XSP-1

[CrazyBlue]

That's what I'm thinking. I don't need all the extra features they've built in.

Lonnie said that The output stage in the XDA-1 is better than in the USP-1, and that the XSP-1 will have the same output stage as the XDA-1. I'm interested in why it's better, in part because my next upgrade will be either the preamp or the DAC, and in part because I don't like the sound I get using the XDA-1 as pre as much as I do just using it as a DAC into the USP-1. If that's what the XSP-1 is going to sound like, I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for.

On the other hand I'll be adding some room treatments soon, and it's possible that I'll change my mind about the XDA-1 as pre after I do.

I really like the USP-1, and I also really like the analog bass management feature, so simply moving up the line to the XSP-1 is the logical choice. I like the new display too. But since I already have the bass management and don't need the improved phono section, headphone amp, tone controls, etc, and won't die without the cool display, it comes down to sound quality. So what's in there giving me an additional $450 worth? (Actually $570 worth, given that I paid $325 shipped for my USP-1 used).

I don't doubt that something in the actual input, line or output stages is better, more robust, etc. I just want to hear about it. I tried doing a search on all the old XDA-1 threads to find Lonnie's comments about why it sounded better than the USP-1, but gawd, that's a lot of posts to wade through.

[gomer]

There is a reason I still hold onto my Outlaw ICBM :-D Still looking forward to the ICBM2

[roadrunner]

Crazyblue,

At this year's Emofest I had a long discussion with Lonnie about the XSP-1. Among the things we talked about was why it was delayed for a little over a year. It was originally scheduled for release in Oct 2010. Lonnie said that it was pulled because its sound quality was not good enough for Emotiva to release as its Flagship Preamplifier. As they were about to release the XSP-1 they found that it did not sound any better than the XDA-1 so it went back to engineering to develop a unit that truly deserved the Flagship designation.

The XSP-1 that will be released in the next month or two was gone through with a fine tooth comb and they took every circuit apart to find ways to enhance its sound quality. Emotiva now has, according to Lonnie, a world-class analog preamp worthy of being the Flagship. It has significantly improved the XSP-1, and it now occupies the top spot in sound quality within the Emotiva Product Line.

Latter in the day, at Emofest, I held a similar conversation with Big Dan and he confirmed everything Lonnie had said and went one step further. Dan said that the XSP-1 is the perfect match for use with the XPA-1 Power Amp. They both have fully balanced circuitry and have industry leading noise floors and have unsurpassed sound quality. Dan said that the XSP-1 was now ready to occupy the throne right next to the XPA-1 as the best components in the Emotiva arsenal.

[hpc]

Or next to the XPR-1 (whenever that might appear). I've fogotten how long
I've waited for the XSP-1, not to mention the XMC-1. Man, my XPA-1's are getting long
in the tooth - got them as soon as they hit the shores.

Well, until next year - shall keep using the RSP-2.

[a1uc]

[CrazyBlue]

Roadrunner,

Interesting that he mentioned it didn't sound any better than the XDA-1. Glad they feel that it should.

To my ears, being not golden and perhaps not even silver, the added detail in the top end made the XDA-1 less musical. I can't describe it better than that. Not bright but... hard perhaps? If they can take the extra detail and give it the smooth and slightly warm musicality (man, I hate that word) of the USP-1, I'm sold.

Just have to wait and hear one. But I like reading about what makes things better. Maybe they're just blowing smoke up my *bleep*, but the Wyred4sound site really gets into what sets their preamp apart. I suspect that they're not, nor should they be about a $2K preamp.

Must have faith that Emo will come through once more and compete with that class for half the price.

For us poor boys and cheapskates.

;D

[Deleted]

I think you're wise to wait. My conversation with Big Dan and Emofest was similar to Ronnie's and I echo the observation. I am VERY excited about the XSP-1...my major problem will be getting it in the house without drawing too much attention from Ratherwife.

However, she is a musician (piano) and has a very fine ear. While she is not a fan of some of my youth music (hard rock, metal) that I listen to from time to time, we do have the same taste in Jazz and classic rock and appreciates the set up we have. She actually brags to her girls friends at work about the monoblocks and the monolith-esque speakers we have. ;D

Everything I've been told directly by either Big Dan or Lonnie indicates the XSP will be a very fine pre-amp, and I hope to get my hands on one earlier next year. It will be my late Christmas gift to my twins (the amps), Castor and Pollux....

Nov 30, 2011 3:07:52 GMT -5 CrazyBlue said:

Roadrunner,

Interesting that he mentioned it didn't sound any better than the XDA-1. Glad they feel that it should.

To my ears, being not golden and perhaps not even silver, the added detail in the top end made the XDA-1 less musical. I can't describe it better than that. Not bright but... hard perhaps? If they can take the extra detail and give it the smooth and slightly warm musicality (man, I hate that word) of the USP-1, I'm sold.

Just have to wait and hear one. But I like reading about what makes things better. Maybe they're just blowing smoke up my *bleep*, but the Wyred4sound site really gets into what sets their preamp apart. I suspect that they're not, nor should they be about a $2K preamp.

Must have faith that Emo will come through once more and compete with that class for half the price.

For us poor boys and cheapskates.

;D

[CrazyBlue]

Waiting is a must. I'm researching a second, dedicated system that I'll start putting together next year. But I want specs! ;D

Nov 30, 2011 5:57:13 GMT -5 rather said:

Everything I've been told directly by either Big Dan or Lonnie indicates the XSP will be a very fine pre-amp, and I hope to get my hands on one earlier next year. It will be my late Christmas gift to my twins (the amps), Castor and Pollux....

Will the XSP-1 be Zeus or Tyndareus? And does the blue glow of the immortal twins crackle in the rigging as you sail upon a tide of music?

[roadrunner]

Emotiva had the XSP-1 installed in their demo rooms at Emofest. I spent about 12 hours during the weekend festivities listening to HDCD encoded albums from Reference Recordings through ERC-2 >> XSP-1 >> XPA-1 >> Emotiva Tower Speakers (XRT-6.2 & ERT-8.3). Four XPA-1 amps were driving each stereo pair of speakers. Needless to say, some very nice sound was entertaining attendees -- all gear had fully balanced circuitry.

I was attempting to evaluate the relative sound quality of the XSP-1 and the XRT-6.2 speakers. I would have loved to have had the USP-1 wired to compare it with the XSP-1. I was impressed with what I heard, enough so that I will be getting the XSP-1 as soon as they are released. I will then perform a thorough comparison between the USP-1 and the XSP-1. Once I have the XSP-1, I will also be able to compare the sound quality of the XDA-1 to the XSP-1 using the tape monitor circuit.

Based on what Lonnie said about the implementation of the Tone Control in the XSP-1, you should be able to tame the forward sounding XDA-1 without a negative impact on surrounding frequencies. You should be able to compensate for the acoustic properties of your listening room or your speaker's voicing very subtly. I had stopped using tone controls on pre-amps about 20 years ago because they were so crude in their implementation, but Lonnie assured me that the XSP-1 is very sophisticated and will make very subtle adjustments to the sound output.

This Flagship Preamplifier is loaded with features that will give the user absolute control of every nuance of the analog domain. I have been drooling for the past 18 months waiting to get my hands on the XSP-1. I am hoping that Emotiva is able to get some of the XSP-1s in stock early enough to put one under my Christmas Tree. Dan said that if all went well that Christmas was an outside possibility, but Jan 2012 is more likely.

[drjrapp]

Nov 30, 2011 13:30:24 GMT -5 roadrunner said:

Emotiva had the XSP-1 installed in their demo rooms at Emofest. I spent about 12 hours during the weekend festivities listening to HDCD encoded albums from Reference Recordings through ERC-2 >> XSP-1 >> XPA-1 >> Emotiva Tower Speakers (XRT-6.2 & ERT-8.3). Four XPA-1 amps were driving each stereo pair of speakers. Needless to say, some very nice sound was entertaining attendees -- all gear had fully balanced circuitry.

It will be interesting to hear what the XPS1 and XPA1 monos sound like with a better source and better speakers. I know that the ERC2 is the week link in my USP1 & (2) UPA1 setup when played through Martin Logan Summits.

[sharkman]

Nov 29, 2011 18:22:19 GMT -5 hpc said:

Or next to the XPR-1 (whenever that might appear). I've fogotten how long
I've waited for the XSP-1, not to mention the XMC-1. Man, my XPA-1's are getting long
in the tooth - got them as soon as they hit the shores.

Well, until next year - shall keep using the RSP-2.

I would caution you not to expect any improvement with the XSP over the RSP-2. It was the state of the art piece that they still are trying to replace, and only because parts to manufacture apparently went through the roof.

They've been at it now for probably close to 2 years with the XSP, and the RSP is a proven performer.

[vitruvian]

My gf is getting one of these for my birthday in the new year - I am can not wait....

[roadrunner]

Dec 3, 2011 4:27:36 GMT -5 vitruvian said:

My gf is getting one of these for my birthday in the new year - I am can not wait....

Wow! That sounds like you have found a gf worth keeping. ;D ;D If she isn't already a music lover, she is shortly going to be. What amps and speakers will be used with the XSP-1? ...source components? Enjoy your upcoming birthday gift, you lucky dog. ;D

[kowalski]

I might have missed it - but does anyone know the dimensions of this thing??

[onawav]

Wow. Ok. I really want one of those.. and my XPA-2 hasn't even arrived yet!

[roadrunner]

Dec 11, 2011 10:00:14 GMT -5 kowalski said:

I might have missed it - but does anyone know the dimensions of this thing??

Yep. The chassis will be the same size as the MMC-1 HT processor, which is now discontinued. It will approximately 6" x 17" x 17". A link to the MMC-1 Product Page is below.

emotiva.com/mmc1.shtm

The XMC will probably use the same chassis as well. You probably already know the XSP-1 will be Emotiva's Flagship Preamplifier and has fully balanced input and output circuitry. It was designed to be the perfect match for the XPA-1 power amps.

[vitruvian]

Dec 3, 2011 12:20:36 GMT -5 roadrunner said:

Dec 3, 2011 4:27:36 GMT -5 vitruvian said:

My gf is getting one of these for my birthday in the new year - I am can not wait....

Wow! That sounds like you have found a gf worth keeping. ;D ;D If she isn't already a music lover, she is shortly going to be. What amps and speakers will be used with the XSP-1? ...source components? Enjoy your upcoming birthday gift, you lucky dog. ;D

She certainly is. I intend on asking her parents for her hand just after Christmas. ;D

She is an avid lover of music - we often DJ together at festivals. It is lucky that we like pretty much exactly the same music, which is lucky since it is niche electronica.* I play music at home all the time and she welcomes this. I spend a fortune on music (for a grad student) and equipment and she is cool with that too.

As for source equipment, I will slot the XSP into my theatre. So source material is:

Rega P3 with Denon DL 160 cart (my first TT - 2months old)
Lite Audio transport
Squeezebox Touch
Lite 83 DAC (fully balanced)

Processors: XMC (using my discount card) for movies into HTB of the XSP.

Amps: 2 x Bel Canto Ref 1000mk monoblocks (fully balanced)

Speakers: Paradigm S8v1 with 2x SVS SB13 (integrated using XSP's internal crossovers).

* For example, best cd (for me) of 2011 = www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/alr/alr1cd013.html

Do yourself a favour and check it out

[Viktor]

Nice to see someone else enjoying primarily psy/chill with their Emo gear! ;D

[rischa]

Should we take the fact that the xsp isn't up for preorder yet as a sign that it won't be included in the slew of new products coming down the pipeline in the new year? Or am I making an ass out of u and me?

[roadrunner]

Dec 13, 2011 19:55:48 GMT -5 rischa said:

Should we take the fact that the xsp isn't up for preorder yet as a sign that it won't be included in the slew of new products coming down the pipeline in the new year? Or am I making an ass out of u and me?

At this year's Emofest celebration, Big Dan said that the XSP-1 was locked in on its design and that we should see production units become available during 1st quarter of 2012. When I spoke with Lonnie he said that they were working on the production line engineering for the XSP-1 and if everything goes smoothly we can expect to see them during January 2012. Since both Dan and Lonnie were giving the same basic time-line for the XSP-1 we should be able to place our orders in the next month or two.

So let's keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well so that you can get in line, right behind me, to sign up for your XSP-1. ;D ;D ;D I have been drooling for the past 18 months while waiting for Emotiva to release their Flagship Pre-amp.