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Post by hcsunshine90 on Jun 18, 2014 13:14:47 GMT -5
well, my new XSP-1 has improved the sound of my system "quite a bit". the first thing that struck me was the great balance between the treble, the mids and the bass. the treble is crisp and clear, without being harsh. the midrange is excellent, which is good for me, because I love midrange. the bass is tight and articulate, without being boomy or over emphasized. the upper midrange seems to come through the strongest. the vocals do seem to stand out a bit, though I reckon this is the way things are supposed to be and maybe my previous pre amp had them recessed. I actually like to be able to hear the singer's voice and not have it get lost in the mix. overall, the music now has more layers and depth to it. the loudest I've had it is about -14.0. it is definitely transparent and is revealing the limitations of my CD player, though my turntable is still sounding good. associated equipment: (analog stage) music hall mmf-2.2 turntable to a musical fidelity V-LPS 2 phono stage to the XSP-1 gen 2 to the UPA-1 amps to 2 way speakers (with RAAL 70-10 ribbon tweeters and a paper coned 7 inch scan-speak illuminator series mid woofer. the cabinets are also rear ported) (digital stage: NAD C 525BEE CD player) I can highly recommend the XSP-1 gen 2 to any prospective buyers. It is such a joy to listen to this (2.0) system.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 18, 2014 13:21:21 GMT -5
Hi hcsunshine90 - Thanks for taking the time to write this review. I enjoyed it!
Boomzilla
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Post by deltadube on Jun 18, 2014 13:55:29 GMT -5
well, my new XSP-1 has improved the sound of my system "quite a bit". the first thing that struck me was the great balance between the treble, the mids and the bass. the treble is crisp and clear, without being harsh. the midrange is excellent, which is good for me, because I love midrange. the bass is tight and articulate, without being boomy or over emphasized. the upper midrange seems to come through the strongest. the vocals do seem to stand out a bit, though I reckon this is the way things are supposed to be and maybe my previous pre amp had them recessed. I actually like to be able to hear the singer's voice and not have it get lost in the mix. overall, the music now has more layers and depth to it. the loudest I've had it is about -14.0. it is definitely transparent and is revealing the limitations of my CD player, though my turntable is still sounding good. associated equipment: (analog stage) music hall mmf-2.2 turntable to a musical fidelity V-LPS 2 phono stage to the XSP-1 gen 2 to the UPA-1 amps to 2 way speakers (with RAAL 70-10 ribbon tweeters and a paper coned 7 inch scan-speak illuminator series mid woofer. the cabinets are also rear ported) (digital stage: NAD C 525BEE CD player) I can highly recommend the XSP-1 gen 2 to any prospective buyers. It is such a joy to listen to this (2.0) system. yeah my gen 1 xsp 1 made some really nice improvements for me too... cheers |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 18, 2014 13:57:24 GMT -5
As to where MY review is - no clue. My success in searching this board for past posts = 0
Boom
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Post by Dark Ranger on Jun 18, 2014 14:20:19 GMT -5
As to where MY review is - no clue. My success in searching this board for past posts = 0 Boom ? |
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Post by pedrocols on Jun 18, 2014 15:24:53 GMT -5
Well I think one review is enough. You don't want to confuse people with not just one but two subjective opinions.
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Post by garbulky on Jun 18, 2014 15:36:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the review. I enjoyed reading it. The XSP-1 really helped with the soundstage imo. It was wider and simply more solid and layered. Also low volume listening did not suffer which was good.
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 18, 2014 16:36:58 GMT -5
As to where MY review is - no clue. My success in searching this board for past posts = 0 Boom ? DAS DA ONE! |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 18, 2014 16:37:35 GMT -5
Well I think one review is enough. You don't want to confuse people with not just one but two subjective opinions. Oh why not? LOL |
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Post by pedrocols on Jun 18, 2014 16:39:39 GMT -5
Well I think one review is enough. You don't want to confuse people with not just one but two subjective opinions. Oh why not? LOL Well, I should only speak for myself. Iam confused with all this G1 and G2 and X this and R that....lol |
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Post by Boomzilla on Jun 18, 2014 16:43:05 GMT -5
May I enthusiastically agree, pedrocols - I get lost myself in the Emotiva product designations - UPA XSP MOUSE!
Sometimes I can keep them all straight, but other times...
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Post by garbulky on Jun 18, 2014 16:49:57 GMT -5
I think the point I got tripped up is with the XSP vs the XPS-1.  I noticed lots of people get tripped up with the XDA-2 and XPA-2. |
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Post by Dark Ranger on Jun 18, 2014 17:20:32 GMT -5
I think the point I got tripped up is with the XSP vs the XPS-1. I noticed lots of people get tripped up with the XDA-2 and XPA-2. Yo, it's like this, yo. Connect the XSP-1 to XPA-2, not the XPS-1 to XDA-2 or the XPS-1 to XPA-2 (either Gen 1 or Gen 2). Now, who ran that PSA for the XPA using RCA last Saturday?  Sorry guys, I'll see myself out.  |
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Post by monkumonku on Jun 18, 2014 17:25:05 GMT -5
I think the point I got tripped up is with the XSP vs the XPS-1. I noticed lots of people get tripped up with the XDA-2 and XPA-2. Yo, it's like this, yo. Connect the XSP-1 to XPA-2, not the XPS-1 to XDA-2 or the XPS-1 to XPA-2 (either Gen 1 or Gen 2). Now, who ran that PSA for the XPA using RCA last Saturday? Sorry guys, I'll see myself out. |
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Post by deltadube on Jun 18, 2014 17:44:51 GMT -5
I think the point I got tripped up is with the XSP vs the XPS-1. I noticed lots of people get tripped up with the XDA-2 and XPA-2. that's 2 minutes for tripping garbulky!! in da box eh!!! |
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Post by sahmen on Jun 18, 2014 18:27:22 GMT -5
Why is this still a controversial question? : If you replace the USP-1 with the XSP-1 in the same chain of components, will you hear an audible difference in sq? I called Emo technical support and asked the same question and I was told that I would hear no difference-- no kidding. I know some lounge members would disagree, so is there a productive debate to be had about this question? Let me have your thoughts. I seriously want to put this to bed once and for all, so please take this seriously. Any helpful input would be welcome.
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Post by bitsandbytes on Jun 18, 2014 18:32:24 GMT -5
Very well done and detailed description, hcsunshine90. An excellent review for a great unit. Congrats. Glad you enjoying it a lot.
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gv3
Seeker Of Truth
Lovin' Emo since 2008
Posts: 4
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Post by gv3 on Jun 18, 2014 19:27:34 GMT -5
Nice review! Thanks for posting!
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Post by hcsunshine90 on Jun 18, 2014 20:28:31 GMT -5
thank you all for your kind comments on my review!
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kse
Emo VIPs 
Hello me, meet the real me.
Posts: 1,947
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Post by kse on Jun 18, 2014 21:08:09 GMT -5
Why is this still a controversial question? : If you replace the USP-1 with the XSP-1 in the same chain of components, will you hear an audible difference in sq? I called Emo technical support and asked the same question and I was told that I would hear no difference-- no kidding. I know some lounge members would disagree, so is there a productive debate to be had about this question? Let me have your thoughts. I seriously want to put this to bed once and for all, so please take this seriously. Any helpful input would be welcome. I've owned basically every Emotiva stereo preamp; the RSP-1, RSP-2, USP-1 & now the XSP-1 gen 1, as well as a Sherbourn PRE-1. I say 'basically' because I have not owned an XSP-1 gen 2, but I doubt there is any difference outside of cosmetics. Let me tell you, if there is any audible difference in any of them, you'd be hard pressed to tell. The biggest difference between the USP-1 and the others, from the standpoint of what you hear, is that it lacks tone controls. So yes, one could play the same material from the same source, and with the use of the tone controls on the other units, alter the sound so that there is an audible difference. Also the linearity of the volume control is better on the RSP and XSP units for sure, however this has no bearing on the audio performance. Outside of that they are all wonderful performing preamps that do exactly as they were intended; pass along a pure, unadulterated analog signal. If they did anything less (or more), they really wouldn't be doing there job very effectively. To summarize, focusing on audio only here and not any other features, if tone controls aren't important to you then the USP-1 is a stalwart performer and will produce your analog source material as well as the XSP. *Disclaimer* I know these comments will be challenged, as placebo can be very convincing. However, I would say in a blind A/B test between any of the aforementioned preamps, no group would be able to tell a difference with any legitimate consistency. |
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I noticed lots of people get tripped up with the XDA-2 and XPA-2. 
