UPDATED! XPA-1, Benchmark dac2 HGC, B&W cm9, JL Fathom F113

[Descry]

Dec 10, 2011 1:27:39 GMT -5 audiofile said:

You mentioned you changed out the silver trims. Are these reversible??? I was just thinking of pulling mine off to see...

I hope that you can stop teasing yourself soon! ;D

Nah like the rest of the guys said they are separate black trims pictured in the link above but spaying is a great idea, it didn't even cross my mind! Would have saved me a few pounds! if i ain't moved out by next weekend I'm setting it all up in my bedroom and I will just have to let the sound waves tare through my mothers house ;D

[honeymonster]

Have been looking for a resonably priced CD player / preamp / dac and saw a number of very positive reviews of the Audiolab 8200CDQ, I found an ex-demo pre OLED version at a good price, so took the plunge - connected to my Quad 909 and Proac 140 Mk2's the sound quality is just superb. ;D

[qaz]

I was waiting for a review of the cdq with xpa1, ended up repairing my current one instead. But will eventually need to get a replacement for this old player. TS, r u still around to share what this combo sounds like direct & the diff with maybe usp 1 in the middle? I'm currently using usp1 & xpa1 combo with rega Apollo cdp.

[Dr. Feel Good]

Hey...how about some pictures??

[garbulky]

And the review please!

[bulldozer]

please please write the review!

[Descry]

Firstly let me apologise for the time its taken for this review. I will be ready in a new thread by the end of the weekend ;D

[JayZ]

For what is worth, here is a brief rundown from my perspective, having owned a pair of XPA-1s for the past couple years.

The XPA-1’s are fantastic value for money. I have taken maximum use of their high gain by feeding my source directly to the amps via a passive TVC stage. Also took good use of the amps true balanced topology by running balanced cables all the way from source to the amp via the passive pre. I have bi-wired my speakers with minimal length good quality LC OFC cable, the amps are placed right next to the speakers. In terms of how they sound; I like their dead silent background and velvety smooth textures, some say the XPA-1s have a tinge of tube-like warmth and I would tend to agree but of course a lot depends on the speakers as well. I am particularly impressed at the soundstage these amps are able to portray, the instrument separation is superb and timing is in good – I am inclined to say it is quite musical as well. Some say that emotive XPA amps lack a bit of finesse in the upper registers but my experience has been to the contrary. Just to give an example, I have the THTST album www.thtst.com/ at 24/96 playing via my streamer and I can tell you the XPA-1s deliver a level of dynamics that is simply unbelievable – almost as if there is a real drummer playing in my lounge, the attack and decay of symbols is brought out as I’ve never heard elsewhere, and the textures of the various percussion instruments are brought very well. Another highlight is how good they retain the energy and balance of a performance at low volumes – it could be due to the XPA-1s operating in Class-A mode at low volume or other characteristics of the rest of my system. On the other hand, you can crank up the volume if you want and these amps retain their composure very well with no hint whatsoever of any compression across the whole audible band. Now one might ask doesn’t this guy have anything bad to say about the XPA-1s at all, well the only complaint I can think of is the balanced connectors not locking into place as in my other components. I have been through several amps in the last few years but I can tell you the XPA-1s will be here for another good few years.

[hydrocat]

I agree jayz, I have the xpa-1's in a strictly two channel system and they are not lacking finnesse in the high and mid ranges, in fact, I would say this is where they excel. Of course I think thats where the speakers strong points are also. whatever your speakers do best will be even better with these amps.

[Descry]

Finally its here, what you have all been waiting for, My review. Sorry for the very long wait.

[Descry]

My kit.

Emotiva xpa-1
Audiolab 8200cdq
B&W CM9
JL Audio Fathom F113
Velodyne sms-1
Sonos bridge
Sonos connect
Sonos controller

Other connected kit -

Sony kld-40ex523 tv
Sony bdp s480 blu-ray player
Sonos play 3
Sonorous tv stand
Audio serenity black granite plinths
Audio serenity brushed aluminium spike shoes

Audio interconnects

Verrastarr Grand illusion signature xlr
(connected between fully balanced cdq and xpa-1)
Chord Chameleon rca
(connected between cdq and sms1)
Soundoctor signature rca
(connected between sms1 and f113)
Wireworld Supanova 6 optical
(connected between sonos zp90 and cdq)
Qed QE3012 optical
(connected between the tv and cdq)
Peerless Delta hdmi cable

Speaker cable

Chord Epic - modified to doubled up conductors and signature banana plugs by Chord

Power cables / conditioner

Wireworld stratus 52
(for cdq)
Tacima CS929/BP
(all main audio components except the f113 are connected into this)


This review is over a 6 month period. At this point i am using chord chameleon rca with no jl sub.

First impressions.

Firstly these things are the heaviest amps i have ever had to lift. Coming from a musical background i have previously had to move some huge bose pro audio amps with my dad for his dj gigs and they were heavy but these really are beasts. The first thing i did when i saw the boxes is laugh, the delivery guy was like "what are they" with veins popping out of his head as he tried lifting both stacked on top of each other, lol. I said amps and he looked at me like i was crazy as he resorted to carrying one at a time. We got them in the house and i hauled them upstairs into my bedroom, i urgently but carefully opened the box and there it was. I was instantly impressed with how quality it looked but i didn't like the silver trim pieces so i swapped them over to the black ones i had purchased. These amps really do look beautiful with the brushed black aluminium face plate, silver engraving and button, straight away i was expecting big things from my new toys. Unfortunately i couldn't hook them up as my stereo was all Packed away in boxes as we were expecting to move at any time. A few weeks passed and i finally got to unpack and plug them in!!!

So i plugged them in and seen the blue leds light up, a few clicks later and we were ready to rock. I jumped on the sofa with my best cd loaded and finger poised on the play button of my remote and.... buyers remorse kicked in, i was a bit gutted. I was expecting to feel like i was in the middle of the music with sounds immersing me like id never heard before, i was expecting bass to hit me in the chest, expecting imaging like i could reach out and touch the artist but no, none of this. Just what appeared to be a very bland 'normal' sound. Hum, i thought id been hustled. I was busy at this time of the year so i left it running for about 3 days straight at a low volume to run them in. At this point the system was not fully balanced as i was just using the rca connections with my chord chameleon interconnects. ( the next paragraph was with verrastarr xlr so the system is now fully balanced )

The sound

After running in i felt a bit more relaxed that i had made the correct decision. I could play super loud (109 dbc) with no distortion what so ever, the bass was punchy and i had clarity, i Played some well recorded kick drums and they sound like they are in the living room. The first thing i noticed is that nothing is over exaggerated, if there is little bass in the recording that is what you get, if the recording is rubbish you get a rubbish sound but boy... Put a well recorded bit of music into these things and you see what you are paying for. Have you ever been listening to music and some spatial information hits your ears and they prick up? it makes you really listen and run the track again. These xpa-1s love spatial information. They way they can project music is magical, they seem to send out a wide stable image with depth, detail and clarity. I remember as a child when i had my first experience with a philips boom box (it wasnt mine, it was a friends. My first stereo was a rubbish matsui i.e. dixon's own brand. Enough said!), it had one of these spatial enhancer buttons that would make the music sound like it was in surround sound. This is what the xpa can pick up when it is provided in a recording, i find it as mesmerising like when i was a child but now that fake surround sound effect is real and is integral to the sound.
Another thing that the xpas do well is detail. On d'angelo's voodoo cd there is a wealth of low lying information that you just can not hear on a normal stereo system. I can not only hear that he is talking very quietly under all the music i can also hear what he is saying clearly... Amazing. Iv been listening to this cd for years but have never heard it like this before everything seems to take on definition in ways i have never heard,
Now this is the main thing that amazes me. Take definition add spatial clues and correct midrange pitch with bass definition and music seems become real (mainly live recordings) they pan hard left, hard right, voices sound like the singer is dead center and real. Every night without fail i sit here with my jaw dropped at just how much of a great sound stage the xpa's create.
I watched the olympic games opening ceremony. I had my cdq pumped upto volume number 10 with the sub in tv mode through the velo sms-1 and it was actually like i was there. I could hear everything, the bass that the emo supplied to the cm9's was really really tight, no distortion at all. It had so many levels of detail and married up perfect with the f113 so much so that i could not tell what was doing what but it all sounded like it was coming from the front. I looked the next day and the emo delivered so much punch to the cm9 that the port bung had been spat out on one speaker and i couldn't find the other so i presume the speaker ate it :-o . The mid range was breath taking, i could hear the echo's bouncing around the stadium in my room. The audience clapping was very sharp but no harshness was conveyed, the commentary was dead Center as if i had a centre speaker. The ceremony was amazing and i was floored by the sound, literally.

How would i describe the sound of the xpa-1? Dead neutral. If i put a wam sound into it i get a warm sound out, distorted low bit rate recording into it he same comes out, a high resolution flac file in pure audio bliss comes out. everything i put into it sounds different i cant really pick out a signature sound apart from punchy low bass and pure clarity when the source material provides it. The amp really is what ever you put into it. Before i had this amp i couldn't really tell the differences between the filters on the cdq but now the differences are all too clear and when i plot the different filters through REW you can see the tiny response differences. As amazing as i think my system is i bet if you connected super high end kit to it it would step it up to the next level. I cant imagine my stereo getting any better than this, it really has to be heard to be believed. Iv demoed all sorts and haven't heard any better.
I had a demo on some b&w pm1 and with the xpa-1 driving the cm9 they sounded twice as good. Im sure the pm1 is an amazing speaker but this amp takes your speaker to the next level if your system can keep up.

Niggles.

It makes a clicking sound when the heat sinks heat up, it is audible when listening quiet but i don't mind it to be honest, when the amp has to work a bit harder it makes the noise, it could be a big audio peak while watching a movie or while listening to music. Its just one of those things. At the end of the day if i had to buy an amp with a big brand name it would cost MUCH more so i can forgive emo.
When i first got them, upon switching them on i would get a quiet burst of noise for about 2 seconds but it don't happen anymore.....?

Summary

This is a monstrous amp capable of going from the subtlest detail and widest spatial soundstage to the biggest bass with detail, tumbrel accuracy, power, and accuracy all at once. I LOVE it. Their is no way i could do better for the money. They look beautiful and i feel proud and honoured to own them never mind be privileged enough to own all this kit.

Thanks emo for fulfilling my audio dreams at such a modest budget.

[Descry]

Audiophile porn ;D

[Descry]

more F113

[Descry]

[Descry]

Close up

[Descry]

Jun 11, 2012 14:46:16 GMT -5 honeymonster said:

Have been looking for a resonably priced CD player / preamp / dac and saw a number of very positive reviews of the Audiolab 8200CDQ, I found an ex-demo pre OLED version at a good price, so took the plunge - connected to my Quad 909 and Proac 140 Mk2's the sound quality is just superb. ;D

i dont think it can be beaten for the money. what filter are you using, hope your using the digital preamp!

[bulldozer]

great review, thanks i knew you would love them. these amps IMO are extremely valuable and worth more than their price, im glad i could afford them thanks.

[gearhead2003]

Awsome setup, B&W's are classily great looking. Congrats

[kwkwsr1000]

Hi, New to this site. Owner of xpa 1, and ecr 2 that sound very good in my system. I'll be taking delivery on a pair of xpa 1's by the first of the week, and on edge to hear my system with them in it. I llike the information and views on this site.

[Descry]

UPDATE!

So i changed the Audiolab 8200 cdq for a Benchmark dac2 hgc and Oppo 103D as the transport then upgraded the speaker cables to the distortion free townshend isolda edct. I really cant believe what this amp can do. Just amazing for the money. Dread to think what the XPR-1 can do...

Music is even more real, timbres are spot on and i can hear even deeper into the mix. Echo's and reverbs and clearly in there own space in the soundstage and everything is CRYSTAL clear. The soundstage is so big Its like watching a movie at imax while sat near the front, the stage is so big it feels as if its all around me...

Between the audiolab and benchmark i had the nad m51 for a few months which i didn't like because the upper treble was recessed, bass was exaggerated, not as tight and it added it own signature to the sound, kind of a warm tonality to everything. I like the truth... Reference, and the nad was not. I bet a lot of people would love it especially if you had very bright bookshelfs that would benefit from exaggerated bass and a less brighter top end but it never sounded right to me. On a more positive note it shows just how transparent the xpa-1 is, it really sounds like the source connected to it, a truly transparent amp.

Anyway just a little update. I love this amp and the only weak link in my system now is the speakers so I'm looking for some Anthony gallo reference 3.5 used and cant wait to see what my setup can REALLY do!