Post by jmillard on Mar 5, 2013 12:41:30 GMT -5
This is my review of the Emotiva XSP-1 and my story about the purchase of it. It’s a little long and maybe boring, but please be kind to me as I want everyone to know how good I think Emotiva is as a company.
Back at the beginning of December, I posted that I wanted to get an XSP-1 because of the bass management and dual subwoofer outputs, as I wanted to drive the 2nd voice coil of my Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers.
The Gallo Reference speakers are unusual because the woofer has 2 voice coils. The speaker appears to have bi-wire/amp capability as there are 2 sets of binding posts, but the sets of binding posts are not connected. The 2nd set of binding posts requires a low pass filtered signal. If the 2nd set of binding posts receives a full range signal, the speakers do not react well and the bass turns to mud.
The speakers are specified with a frequency response of 34Hz – 35 kHz +/- 3db without using the 2nd voice coil. Driving the 2nd voice coil changes the frequency response to 22Hz – 35 kHz +/- 3db. Gallo sells a subwoofer amplifier for driving the 2nd voice coil, but it isn’t something I really wanted to get.
I have had the speakers for over 3 years and while I do love them, I have always wanted to hook up that 2nd voice coil. That is where the XSP-1 with its bass management and 2 subwoofer outputs came in. I don’t recall ever seeing another pre-amp that has that set of features.
With getting the XSP-1 in mind, I bought an XPA-2, plus an XPA-200 because I had decided to go from a pre/pro, 5 channel amp home theater setup to a stereo setup. I know that is kind of backward, but with sale discounts, availability etc. that seemed to be the best route.
The plan was to use the XPA-200 to drive the 2nd voice coil and the XPA-2 to drive the speaker’s main input. I tried using the subwoofer output of my pre/pro and going to the XPA-200 to drive the 2nd voice coil from that, but the results were far from satisfying.
So, finally, in February I pulled the trigger and bought an XSP-1. Fed-Ex delivered it with a large hole in the box that went all the way through to the XSP-1, which had a dent in an end panel. The Fed-Ex driver advised my wife (I was at work) to refuse shipment and return it to Emotiva. I contacted Emotiva and told them what had happened and they said I should have received the XSP-1, taken pictures of it and then returned it. As it was too late for that to happen, I waited to see what would happen when Emotiva received the damaged XSP-1.
With many, many thanks to the staff at Emotiva, the only thing that happened was they sent me a new XSP-1 right away. Since I live not very far from Nashville, I got the damaged Emotiva on Wednesday, they got it back on Friday, shipped me the new one and I got it on Saturday. How good is that?
Of course, I hooked it up right away. At first, I ran the XPA-2 as the primary amp to drive everything except the 2nd voice coil and ran the XPA-200 to the 2nd voice coil. I don’t recall what I played first and won’t go into detail about anything I’ve played. Since then, I have switched the amps around to get more power to the bass. I can’t decide which amp I prefer driving the full range part of the speakers. As of right now, I’m very satisfied with the XPA-200 doing that.
But, WOW! All of a sudden, my system sounded much better that it ever had before. I have a pretty decent pre/pro and 5 channel amp, but the XSP-1 and Emotiva amps blew its doors off. I did have my doubts about how good my system would sound without any equalization other than a bass/treble boost or cut, but I need not to have worried. As it happens, my speakers sound better now than the equalization from my pre/pro allowed. I now know why I got these speakers.
For CDs, I use a Minimax DAC and it had always sounded very good from the pre/pro. But, there always seemed to be a tension that kept me from listening to music as much as I would have liked. That was true even when I turned the pre/pro equalization completely off.
The XSP-1 gave me a full bodied, relaxed, easy sound. I can hear into the mix of a CD much better than before and follow an instrument even when it is in the background. This sounds like typical audiophile rambling, but it was much more than just audiophile check lists. I am enjoying listening to music again. Now when I put something on to play, I listen to all of it. Often, before, I would turn off the music and start watching TV. Now, I want to listen to music.
The XSP-1 has also seemed to have taken my room out of the equation to a large degree. I don’t seem to hear as many reflections as before, but the soundstage seems just as large.
And the BASS! The speakers don’t shake the room, but I no longer miss any bass the music has in it. The bass management in the XSP-1 has made a HUGE difference in my enjoyment of music. One of the things I’ve noticed is that having that bottom end be so defined and present allows better definition of all the other frequencies. Plus, it has surprised me completely that the music sounds fuller, the soundstage is better defined and everything sounds sweeter.
The performance bottom line is; my system has never sounded better.
I do have a couple of things on the XSP-1 I would change if I could. I would put an OFF position for the dimmer. Just a bit too many blue lights. I know; you can never have too many blue lights, but having every button light up? I would also like to see level matching for the inputs. I like the turn on level setting, but would like to match the levels for the inputs as I have a wide range of levels from my equipment. Finally, I would like to see the bass (low pass filter) work when the treble side was turned to full range. I am running a pretty good overlap, but just would like to see the top binding posts receive a full range instead of a high pass filtered range.
All in all, WELL DONE Emotiva. I haven’t heard any pre-amps in my system (other than my pre/pro) because I can’t afford to spend a lot on equipment, but I think the XSP-1 is an outstanding value and it performs way above its price. I won’t try and put a price on how high up the dollar range it performs, but it has to be pretty high.
Back at the beginning of December, I posted that I wanted to get an XSP-1 because of the bass management and dual subwoofer outputs, as I wanted to drive the 2nd voice coil of my Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers.
The Gallo Reference speakers are unusual because the woofer has 2 voice coils. The speaker appears to have bi-wire/amp capability as there are 2 sets of binding posts, but the sets of binding posts are not connected. The 2nd set of binding posts requires a low pass filtered signal. If the 2nd set of binding posts receives a full range signal, the speakers do not react well and the bass turns to mud.
The speakers are specified with a frequency response of 34Hz – 35 kHz +/- 3db without using the 2nd voice coil. Driving the 2nd voice coil changes the frequency response to 22Hz – 35 kHz +/- 3db. Gallo sells a subwoofer amplifier for driving the 2nd voice coil, but it isn’t something I really wanted to get.
I have had the speakers for over 3 years and while I do love them, I have always wanted to hook up that 2nd voice coil. That is where the XSP-1 with its bass management and 2 subwoofer outputs came in. I don’t recall ever seeing another pre-amp that has that set of features.
With getting the XSP-1 in mind, I bought an XPA-2, plus an XPA-200 because I had decided to go from a pre/pro, 5 channel amp home theater setup to a stereo setup. I know that is kind of backward, but with sale discounts, availability etc. that seemed to be the best route.
The plan was to use the XPA-200 to drive the 2nd voice coil and the XPA-2 to drive the speaker’s main input. I tried using the subwoofer output of my pre/pro and going to the XPA-200 to drive the 2nd voice coil from that, but the results were far from satisfying.
So, finally, in February I pulled the trigger and bought an XSP-1. Fed-Ex delivered it with a large hole in the box that went all the way through to the XSP-1, which had a dent in an end panel. The Fed-Ex driver advised my wife (I was at work) to refuse shipment and return it to Emotiva. I contacted Emotiva and told them what had happened and they said I should have received the XSP-1, taken pictures of it and then returned it. As it was too late for that to happen, I waited to see what would happen when Emotiva received the damaged XSP-1.
With many, many thanks to the staff at Emotiva, the only thing that happened was they sent me a new XSP-1 right away. Since I live not very far from Nashville, I got the damaged Emotiva on Wednesday, they got it back on Friday, shipped me the new one and I got it on Saturday. How good is that?
Of course, I hooked it up right away. At first, I ran the XPA-2 as the primary amp to drive everything except the 2nd voice coil and ran the XPA-200 to the 2nd voice coil. I don’t recall what I played first and won’t go into detail about anything I’ve played. Since then, I have switched the amps around to get more power to the bass. I can’t decide which amp I prefer driving the full range part of the speakers. As of right now, I’m very satisfied with the XPA-200 doing that.
But, WOW! All of a sudden, my system sounded much better that it ever had before. I have a pretty decent pre/pro and 5 channel amp, but the XSP-1 and Emotiva amps blew its doors off. I did have my doubts about how good my system would sound without any equalization other than a bass/treble boost or cut, but I need not to have worried. As it happens, my speakers sound better now than the equalization from my pre/pro allowed. I now know why I got these speakers.
For CDs, I use a Minimax DAC and it had always sounded very good from the pre/pro. But, there always seemed to be a tension that kept me from listening to music as much as I would have liked. That was true even when I turned the pre/pro equalization completely off.
The XSP-1 gave me a full bodied, relaxed, easy sound. I can hear into the mix of a CD much better than before and follow an instrument even when it is in the background. This sounds like typical audiophile rambling, but it was much more than just audiophile check lists. I am enjoying listening to music again. Now when I put something on to play, I listen to all of it. Often, before, I would turn off the music and start watching TV. Now, I want to listen to music.
The XSP-1 has also seemed to have taken my room out of the equation to a large degree. I don’t seem to hear as many reflections as before, but the soundstage seems just as large.
And the BASS! The speakers don’t shake the room, but I no longer miss any bass the music has in it. The bass management in the XSP-1 has made a HUGE difference in my enjoyment of music. One of the things I’ve noticed is that having that bottom end be so defined and present allows better definition of all the other frequencies. Plus, it has surprised me completely that the music sounds fuller, the soundstage is better defined and everything sounds sweeter.
The performance bottom line is; my system has never sounded better.
I do have a couple of things on the XSP-1 I would change if I could. I would put an OFF position for the dimmer. Just a bit too many blue lights. I know; you can never have too many blue lights, but having every button light up? I would also like to see level matching for the inputs. I like the turn on level setting, but would like to match the levels for the inputs as I have a wide range of levels from my equipment. Finally, I would like to see the bass (low pass filter) work when the treble side was turned to full range. I am running a pretty good overlap, but just would like to see the top binding posts receive a full range instead of a high pass filtered range.
All in all, WELL DONE Emotiva. I haven’t heard any pre-amps in my system (other than my pre/pro) because I can’t afford to spend a lot on equipment, but I think the XSP-1 is an outstanding value and it performs way above its price. I won’t try and put a price on how high up the dollar range it performs, but it has to be pretty high.
