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Post by Boccaccio7070 on Jun 6, 2014 7:48:29 GMT -5
Hi-Emo newbie here. I am about an inch and a half away from purchasing a UMC200 and a XPA3 amp.
I have a pair of Martin Logan Electro-Motion ESL hybrids. A bit of a quirky load to power. I had purchased a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium Integrated Amp. Great tube sound. 43 embarassed watts of power. I'm 58 years old and my ears are 74 years old. The Prima Luna seems a bit bass light. Great mids. Would jumping up,to 200 true Emotiva watts provide the Bottom Grip I am currently lacking? I have a SVS13" Ultra Sub, but it is not crossed over withing the main speaker wires. Would crossing over the Martin Logans via the SVS sub breathe new life into my system, or would 5X the power to the Logans be a better solution. Again, I'm a retired Hollywood film studiomengineer, so anything above 8K pretty much only appears in my dreams. Love the Prima Luna mids. Are the Emotiva XPa amps midrange handicapped, or willmthey hold their own. Alternatively, does anyone know of a switcher box that can use 2 amps in an A/B set-up, so I can keep the best of both worlds? By switching betweennthe Prima Luna tubes and the Emotiva SS power, I can enjoy both music and movies. One at a time, of course.
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Post by brubacca on Jun 6, 2014 7:55:03 GMT -5
Which tubes in the Prima Luna? I listened to this amp with the El34 tubes and the midrange is to die for. Unbelievable, as you said Bass shy. You could try the kt120 tubes which have more bass (in my Rogue Audio amp), but the midrange is not as good as the el34.
I have not heard the XPA 3 amp. I own a upa-200 and sherbourn pa2-50 (like mini-x) and there definitely is good bass, but that to die for midrange from the el34 is not there. In fact, I have never heard a midrange like that of the prima luna with el34 tubes in any other amp.
Good luck
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Post by dally on Jun 6, 2014 8:33:02 GMT -5
Why not try both in a bi-amp configuration? XPA-3 on the bass, and prima luna on the mids and highs. This way you get the best of both worlds. Also, if you can swing the extra $100, and don't need the extra channel, I would recommend the XPA-2 over the XPA-3 in a two channel system.
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KeithL
Administrator 
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Post by KeithL on Jun 6, 2014 10:04:43 GMT -5
Well, let's say "tube coloration" vs solid state "lack of coloration"..... but, yes, you might be quite happy with the results of doing it that way... In fact, by NOT having the tube amp do the bass, which is what many tube amps don't seem to do especially well with (at least in my opinion) because of their lack of damping, you should improve its performance with the mids and highs even more. HOWEVER, you should also realize that, by bi-amping a speaker with two amps that sound rather different, you risk creating a situation where the mids and highs sound different than the lows, and so ending up with an obvious "discontinuity" in the sound at the crossover point. (In short, it might work out very well that way, but I wouldn't assume that it definitely will.) Why not try both in a bi-amp configuration? XPA-3 on the bass, and prima luna on the mids and highs. This way you get the best of both worlds. Also, if you can swing the extra $100, and don't need the extra channel, I would recommend the XPA-2 over the XPA-3 in a two channel system. |
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KeithL
Administrator
Posts: 9,934
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Post by KeithL on Jun 6, 2014 10:25:05 GMT -5
Tube amps in general tend to have very low damping factors; while virtually all modern solid state amps have very high damping factors (which allows them to control the woofer very well). While their low damping factor means that the bass performance of tube amps will vary wildly depending on what speaker you connect them to, in general they produce weak, boomy, or muddy bass when you connect them to a speaker designed to work with modern high-damping-factor amplifiers. (Vintage speakers, and modern speakers specifically designed to work with tube equipment do considerably better in this regard.) Tube amps also tend to have problems with, as you say, "quirky loads". In contrast, that type of speaker should work well with any of our amps - which all have plenty of power and very high damping factors, and don't mind even the "quirkiest" of loads. If you were to purchase the UMC-200, I would try the Martin Logans with just the XPA first. You talk about the sub "crossing over in the speaker wires".... With a pre/pro, like the UMC-200, the pre/pro handles the crossover. This would give you the option of using the sub for movies, but not using it for music. You would choose Stereo, or one of the surround modes, for movies. This would use the bass management in the UMC-200 to send both the LFE surround channel and the lowest frequencies from your main speakers to the sub for movies. For music, you would have the choice between Stereo Mode, which would use the bass management in the UMC-200, and Direct Mode, which would bypass the bass management, and send your music directly to your main speakers (and not use the sub). Either way, you could also bi-amplify the front channels if you choose to. Hi-Emo newbie here. I am about an inch and a half away from purchasing a UMC200 and a XPA3 amp. I have a pair of Martin Logan Electro-Motion ESL hybrids. A bit of a quirky load to power. I had purchased a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium Integrated Amp. Great tube sound. 43 embarassed watts of power. I'm 58 years old and my ears are 74 years old. The Prima Luna seems a bit bass light. Great mids. Would jumping up,to 200 true Emotiva watts provide the Bottom Grip I am currently lacking? I have a SVS13" Ultra Sub, but it is not crossed over withing the main speaker wires. Would crossing over the Martin Logans via the SVS sub breathe new life into my system, or would 5X the power to the Logans be a better solution. Again, I'm a retired Hollywood film studiomengineer, so anything above 8K pretty much only appears in my dreams. Love the Prima Luna mids. Are the Emotiva XPa amps midrange handicapped, or willmthey hold their own. Alternatively, does anyone know of a switcher box that can use 2 amps in an A/B set-up, so I can keep the best of both worlds? By switching betweennthe Prima Luna tubes and the Emotiva SS power, I can enjoy both music and movies. One at a time, of course. |
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Post by garbulky on Jun 6, 2014 12:14:28 GMT -5
The esl's swing down to 1.6 ohms on the high frequencies. Tube amps aren't terribly happy with these.... On the other hand ... you have a PRIMA LUNA! I would reccomend the same as others...go with a bass amp and then use the prima luna see if it's a nice fit. There is a good chance it won't be. But wouldn't hurt. Is there a reason you want an XPA-3 vs say an XPA-2? Because an XPA-2 is a nice device and people have reported a tiny bit more bass with it. An XPA-1 L is also a nice device  |
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