Soulreaper's XPA 5 Review

[Soulreaper]

Ill be short and to the point. I have now been using my xpa5 for 4 months now in my current HT setup. First of all this thing is heavy and solid. Having moved all my HT gear into a bigger room after the new paint and carpet installation i was able to set up my system that would be powered for the first time with an amp rather than just an avr. I connected my xpa5 to my avr using MonoPrice RCA cables and plugged all my gear's power cords into my Panamax. I used Dayton gold plated locking banana connectors at the end of 5 14awg cables of varying lengths. After hooking everything up I began my first test of my xpa5 powered system with the Star Trek blu-ray. I noticed that the sound from all speakers was so much BIGGER and defined at every volume level i tried. The sound had way more bass and mids but also very clear highs. No hiss or buzzing from the speakers even when the movie was silent.

The next test was with music. I first played the CD "And Time Begins" by Decrepit Birth via my ps3 connected to my avr using an hdmi cable. So the album began to play and... crunch, crunch, shred, shred I was brutally assaulted with thick metallic distorted guitars (using drop tuning) and more than satisfied with the drum's blast-beats and double-bass portions of the music. The production on this album is not that great but with the xpa 5 it did sound much clearer and I was left devastated sonically aroused by the end of the album. I had no idea my speakers (2ch mode for music) could create such a sonic assault.

I will post the rest of my review in the middle of this week.

[hemster]

Thanks for the (pre)review. Glad you're liking your XPA-5. It certainly is a beast! ;D

You'll find that it really brings your music alive. Look forward to you review!

[Deleted]

Decrepit Birth? Wow. Just wow...Glad you like your new amp, she's a beast!

-RW-

[RadTech]

Congrats and glad you're liking the 5. \m/ \m/

[Soulreaper]

The next 2 CD's I played were "The Somberlain" and "Storm of the Light's Bane" by Dissection. I used these albums because of their unique atmosphere. The first album sounded a little bigger and clearer. I could feel the double-bass drums most of the time and the blast-beats sounded better than ever. Also the acoustic portions had a very crisp and "medieval" sound.

Album number two did have a bigger sound but also had better separation of the instruments. The guitar tone sounded black and dark-blue (which its supposed to) because of the distortion on the guitars and the reverb used on their amps in the recording studio. One of the defining characteristics of black metal is the guitar tone created by a high distortion setting. The drums sounded more forward than ever with very punchy double-bass and clearer cymbals and snare drum. The vocals sounded the way they were intended to be heard; mid-range, guttural and raspy voice with a reverb effect. This helps create the albums famous dark and icy atmosphere that so many black metal fans love. The bass was easier to hear (they use dirty bass rather than clean) but was in a different spot in the sound field. The portions and interludes that utilized an acoustic guitar sounded sharp, shiny and frost bitten. As close to perfect as it gets. the highs could have been a tiny bit higher for my liking but this was my speakers fault and not the xpa5's. Overall the xpa5 made these albums sound the best they have sounded in years. Keep in mind these 2 albums have very good production which is rare in the genre of black metal.

I then played my vinyl LP of "In the Nightside Eclipse" by Emperor. The album sounded clearer and the guitars didn't sound so thin like always before. The bass was a little easier to hear even though this album is not known for much of an audible bass at all. The guitar tone and tremolo picking did sound better but the screeching vocals also sounded a tiny bit more "possessed." The xpa 5 successfully painted the album cover with sound. This album sounds exactly the way it looks, which it the best way I can describe it.

The rest of my music was mp3's (320kbs) played from my computer connected via optical cable from my creative XF-I platinum sound card to my avr. Metal, Rock, Classical, and Punk they all sounded bigger and much clearer. I now only use 2ch mode for music and 5.1 for movies.

After watching more blu-ray movies i did start to notice the differences between compressed 5.1 and the true hd and master audio sound in movies. I will add a little more to this review in the coming days. Ask questions if any.

[iceman66]

Finally, an equipment review using real music, who really listens to Diana Krall anyway? Thanks Soulreaper \m/