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Post by hcsunshine90 on Mar 28, 2014 13:36:39 GMT -5
i currently have a pair of emo UPA-1's. they sound great, i love them. i'm looking at getting a pair of XPA-1L's to replace them. will i be able to notice a difference in sound quality? if so, how so? any comments welcome. thanks, john
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,222 
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Post by novisnick on Mar 28, 2014 13:45:10 GMT -5
Hi john, welcome to this forum. So glad your here.
I have no experience with the UPA-1s but I do with the XPA-1Ls. Pound for pound the -1Ls are the best amp Emotiva has.IMHO!
For there price point and performance,,,,their dead on!
These will be the amps for my dedicated two channel,,,,,they are quite capable of handling HT requirements but I do have that covered in another system.
Stick around, were a great bunch of nuts and there's a lot to learn here as I have.
Nick
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2014 13:47:59 GMT -5
If your speakers is highly efficient or you're not playing at reference volume levels so they will remain below 35w for it's class A operation then I would imagine there will be a little spike in SQ dependent upon if your ears can hear the difference. If not, then I doubt you would notice a difference at higher volume since both will be running in A/B mode.
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Mar 28, 2014 14:04:55 GMT -5
not sure if my speakers are highly efficient, but they are two-way and have a RAAL 70-20xr ribbon tweeter and a paper-coned scan-speak 7 inch woofer in them. they are very accurate speakers. also, I don't always listen to them loudly. so I'm thinking the class A operation would come into play quite often.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2014 14:27:08 GMT -5
If you feel you can benefit from the class A operation then give the amps a try. This allows you to audition them against your UPA-1s and if you notice the difference the XPA-1L become keepers. If not, then you are only out the return shipping for your 30 day full money back guarantee trial. not sure if my speakers are highly efficient, but they are two-way and have a RAAL 70-10 ribbon tweeter and a paper-coned scan-speak 7 inch woofer in them. they are very accurate speakers. also, I don't always listen to them loudly. so I'm thinking the class A operation would come into play quite often. |
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Post by Dark Ranger on Mar 28, 2014 21:16:23 GMT -5
I agree with Warped Mind: try the XPA-1Ls for 30 days along with your UPA-1 amplifiers. You won't have to second-guess your decision. Your room, your speakers, and your ears.  Warning: my personal opinion follows...  I own a trio of XPA-1Ls. Would I buy them again? Absolutely. However, even without hearing the UPA-1 amps, I'd be genuinely surprised if there is much of an audible difference between the two models. The -1Ls offer specific features like fully differential circuitry, higher power output, and of course biased Class A up to 35 watts. The high-bias feature is a big selling point, and although some folks have claimed an audible improvement, I personally do not hear any significant difference between high- and low-bias modes without straining very hard. YMMV. All I'm saying is that the UPA-1 is already a very good amplifier. It's up to your ears to make the final decision and determine whether it's worth the extra coin for an incremental sound quality upgrade. |
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Mar 29, 2014 16:05:35 GMT -5
thanks warped mind and dark ranger. what i'm gathering is that the XPA-1L's sound a little bit better than the UPA-1's
(if at all). i'll prolly buy them a lil down the road, and they may even have a newer model out by then, lol. thanks again, john.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2014 18:11:01 GMT -5
hcsunshine90..I have the UPA-1's very nice amps. I had them powering two LSi-15's 4 ohm load did a good job of it, But with that said My UPA-1's where also powering two Polk Monitor 70's 8 ohm load and did an outstanding job of it. Like you I want "More" control over the drivers in my LSi-15's being that the LSi's have an 8" woofer in them. I went with the XPA-2 and I am very pleased with the XPA-2. If I have this right when going from a 8 ohm load to a 4 ohm load the Damping Factor drops to 1/2 with the amp driving the 4 ohm load. If the Damping Factor say is 200? than its 100 with a 4 ohm load. So yeah some amps are better "suited" for an 8 ohm load over a 4 ohm load. Maybe Keith, or one of the old timers will chime in on this. Its a lot to do with "better control over the drivers" but it really goes deeper than what I can tell you over the "differences" of the two amps lot more to it. Big power supply, lot more power at the rail and a lot more Ufs too. So it goes with out saying, one man power is nether a mans less. I say you can never have too much power at the rail after all that is where it all has to come out to your speakers. Mike
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Mar 30, 2014 12:19:00 GMT -5
more power at the rail sounds nice to me. also, it's straying to a different topic, but still has to do with the XPA-1L: i'm thinking strongly about getting the XSP-1 gen 2 pre amp and using the XLR balanced connections. i think i will gain something from using the balanced connections, but i'm not that technical, so i can't explain it. i called emo tech support and they said i will definitely gain something if i use the XSP-1 gen 2 with the balanced connections to the XPA-1L's. again, something to do with the rail, but i forgot what he said.
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Post by danny01 on Mar 31, 2014 7:00:03 GMT -5
My speakers have the RAAL 70-20xr. I had the UPA1's and went directly to the XPA1L's. IF there are differences in sound quality, the highs sounded smoother with the 1L. The lower midrange and bass seem less muddy. BUT would I bet money that I would be able to pick out the amps in a blind test? I would be guessing 19 times out of 20. So if I did infinite trials, I guess I would guess the correct amp 55% of the time as opposed to 50% if I just flipped a fair coin.
Was the upgrade "worth it"? Well it cost me about $500 for the switch from UPA1's to XPA1L's. I get the good warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever I turn on my system now as opposed to "I wonder how much better those 1L's sound" when I had the UPA1's. It probably isn't the smartest use of money but that feeling was worth the $ for me. Haha
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using proboards
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Post by danny01 on Mar 31, 2014 7:03:28 GMT -5
A damping factor of 100 is good. DF should not be a concern in any modern amp. Keith had a long explanation on this DF stuff somewhere. As far as fully balanced, I could not tell the difference between using XLR vs RCA on fully balanced beginning to end gear using the XPA1L.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using proboards
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Post by dunny01 on Apr 2, 2014 8:30:27 GMT -5
A damping factor of 100 is good. DF should not be a concern in any modern amp. Keith had a long explanation on this DF stuff somewhere. As far as fully balanced, I could not tell the difference between using XLR vs RCA on fully balanced beginning to end gear using the XPA1L. Sent from my HTC6500LVW using proboards I absolutely agree. You are right. |
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Post by ocezam on May 25, 2014 17:20:43 GMT -5
Was the upgrade "worth it"? Well it cost me about $500 for the switch from UPA1's to XPA1L's. I get the good warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever I turn on my system now as opposed to "I wonder how much better those 1L's sound" when I had the UPA1's. It probably isn't the smartest use of money but that feeling was worth the $ for me. Haha I hate replying to old posts, but I love this one. I've been thinking of "upgrading" my XPA-100's to 1L's. I think it would only work out to about a $300 diff for me. Probably only a warm fuzzy feeling for that $300 though, not much SQ improvement. Sometimes that's all there is to be had. |
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Post by GreenKiwi on May 25, 2014 19:19:40 GMT -5
I hear you. I just ordered new headphones. Ordered the first pair, but realized that I'd always wonder if the LCD-XC would be better... And that would be a little bug that was always there. So I ordered the LCD-XC. There's something to that warm and fuzzy feeling.
Re the xpa-1L, I think that the real benefit happens if one has efficient enough speakers that they stay in class a operation.
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Post by ocezam on May 26, 2014 17:10:15 GMT -5
I hear you. I just ordered new headphones. Ordered the first pair, but realized that I'd always wonder if the LCD-XC would be better... And that would be a little bug that was always there. So I ordered the LCD-XC. There's something to that warm and fuzzy feeling. Re the xpa-1L, I think that the real benefit happens if one has efficient enough speakers that they stay in class a operation. There's the class A. Which frankly I won't use since my solid state amps are only working the frequencies under 350hz. Class A won't bring anything to the party down there, IMHO. But if you get past the "rated" power, the 1L actually makes almost 50% more power at 8 ohms (than the XPA-100). i.e. read the actual test results. As in 363 watts into 8 ohms versus the XPA-100 @ 251. I might be willing to pay for that. One thing holding me back right now is the thought that waiting a while and grabbing a couple XPA-1 Gen II's in a few months and never look back. The other thing concerning me is heat. Honestly, if there weren't the reports of excessive heat with the 1L (even in AB mode), I grab a pair. Running tubes above 350hz makes me a little shy about adding more heat generating equipment. The XPA-100's don't even get warm. My brother's XPA-1 Gen II's don't get warm either.. I love this hobby.... |
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Post by Gary Cook on May 26, 2014 19:59:56 GMT -5
There's the class A. Which frankly I won't use since my solid state amps are only working the frequencies under 350hz. Class A won't bring anything to the party down there, IMHO. My suggestion would be to try the XPA-1L's full range, Class A solid state was what killed my use of tubes forever many decades ago. Cheers Gary |
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Post by ocezam on May 27, 2014 7:19:07 GMT -5
There's the class A. Which frankly I won't use since my solid state amps are only working the frequencies under 350hz. Class A won't bring anything to the party down there, IMHO. My suggestion would be to try the XPA-1L's full range, Class A solid state was what killed my use of tubes forever many decades ago. Cheers Gary Been there done that. |
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Post by GreenKiwi on May 27, 2014 8:39:40 GMT -5
If you're just using it for the bottom end, you can switch it into a/b mode where it drops the bias down a bunch, that should also decrease the heat.
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Dec 3, 2014 22:02:02 GMT -5
well folks, I know how the XPA-1L's sound now cause I just received my XPA-1L G2's last fri.! I would say, compared to the UPA-1's, the upper mids and highs are crisper and clearer. also, there is more 3-D action going on, I reckon they call that imaging. now comparing the class A operation vs. the class A/B operation of the XPA-1L, the upper mids and highs were richer and fuller with class A operation over class A/B operation! finally, not really a critique of sound quality, but the XPA-1L's got their full bass within three days compared with about 2 weeks with the UPA-1's. I highly recommend these XPA-1L amps to anyone. I never thought I would have a system that sounds this good.
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Post by lehighvalleyjeff on Dec 4, 2014 1:22:51 GMT -5
well folks, I know how the XPA-1L's sound now cause I just received my XPA-1L G2's last fri.! I would say, compared to the UPA-1's, the upper mids and highs are crisper and clearer. also, there is more 3-D action going on, I reckon they call that imaging. now comparing the class A operation vs. the class A/B operation of the XPA-1L, the upper mids and highs were richer and fuller with class A operation over class A/B operation! finally, not really a critique of sound quality, but the XPA-1L's got their full bass within three days compared with about 2 weeks with the UPA-1's. I highly recommend these XPA-1L amps to anyone. I never thought I would have a system that sounds this good. Congrats! Enjoy the amps! |
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