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Post by Boomzilla on Dec 12, 2013 17:40:20 GMT -5
Well, it's here. You know how mechanics always drive junk cars because after working on other people's cars all day they just don't want to bother with their own? Well, Safety Engineers do wild, crazy, and stupid things when they're not on the job too. I'm here to testify that a 61-year old, slightly overweight, and rather stupid man CAN move, unpack, and install an XPR-2 amplifier by himself. It helps to be dumb... Take it from me, friends, this is a two-man-job. I managed to get the amp on the stand by myself without any immediate sprains, but how I'll feel in the morning is yet to be seen. At 100 pounds, the amp isn't all that heavy, but it is awfully bulky. When lifting, the load should be as close to the torso as possible, but with the XPR-2, the chassis is broad enough that any balanced hand-hold is a bit too far out. Enough moaning. Now for the minor annoyances.
I was profoundly disappointed that my expensive X-series power cords DO NOT FIT on the XPR-2 amplifier. Of course, I didn't find out that the X-series power cords didn't fit until I'd already securely stored the XPR-2 shipping box (with the supplied cord) deep in the attic. Second trip up/down wasn't fun either. The amp comes with an "appliance" style 20-ampere IEC cord and requires an "appliance" style 20-ampere wall outlet. Off to Lowes in the morning (assuming I can move) to do some wiring. The square rubber plug that fits into the power socket on the back of the amp fits TIGHTLY. I wiggled it and shoved, but I'm really not sure how deeply in the socket it's supposed to go. A nice click connector that secures the power cord to the amp would have been nice. Think like a Neutrik connector, only beefier & for AC power supply use. I know that the ISO won't allow anything out of the ordinary, but I can still wish...
The back panel is neatly laid out with plenty of room and clear labeling. I still had to lay on the floor and use both hands to tighten the Monoprice speaker wires' "locking banana" plugs, but that's not the XPR's fault. I really like the XPR's oversized speaker terminals.
So I can look at my dead amp this evening and admire. No turn on till tomorrow when I update the wiring. I can do electrical work, but if you can't then plan on paying an electrician to come and install a different wall socket. If the electrician is neurotic about code (and I'd be if it were my license on the line), then plan on also paying the electrician to run a new 20-amp circuit (including breaker) before he'll sign off on the 20-amp socket. A few hundred more simoleans, but hey, when you've already coughed up large for the mighty XPRs then it is what it is.
Of course, all these minor annoyances could have been avoided had I READ the online owners' manual before purchase, but you know me - wrong way Boom!
So I'll continue my commentary AFTER I do the electrical work that I should have done previously. Now for a cold shower & immobilizing my back until the muscles give some feedback.
Goodnight & God Bless - Boomzilla
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Post by audiobill on Dec 12, 2013 17:54:27 GMT -5
Boom, use the spade lugs and the x cables should work, if they're like the XPA-1.
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Post by paintedklown on Dec 12, 2013 18:02:02 GMT -5
Boom, if you don't want to cough up the $$$ to have the electrical work done right away, you can buy an adaptor that allows you to plug the XPR amps into a regular 15 amp outlet. I think many here have done just that with zero problems. Good luck!
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Post by garbulky on Dec 12, 2013 18:08:15 GMT -5
^That's what I would do at least to audition without messing about with sockets. Dan has even suggested it.
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Post by garbulky on Dec 12, 2013 18:14:49 GMT -5
You moved that thing by yourself?! Jeez. More power to you, I guess! I couldn't even dream of that happening.
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Post by Porscheguy on Dec 12, 2013 18:30:19 GMT -5
Look what I carried up a flight of garage stairs then down into my basement by myself........ Not one but three
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Post by Boomzilla on Dec 12, 2013 18:33:20 GMT -5
I'm just not an "adapter" type of guy if significant AC current is involved. (DC, who cares? ZZZZZZZZZZT!) I'll buy the right socket, maybe run some more romex and possibly put in a new 20-amp breaker. My breaker box has the room, I can get to the drop through the attic, and it's Winter in Louisiana, so the attic won't be 150+ degrees F. On the other hand, if my back is bothering me tomorrow, it'll be only a socket for the time being.
My house is elderly. I've already gone through and replaced each and every light switch and AC outlet. The jack-leg that wired the house originally did some stupid things with the circuitry. I've corrected all that I've found. If I planned on staying here, I'd make some more improvements, but we plan to move in a few years (downsize) and anyone who buys it won't know or care what improvements I've made. It's safe as is, so there's no need to gold plate it.
Audiobill, my X-series cables that don't work are NOT the X-series speaker cables (those would work fine with either bananas or spades) but rather the X-series POWER CORDS. The 15-amp and 20-amp ones are incompatible (the 20-amp wall sockets will work for 15 or 20 amp services, but the 15 amp wall sockets are physically different and are for 15-amp gear only). On the amplifier end, my X-series power cords have the 15-amp IEC connectors on them, again, which are physically different than the 20 amp ones. In the power amp end (called an IEC socket after the standards organization that specifies such things) the 15 and 20 amp models are NOT forward or backward compatible. I might just buy some 20-amp IEC terminals and use the X-series power cords anyway. Should be easy to change...
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Post by The Mad Norseman on Dec 12, 2013 18:41:32 GMT -5
Boom, if you don't want to cough up the $$$ to have the electrical work done right away, you can buy an adaptor that allows you to plug the XPR amps into a regular 15 amp outlet. I think many here have done just that with zero problems. Good luck! Or Boomer could get a Emo CMX-2 and use that as his interface, while also using it to plug in his other stuff! (Nice review start by the way, I'm 'book-marking' this bad boy...).
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hemster
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Post by hemster on Dec 12, 2013 18:46:30 GMT -5
Boom, you'd best rest your back. I carried my PA7-350 from outside the front door up a flight of stairs and installed it in the cabinet. A couple of painkillers and a tequila (or maybe it a painkiller and 2 tequilas) helped me sleep soundly. Next day I was good as gold. It's amazing what adrenaline can do!
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 12, 2013 22:12:47 GMT -5
Boom...understand your frustration. But...as much as you are around here...you didn't understand up front these things you are complaining about? I am surprised.
Mark
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novisnick
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CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,223
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Post by novisnick on Dec 12, 2013 22:30:55 GMT -5
Boom...understand your frustration. But...as much as you are around here...you didn't understand up front these things you are complaining about? I am surprised. Mark I'm surprised as well, and hey Boom, you'd have twice the problem if you had ordered the XPR-1s! He,,,,,,,He,,,,,, just poking some fun Nick
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Post by pop on Dec 12, 2013 22:32:18 GMT -5
Curse these XPR amps! They make my XPA-5 seem like a babies' toy. Now Dan flops out this picture of a deity speaker that won't be available until 2046.....ugh.
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Dec 12, 2013 22:42:14 GMT -5
Boom, if you don't want to cough up the $$$ to have the electrical work done right away, you can buy an adaptor that allows you to plug the XPR amps into a regular 15 amp outlet. I think many here have done just that with zero problems. Good luck! Yep, all 15 amp and doing fine!
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Post by chicagorspec on Dec 12, 2013 23:04:43 GMT -5
15 amp with CMX6, no problems.
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Post by plm on Dec 13, 2013 1:12:19 GMT -5
Buy a couple of 15A plugs at Lowes and cut the molded ones off the cables. You'll be up and running in no time.
Your breaker will trip if you try to pull more than 15A so it's completely safe.
I run a pair of XPR-1s off a 15A outlet with no issues. And someone here runs a pair and an XPR-5 as well.
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hemster
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Particle Manufacturer
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Post by hemster on Dec 13, 2013 1:27:34 GMT -5
Buy a couple of 15A plugs at Lowes and cut the molded ones off the cables. You'll be up and running in no time. Your breaker will trip if you try to pull more than 15A so it's completely safe. I run a pair of XPR-1s off a 15A outlet with no issues. And someone here runs a pair and an XPR-5 as well. That's exactly what I did for my PA7-350 amp. Works great.
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Post by bub on Dec 13, 2013 5:46:12 GMT -5
Let me preface this with.. Im the dummy of this group and probably of all Emoville..Having said that .. I installed two 12-3 Romex line's and 20a breakers and receptacles..Cost was negligible in the overall scheme of things..I have no doubt that I and everyone else could and have gotten their amps up and running..I just remember reading institutional reviews about power amps and if memory serves me right , one specifically on the XPR-1..There was something about them not being able to match Emotiva results because they weren't running a power line voltage stabilizer..They pretty much got results unmatched anywhere with any other amps anyplace at any time but were lacking in the last 10 % of specs..They also thought the culprit might also have been line sag..What all that means I will leave to superior minds..(double digit IQ would suffice ) But it was enough to motivate me to invest in 20a service.. I will leave the heavy lifting to youse guys.. Time to now excuse myself and return to the corner , replace my dunce cap and await Boom's verdict..
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Post by GreenKiwi on Dec 13, 2013 11:44:58 GMT -5
If you're walls let you easily run 20s... Then that is great. Sounds like boom can fish 12/3 up to the attic and to his breaker box. For an electrician it is probably not more than a few hours.
It's more of a problem in older houses where fishing wires is nye near impossible.
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Post by Boomzilla on Dec 13, 2013 15:06:24 GMT -5
For the time being, I just installed a $3.49 20-amp socket & watched the blue glow ignite. Those side bars aren't my idea of nice, but since I can turn them off easily, it's all good.
I had no more than 30 minutes to listen this morning since I had a meeting & then had to take my wife to a dental appointment. So I listened with the XPR-2 stone cold. Initial impressions:
Interesting...
The bass is significantly tighter with the XPR-2 than my Crown PS-400 (which was marginally tighter than my XPA-2). Curiously, the bass seems less prominent in the mix with the R, but more defined and with better pitch definition. I put on the worst-mixed cut for bass that I have (Lady Gaga's "Dance in the Dark) which seems to have been mastered for use with a boom box. With all my previous amps, when the drum kicks in, I get wall-to-wall bass mush at about 2x to 3x the volume of the remaining mix. Same cut with the R? Still loud but not so much mush, and not nearly as loud in relation to the remainder of the frequency spectrum. As I said, interesting...
I also tried Jennifer Warnes' "Somebody, Somewhere" and Norah Jones' "Cold, Cold Heart." Now THESE flat out rocked - excellent pitch definition and decay. I'm thinking that the R may be a big step up in bass quality from my Crown or my A.
Midrange: Garbulky has noted that my room sounds slightly recessed in the male vocal frequency range. I'm not convinced that it's the room, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. In either case, male vocals sound more prominent in the mix than with previous amps. Why? No idea. Interesting...
Also, the R gives the impression of having more detail than any previous amp. I don't find this to be "glare" as I did with the Stealth DC-1, but rather the ability to individualize midrange sounds without them blending together into a blur. With complicated music (massed vocals, piano arpeggios, contrapuntal melodies) I'm better able to follow the individual musical lines.
At one particular lower treble frequency, there's a very, very slight touch of sibilance, but it is in an extremely narrow band and doesn't distract from the music. I think that this is an artifact of the Paradigm tweeters rather than the amp, because I heard the same thing with the previous amps in the system.
Treble: Great with the XPA, the Crown and the XPR. Nothing to dislike here.
Keep in mind that ALL the above impressions were with the amp stone cold (and the source Oppo player also cold). I've left them on all day and will listen some more this afternoon to see if the initial impressions still hold.
So for background details: The source for current music is an iMac server running J-River Media Center for Mac, ver. 19. Music is served over ethernet to an Apple Airport Express. The Express' TOSLINK output goes to the optical input on the new Oppo BDP-105 (updated this morning to the latest firmware). The 105's XLR outputs feed the inputs on the XPR via Audioquest Blue Something cables. The XPR feeds the speakers via 10-foot lengths of Blue Jeans cable with locking bananas. The speakers are 18-year old Paradigm Eclipse BP bi-polar speakers (8" two ways - front & back).
More impressions after listening with the equipment warm. Summary so far: "Interesting..."
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Post by paintedklown on Dec 13, 2013 15:41:00 GMT -5
Good report thus far, Boom.
I am glued to this thread for further updates.
By the way, do you have your XPA there to do some A/B testing?
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