX 9040 TXH.

Read your Pionner receiver's Instructions Manual.
* And if you have some precise questions, try me!

6. -Any suggestion on which movies or type of songs for testing?

Tons of them:
Movies: "Avatar", "War of the Worlds, "The Nightmare Before Christmas", all "Toy Story" BD movies, "Predators", "Inception" (coming soon , "Iron Man" (both), "Kick-Ass", and a zillion more on Blu-rays...

Music: Patricia Barber, Diana Krall, Holly Cole, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan (SACD), Lucinda Williams, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones (SACD), and all the good audio quality recordings out there from those type of artists.

I know very little about this hobby so pls bear with me with all these probably 'stupid questions".

Thanks.

Nothing's stupid here; no questions are stupid and no people are stupid either.

We're all in it for the same goddamn reason: Audio Expansion of our Brains, Soul, and Emotions.



...Ti-li-dam, dam-a-li-do.

[geebo]

What LOTR said.

Also, when your high expectations fade and you just start listening for the enjoyment, you will start noticing big differences in the sound quality. I got my first seperate amp after having receivers and integrated amps for many many many years. I noticed immediate differences but over the ensuing weeks I came to appreciate it more and more as I'm sure you will too. Just stop trying so hard to hear differences and just enjoy.

[flamingeye]

headroom is when the music or musical note for an instant/fraction of a second demands massive amounts of power so if a amp is capable of producing say 1,000 watts for a fraction of a second it has good headroom capability , right or am I mixing it up with something else I do that sometimes

[gman1234]

If there is one to have first then why not the giant killer XPA-5! Lucky you. Your better bass may be a better "phase match" between your sub and speakers. Also the damping factor of the XPA may be giving your fronts more "gusto". A quality amp is like "taking a blanket of your loudspeakers". Someday, maybe you'll take the next plung and go to an pre-pro and get the other half of the improvements. So much to look foward to! Congrats...

[stiehl11]

Why is the bass better with XPA-5?

Because the XPA-5 is feeding a stronger, fuller signal to your speakers making them "pump" more clean bass. This now makes those frequencies "hot". The good news is that you should be able to set your cut off for your sub at a lower frequency and really push those low tones (and under tones).

-Does XPA-5 needs to be break in? if so how many hours, and at what volume level?

Sounds like it's good to go out of the box if you're already hearing improvements like the bass. If you have well mastered recordings and a decent ear you should be able to tell a "presence" or "soundstage" difference as well.

Is that distortion when I feel too loud?

No, that's your brain telling you it's too damn loud. Sorta like your brain tells you to take your hand off the stove when you touch a hot burner. Distortion is when the sound starts to distort. You should be able to hear distortion as at least an unpleasant change to the sound to whatever you're listening to. Think of distortion like this; take a accoustic guitar and take Jimi Hendrix... the instrument is making the same sound but Hendrix is using DISTORTION.

-Any suggestion on which movies or type of songs for testing?

Any movies that you thougth sounded good in the theater should sound just as nice (with adequate subs). Even TV should start sounding better. Usually action adventure/sci-fi (not sy-fy) have the biggest bangs and explosions. Wait to see a good horror movie with your set up. The loud noises should sound even louder.

I know very little about this hobby so pls bear with me with all these probably 'stupid questions".

We are all learners here.

[badronald]

Nov 21, 2010 3:04:06 GMT -5 NorthStar said:

Nov 21, 2010 0:43:58 GMT -5 copperband said:

Hi all,

Finally got it yesterday. Like most people's experience, this thing is so heavy(front end part), both my arms and back feel so sore after placing it next to my TV stand, I put it on the floor now. I bought Emo's X series digital/coaxial cable to connect.

I played 5 hours of mostly music(both 2 channels and 5.1 DTS & DTS Master), a few songs, about 30 minutes of movie(Terminator Salvation-blu ray) and documentary(Life-blu ray).

Overall bass is better and deeper...but I am curious why? I played two old albums from Kenny G and the bass are very good. The sub has built-in amp so it does not draw power from either the receiver or the XPA-5, right? Why is the bass better with XPA-5?

Because the XPA-5 is much mass macho compared to your Pioneer VSX-9040TXH receiver.
And it brings the mid bass out of your Mirage OMD-15 speakers with much better gusto!




Crank it up!



I'd say YES. Give it 50 hours or so...



This is all relative. And it means absolutely NOTHING at all!
If you truly want to hear the real difference, crank it up, both your receiver's internal amps by themselves, and then the XPA-5; and see which one will choke first!



Headroom is simply extra room on the power, dynamic reserves, extra juice storage, special underground cave where cans of food are stored for emergency, like a nuclear attack!



Read your Pionner receiver's Instructions Manual.
* And if you have some precise questions, try me!



Tons of them:
Movies: "Avatar", "War of the Worlds, "The Nightmare Before Christmas", all "Toy Story" BD movies, "Predators", "Inception" (coming soon , "Iron Man" (both), "Kick-Ass", and a zillion more on Blu-rays...

Music: Patricia Barber, Diana Krall, Holly Cole, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan (SACD), Lucinda Williams, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones (SACD), and all the good audio quality recordings out there from those type of artists.

I know very little about this hobby so pls bear with me with all these probably 'stupid questions".

Thanks.

Nothing's stupid here; no questions are stupid and no people are stupid either.

We're all in it for the same goddamn reason: Audio Expansion of our Brains, Soul, and Emotions.



...Ti-li-dam, dam-a-li-do.

Wow Bob! As a Canadian, how can you forget "Rush" under music?

[stiehl11]

I have been a Rush fan since Moving Pictures (loved their tour this year that played the album) but some of the mastering on their discs needs to be revisited.

[2infinity]

Rush has one of the best drummers of all time!

[stiehl11]

Yes, yes they do.

[ottaone]

Copperbrand, just like LOTR said, crank it up with the XPA-5.

Put on a CD that you've listened to maybe 100 times and listen. I can (almost) guarantee you that you will hear things that you've never heard in that CD before.

I just had that experience again recently listening to a CD track that I've heard more than 100 times. I heard percussion instruments that I haven't heard when I play the track in other systems (mine or dealers').

Also, your ears shouldn't get tired as easily as before and that you can actually sit and listen while imbibing your favorite beverage.

[stiehl11]

I found that I don't have to play it as loud as before to get the detail of the music that I was playing. I must caution though: GIGO - garbage in, garbage out. If someone listens to a recording that is garbage you're not going to hear a squat bit of difference... if it's not there it's not there. AND, I actually have disc that used to sound better on crappier systems. The XPA-5 (and amps of similar or better ilk) will show the beauty or the absence thereof of any material.

[slyder01]

All i know is when i upgraded to the yammy rxa2000 from mu old v630 i was like copperbrand at first, didnt think there was much of a difference until i unplugged and plugged the two a few times and then i was like WOW! what a difference!,, i mean the bass was so rich and clean and just the over all presence making my room filled with an over better sound.

I dont have an external amp yet, waiting on the xpa-5,,arrggghh,, and i cant wait to hear the difference when i get it, especially after reading all these reviews