Magnepan 1.6 with XPR-2 or XPR-5?

[decline]

Hi,

I am putting together a new system from scratch. I recently picked up a nice used pair of 1.6's as a starting point. I have been trying to read up what is required to make the maggies sound great and have repeatedly come across the emotiva amps. In general all the emotiva stuff gets rave reviews.
For now the system will be only 2 channel. Eventually i would like to add magnepan MMGw rears and some sort of center. So the question becomes do I get XPR-2 which is guarenteed to get the job done but i will have to by another amp down the road or do i get the XPR-5 and hope it up to the task of powering the 1.6's?
Also, does anyone know what the XPR-5 power out put is only running 2 channels?


In a tangent that most likely belongs in another thread what are the other separates I need to play music? I was looking at the UMC-200 so that i have a surround processor when i need it but it doesn't have analogue inputs? My sources are T.V., turntable, sony blueray player, and laptop
I was also looking at the stealth DC-1 because it has the analogue connection, but theres no way to connect the blueray?
I would be pairing either of these with the new XSP-1 phono amp.
My budget is around 2 grand plus or minus for components and wires. Also has anyone tried the new shunyata defender/power conditioner? It might be worth the peace of mind for surge protection alone

I apologize for my uninformed ramblings and Thanks in advance!

[decline]

Edit
Disregard the part about the Seperates. After another search I saw that you can hook up a turn table to the umc 200 with the phono amp. Looks like that is the way to go
The question of weither or not I could get by with the XPA-5 amp still remains. Although I should stop being a cheap ass and just get the 2 channel so I know I've got the power and worry about the surrounds later
Guess I just had to talk myself through it
Awesome first posts by me!

[stustan]

Welcome to the forum, welcome to Emotiva, and welcome to Magnepan! I am using the XPA series to drive my Music/Theater system in an admittedly small room. My 1.7"s became much more alive and dynamic when driven by the XPA-2 Gen 2 as opposed to the entire system driven by my XPA-5. My center channel (CC5/DWM) also bloomed when I removed the 1.7's from the XPA-5's workload.

The XPR's are a different animal and possess greater power/current capabilities than my XPA's so I cannot comment....only offer you my experience. I LOVE my system and I am VERY VERY happy.

Good Luck and let us know how you make out.

[harri009]

I drove 1.6's with UPA-2 (175w into 4) for a year or so while I saved and it sounded great, mind you I generally listen at no more than 90db.

[GreenKiwi]

You should be good with just about any emo amp.

Btw when you go to get the surrounds, I would look for some used mc-1s rather than the mmgw speakers. The mc-1s are way way better.

[creimes]

Jan 9, 2014 12:53:05 GMT -5 decline said:

Hi,

I am putting together a new system from scratch. I recently picked up a nice used pair of 1.6's as a starting point. I have been trying to read up what is required to make the maggies sound great and have repeatedly come across the emotiva amps. In general all the emotiva stuff gets rave reviews.
For now the system will be only 2 channel. Eventually i would like to add magnepan MMGw rears and some sort of center. So the question becomes do I get XPR-2 which is guarenteed to get the job done but i will have to by another amp down the road or do i get the XPR-5 and hope it up to the task of powering the 1.6's?
Also, does anyone know what the XPR-5 power out put is only running 2 channels?


In a tangent that most likely belongs in another thread what are the other separates I need to play music? I was looking at the UMC-200 so that i have a surround processor when i need it but it doesn't have analogue inputs? My sources are T.V., turntable, sony blueray player, and laptop
I was also looking at the stealth DC-1 because it has the analogue connection, but theres no way to connect the blueray?
I would be pairing either of these with the new XSP-1 phono amp.
My budget is around 2 grand plus or minus for components and wires. Also has anyone tried the new shunyata defender/power conditioner? It might be worth the peace of mind for surge protection alone

I apologize for my uninformed ramblings and Thanks in advance!

This is taken from the XPR-5 page

Power Output
(rated power; THD < 0.1%):
400 watts / channel (x5); all channels driven; into 8 Ohms.
600 watts / channel (x5); all channels driven; into 4 Ohms.
500 watts / channel (x2); two channels driven; into 8 Ohms.
750 watts / channel (x2); two channels driven; into 4 Ohms.
575 watts / channel (x1); one channel driven; into 8 Ohms.
1100 watts (1 .1 kW) / channel (x1); one channel driven; into 4 Ohms.

Clearly has lots of power in 2ch at 4 ohms, and even 5ch's driven it can output 600 watts

If 2ch performance is high on your list I would go XPA-2 with an XSP-1 for now and add a processor and XPA-5 down the road, especially if using a turntable is important to you, gives you the best of both worlds.

Chad

[deltadube]

Jan 9, 2014 12:53:05 GMT -5 decline said:

Hi,

I am putting together a new system from scratch. I recently picked up a nice used pair of 1.6's as a starting point. I have been trying to read up what is required to make the maggies sound great and have repeatedly come across the emotiva amps. In general all the emotiva stuff gets rave reviews.
For now the system will be only 2 channel. Eventually i would like to add magnepan MMGw rears and some sort of center. So the question becomes do I get XPR-2 which is guarenteed to get the job done but i will have to by another amp down the road or do i get the XPR-5 and hope it up to the task of powering the 1.6's?
Also, does anyone know what the XPR-5 power out put is only running 2 channels?


In a tangent that most likely belongs in another thread what are the other separates I need to play music? I was looking at the UMC-200 so that i have a surround processor when i need it but it doesn't have analogue inputs? My sources are T.V., turntable, sony blueray player, and laptop
I was also looking at the stealth DC-1 because it has the analogue connection, but theres no way to connect the blueray?
I would be pairing either of these with the new XSP-1 phono amp.
My budget is around 2 grand plus or minus for components and wires. Also has anyone tried the new shunyata defender/power conditioner? It might be worth the peace of mind for surge protection alone

I apologize for my uninformed ramblings and Thanks in advance!

grab the mono blocks...

[garbulky]

I wouldn't spend so much money on an amp (reference series) for the 1.6's. An XPA-2 would be pretty nice.

[audiobill]

Feb 3, 2014 16:19:01 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I wouldn't spend so much money on an amp (reference series) for the 1.6's. An XPA-2 would be pretty nice.

Gar, respectfully disagree.....the 1.6's are highly resolving speakers that will accomodate any level of quality.

But I don't think you need all that power.....the XPA 1's are perfect, IMHO.

[jlafrenz]

All the amps mentioned will work with the Maggies you have. I think what people are overlooking is that you don't seem to want to have multiple amps. If you know you are going full surround in the near future, go for the XPR-5 and be done with it. It will be fine for 2 channel and ready for expansion of your system.

[leonski]

I OWN MG1.6s and am seriously considering 4x XPA-1L which is perfect since the speaker is set up for biamping. Unless you cranked it up pretty good, you'd probablly never leave class 'a', either.
As for a preamp? Use a splitter on each output of the XSP-1 G2, IF the output impedance is low enough to be at least 10:1 lower than the input impedance of the amp(s) in question.

Later? Add a 3 channel amp for center and surrounds…….

[pitbullmike]

Powered my Magnepan 1.6 with both a UPA-2 and an XPA-2. I think everyone over exaggerates the power these speakers need. IMO an XPA-2 will be more than enough but nothing wrong with wanting to get the BIG BOY XPR-2

As far as getting an XPR-2 or XPR-5, Just coin flip it

[audiobill]

Feb 3, 2014 22:06:15 GMT -5 pitbullmike said:

Powered my Magnepan 1.6 with both a UPA-2 and an XPA-2. I think everyone over exaggerates the power these speakers need. IMO an XPA-2 will be more than enough but nothing wrong with wanting to get the BIG BOY XPR-2

As far as getting an XPR-2 or XPR-5, Just coin flip it

Having owned the 1.6's, an now the 1.7's, agree that the XPA-2 is plenty of power.

I finally went for the XPA-1's for the fully balanced circuitry, and extra power wasn't a drawback.

The XPA-1L's should be a great solution, too.

[decline]

I ended up going with the XPA-2 and the UMC-200 for the 1.6s...I actually just recieved them yesterday because the UMC-200 was back ordered for so long. There seems to be more then enough power on hand, although i havent had a chance to crank it because it was around 9:30 pm by the time i finished setting everything up..
One things for sure tho, that amp is beast! It seems to weigh more than the 60lbs or whatever its advertised at.
Later on when I eventually add surround I will get the XPA-5 and run a full maggie set-up, most likely in a tri-center configuration with some DWM panels

[leonski]

The power needed depends on several things. For those panel lovers…..you must remember 2 main things. First: The are an EASY load for most amps. They are also very low sensitivity which means more power for any given level.
That being said, YOU determine some things too. Like how loud you like it. Where you put 'em makes a huge difference. In some huge barn? A smaller room or a den? Sit close enough to wear 'em like headphones? Sitting 20 feet away in a room
with wall-to-wall drapes and soft furniture and thick carpet.
I ran my first panels with about 80 a side. Later, I bought a Carver Cube of over 200 a side and enjoyed the 'bump'.

So, there is NO right or wrong answer. My OPINION is to err on the side of slightly more power than you think you need. I doubt anyone needs a full kilowatt for any panel…save the 20.x series, and than? pretty iffy.
My room is pretty live. And even though it's pretty large, over 4500 cubic feet (cubic is the RIGHT way to measure room size!) it is also pretty live. I have 500 a side and simply NEVER tap it. Even pretty loud, I'm guessing maybe 20 watts
RMS with 200 watt peaks….that's a 10 db crest factor and may, for some music, not be enough 'lee-way'.

Enjoy.

[jamscape]

Gar, respectfully disagree.....the 1.6's are highly resolving speakers that will accomodate any level of quality.

But I don't think you need all that power.....the XPA 1's are perfect, IMHO.

I've got 1.6s currently with an XPA-2 and I agree with the above totally. Power is always a good thing with Maggies but when you are at the power level of an XPA-2 or above the maggies are more likely to reveal the sound character of different amps more so than additional watts.

[leonski]

If you believe some of the pundits, ALL amps sound the same when driven BELOW any distorion levels.
Do I believe that? Not necessarily. A good 'A' amp will have less….annoying….distorion and TYPE of distortion, think 'harmonics', than an AB amp at the same power. And generally less phase shift in upper frequencies than many 'D' amps.
Amps with poor square wave may not sound as good, either, even if not techniclly distorting. Some amps don't like reactive loads and may measure well…into a resistor…but fail the real world test of driving a REAL speaker load.

If possible, LISTEN before you buy!

That's why the EMO MB deal makes reasonable sense.

[leonski]

I FINALLY bought new amp(s) for my panels. I ended up with a PAIR of Parasound A23 of 225x2 @4ohms. This is more than enough power and a fraction of a db LESS than I had before. MG1.6 is the EASIEST speaker to BiAmp which is why my 2nd choice was 4x 1L but I simply ran OUT of outlets!
These amps effortless drive the panels to huge levels with terrific stage presence with every instrument in its space. Good recordings 'wrap around' you. Even XM radio sounds good. I'm feeding the signal from my Small Dish to the P5 preamp using optical. Nice. I'd givethe quality level roughly that of GOOD FM…..and a similar frequency response.

[mopman]

I have a Gen 1 XPA-2 and recently added a XPR-2 and there is a highly noticeable difference on my Salk Supercharged Songtowers. I would not have of thought it would be such a big difference but it was, the low end was so much more pronounced I thought my sub woofer was on and it wasn't and on my XPA-2 the highs can be a tad taxing after listening for a while and I don't get this from the XPR-2. I guess each persons mileage will vary but the XPR-2 is a better choice for me between the two.

[novisnick]

mop man,
Welcome to the brave new world.
The R series of amps are off the charts!!
You should hear the -1s,,,,,WOW ,,,,to be honest, I've never heard the XPA1 or 2 only the -1Ls and 5,,,, and nothing even approaches the R series.
Sit back and enjoy your new found friend!