Post by ronster267 on Jan 9, 2015 3:08:40 GMT -5
I installed t my new XPA-5 Gen 2 on Christmas morning, I had been driving my 5.1 system with a Pioneer VSX-1121-K. While the Pioneer was no slouch driving my gear, I knew my setup could benefit from more power, My speaker setup consists of a Polk Audio CS20 center speaker, Polk Audio Monitor 70 fronts, a Polk Audio PSW 505 Powered sub, and lastly Polk Audio Fxi-5 surround speakers. I was reserved in my expectations of what the Emotiva XPA-5 Gen 2 would ultimately give me as far as Home Theater performance... boy was I WRONG!!!!! I connected the pre outs on my Pioneer to the XPA-5 Gen 2 with the Emotiva RCA interconnect cables I ordered at the same time. My wife often complained that dialogue was often muffled and overwhelmed by the surround channels while watching movies in DTS-MA with the Pioneer. Upon playing the first movie using the Emotiva, SHE immediately noticed how much clearer the dialogue was and how much "cleaner" EVERYTHING sounded. This was with the volume only -25 db! When I increased the volume to -10 db, she and my daughters all chimed in about how much better everything sounded. We would normally listen to movies with the Pioneer at about -8 db, but everything sounded kind of muddy and harsh, especially the center and surrounds. I am HAPPY to report that the Emotiva sounds SO MUCH BETTER at ANY volume level! I would often have to change the decoding to THX Cinema while watching movies just to take the "harshness" off of the overall soundstage while using the Pioneer to drive the speakers. I still love the different surround modes the Pioneer offers, but I am beside myself at the actual quantity of difference the Emotiva XPA-5 Gen 2 added in the end. I was hoping for a modest improvement in my system, but what I actually got was SO MUCH MORE!!!! Thank you Emotiva, I will be buying more Emotiva Gear in the future, and after my wife was the first to notice the difference the XPA-5 Gen 2 made, I think it will be an easy sell!!!!