2 XPA-5, 1 XPA-5 & 1 XPA-2, or 1 XPA-5 for 11.3?

[tazexprez]

I am currently thinking about upgrading my 7.3 Paradigm setup to 11.3. I currently power these speakers with an Onkyo TX-DS989 upgraded to Version 2. This receiver is over 11 years old, so I need an upgrade. I want to amplify either 5, 7, or 9 of the speakers, and let the next receiver do the rest. So far I bought 1 additional pair of speakers, but have not installed them, so I have 9.3 speakers right now. I am thinking of upgrading my receiver to either an Onkyo TX-NR3010 or a Denon AVR-4520CI, or maybe even an Onkyo NR-5010.

I am thinking of getting 2 XPA-5 amps and amplifying 9 channels and letting the receiver do either the front height or back surround speakers.

I am also considering getting an XPA-2 for the two front main speakers, and an XPA-5 for the center speaker, the front wide speakers, and the side surround speakers. In this scenario I would let the receiver do the front height and the back surround speakers.

I was originally only considering getting 1 XPA-5 for the front main speakers, the center speaker, and the front wide speakers. In this case I would let the receiver do the remaining front height, side surround, and back surround speakers, so 6 speakers in total.

I think 6 speakers may be too much of a load on the receiver, so I will probably not consider getting only 1 XPA-5 amp.

My current receiver drives all 7 of my speakers, but I have had many tweeters blow over the years. I like to listen at reference level and did some research and noticed that my receiver might be clipping, so I want to prevent this in the future, if possible.

Thanks for any help.

2 XPA-5's, or 1 XPA-5 & 1 XPA-2, or just 1 XPA-5?

Btw, my mains are Paradigm Monitor 11 V.2 and even though they are 8 Ohm compatible, they drop down to 3.4 Ohms. All of the other speakers are also 8 Ohm compatible, but they do not drop below 5.1 Ohms.

[Jim]

I think that 2 XPA-5s are the way to go. If you like to listen loud, you really need a good amp -- blown tweeters definitely does sound like clipping (unless they're simply being pushed too hard). An XPA-5 and XPA-2 wouldn't be a bad combination either.

I think that letting the receiver do the front height or some surrounds would be best - as they should be fairly easy to drive.

[tazexprez]

Thanks a lot.

I am leaning toward the 2 XPA-5's myself, so that I can put a lighter load on the receiver. I was wondering if I can place the 2 XPA-5's on the same power outlet as the receiver, or if I would need to run another power line? Btw, I also have 2 of my Paradigm PW-2200 V.1 powered subwoofers connected to this outlet.

I was thinking of putting the front main speakers together with the front wide speakers on 1 XPA-5. I would then put the center, side surround, and back surround speakers on the other XPA-5. Then I would drive the remaining front height speakers with the receiver.

Would it hurt 1 of the XPA-5's if I only used 4 channels, instead of all 5?

[Dark Ranger]

Hi tazexprez,

It looks like you're primarily into home theater rather than two-channel music. Here's my two cents:

1) If you listen to stereo sources on that system frequently, I'd recommend the XPA-2 + XPA-5. That will give you a fantastic setup for both two-channel and HT.

2) However, if you're mainly into films and multi-channel content, I agree with Jim and suggest going with two XPA-5s. That will give you upgraded power for as many channels as possible so that your receiver won't have to handle more than two non-critical channels.


If you go with two XPA-5s, I would configure them like this to spread out the load.

XPA-5 #1: Front Left / Back Surround Left / EMPTY / Back Surround Right / Front Right

XPA-5 #2: Front Wide Left / Side Surround Left / Center / Side Surround Right / Front Wide Right

Receiver: Front Height L/R

[tazexprez]

Thanks a lot.

Yes, I use my system for almost 100% HT.

[Dark Ranger]

Nov 12, 2012 14:02:08 GMT -5 tazexprez said:

I was wondering if I can place the 2 XPA-5's on the same power outlet as the receiver, or if I would need to run another power line? Btw, I also have 2 of my Paradigm PW-2200 V.1 powered subwoofers connected to this outlet.

You can try the same outlet, but if you trip the breaker you'll need to add another circuit. This is a lot of gear for one circuit (especially with the two subwoofers).

Nov 12, 2012 14:02:08 GMT -5 tazexprez said:

I was thinking of putting the front main speakers together with the front wide speakers on 1 XPA-5. I would then put the center, side surround, and back surround speakers on the other XPA-5. Then I would drive the remaining front height speakers with the receiver.

Would it hurt 1 of the XPA-5's if I only used 4 channels, instead of all 5?

That arrangement is fine, you've got the right idea. You've got two amps so no need to put the whole front stage on one. For the XPA-5 with four channels used, no, you won't hurt the amp this way. That channel will not have any input, so no harm done.

[tazexprez]

Thanks again.

Could I put the 3 front speakers on 1 XPA-5 and the remaining 4 surround speakers on the other XPA-5 until I get the new receiver and extra speakers? Will the XPA-5 with 3 speakers have any problems?

[Dark Ranger]

That will work fine.

Technically it doesn't matter which configuration you use as long as everything is wired properly. For the interim, your proposed arrangement will work great (3 speakers on XPA #1 and 4 surround speakers on XPA #2). Multichannel amplifiers allow great flexibility with layout. You don't have to use all the channels. Eventually, I plan to do this myself with my UPA-500. I'll be disconnecting the center channel and moving it to a dedicated amplifier. The UPA-500 will use four of the channels for surround, and one channel will remain unused. No problems at all.

Enjoy!

[Erwin.BE]

Why don't you go all the way and combine a Denon 4520 in pre-amp mode with two XPA-5 (one for each L/R side) and one XPA-100 for center?

For a little more, the upcoming Onkyo PR-SC5510 or the Marantz AV8801 would serve you very well....

PR-SC5510 is my #3
AV8801 is my #2

#1 will be, hopefully, the Emotiva RMC-1 (only 9.3 probably)

[bootman]

You could actually get away with one XPA-5 and letting a beefy AVR do the rest.

The lion's share will be on those first 5 channels anyway. (plus the sub)
Any competent AVR should be able to handle the rest.

[aussie]

Should be fine, I've had a XPA-5 running 4 channels for a couple of years now in a 6.1 system. It's powering the centre and the 3 rears (all these speakers are floorstanders too, not small surrounds). Never had a problem yet, works a treat

[Jim]

Nov 12, 2012 14:51:14 GMT -5 bootman said:

You could actually get away with one XPA-5 and letting a beefy AVR do the rest.

The lion's share will be on those first 5 channels anyway. (plus the sub)
Any competent AVR should be able to handle the rest.

"Beefy AVR" is where I always get stuck.... Always seems to take a fair amount of research to differentiate between AVRs with very good amps and ones that are just decent.

I went the pre/pro route a while back (Onkyo 886) - as AVR/Pre-pros come and go but amps don't really become obsolete.

[tazexprez]

Thanks a lot for all the help.

I will be going with the dual XPA-5 setup.

I was thinking of also adding an XPA-100 for the center channel, but I was doing some measurements on Sunday and I don't think I would be able to make it fit. Also, I have been thinking of the power consumption going on in one power outlet. I also figure that the receivers that I am considering should be able to push 2 front height speakers with no problem.

I am considering getting an AVR, instead of a pre/pro because I like having the additional internal amps in case I need them.

[RightinLA]

The dual XPA-5 with one XPA-100 for the center channel set up is a good way to go. You can use one XPA-5 for the left side and the other XPA-5 for the right side. Using separate amps for each side gives you perfect left/right channel separation. That was more or less what I ended up doing with the amps actually set up on either side of my TV monitor.

I used the AVR channels to power a Polk surroundbar or some Def. Tech ProMonitor surrounds for general TV viewing since I didn't want to power up my amps to simply watch the news. That way you have some flexibility with your setup.

[paintedklown]

Nov 13, 2012 3:47:46 GMT -5 RightinLA said:

The dual XPA-5 with one XPA-100 for the center channel set up is a good way to go. You can use one XPA-5 for the left side and the other XPA-5 for the right side. Using separate amps for each side gives you perfect left/right channel separation.

+1

This idea sounds like a winner.

[bootman]

Nov 12, 2012 15:19:27 GMT -5 Jim said:

Nov 12, 2012 14:51:14 GMT -5 bootman said:

You could actually get away with one XPA-5 and letting a beefy AVR do the rest.

The lion's share will be on those first 5 channels anyway. (plus the sub)
Any competent AVR should be able to handle the rest.

"Beefy AVR" is where I always get stuck.... Always seems to take a fair amount of research to differentiate between AVRs with very good amps and ones that are just decent.

I went the pre/pro route a while back (Onkyo 886) - as AVR/Pre-pros come and go but amps don't really become obsolete.

I hear you but the OP is mentioning the top tier AVRs.
They should be able to put out at least 80W all channels driven which is sufficient for surround duties after 5.1.

Now if the OP was running inefficient speakers like say a full Maggie 11.2 system, two xpa-5s would be the bare minimum.
I like spending other people's money like the next guy, but I also like to be realistic in system planning.

[tazexprez]

Thanks again.

Is it really worth it to have all the left and right channels on separate amps? Is there very noticeable crosstalk between the channels, or something?

If I decide to get a center channel amp, I am leaning toward the Outlaw 2200 for the simple reason that it has a lower height than the XPA-100. Would this be much of a downgrade, or are they very similar? Would the 2200 run much warmer than the XPA-100? I've read that Emotiva amps generally run on the cooler side.

[Dark Ranger]

Nov 13, 2012 13:41:40 GMT -5 tazexprez said:

Is it really worth it to have all the left and right channels on separate amps? Is there very noticeable crosstalk between the channels, or something?

The Emo amps rate very well and crosstalk is generally not an issue. That said, if you decide to split out the center on its own amplifier, then using one XPA-5 per side is how I'd go. You may not hear any difference, but it would be just a little bit better in the electrical domain.

Remember, you don't have to get a separate center amp because the XPA-5s will work just fine. However, if budget is not an issue, then a dedicated center amp plus one XPA-5 per side would be more elegant. You wouldn't need to use any of the AVR amps.

Nov 13, 2012 13:41:40 GMT -5 tazexprez said:

If I decide to get a center channel amp, I am leaning toward the Outlaw 2200 for the simple reason that it has a lower height than the XPA-100. Would this be much of a downgrade, or are they very similar? Would the 2200 run much warmer than the XPA-100? I've read that Emotiva amps generally run on the cooler side.

I'll let others fill in the blanks on this one since I've never owned an Outlaw amp. However, I've read good things about them including the 2200. In my opinion, I don't think it's a downgrade at all, more of a lateral move. The specs indicate 200 watts into 8 ohms and 300 watts into 4 ohms, which is the same as the XPA-5. That said, the 2200 has 27 dB gain while the XPA-5 has 32 dB gain. No idea on the temperature comparison.

[Erwin.BE]

Nov 13, 2012 3:47:46 GMT -5 RightinLA said:

The dual XPA-5 with one XPA-100 for the center channel set up is a good way to go. You can use one XPA-5 for the left side and the other XPA-5 for the right side. Using separate amps for each side gives you perfect left/right channel separation.

Channel separation was indeed my main motiv. Also, both sides can each tap from their own "dedicated" power supply. The bulk of the power will go each respective Front speaker, if it wants it.

To bad the OP cannot house all three amps...

[Jim]

Nov 13, 2012 14:57:50 GMT -5 Erwin.BE said:

To bad the OP cannot house all three amps...

Make room!