Post by cardiffkook on Jan 31, 2013 13:02:24 GMT -5
I have been the happy owner of a Sonic Frontiers SFS 80 tube amp for almost twenty years now. However, I have always felt I could use more power and that I was missing something at the frequency extremes. This is a wonderful low powered amp with luscious mid range, amazing soundstage depth, and was a Stereophile Class A product back in the day.
However, because of the power limitations I was forced to put my NHT 3.3s and my Maggie MG3a's aside and buy a much more efficient speaker -- the new Goldenear Triton 2, which i love. This winter though I moved my dedicated listening room to a larger area, and again found I needed a bit more power and dynamics. Based solely upon Internet and magazine reviews, I decided to look into Emotiva amplifiers. After reading all the comment threads I decided the new XPA 100 was the perfect fit for my needs. The old reviews of the UPA1 tended to argue for it being extremely musical, and the dual mono-block design makes it much easier to move around than the XPA2. I took a gamble and assumed the 100s would be an improvement over the already great UPA1.
I inserted the mono-blocks into my system which includes a Sonic Frontiers SFL1 preamp, SFP1 Phono pre, Rega Turntable, Benz Ace cartridge, and Transparent Audio cables. I also have an Oppo CD player, but my external DAC is on the fritz and so most critical listening is analogue.
The first impression of the XPA 100 is OMG where did all this bass come from! The Goldenears are extremely efficient and have built in 1200 watt subwoofers. However, the bass is still connected to the main amp and base quality and quantity are main amp dependent. I have never heard bass this powerful, this clean and this tight before. No bloat, no boom, just tight explosive slamming power that you can feel in your chest. The idea of adding an external subwoofer to this combo would be insane. It measured flat in my room to 25 hz.
The high frequencies were also better. Very liquid, but it was like someone had taken a burlap sack off the speakers. Dynamics were more impressive than I could believe, especially on piano. The Emotiva amp put the grand back in grand piano. Imaging was great, and not just lateral, but with height. The addition of height in the listening experience is uncanny. Mick Fleetwood's drums and Cassandra Wilson's vocals were suspended well above the plain of the speaker. The soundstage for the Triton/Emotiva combo is absolutely holographic.
The performance improvements of these $900 or less amplifiers compared to a $2800 amp (without adjusting for inflation) is hard to believe. I have played them for hours on end and have enjoyed every genre. Weaknesses? To be honest, the SF does indeed have a more euphoric mid range and it projects better depth. The SF projects classical music 30 or 40 feet behind the speaker, and pop music perhaps 10 or 15 feet back. With the XPA 100, I would say that the stage depth is about half of this. The Emotiva is front tow tather than mid hall. But here is the thing. I strongly suspect the SF is the one coloring the sound. I truly believe that the frequency response on the tube amp is euphorically coloring the sound to make the midrange more luscious and to accentuate depth.
The increased dynamics of the Emotiva also revealed a slight problem with microphonics on my preamp tube. I sent away for an inexpensive upgrade to the highly recommended Mullard tube from the current Golden Lion. The Mullard was better balanced, had slightly more highs, a substantially better midrange and better depth. Weaknesses were a higher noise floor and maybe just a little too much treble energy. I had now regained about half the soundstage depth.
Let me summarize by stating that the XPA 100 is a huge improvement in my system based upon my listening conditions. Fantastic highs, low frequencies that are in a different league, amazing dynamics and a good, very accurate midrange. I still love my old tube amp, but I have moved it out of my main system and I am confident it will not be coming back.
But here is the thing... I never bothered to sell my old speakers. So I started wondering how my 28 year old Maggies would sound with a brand new 250 watt set of amps...
To be continued
However, because of the power limitations I was forced to put my NHT 3.3s and my Maggie MG3a's aside and buy a much more efficient speaker -- the new Goldenear Triton 2, which i love. This winter though I moved my dedicated listening room to a larger area, and again found I needed a bit more power and dynamics. Based solely upon Internet and magazine reviews, I decided to look into Emotiva amplifiers. After reading all the comment threads I decided the new XPA 100 was the perfect fit for my needs. The old reviews of the UPA1 tended to argue for it being extremely musical, and the dual mono-block design makes it much easier to move around than the XPA2. I took a gamble and assumed the 100s would be an improvement over the already great UPA1.
I inserted the mono-blocks into my system which includes a Sonic Frontiers SFL1 preamp, SFP1 Phono pre, Rega Turntable, Benz Ace cartridge, and Transparent Audio cables. I also have an Oppo CD player, but my external DAC is on the fritz and so most critical listening is analogue.
The first impression of the XPA 100 is OMG where did all this bass come from! The Goldenears are extremely efficient and have built in 1200 watt subwoofers. However, the bass is still connected to the main amp and base quality and quantity are main amp dependent. I have never heard bass this powerful, this clean and this tight before. No bloat, no boom, just tight explosive slamming power that you can feel in your chest. The idea of adding an external subwoofer to this combo would be insane. It measured flat in my room to 25 hz.
The high frequencies were also better. Very liquid, but it was like someone had taken a burlap sack off the speakers. Dynamics were more impressive than I could believe, especially on piano. The Emotiva amp put the grand back in grand piano. Imaging was great, and not just lateral, but with height. The addition of height in the listening experience is uncanny. Mick Fleetwood's drums and Cassandra Wilson's vocals were suspended well above the plain of the speaker. The soundstage for the Triton/Emotiva combo is absolutely holographic.
The performance improvements of these $900 or less amplifiers compared to a $2800 amp (without adjusting for inflation) is hard to believe. I have played them for hours on end and have enjoyed every genre. Weaknesses? To be honest, the SF does indeed have a more euphoric mid range and it projects better depth. The SF projects classical music 30 or 40 feet behind the speaker, and pop music perhaps 10 or 15 feet back. With the XPA 100, I would say that the stage depth is about half of this. The Emotiva is front tow tather than mid hall. But here is the thing. I strongly suspect the SF is the one coloring the sound. I truly believe that the frequency response on the tube amp is euphorically coloring the sound to make the midrange more luscious and to accentuate depth.
The increased dynamics of the Emotiva also revealed a slight problem with microphonics on my preamp tube. I sent away for an inexpensive upgrade to the highly recommended Mullard tube from the current Golden Lion. The Mullard was better balanced, had slightly more highs, a substantially better midrange and better depth. Weaknesses were a higher noise floor and maybe just a little too much treble energy. I had now regained about half the soundstage depth.
Let me summarize by stating that the XPA 100 is a huge improvement in my system based upon my listening conditions. Fantastic highs, low frequencies that are in a different league, amazing dynamics and a good, very accurate midrange. I still love my old tube amp, but I have moved it out of my main system and I am confident it will not be coming back.
But here is the thing... I never bothered to sell my old speakers. So I started wondering how my 28 year old Maggies would sound with a brand new 250 watt set of amps...
To be continued