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Post by jdubs on Feb 22, 2013 21:45:29 GMT -5
Finally sold all of my Arcam gear. I kept: One set of Audioquest speaker wires, Monster Power 3500, Dali Speakers, and REL Subwoofer. New: XDA-2 and Red Dragon Audio M1000 mkII Monoblocks and Blue Jean Cable Balanced Cables. I now only stream digital music via an Airport Express. My music is stored on a hard drive which is attached to an Airport Extreme for wireless access. Control is via the "Remote" app on iPhone and volume via XDA-2 remote. Compared to what I had: Arcam FMJ A32 Integrated and FMJ P35 Power amp bi-amped. Source was an Arcam CD192 Upsampling CD Player. Bi-amping never really got me the power I wanted and the Arcam amps are too laid back anyway. The CD Player was great, but I wanted to go streaming so I had to change that up. These speakers really came alive with these amps (1100w in 4 ohms). I listened for quite awhile with no sub and it was pretty amazing... even with some rap they were thumping. I added the REL back in, crossed it over very low and turned the gain down a bit. I'm really liking this set-up. I had initially pictured an XPR-2 in this mix, but took a chance with these ICEpower amps. I have 45 days to decide, but so far: WOW! Attachments:
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kse
Emo VIPs 
Hello me, meet the real me.
Posts: 1,947
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Post by kse on Feb 22, 2013 22:44:21 GMT -5
Nice and clean, i like it!
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Post by audiofile on Feb 23, 2013 0:24:19 GMT -5
Very nice!
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Post by knucklehead on Feb 23, 2013 3:51:51 GMT -5
Thats a very nice looking 2 channel setup.
Digital amps are the way of the future IMO. They require much less resources to build and once the technology gets settled and accepted they will sell for less than the leviathans we call amps today. I've been toying around with a Crown XLS1500 digital amp for a few months now and I'm very impressed with it. With 525wpc into 4ohms they do not lack for power and the clarity of the sound rivals any amp I've owned to date! I've owned a lot of amps too.
Since I got the HK 990 its become redundant so I'll probably sell it at some point down the road.
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Post by jdubs on Feb 23, 2013 6:42:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I haven't enjoyed my 2-ch system this much in years. It was either sell it all and put the money into other hobbies or try to improve it. I have accomplished the latter!
Experimenting with layout. I thought the amps would also look nice side by side on top of the XDA-2. Or, sell the Monster Power and replace it with something smaller to hide away. I would then put the XDA-2 in the middle and move the amps down to that level but still where they are. Or just leave it. What do you guys think?
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 23, 2013 7:38:25 GMT -5
Keep everything separated as far as possible. Get some higher rez sources. The Monster is butt-ugly and probably power restrictive. Get a strip type protection device you can hide behind the rack such as the Emotiva CMX-6.
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Post by jdubs on Feb 23, 2013 8:06:45 GMT -5
The Monster is butt-ugly and probably power restrictive. Brutally honest, I like that! Yeah, the Monster is ruining the overall look. Was considering the CMX-6. As far as higher rez, I'm going to look in that direction. However, I don't like what music I listen to to be dictated by recording quality or availability. I want to just get what I like and make it sound the best I can. Maybe not the best approach, but it works for me. If I can do this with high rez, I will and I'll get the equipment required to make it work. For example, I like early Hagar Van Halen. The recording quality is butt; however I still want to listen to it. I tend to do that in my truck or in the weight room because the mid-bass bloat on those systems actually make it sound better! |
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 23, 2013 8:31:27 GMT -5
Cool, you obviously are a music lover more so than an audiophile. We're all different!
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Post by jdubs on Feb 23, 2013 8:47:41 GMT -5
Cool, you obviously are a music lover more so than an audiophile. We're all different! I think that's a pretty apt description of me! |
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Post by pdaddy on Feb 23, 2013 10:09:58 GMT -5
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Post by jdubs on Feb 23, 2013 10:30:00 GMT -5
The only thing it says protection-wise is a "High reliability resettable magnetic circuit breaker". Are you saying that this may not be adequate protection for brown-outs and small power surges? Please elaborate as I will likely be shopping for a replacement for the Monster. |
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 23, 2013 11:19:39 GMT -5
Ask Red Dragon if their warranty is voided if their amps are plugged into the wall. If the answer is yes, you should have gone with Emotiva amps.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2013 11:33:03 GMT -5
JDubs wrote:
"Are you saying that this may not be adequate protection for brown-outs and small power surges?"
Two things:
1) Only a backup battery or such will provide under-voltage (brown-out) protection. If you don't have enough voltage, something has to augment it. And a surge strip will most definitely NOT do that.
2) Power surges are already handled by all of the Emo amps, no need to jack them into a (potentially) power-restricting surge strip. My XPA-5 is jacked straight into an AC wall outlet just as Emo recommend. The CMX-6 can be thought of as a way to conveniently provide the capabilities of an AC outlet to multiple pieces of equipment.
-RW-
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 23, 2013 12:02:36 GMT -5
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Post by jdubs on Feb 28, 2013 16:39:58 GMT -5
This thread got a little sidetracked... but to come back to the point:
I am really liking the XDA-2 as my DAC/Pre-amp. The simplicity is exactly what I wanted. I played it next to my Arcam CD player and listed the CD player on eBay! The remote is nice and the volume control is smooth.
I am still evaluating the RDA amps, but let me tell you that I am very impressed. I have done some critical listening and I have just let them rock. My speakers love them. My Arcams had a very forward midrange and these don't, but that is OK. The dynamics and speed with the mid-bass and bass is stunning (and this was lacking with the Arcams). Am still considering buying some emos and then keeping what I like best, but I may not need to do that; I'm that impressed.
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