UPA-1 amps for Paradigm Studio 100 speakers

[hd32vl]

Will two UPA-1 mono-amps be enough power for Paradigm Studio 100 speakers, primary use is music.

[Deleted]

yup, you will be fine.

[kse]

Yes, for sure. Nice speakers, BTW.

[ngmitter]

I got the V3s and they are PLENTY of power to drive the 100s. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. I'm getting really tired of repeating myself, but I enjoy helping out a fellow Paradigm owner.

[Showtyme]

UPA 1s. Nice combo.

If u can ever get XPA1s. Audio nirvana for studio 100s!!!!

[NorthStar]

A pair of UPA-1s for your Studio 100s; great!

But a pair of XPA-1s; wow, just even greater! ;D ;D

* Hey, did I just forget to Welcome you at the Lounge?

About Merry Christmas?!

Bob

[Showtyme]

I vote for dual XPA1s for the studio 100s.

Oh...Lord Of The Rings.. Thanks for helping me with advise of emotive products

I put a pix of my emotive gear in HT section

Yes either way upa1s or xpa1s, hull be extremely happy!!!!

[NorthStar]

Dec 31, 2010 0:48:04 GMT -5 Showtyme said:

I vote for dual XPA1s for the studio 100s.

Oh...Lord Of The Rings.. Thanks for helping me with advise of emotive products

I put a pix of my emotive gear in HT section

Yes either way upa1s or xpa1s, hull be extremely happy!!!!

Well, it's easy, I am quite familiar with the Reference Studio 100s,
and I know how much better they sing with a lot of power running into them; so it seems to me that a pair of XPA-1s is exactly the right prescription ordered by the doctor. ;D

He'd better hurry up though and put an order for a pair,
as some big changes are about to take place, and those XPA-1s might not be around for much too long!

[gatortank]

Guys i have a H/K 3490..its 120 watts x2..with 45 HCC...would going with the UPA-2..help?the H/K has two 15,000uf caps and only 4 outputs on the main heat grid but they are big ones..me thinking with the UPA-2 that has 40,000 caps and 4 outputs per-channel plus the 200 Damping factor it should open up more of a sound stage?oh Polk Monitor70s in a 2.1 set'up.

[Kato]

My first post on this forum and a very similar question, I just bought a pair of Studio 100 v.5’s, and my current AV receiver (Pioneer Elite VSX-43, 100Wpc nominal) seems to be working fairly hard driving the S100’s, both in stereo direct (2-channel only) and 5-channel. The other speakers are a CC-590 v.4, ADP-590 surrounds, and a Servo-15 v.1. I’m hearing some compression at higher volumes and overall I’m not hearing the kind slam, presence and breadth of soundstage that I think the S100’s are capable of. It may be that they’re just not fully broken in yet, (50 or so hours so far) or maybe, as I’ve read in several places including this thread, the S100’s need some more muscle behind them to open up. So, I’m eventually going to retire the receiver, but will probably do it in stages, driving separate power amps with the pre-outs and then eventually getting a processor. Amps I’m considering are the XPA-3, XPA-2 and XPA-5, any of which would be a big step in the right direction, however, I’m wondering if I will hear a significant difference by stepping up to the XPA-2 to drive the S100’s or will it be overkill with no significant differences over a XPA-3 or 5? It’s not just about clean power at high volume. I’m also interested in whether the XPA-2 will image better, be more revealing, and throw a broader soundstage at lower volumes.

[NorthStar]

Hi Kato and welcome to the Lounge!

Your Studio 100s would love the XPA-2, and you can use the XPA-5 to drive all your other speakers (with an eventual upgrade to a 7.1-channel setup).

If money is not an issue, I recommend a pair of XPA-1 monoblocks.

[Kato]

Thanks for the welcome LOTR and thanks for the quick reply, I am definitely leaning toward the setup you suggest, including going to 7.1 using my Paradigm Export Monitors (just retired from L-R duty and replaced with the S100's) for the rear channels. I don't mind getting my wallet out, I just want to do it for a reason. What would I get for the extra $ going to the XPA-2 or XPA-1's? Diminishing returns and all that.

[weird23]

I used the UPA-1's with my V5 100's and they had adequate power for those speakers. I always felt they could use more power but never got around to trying out the XPA-2 before I got rid of them. I think the XPA-2 would be a good compromise between the two monoblocks. I must say that the XPA-1's sound fantastic with my S6's though.

[NorthStar]

XPA-2 and XPA-1 (ultimate monoblock with top-notch separation) are for Power, Dynamics, and Headroom.

Good match with loudspeakers that have low impedance (4Ohms or less), and less than average sensitivity (87dB and less), and with many drivers in them, and large cubic inches enclosures.
The Paradigm Reference Studio 100s are well known to love lots of power (RMS watts with current to spare). They were designed by Paradigm for larger rooms and to play loud without much of distortion.
They sound their very best when driven with lots of current (larger amplifiers with a lot of reserve into lower impedances).

The XPA-2 will drive them very nicely, but the XPA-1s (in true larger rooms) would be the very best complimentary amps for the 100s, and also the top Signature Series (larger enclosures).

* If your room is not truly large, then the XPA-2 is perfect.

** By truly large I mean larger than 16' by 22' (this is mid size; fair); like closer to 18' by 24' and larger. ...Or/and with a high ceiling, and open room to adjacent rooms.

[Kato]

Thanks for the info guys. My AV room is 13.5' by 25' by 8' high ceiling. You are confirming my thinking that I should go at least XPA-2, and I'll give some thought to XPA-1's which I wasn't considering previously. A couple of questions for wierd23:

1. What are you hearing from the S6's that you weren't hearing from the Studio 100's?

and

2. I see the MRX-700 in your equipment list along with the Emo power amps, are you using the MRX strictly as a processor? If so then why not just go MRX-300 or 500? This is one possibility I'm considering in order to get ARC room correction....

[weird23]

The Signature series has more detail, resolution, less sibilance and tighter more refined bass than the Studio series. I found the Studio tweeter to get kind of hot and a little bright, the Be tweeters in the Sigs do not have this character, they have much better dispersion and stay really smooth and composed.

A while ago I had a complete seven channel V5 Studio setup and decided that I wanted to go up in quality but down in size. I purchased a setup based around the S2 v3 and thought that external amps wouldn't be needed so I sold the ones I had and went with the most powerful Anthem AVR. That lasted for about 8 months and it just wasn't cutting it for me. I wish I had gone with the 300 and added amps to it instead as the extra features and added cost are being wasted now. I'm hoping to move up to an Anthem processor sometime in the near future so at that point it won't really matter anymore. I didn't originally buy the MRX 700 with the intent to add amps to it.

[Kato]

How do you like ARC? I assume you do given your future processor plans. I've been considering an MRX-700, primarily due to the good things I'm reading about ARC, but am concerned whether it will have sufficient power. A 300 teamed up with some Emo power amps may well be a winning combo.

[weird23]

So far ARC is my favorite room eq that I've tried, used Pioneer MCACC advanced, Audyessey Multi Eq and Audyessey Multi EQ XT previously to ARC. All of the other software I turned the eq off when listening to music, not so with ARC. It's the first one that I keep on all the time no matter what the content is. I did like the surround presence with Audyessey XT though, it sound a little unnatural but it was fun none the less. I haven't tried Audyessey XT32 which is supposed to be fantastic, you should audition both ARC and XT 32 and go with the one you like best.

If you decide that you like ARC better than unless you need the added features of the MRX 700 ( which isn't many ) then the MRX 300 with external amps is the best value proposition. With the 100's the extra current is a good thing to have.

[Kato]

Thought I would update this, two years after posting my comments above I have finally pulled the trigger on some emo gear. Ordered the XPA-5 v2 and UMC-200. Will run with these for a bit and see how satisfied I am with emo products in general and 200wpc into the S100's, if I still want more power or want to go 7.1, then I will add an XPA-2. Will post some impressions after I have things set up.

[krazystang]

XPA-2 + Studio 100's Equal's greatness. UPA-1 will power the studio 100's, but not good enough. I've had all 3. The Dual XPA-1's are not worth the extra $1,200 over the XPA-2 for the Studio 100's.