Post by lordfairfax on Dec 1, 2012 22:24:20 GMT -5
Hello, Emotiva folks. First time post so please go easy on me. 
I got my XPA-200 last Thursday. First off, this thing is a very substantial piece of equipment. Since I got home late and didn't have time to move heavy furniture, I decided to set up the amp with some old B&W 601 speakers just to test it out. I fed the amp from an old M-Audio Transit DAC via USB from the Macbook. I use this mostly for headphone (Senns) listening. So, here is my immediate impression:
1) Tight Control - I have never heard my 601s produce such tight and controlled sound. They sounded much bigger and lost their boxiness.
2) Airy and Effortless- I played Telarc's Stefan Grapelli's Live at the Blue Note and the intimacy of the venue was captured better than my Sennheisers. It's almost like a V8 engine on a Honda Civic. Even at low volume, you can almost feel the power behind.
3) Lifelike - I didn't really understand soundstage before but now I think I do. If you close your eyes, you can see the band. Sorry if that's a bit vague but that's the best way I can describe the experience. Even the foot tapping on the wooden stage floor was rendered with so much realism.
So after that test, I knew that the XPA-200 isn't returning to Emotiva at all. I left the setup running overnight on Pandora. Not so much for burn-in but to "prep" the amp to power my B&W 683.
So today, I finally moved the XPA-200 to the 683 towers. Currently, I use Sony DA-3500ES to power them. They are actually quite capable but they don't sound very good at low volumes (i.e. when the wife and kids have gone to bed) BTW, that is the main reason I got the XPA-200. I wanted to improve the low volume clarity and resolution because frankly this is where the Sony ES betrays its high-volume capabilities.
So, source chain looks like this:
Sony SACD/BluRay player (via HDMI) -> Sony ES as preamp -> XPA-200 -> B&W 683
Impressions:
1) Clarity and Resolution - My problem is solved. Low volume listening is now pure pleasure. I don't need my Senns anymore. Sound is warm and not harsh. Listening test: Norah Jones SACD, Come Away With Me. The sound of her voice was still very sweet but one thing I noticed is that it has a very unique timbre. It seems that the XPA-200 reveals the complex decay of her voice that I never noticed before even with the Senns.
2) Power and Control - I played Jeff Golub - I'll Play Blues for You to test medium to high volume listening. XPA-200 is significantly better than Sony ES. Perhaps not a night and day difference but definitely worth the price. What was really noticeable was that loud and soft passages were very discernable and never muddled together. It's almost equivalent to wearing ear spectacles. In particular, pull-ups and hammer-ons on the electric guitar sounded so real and natural. (I know 'cause I play a Fender Strat on a Blues Jr. amp --- but nowhere as a good as Jeff, of course)
3) Naturalness - B&W 683 is known for its exceptional mid-range woofer. But until now, I never knew what the big deal was. XPA-200 made Louis Armstrong's gravelly voice sound ridiculously realistic. Him and Nat King Cole were in my living room as far as my listening was concerned. I'm almost too scared to try Astrud Gilberto (my angel).
In short, XPA-200 is an amp that is well worth its price. I'm not into comparing amps but I think it would be a tall task to improve its performance, IMHO. Thanks, Emotiva for enhancing the simple pleasure of music listening.
I got my XPA-200 last Thursday. First off, this thing is a very substantial piece of equipment. Since I got home late and didn't have time to move heavy furniture, I decided to set up the amp with some old B&W 601 speakers just to test it out. I fed the amp from an old M-Audio Transit DAC via USB from the Macbook. I use this mostly for headphone (Senns) listening. So, here is my immediate impression:
1) Tight Control - I have never heard my 601s produce such tight and controlled sound. They sounded much bigger and lost their boxiness.
2) Airy and Effortless- I played Telarc's Stefan Grapelli's Live at the Blue Note and the intimacy of the venue was captured better than my Sennheisers. It's almost like a V8 engine on a Honda Civic. Even at low volume, you can almost feel the power behind.
3) Lifelike - I didn't really understand soundstage before but now I think I do. If you close your eyes, you can see the band. Sorry if that's a bit vague but that's the best way I can describe the experience. Even the foot tapping on the wooden stage floor was rendered with so much realism.
So after that test, I knew that the XPA-200 isn't returning to Emotiva at all. I left the setup running overnight on Pandora. Not so much for burn-in but to "prep" the amp to power my B&W 683.
So today, I finally moved the XPA-200 to the 683 towers. Currently, I use Sony DA-3500ES to power them. They are actually quite capable but they don't sound very good at low volumes (i.e. when the wife and kids have gone to bed) BTW, that is the main reason I got the XPA-200. I wanted to improve the low volume clarity and resolution because frankly this is where the Sony ES betrays its high-volume capabilities.
So, source chain looks like this:
Sony SACD/BluRay player (via HDMI) -> Sony ES as preamp -> XPA-200 -> B&W 683
Impressions:
1) Clarity and Resolution - My problem is solved. Low volume listening is now pure pleasure. I don't need my Senns anymore. Sound is warm and not harsh. Listening test: Norah Jones SACD, Come Away With Me. The sound of her voice was still very sweet but one thing I noticed is that it has a very unique timbre. It seems that the XPA-200 reveals the complex decay of her voice that I never noticed before even with the Senns.
2) Power and Control - I played Jeff Golub - I'll Play Blues for You to test medium to high volume listening. XPA-200 is significantly better than Sony ES. Perhaps not a night and day difference but definitely worth the price. What was really noticeable was that loud and soft passages were very discernable and never muddled together. It's almost equivalent to wearing ear spectacles. In particular, pull-ups and hammer-ons on the electric guitar sounded so real and natural. (I know 'cause I play a Fender Strat on a Blues Jr. amp --- but nowhere as a good as Jeff, of course)
3) Naturalness - B&W 683 is known for its exceptional mid-range woofer. But until now, I never knew what the big deal was. XPA-200 made Louis Armstrong's gravelly voice sound ridiculously realistic. Him and Nat King Cole were in my living room as far as my listening was concerned. I'm almost too scared to try Astrud Gilberto (my angel).
In short, XPA-200 is an amp that is well worth its price. I'm not into comparing amps but I think it would be a tall task to improve its performance, IMHO. Thanks, Emotiva for enhancing the simple pleasure of music listening.
