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Post by deltadube on May 10, 2013 21:28:05 GMT -5
Paging... neekos (2 amps) audiophill (2 amps) milt99 (2 amps) bruinsguy (2 amps) wcparks (2 amps) menez (2 amps) sheepdog02 (2 amps) What say you guys....  Still assessing them, but...a little insight, they are most impressive so far. Better than the Emo amps I've owned in the past (XPA-2, XPA-5, XPA-3, UPA 500) I'm really getting a good handle on the differences between the two classes. More to follow soon.. sounds really good thanks for sharing .. cheers wonder where that bruins guy is... how about those leafs miracles can happen!!! |
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Post by Keith M on May 11, 2013 20:40:46 GMT -5
Well I finally got around to hooking mine up today. Using the Light Dims on the power button has dimmed them enough that they are not a distraction, but still visible. Shouldn't be a problem now. The amps sound great, but I can't do an honest comparison between them and my XPA-5. My setup is not conducive to an A/B test of any type. I like what I'm hearing, and that's all that matters to me.
I ran into a couple of problems while wiring everything up, the problems weren't related to the amps though. First while listening to some music I noticed the right channel cut out for a bit, restarted the song and it seemed to happy again. I checked the music on another system and it was ok, I checked the receiver and played the test tones, those were fine, so I checked the connections between the source and receiver, and found one of the cables was coming loose on the receiver. Also while checking the test tones on the receiver initially all were fine, then the surround right was gone. I found its pre-out connection on the receiver had also come loose. Damn RCA cables. They all fit snug, I'm guessing since I was back there yanking on the other cables to hook up these new amps so I must have snagged the others. Time to get back behind the rack and rerun all the cables running to the receiver and tie them back down again. If only I had a receiver or pre/pro that used XLR. Might have to look at that XMC-1.
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TheTherapist
Seeker Of Truth
Music is life, and like it is inextinguishable. ~Carl Nielsen
Posts: 8
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Post by TheTherapist on May 12, 2013 11:51:24 GMT -5
I received my XPA-1L Mono Blocks together with a UMC-200 Preamp 2 days ago. Was waiting on new speaker cables and interconnects to arrive before setting up the amps but you guessed it, got anxious, couldn't wait and set them up last night anyway. At least made up new cables with heavy gauge wire and quality banana connectors and bi-wired to my hyper efficient Klipsch F30's. An SW-112 Subwoofer sits alongside. The analogue signal entering the UMC-200 is supplied by an Audioquest Mini5 lead connected to an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC which plays music from a Jriver Media Center. There are other components but the audio quality of stereo music is and always has been my main priority.
I have just spent the entire day listening to a varied selection of music. From the very first 24bit 96khz Remastered FLAC I played through to 320kb mp3’s and everything in between I have been consistently blown away by the how shall I say ‘musicality’ of these babies. They sing with a more natural effortless sound. Horns are sweeter and warmer, voices defined yet expansive, all elements and instruments include space around them yet gently hold their position within the sound stage created. With careful selection of source material the dynamic range and power reserves incite even more emotion.
The XPA1L’s are forgiving but at the same time revealing of any imperfections contained within the signal path. Forgiving insofar as they make most anything sound truly wonderful but they will expose any weak points in their quest to amplify precisely what the recording contains. Most MP3’s are evident from a less precise bass to a lack of crispness and definition through the top end; the XPA-1L could do nothing to hide this inherent weakness even with well recorded EAC 320kb rips. With one remastered FLAC recording I listened to it was obvious that the original tracks were recorded inadequately although the engineering and mastering were of a high standard. Yet even these and other flaws contained within recordings were still encased in that ‘musicality’ that is inherent within the XPA-1L. The octaves seem rounder, the notes less hurried; passages of music glide through space with an open easy air...
I did play them loud and played them at more gentle volumes also. Although not immediately evident it became easier to detect when they switched into a more consistent Class A/B mode. They lost some of the sweetness and warmth and became a little harder in their presentation. Still a beautiful full sound but was interesting to realize the subtle differences. Without the Class A option the Emotiva XPA-1L would still be a wonderful sounding amplifier, Class A is just the cream on the cake.
So to say I’m happy with my purchase would be an understatement. I was almost resigned to believe this standard of sound was not possible within this price range yet I have been listening all day to what can only be described as true audiophile quality sound. Instead of listening to the speaker's output ones focus can be directed towards the instruments and sounds contained within the recording all in their own space gently caressing each other in the sound stage presented. And they make my music sound more musical – who would have thought that...
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Post by ocezam on May 12, 2013 14:34:18 GMT -5
So to say I’m happy with my purchase would be an understatement. This is the sound I have been searching years to recreate. I was almost resigned to believe this standard of sound was not possible within this price range yet I have been listening all day to what can only be described as true audiophile quality sound. Thanks for your impressions. What amps are the 1L's replacing? .... |
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Post by dac0964 on May 12, 2013 17:27:18 GMT -5
I have been consistently blown away by the how shall I say ‘musicality’ of these babies. They sing with a more natural effortless sound. Horns are sweeter and warmer, voices defined yet expansive, all elements and instruments include space around them yet gently hold their position within the sound stage created. With careful selection of source material the dynamic range and power reserves incite even more emotion. The octaves seem rounder, the notes less hurried; passages of music glide through space with an open easy air... Without the Class A option the Emotiva XPA-1L would still be a beautiful wonderful sounding amplifier, Class A is just the cream on the cake. Thanks for sharing your experience with these amp |
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TheTherapist
Seeker Of Truth
Music is life, and like it is inextinguishable. ~Carl Nielsen
Posts: 8
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Post by TheTherapist on May 13, 2013 4:41:39 GMT -5
Thanks for your impressions. What amps are the 1L's replacing? .... Yes I should have thought about including that information, it's all relative. In this instance moving to the XPA-1L's was a substantial upgrade as they replaced an Onkyo TXSR607. |
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guidof
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8
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Post by guidof on May 13, 2013 10:58:13 GMT -5
Thank you, Therapist, for sharing your impressions. I'm considering these amps as a possible future replacement for my Music Reference 200 Mk II. The experiences of real users are a valuable component in reaching a decision.
I hope more users of these amps will share their impressions as well.
Regards,
Guido F.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 11:11:30 GMT -5
*Great* review, TheTherapist!! It seems the XPA-1Ls are one of the true *smokin'* deals in the audiophile world...
-RW-
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Post by ocezam on May 14, 2013 7:10:32 GMT -5
I'm considering these amps as a possible future replacement for my Music Reference 200 Mk II. Guido F. Those are some pretty nice amps, Why are you considering replacing them? The experiences of real users are a valuable component in reaching a decision. I hope more users of these amps will share their impressions as well. Guido F. Agreed. ... |
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guidof
Seeker Of Truth
Posts: 8
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Post by guidof on May 14, 2013 9:30:40 GMT -5
I'm considering these amps as a possible future replacement for my Music Reference 200 Mk II. Guido F. Those are some pretty nice amps, Why are you considering replacing them? The experiences of real users are a valuable component in reaching a decision. I hope more users of these amps will share their impressions as well. Guido F. Agreed. ... Yes, the Music Reference is excellent. But it tends to run out of juice on some demanding passages with my Martin Logan SL3s. Guido F. |
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Post by rouslanbel on May 16, 2013 20:52:43 GMT -5
Happy XPA-1L owners, any new reviews/impressions?
The burning question for me - is it a truly significant upgrade from XPA-2 SQ wise?
I've got Oppo BDP-105, XPA-2 as a power amp driving Von Schweikert VR-4 speakers.
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Post by db029936 on May 17, 2013 2:08:59 GMT -5
Does anyone know if the XPA-1L run both sides of the amp [plus and minus] when only using the single ended inputs?
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 10,273
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Post by KeithL on May 17, 2013 8:43:10 GMT -5
Yes Does anyone know if the XPA-1L run both sides of the amp [plus and minus] when only using the single ended inputs? |
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Post by justthefacts on May 17, 2013 13:47:35 GMT -5
Keith or Lonnie, I think this posting by the famous Nelson Pass describes the operation of the XPA-1L perfectly. passlabs.com/technology/leaving-class-aThe PDF file has charts and graphs: passlabs.com//download.php?download_file=https://passlabs.com/images/uploads/mypdf/leaving_class_a.pdfI like the sound of this quote from the article, "The benefits of high bias current extend beyond simple harmonic distortion measurements – you also get a reduction of intermodulation distortion (arguably more important), and a lower, more consistent output impedance. As a corollary benefit, the heavy hardware required to support Class A operation will show better thermal stability and will deliver better performance into difficult loads." - Nelson Pass 2008 SO my questions are: 1. Is the Pass article an accurate description of the Class A bias operation of the XPA-1L? 2. If so, then how many amperes (SI units of electric current) is the output stage of the XPA-1L biased? 3. What is the amount of watts the XPA-1L idles at? Is it 35 watts or is it higher? I am really looking forward to the answers as this should settle so many pages of conjecture on this thread. As a bonus it might show that the XPA-1L is operating like a Pass amp, which in my book is very good news! Thanks in advance! |
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Post by fantom on May 17, 2013 19:13:48 GMT -5
Funny thing is I came across that article when I knew almost nothing about class A, push-pull, single-ended, and how it all related. I read a few other things over the next 2 weeks and began to grasp which things mattered and why. I got a bit excited about the idea, but they were all so expensive, even used. And that's exactly when the Emotiva email went out about the XPA-1L. Crazy timing, and I've course been following it closely since. Still eagerly awaiting more reviews (and especially deeper comparisons to other Emo amps).
Short answer to your question: yes. That info from Pass is essentially describing all class A/B amps (at least the first half), noting the difference of having a higher push-pull bias, just like the 1L. So yes, it describes the 1L for much of it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the XPA-1L does NOT have a single-ended class A bias at all (not to be confused in any way with unbalanced inputs). Pass is rather vague about exactly how much single-ended class A bias there is, but it seems to be the first watt or couple watts at most. This single-ended bias is important to the Pass design, but what is mostly discussed and listed in the charts are peak Class A push-pull operation.
If these peaks are based off sine wave peaks from continuous input, then the peaks are double the average. So the 1L "leaves class A" at 70W peaks into 8ohms.
Pass says to get roughly 10W of push-pull class A, the 150.5 dissipates about 100W at idle. The chart in the pdf seems to indicate it might be 8W average (listed 16 peak). As far as the 1L, I believe DR measured close to 200W at idle (in high-bias mode) somewhere in this thread. That seems to fit into the Pass chart. Maybe somewhere around 1.5 - 1.6 amps? That's just a guess though.
More importantly... do I need to pick up a pair? (yes "need" haha) Maybe after saving up a lil more. Anyone upgrade from an XPA-3/5 and do any comparisons? I'm sad I missed Emo in Chicago. There's always in home trial though.
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Post by REN on May 18, 2013 18:02:01 GMT -5
it was a interesting read about class A and A/B i am still waiting on a comparisons to the UPA-1 vs the 1L
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Post by pedrocols on May 18, 2013 19:48:22 GMT -5
it was a interesting read about class A and A/B i am still waiting on a comparisons to the UPA-1 vs the 1L Same here....But it looks like people want to keep on talking about technical stuff that does not please my ear... I guess I am going to have to get a pair and find out for myself  |
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Post by deltadube on May 18, 2013 21:17:36 GMT -5
well i have to report i was very interested in the xpa 1l for my stereo ht system but
at the secret sale they gave me such a great price on the xpa 1 i will have to settle for
the 10 watts of class a power and da power of a 1000 watts into 4 ohms...
cant waite to hook em up..
cheers
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Post by justthefacts on May 20, 2013 11:16:31 GMT -5
Bump for my question to Emotiva team, Lonnie, Keith, anyone...?
1. What is the amperes of Bias applied to the output stage?
2. How many watts does the XPA-1L idle at?
3. Is the basic design similar to the Pass Class A bias? I'm assuming this is not a single ended Class A design but more like the first example of Class A biasing in the article.
It would be also nice to know the peak current the amp can supply.
Others on this thread,
I understand that there are a lot of people wanting to know the sound quality of this amp particularly compared to existing Emotiva amps. I also want to know this, but as everyone has a different set up, different room acoustics, different hearing perception, etc., this is an extremely subjective question. There is no science in one person thinking an amp sounds better, so I'm looking for the hard data.
I'm from the school that believes if the design, engineering, and parts selection are superior, then an amp will be both powerful and most importantly it will be TRANSPARENT. If the XPA-1L is a well executed component, it will feed your speakers everything your "source" supplies, without color, audible distortion, or clipping of dynamic musical peaks. If it does this better than another amp (example: a pair of XPA-1L's versus a XPA-2) the sound quality will be superior.
In my view, amplifiers are more like math and speakers are more like musical instruments. Thus the key to good sound is nothing compromising the math, then the speakers can play to their full potential. This should work for HT and all genres of music.
Cheers!
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Post by milsap195 on May 20, 2013 11:39:36 GMT -5
You all are killing me with the techno talk! What does the 1L sound like verses other amps? Why don't you all just pull out your multimeters and compare sizes........
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