Need decision help-Holiday special ends Jan 12

[maider]

Need help making a decision before the January 12th sales ends.  I have sent a similar email to Emotiva sales, but no reply. Also talked to a sales rep directly, but he just did not want to deal with a Newbie. I take partial blame as I just did not have the knowledge to accurately tell him what I wanted. I was hoping to get pointed in the right direction and go from there, but no joy. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated. Apologies for late request. I was trying to slug through everglades with out bothering anyone, but ...Uncle. 

I will be building a set of Linkwitz LXmini speakers. www.linkwitzlab.com/LXmini/Digital-system.htm See attached two possible system diagrams provided by Mr. Linkwitz.

(Are the legacy units taken in from the upgrade program for sale to the public? If so where can I find a price list? Since this is a totally new adventure for me used would be ok until I got a feel for the whole thing..baby steps.)

Since the UPA-500 is not available I will most likely purchase the XPA-5. The miniDSP units shown in the diagrams come preprogrammed (part of an available kit) and will be used for now, but I am looking to the future. Is it possible to program the XSP-1 with custom crossover curves and drive the XPA-5 in place of the miniDSP? This is an expensive unit and any suggestion for an interim (budget minded) box. Not necessarily programmable. Just looking for options.

In short do you have any recommendation that will be a viable substitute for the equipment shown in the two diagrams between the source components and the multi-channel amplifier?

Also I have old legacy equipment that I would like to dust off (most of it was inherited and never been out of the box since I got it...i.e. I'm ignorant) , such as turntables, casette decks, VHS players, CD and blue ray players and use them as source components in addition to the computer. Do I need DAC's, Pre AMPs....what? The information on the Forums and even the Emotive Lounge is overwhelming. It is taking hours to sift through all the posts and threads trying to find anything to shed light. Hard not to get distracted with all the interesting topics available. Please note that this is not a complaint, I'm just out of time. Try and sell me something. Note: I have an engineering background, just have never been interested in the audio side of it till I accidentally ran into the Linkwitz site and got the bug,. (less than a week ago).   A lot to absorb in a short time.

My hat is off to all you audio people. Never knew what I was missing till now.

Thanks
M'aider



Click here to Reply or Forward
3.83 GB (25%) of 15 GB used
Manage
©2015 Google - Terms - Privacy
Last account activity: 23 minutes ago
Details

Attachments:

[Boomzilla]

I have a similar setup, although without the DSP. I run my Oppo BDP-105 to the full range XLR inputs of the XSP-1. I let the XSP-1's analog filters do low-pass / high-pass split and use a subwoofer with a pair of mains.

I wouldn't try modifying the XSP-1. From what I've read, it uses surface-mount components, which are tricky to solder & unsolder. Besides, it would void the warranty.

I would recommend converting to analog at the front end of the food chain and then keeping the signal analog all the way down. The DAC will be the centerpiece of the show, and needs to handle the bitrates that you want to run, The DACs in the Oppo BDP-105 are no slouches, and if you let them do the DA conversion, I wouldn't go back to digital again downstream. The fewer DA / AD conversions you have, the better the sound (theoretically).

I'm not familiar with the "mini-DSP USB streamer box." What is its purpose?

[garbulky]

The XSP-1 is not designed to be a custom crossover. Also it is not designed to be the crossover when you are trying to do active bi amping of a speaker. It is simply designed to output a subwoofer signal with bass management. You have to look elsewhere.

[wizardofoz]

I've got all of the recent linkwitz designs, and am in the trows of the LXmini now too. While the xpa-5 is overkill for the LXmini it's still ok, I use 2 for my lx521’s

Another option could be 2 of the little fusion amps or a pair of minix amps.

As SL is now looking at a sub assisted LXmini called the LXstudio you might like to go that route with miniDSP 4x10

Good luck with your build

[Gary Cook]

It's ever so easy these days to get confused, what with all the available options. It's hard enough keeping up with just the TLA's. In an effort to keep it simple (KISS, that's an FLA), my stereo 2.1 set up consists of;
Sources - ERC-3 CD player, Denon turn table
Pre amp - 100% analogue Emotive USP-1 (I might one day upgrade to an XSP-1)
Power Amp - XPA-5 (only 2 channels used for 2.1 hence 275 watts per channel in to 8 ohms) and an XPA-100 sub woofer amp (400 watts into 4 ohms).
Speakers - L&R are Australian designed and manufactured, sub woofer is DIY using a single 17" Soundstream driver.

When I am doing dedicated stereo listening I use either CD's or vinyl. No processing, no room correction, just simple analogue bass management, cross over to the sub woofer at around 80 hz. My room is not terrible acoustically but it's not perfect either, I happen to like stereo music that way, raw and as unprocessed as possible.

If I didn't have such a great CD player, then I'd probably have a separate DAC (XDA-2 or DC-1), then I could also feed it streamed music. But for stereo music I don't think I will ever use room correction. Even if I ended up in room that was acoustically terrible, I'd fix the room rather than resort to processing.

Home theatre, 5.1, 7.1, 9.1 etc that's a whole different ball game, far more complex.


Cheers
Gary

[maider]

Thank you all for your quick and helpful input.

[maider]

To Boomzilla: As near as I can tell the USB mini takes USB data and converts it to an optical format. I am still getting my head wrapped around all the terminology, interface types, and in general a whole universe of other things audio. So far this has been a very fascinating and humbling walk into the KHz arena. Thanks again to all for taking the time to respond.

[wizardofoz]

the SL pages denote the UPA-500 but as this is no longer available you will need to try B stock (probably no more) or resale - no guarantee of available units either so your options for the UPA-500 are slim at best.

I just picked one up here in singapore at around 220USD that I hope the guy will bring in the next 4 weeks to me - its in a nearby country that he travels from regularly.

the SL speakers will not disappoint. as noted I have Orions, Plutos (2 pair) and LX521 in my place today...LXmini on the way (all parts in hand with miniDSP 2x4) just no time to complete :-(