Post by monkumonku on Nov 3, 2011 23:22:31 GMT -5
Two 90 lb boxes arrived in good shape today at my office. I wasn't there to see the glare of the UPS guy when he delivered them, though. ;D Thank you to wattmeworry for a great job of shipping and packing.
One of our warehouse guys helped me put them in the car and I drove home hoping not to do a wheelie. It was quite an ordeal getting them into the house, unboxed and onto the rack, along with moving the XPA-3 to a different shelf and taking the XPA-2 out of the rack. I guess I was so full of adrenaline I was able to do all of it without passing out. I have a feeling tomorrow I will be suffering, though - I can already feel the onset of aches and pains!
Everything was well-packed in the original packaging. Even had the plastic bag for the amp, plus the plastic film over the LED panel (which I took off) and the manual was in the bag. The only thing was, one of the feet had come off and was loose in the box. I could not find the screw anywhere and had to drive to Home Depot for one because of course I didn't have the right size. Even the screws Emo uses are first-rate. Much nicer metal and finish than the ones they sell at HD. No self-tapping jobs here. But what the heck, no one sees the screw inside the foot so even though it didn't match in color or material, it kept the foot on. Then as you might expect, I found the screw in the plastic bag.. but by then I was not going to haul the amp out of the rack to put the original screw back on. ;D
I was going to keep the XPA-2 in close proximity so I could switch cables back and forth to do a comparison, but after lifting all these amps and moving cables around, etc., I said to heck with it! I put the XPA-2 inside one of the boxes and then sat down to listen. So, be aware that these first impressions are strictly from memory and not from switching back and forth from the XPA-1's to the XPA-2.
I used my standard evaluation tracks plus a few more - I am very familiar with all except one.
Since this is already long, I might as well list the tracks (in order):
Diana Krall - I Love Being Here With You (Live in Paris version)
Sunny Sumter - Nick of Time
ARC Choir - Shady Green Pastures
Baby It's Cold Outside - James Taylor/Natalie Cole
Errand Girl For Rhythm - Diana Krall
Hit That Jive Jack - Diana Krall
Gaslighting Abbie - Steely Dan
Blue Rondo A La Turk - Dave Brubeck Quarter
Let Me Off Uptown - Cheryl Bentyne
Cuerpo Y Alma - Esperanza Spalding
(the above are the ones I always use when evaluating new equipment or changes to the system) Others:
Earth Wind and Fire - September
Eva Cassidy - Cheek to Cheek (live version)
Lee Ritenour / Six String Theory - Freeway Jam (this one I am not real familiar with but have been listening to a lot the past few days)
Elton John - Madman Across the Water (alternate version on the remastered and SACD version of Tumbleweed Connection)
Soo... first thing was, did they work? I turned on the system and was greeted with what seemed like a rather loud click from the XPA-1's. Is that normal? Like relays clicking or something. Then I saw the LED's light up red then blue, and was thinking wow that is a lot of LED's. ;D
And.. I heard a buzz through the speakers. Not loud, but loud enough to be bothersome. My first thought was, what am I gonna do about this?? I checked the wiring, etc., then turned them back on and the buzz was a little softer but still there. Needless to say I was highly disappointed. I decided well, I might as well listen anyway and see what they sound like.
I played the tracks via a Sonos box, analog outputs connected to the UMC-1 analog in. I had it set for direct, so that the front speakers were playing full range (2.0).
I Love Being Here With You sounded good but it always sounds good. One thing I noticed was that the bass was stronger. Several others had mentioned the same thing in their reviews, and I am sure that the bottom end was better with the XPA-1's than with the XPA-2. After listening to all the songs I concluded there is no need for a sub with music anymore.
Also, after this first track I stopped the music and noted that the buzz wasn't there anymore. I could hear a hiss but it wasn't real loud - I could only hear it up close to the speaker but not from my chair. I have no idea what happened but I was happy.
The XPA-1's started setting themselves apart on the 3rd track, Shady Green Pastures. This is a Gospel choir singing acapella and I was impressed. The voices were very clear, distinct, and so was the hand clapping. It seemed to me to be more clean and dynamic than I'd heard it before.
My plan was to listen to portions of each song to get a feel for how the XPA-1's sounded. But I was enjoying it so much that I listened to the entire tracks - the sound was very engaging. Everything sounded so pure and distinct, very dynamic, and it was like the music was inviting me to just keep raising the volume because it sounded so pure. I was listening louder than I usually do but the XPA-1's were just like how so many describe them - effortless. Plus, Emo wasted all those LED's on me because most of the time only one was lit. The most I saw lit were like 4 or 5 and only briefly. Everything sounded really natural, detailed, and stuff that was supposed to have a zing, had a real zing to it.
For example - Freeway Jam was a delight to listen to. It is well recorded and the guitars sounded fabulous. Really, really good.
I noticed on Blue Rondo a la Turk that the taps on the cymbals at the beginning of the recording were just beautiful. I know they are just taps but the air around them and how pure they sounded was amazing.
On Madman Across the Water, Nigel Olsen likes to whack those crash cymbals and the XPA-1's really shone - they were dynamic and captured every nuance... they were tireless!
In my opinion, the XPA-1's reproduced everything superbly and effortlessly. They are like all the reviews have said.. Also, after this set was done, the speaker hiss had gotten even softer, to a very low level.
Okay, now that said, I have to put this disclaimer that maybe this is all in my head and it is just fulfillment of expectations? Like I said, I didn't do an A/B comparison. However, it is not so much that I heard things I never heard before in the recordings, or a veil had been lifted, etc., it is just that the music seemed so much more dynamic, had more swing and life to it. Very detailed. I'll say just what others have said, the XPA-2 is very, very good because I really enjoyed my system with it but my first impressions of these XPA-1's is that they are indeed a step up.
After this session I put my hand on top of the amps and they weren't even warm...
I can't wait to listen to them some more but unfortunately I have to work tomorrow and this is gonna be a busy weekend so I probably won't be able to crank them up until late Saturday afternoon or on Sunday afternoon. Well, that gives me something to look forward to!
As of right now, I am very pleased. These were worth every penny.
Here's a couple of pics - I took the silver trim off. Oh, and I gotta do some wire management this weekend, too. ;D
One of our warehouse guys helped me put them in the car and I drove home hoping not to do a wheelie. It was quite an ordeal getting them into the house, unboxed and onto the rack, along with moving the XPA-3 to a different shelf and taking the XPA-2 out of the rack. I guess I was so full of adrenaline I was able to do all of it without passing out. I have a feeling tomorrow I will be suffering, though - I can already feel the onset of aches and pains!
Everything was well-packed in the original packaging. Even had the plastic bag for the amp, plus the plastic film over the LED panel (which I took off) and the manual was in the bag. The only thing was, one of the feet had come off and was loose in the box. I could not find the screw anywhere and had to drive to Home Depot for one because of course I didn't have the right size. Even the screws Emo uses are first-rate. Much nicer metal and finish than the ones they sell at HD. No self-tapping jobs here. But what the heck, no one sees the screw inside the foot so even though it didn't match in color or material, it kept the foot on. Then as you might expect, I found the screw in the plastic bag.. but by then I was not going to haul the amp out of the rack to put the original screw back on. ;D
I was going to keep the XPA-2 in close proximity so I could switch cables back and forth to do a comparison, but after lifting all these amps and moving cables around, etc., I said to heck with it! I put the XPA-2 inside one of the boxes and then sat down to listen. So, be aware that these first impressions are strictly from memory and not from switching back and forth from the XPA-1's to the XPA-2.
I used my standard evaluation tracks plus a few more - I am very familiar with all except one.
Since this is already long, I might as well list the tracks (in order):
Diana Krall - I Love Being Here With You (Live in Paris version)
Sunny Sumter - Nick of Time
ARC Choir - Shady Green Pastures
Baby It's Cold Outside - James Taylor/Natalie Cole
Errand Girl For Rhythm - Diana Krall
Hit That Jive Jack - Diana Krall
Gaslighting Abbie - Steely Dan
Blue Rondo A La Turk - Dave Brubeck Quarter
Let Me Off Uptown - Cheryl Bentyne
Cuerpo Y Alma - Esperanza Spalding
(the above are the ones I always use when evaluating new equipment or changes to the system) Others:
Earth Wind and Fire - September
Eva Cassidy - Cheek to Cheek (live version)
Lee Ritenour / Six String Theory - Freeway Jam (this one I am not real familiar with but have been listening to a lot the past few days)
Elton John - Madman Across the Water (alternate version on the remastered and SACD version of Tumbleweed Connection)
Soo... first thing was, did they work? I turned on the system and was greeted with what seemed like a rather loud click from the XPA-1's. Is that normal? Like relays clicking or something. Then I saw the LED's light up red then blue, and was thinking wow that is a lot of LED's. ;D
And.. I heard a buzz through the speakers. Not loud, but loud enough to be bothersome. My first thought was, what am I gonna do about this?? I checked the wiring, etc., then turned them back on and the buzz was a little softer but still there. Needless to say I was highly disappointed. I decided well, I might as well listen anyway and see what they sound like.
I played the tracks via a Sonos box, analog outputs connected to the UMC-1 analog in. I had it set for direct, so that the front speakers were playing full range (2.0).
I Love Being Here With You sounded good but it always sounds good. One thing I noticed was that the bass was stronger. Several others had mentioned the same thing in their reviews, and I am sure that the bottom end was better with the XPA-1's than with the XPA-2. After listening to all the songs I concluded there is no need for a sub with music anymore.
Also, after this first track I stopped the music and noted that the buzz wasn't there anymore. I could hear a hiss but it wasn't real loud - I could only hear it up close to the speaker but not from my chair. I have no idea what happened but I was happy.
The XPA-1's started setting themselves apart on the 3rd track, Shady Green Pastures. This is a Gospel choir singing acapella and I was impressed. The voices were very clear, distinct, and so was the hand clapping. It seemed to me to be more clean and dynamic than I'd heard it before.
My plan was to listen to portions of each song to get a feel for how the XPA-1's sounded. But I was enjoying it so much that I listened to the entire tracks - the sound was very engaging. Everything sounded so pure and distinct, very dynamic, and it was like the music was inviting me to just keep raising the volume because it sounded so pure. I was listening louder than I usually do but the XPA-1's were just like how so many describe them - effortless. Plus, Emo wasted all those LED's on me because most of the time only one was lit. The most I saw lit were like 4 or 5 and only briefly. Everything sounded really natural, detailed, and stuff that was supposed to have a zing, had a real zing to it.
For example - Freeway Jam was a delight to listen to. It is well recorded and the guitars sounded fabulous. Really, really good.
I noticed on Blue Rondo a la Turk that the taps on the cymbals at the beginning of the recording were just beautiful. I know they are just taps but the air around them and how pure they sounded was amazing.
On Madman Across the Water, Nigel Olsen likes to whack those crash cymbals and the XPA-1's really shone - they were dynamic and captured every nuance... they were tireless!
In my opinion, the XPA-1's reproduced everything superbly and effortlessly. They are like all the reviews have said.. Also, after this set was done, the speaker hiss had gotten even softer, to a very low level.
Okay, now that said, I have to put this disclaimer that maybe this is all in my head and it is just fulfillment of expectations? Like I said, I didn't do an A/B comparison. However, it is not so much that I heard things I never heard before in the recordings, or a veil had been lifted, etc., it is just that the music seemed so much more dynamic, had more swing and life to it. Very detailed. I'll say just what others have said, the XPA-2 is very, very good because I really enjoyed my system with it but my first impressions of these XPA-1's is that they are indeed a step up.
After this session I put my hand on top of the amps and they weren't even warm...
I can't wait to listen to them some more but unfortunately I have to work tomorrow and this is gonna be a busy weekend so I probably won't be able to crank them up until late Saturday afternoon or on Sunday afternoon. Well, that gives me something to look forward to!
As of right now, I am very pleased. These were worth every penny.
Here's a couple of pics - I took the silver trim off. Oh, and I gotta do some wire management this weekend, too. ;D
Sounds like they sounded good. ;D 
;D
