XPA2 vx XPA3 vx UPA200

[MikeEmotivaFirst]

Hi all,

First time post - strongly considering Emotiva as part of a whole system upgrade to my HT/Music setup.

I just purchased a pair of Golden Ear Triton 7's with a matching center and was looking for more power.  Currently using a Yamaha RX-V1400 amp (supposedly 110w/ch).  I've noticed the speakers do not sing or shine as beautifully as they did in the dealer showrooms!

I'm thinking the issue has to do with the amplification - any thoughts on which Emotiva amp would work best?  I'm on a budget but don't want to regret a haste decision.  I could easily get the UPA200 now (on sale) or wait for an XPA2/XPA3.

Any recommendations from the Emotiva experts?  I do 70/30 music/HT, 25x30x8 room, mostly classical/jazz.  I don't listen at reference levels but get a kick out of the huge dynamic swings of symphonic music.  

Thanks for any advice!

[garbulky]

Hi Mike, I would buy yourself a used XPA-2 or XPA-3. That's the best value for the money. Post a WTB:XPA-2 or XPA-3 thread in the emporium and buy it off a forum member- the warranty transfers as long as its less than 5 years old.
Emotiva also has an ebay page called jade designs where they post used gear. Which they may have by calling B-stock or traded in gear
But.....a UPA-200 is a nice amp just so you know and gets you about 80-95% of what the larger amp can do. They are all good performers. The XPA-2 is in a different level though. Depends on how much you can afford.

[creimes]

I found my pre outs on my Yamaha were more matched to the Gen1 Emotiva amps with 32db gain, any XPA-2, -3 or -5 Gen1 would be a great choice for you IMO, and the XPA-5 is the best price per channel for sure, my advice is call Emotiva and ask about any trade in or B-stock XPA-5's, they did have one on ebay but now I don't see it but they may have more.

Chad

[novisnick]

Welcome to the nut house, the water is fine,,,,,,he,,,,he,,,,,he,,,,,, So glad to have you.

Chad, great suggestion, at 200 per channel it's a sweet amp and does a great job for theater. Strictly for two channel, I'm a MONOBLOCK guy, even on a budget. Remember, you only purchase monos once or twice in a lifetime!

Honestly, it's all about headroom for two channel and that's a pretty good size room. Do get caught short on power.

[repeetavx]

For the Triton 7 I believe that the XPA-2 would be the best match. I believe that the extra output devices would be required to really make the Tritons sing.

[stiehl11]

Of the 3 amps that you've listed I would use the XPA-2. In a conversation I had with Lonnie at one of the past Emofests, the XPA-2 had the most unique sonic signature apart from the XPA-1 (which was the flagship amp at the time). I find the other 2 amps you're considering less dynamic compared to the XPA-2 to my ears and in my system. YMMV

[garbulky]

Also somebody should point out to you. Yes, I think any emotiva amp will be an improvement. But....if it dosn't sound as good as in the deealer show room, other than a decent amp, there's a good chance it is your room and/or the way the speakers and room is setup that's the issue. If that's the case, NO AMOUNT OF MONEY thrown at electronics will fix this issue.

Invest in ats acoustic panels (comes in different colors and if you want even pictures).
Even one at head level behind the couch makes a difference but more is better.
www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustic-Panel-24-x-48-x-2--1001.html
And also don't ignore Bass traps.

You may also want to consider posting a picture of your current setup (preferrably from the angle of the couch). Usually there are a lot of basic tips we can give you simply by taking a look at the picture. Things like move the speakers further apart, closer together, toe them in, pull them forward etc. I kid you not, sometimes simply placing them right with OCD levels of it can make it sound like you just spent lots of money on new gear!

[MikeEmotivaFirst]

Thank you all for the great responses.

Regarding budget - I could probably go up to a used XPA-2 or XPA-3 set up for an amp. Ideally I'd like to buy something I won't want to upgrade in the future, but I also don't want to buy something I won't need! Right now, with the Yamaha, I get very week bass response from the towers (I know the towers are getting the full signal). I assume either the XPA amps would really beef up that area?

Since most agree that the XPA-2 would be the better choice, do you think there will be a significant impact with running the center/surrounds with my current AVR and the XPA-2's for the L/R? Seems like an XPA2 purchase would beg for an XPA3 purchase down the road?! Man this is an expensive hobby!

Also, I'll post a photo up here soon to get your suggestions on room setup.

Unfortunately my HT/Music set up is in a familyroom/dining room that opens up to a kitchen. There are no real walls close to the speakers so the space is "not ideal". Kitchen is right behind the sitting area.

Acoustic panels/bass traps - my wife is an artist. I think she'd kill me if I tried to put any of that in my room! Though I'd be open to the idea if they were discrete?

Thanks everyone!

[novisnick]

Aug 26, 2014 10:00:49 GMT -5 MikeEmotivaFirst said:

Thank you all for the great responses.

Regarding budget - I could probably go up to a used XPA-2 or XPA-3 set up for an amp. Ideally I'd like to buy something I won't want to upgrade in the future, but I also don't want to buy something I won't need! Right now, with the Yamaha, I get very week bass response from the towers (I know the towers are getting the full signal). I assume either the XPA amps would really beef up that area?

Since most agree that the XPA-2 would be the better choice, do you think there will be a significant impact with running the center/surrounds with my current AVR and the XPA-2's for the L/R? Seems like an XPA2 purchase would beg for an XPA3 purchase down the road?! Man this is an expensive hobby!

Also, I'll post a photo up here soon to get your suggestions on room setup.

Unfortunately my HT/Music set up is in a familyroom/dining room that opens up to a kitchen. There are no real walls close to the speakers so the space is "not ideal". Kitchen is right behind the sitting area.

Acoustic panels/bass traps - my wife is an artist. I think she'd kill me if I tried to put any of that in my room! Though I'd be open to the idea if they were discrete?

Thanks everyone!

A word of caution. You say you don't want to HAVE to upgrade later, can't blame you there, please look at a set of XPA-100 compared to the price of an XPA-2 or 3, the value is there and will help power the bottUm end that your looking for. A Swiss Army knife is fine , but if you have a purpose made screwdriver sitting there, which would you choose?
monoblock will get you there in better condition with better sound. IMHO

Nick

[garbulky]

Aug 26, 2014 10:18:08 GMT -5 novisnick said:

Aug 26, 2014 10:00:49 GMT -5 MikeEmotivaFirst said:

Thank you all for the great responses.

Regarding budget - I could probably go up to a used XPA-2 or XPA-3 set up for an amp. Ideally I'd like to buy something I won't want to upgrade in the future, but I also don't want to buy something I won't need! Right now, with the Yamaha, I get very week bass response from the towers (I know the towers are getting the full signal). I assume either the XPA amps would really beef up that area?

Since most agree that the XPA-2 would be the better choice, do you think there will be a significant impact with running the center/surrounds with my current AVR and the XPA-2's for the L/R? Seems like an XPA2 purchase would beg for an XPA3 purchase down the road?! Man this is an expensive hobby!

Also, I'll post a photo up here soon to get your suggestions on room setup.

Unfortunately my HT/Music set up is in a familyroom/dining room that opens up to a kitchen. There are no real walls close to the speakers so the space is "not ideal". Kitchen is right behind the sitting area.

Acoustic panels/bass traps - my wife is an artist. I think she'd kill me if I tried to put any of that in my room! Though I'd be open to the idea if they were discrete?

Thanks everyone!

A word of caution. You say you don't want to HAVE to upgrade later, can't blame you there, please look at a set of XPA-100 compared to the price of an XPA-2 or 3, the value is there and will help power the bottUm end that your looking for. A Swiss Army knife is fine , but if you have a purpose made screwdriver sitting there, which would you choose?
monoblock will get you there in better condition with better sound. IMHO

Nick

I've heard the XPA-100, well I've heard the UPA-1. To be honest, the XPA-2 does better though the UPA-1/XPA-100 is no slouch at all.

[mikeemotivafirst]

With space being somewhat of a limiting factor, could I stack the XPA100 (or XPA 1L) right on top of each other?

[garbulky]

Yes. But you need air space around and on top of it.

[novisnick]

Aug 26, 2014 10:37:57 GMT -5 mikeemotivafirst said:

With space being somewhat of a limiting factor, could I stack the XPA100 (or XPA 1L) right on top of each other?

If you plan on using the XPA-1Ls in Class A , I would not stack, in A/B I think you could stack either amps, if the XPA-1Ls are in you budget ,,,,GO FOR THEM! They are the best buy at that price point, both in quality and value!!
thats a promise!

[repeetavx]

Many comparisons have been made and you can't go wrong with the XPA-1L.

[dally]

Honestly, once you amp the front channels you'll want to put an amp on the rest of them too. I would recomend an XPA-5.

[creimes]

Aug 26, 2014 14:20:25 GMT -5 dally said:

Honestly, once you amp the front channels you'll want to put an amp on the rest of them too. I would recomend an XPA-5.

I agree totally, mono's are nice but the difference between all these emotiva amps is subtle and hey I have 3 XPA-1L's, you could always add mono's or a 2ch amp sometime down the line, I will never use a receiver to power my speakers ever again after owning multichannel, 2 channel and monoblock amps.

[sct]

For your situation, the XPA-5 would seem to be the way to go. It has *plenty* of power for those Tritons and the form factor can't be beat. I have seen a few used XPA-5s here recently, one of them was going for $650, a pretty sweet deal on a terrific amp.

A 2nd option would be to get an XPA-3 and use the receiver to power the rear channels. If you can snag the XPA-3 for $500 or less this, would be the bargain/smart money option. You can always add an XPA-2 (or a pair of XPA-1Ls) later on to power the fronts and then use the XPA-3 to power the center and surrounds.

Finally, a third option would be to buy Boomzilla's Crown XL-2000 amp to power the fronts and let the receiver drive the rest. The Crown amps are *beasts*, you could blow away neighbors on the next block with that amp. This would be your bargain basement option, Boom is asking only $335 for that amp - a *smokin'* deal for sure!!

SCT

[kse]

Aug 25, 2014 15:02:44 GMT -5 creimes said:

I found my pre outs on my Yamaha were more matched to the Gen1 Emotiva amps with 32db gain.....

Chad

Pardon the threadjack, but creimes could you please expound on this?

Thx.

[creimes]

Aug 26, 2014 19:07:03 GMT -5 kse said:

Aug 25, 2014 15:02:44 GMT -5 creimes said:

I found my pre outs on my Yamaha were more matched to the Gen1 Emotiva amps with 32db gain.....

Chad

Pardon the threadjack, but creimes could you please expound on this?

Thx.

I found my Yamaha RXV-1065 preouts worked better with a higher gain amp, I'm not sure if the newer Yamaha receivers are the same but it was just my experience, could differ for someone else though.

Chad

[bootman]

If the OP isn't going to stick around, this thread should be deleted.