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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 2, 2009 23:22:04 GMT -5
First off..I would like to thanks Lonnie and Cathy of Emotiva..boy talk about service with a smile..you guys amaze me. Second..I got my amp in 3 days with a holiday thrown in for good measure..All arrived unharmed by Fed Ex with out a hitch,even though my delivery guy is really hating coming to my house with all of the heavy gear this past year..and he was huffing and puffing hand carrying this box across my yard. I felt real sorry for him the minute I picked this beast up.. I guess I aught to describe my set up a little. I have AV123's signature line in the 850's and RSC200 aka Bigfoot with the 450's in the rear along with my Infinity R ES20111 sides and a MFW-15 sub. My pre-pro is an Integra 7.8 AVR. I had everything powered thru a Nad T-973 up until this afternoon.. My sd and universal player is an Oppo 980 and my BR player is a Panasonic BD-30..I have in place but as yet not hook up a new Music Hall 7.1 Turntable going thru a Jolida 9a tubed phono stage I use Via-Blue audio interconnects operate everything with a Universal MX-980 RF remote and feed all the main gear with PS Audio's XStream Power cords having everything protected by a Monster HT 3600 power center. My display is a Samsung PN58-650 plasma.. I have a picture prior to us getting flooded out..everything on the front wall is the same albeit new now with the exception of the carpeting..it was replaced with a different style of Ackminister..and I built a new AV cabinet with CD & DVD storage  Old cabinet with a LPA-1 prior to my Nad T-973 arrival.  new cabinet  dvd-cd storage  I'll can add more pictures later on if any one want to se them Now..New Years Eve and New Years day was a very nice. I actually got my lovely wife to sit and listen to some music. She is a regular work a holic around here and can't usual sit still for over 15 minutes. We enjoyed many cd's listening to all kinds of varied styles & types.We finished up with Eric Clapton's the best of Eric Clapton..while not the best mixed cd of his..a very good one. Fast forward to this afternoon. I pulled the Nad and elected to run this amp as a 3 channel one for starters utilizing my Integra for the sides & rears. Eric Clapton's cd was still in the Oppo on the XPA-5's arrival and was the first music played across the amp. The detail enhancement was immediate on power up. My wife stopped working around the house and came down too listen.MY Rockets are superb speakers and are very revealing. They don't hide any bad tracks that aren't recorded correctly. The first and second track showed just how revealing with this much power going to them. Lots of noise on the tracks and muddiness..more so than with the Nad. I had to move things around and have a step ladder up so I could reconnect the Nad just to make sure I wasn't experiencing a placebo effect. My back is killing me now because of doing this way..but I wanted to be sure. Track 3 & 4 are very clean and my favorites of the album.Here..they are recorded very clean with no back ground noise. The sound stage just sounds larger with the XPA-5 everything is dead center and all instruments sounding as they should. I finished the album and elected to jump straight into one of my favorite movies to show off my sub.. Open Range..chapter 14 "the gunfight scene" If you haven't watched it..rent it or buy it..The slam I get from my Rockets and MFW-15 is jaw dropping..needless to say with this amp in place the volume level can be safely reduced I posted earlier on the general forum.. emotivalounge.proboards54.com/index.cgi?board=amps&action=display&thread=3262 You can see for your self the volume difference..It is just frigging amazing..While playing this a few times going between the Nad and the XPA-5..my neighbor came over to check on us and see if everything was alright... ;D My wife wanted to watch some TV..and in Direct TV's almost cult like fashion they had POTCIII on again..and the cannon fire is awesome on this so looks like I'll have to pull out my Mater & Commander DVD to hear that too...Needless to say I am extremely pleased so far. I'll be testing out the Music Hall turntable this coming week..this will be a very good test to see how it handles it..I'll let you know how that adventure turns out Mac |
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Post by bigred7078 on Jan 2, 2009 23:40:30 GMT -5
Awesome review Mac!!!
I know i've said it before but i love your setup! the rocket red against that green wall is just gorgeous! That TV also kicks some serious butt! Enjoy the amp!
-Steve
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Post by bourbonncigars on Jan 3, 2009 2:35:37 GMT -5
Nice review. Really glad you like the amp, and very good looking room too.
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Post by altpensacola on Jan 3, 2009 8:44:39 GMT -5
just wait until you play your records!
all my vinyl is NEW again.
the soundstage, the word everyone is using, SOUNDSTAGE!
Rock is great but be sure to play some things with strings,
upright bass, cello, and brushes on drums, grand piano.
amazing!
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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 3, 2009 10:09:10 GMT -5
just wait until you play your records! all my vinyl is NEW again. the soundstage, the word everyone is using, SOUNDSTAGE! Rock is great but be sure to play some things with strings, upright bass, cello, and brushes on drums, grand piano. amazing! Oh I will thats 4-sure. I have a little over 200 albums with about 75 of them that have never been opened. I thought I had more but time has a way of messing with your memory...I haven't used them for over 15 years..They run the full gamut of music too from acid rock to classical to easy listening. 2008 was a year of first for me in many ways and having a reference turntable is just one of them.. Glad you guys like the room..it's been a labor of sweat and love to get it back to what it was before Hurricane Ike..same for my media room HT. I took the Nad down stairs and hooked that system up last night as well. My sons finally got to play on the X-box live and their PS-3 on the big screen I have for them.They were up till 2:30 am playing. It's a awesome set up they have..I'll get some pics of that room a little later on for you all if you want. Mac |
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Post by bigred7078 on Jan 3, 2009 18:18:42 GMT -5
^ of course we want pics  |
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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 3, 2009 22:57:59 GMT -5
^ of course we want pics OK.. I got my lower level media room almost completely finished this weekend..My kids are in hog heaven now.. Heading down stairs from the Family Room HT  A little more wall art..These are really nice heavy wall plaques of real movie posters I had made.  The 750's tucked in behind the sectional  The front side  The front section again  and the MFW-15 sub  All of my rockets in this room are the Ebony...850 sigs front Classic Bigfoot above the 60" SXRD II 750 sigs behind the sectional for rears and a satin black MFW-15 sub...As soon as I wrapped the wiring in their black tubes..it's done Sorry about the pics guys..my camera has a mind of it's own. It keeps going in and out of focus on me and won't stay locked on Mac |
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Post by Indycolts on Jan 4, 2009 11:04:59 GMT -5
Mac,
what are you using to tilt your center speaker downward? I need one.
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Post by bigred7078 on Jan 4, 2009 11:35:29 GMT -5
Mac, what are you using to tilt your center speaker downward? I need one. you can use a tube TV wall mount |
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Post by altpensacola on Jan 4, 2009 11:51:50 GMT -5
Mac, those speakers are beautiful.
I am intrigued by your swapping out the NAD, I owned one before (a 45 watt) and wanted one again.
I knew their watt ratings and reserve power is different then other's.
I thought that 140w would have done me well.
But I was going to have to drive over 200 miles to hear one though. (and once you drive tht far are you coming back empty handed?)
And of course they cost much more then the Emotiva's.
I got the XPA5 instead, sounds like I made the right decision.
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Post by bigred7078 on Jan 4, 2009 12:05:58 GMT -5
Mac, those speakers are beautiful. I am intrigued by your swapping out the NAD, I owned one before (a 45 watt) and wanted one again. I knew their watt ratings and reserve power is different then other's. I thought that 140w would have done me well. But I was going to have to drive over 200 miles to hear one though. (and once you drive tht far are you coming back empty handed?) And of course they cost much more then the Emotiva's. I got the XPA5 instead, sounds like I made the right decision. hey as long as you love that sound thats all that matters  Emotiva DOES have product that competes with these "better known" companies. In fact it often times surpasses them. Lately people on the Emotiva thread on AVSforum are having a REALLY tough time understanding this. altpensacola, what speakers do you use to rock out with on the XPA-5? |
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Post by altpensacola on Jan 4, 2009 12:17:07 GMT -5
Mac, those speakers are beautiful. I am intrigued by your swapping out the NAD, I owned one before (a 45 watt) and wanted one again. I knew their watt ratings and reserve power is different then other's. I thought that 140w would have done me well. But I was going to have to drive over 200 miles to hear one though. (and once you drive tht far are you coming back empty handed?) And of course they cost much more then the Emotiva's. I got the XPA5 instead, sounds like I made the right decision. hey as long as you love that sound thats all that matters Emotiva DOES have product that competes with these "better known" companies. In fact it often times surpasses them. Lately people on the Emotiva thread on AVSforum are having a REALLY tough time understanding this. altpensacola, what speakers do you use to rock out with on the XPA-5? The Klipsch set up. 90% stereo 10% HT. The JBL's are on the "b" room on the Kenwood, though I do want to bring them in for a moment and see how they'd sound on some fresh power! Those JBL studio monitors are 29 years old! |
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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 4, 2009 17:39:51 GMT -5
Mac, what are you using to tilt your center speaker downward? I need one. It's a Peerless 27" tv mount I got on Amazon.I does a real good job holding up BigFoot.. Mac |
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Post by bigred7078 on Jan 4, 2009 17:46:13 GMT -5
hey as long as you love that sound thats all that matters Emotiva DOES have product that competes with these "better known" companies. In fact it often times surpasses them. Lately people on the Emotiva thread on AVSforum are having a REALLY tough time understanding this. altpensacola, what speakers do you use to rock out with on the XPA-5? The Klipsch set up. 90% stereo 10% HT. The JBL's are on the "b" room on the Kenwood, though I do want to bring them in for a moment and see how they'd sound on some fresh power! Those JBL studio monitors are 29 years old! wow im an idiot...i forgot to look at your sig..lol my bad |
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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 4, 2009 18:03:01 GMT -5
Mac, those speakers are beautiful. I am intrigued by your swapping out the NAD, I owned one before (a 45 watt) and wanted one again. I knew their watt ratings and reserve power is different then other's. I thought that 140w would have done me well. But I was going to have to drive over 200 miles to hear one though. (and once you drive tht far are you coming back empty handed?) And of course they cost much more then the Emotiva's. I got the XPA5 instead, sounds like I made the right decision. Thanks for the compliment.. The Nad is a wonderful sounding amp..make no bones about it.The XPA-5 just has a lot more in reserve and on tap when running it as a 3 channel like I am right now. 250 watts of clean power compared to approx. 175 watts not to mention the dynamic headroom of both units..with the XPA-5 having way way more. The Nad also has a few other features I like and that is the soft clipping and the auto sensing portion..You can have mix matched speakers Ohms wise and it will supply what is needed correctly to each speaker..This kind of stuff I am sure adds to the cost of these units. Right now I am well pleased with mine..so unless you were getting an absolute hell of a deal on the Nad like I did when I bought mine, I wouldn't worry about it. You got a great buy on the Emotiva..and it will do just about everything the Nad will do at about 1/4 the price of them new.Also if your happy with the sound and the performance..that's all that really matters. BTW...you can drive 1 mile or 2000 miles...and I will bet you it won't sound the same there as it does in your own home.The only way you can ever know is to audition the different components where your going to have them set up in your home to hear the differences. This is why I listen to both like I did..It was a job..but I have a good assessment of which should go where in my 2 systems..for right now. I may wind up with a XPA-2 for the rears on one system and sell off the Nad and pick up another 5. I'll have to do some work on my cabinet to accommodate everything..but it's doable. Mac |
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Post by Indycolts on Jan 4, 2009 21:30:33 GMT -5
what brand of power conditioner does emoholics prefer?
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Post by bourbonncigars on Jan 4, 2009 22:00:55 GMT -5
Nice!
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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 4, 2009 23:16:58 GMT -5
what brand of power conditioner does emoholics prefer? Even though many disagree with them..I've been using a Monster HTS 3600 for a long time.It's a good unit and has caused no issues and corrected a few over the years I've had it installed. It's on the 4th shelf down under my Jolida 9a Mac |
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Post by Mac11700 on Jan 6, 2009 10:58:03 GMT -5
This amp is just getting better all the time. It's staying put..no doubt about it.
Lonnie you were 110% correct about this amp..It is frigging awesome.
I doubt anyone could find a better performing multichannel amp out there new for the money these cost. It's just crazy..
Mac
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Post by Indycolts on Jan 6, 2009 20:28:02 GMT -5
the Peerless 27" tv mount will not work for my center channel set up but it has given me a few ideas on the tilting position I will use.
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