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Post by Gary Cook on Feb 21, 2015 16:11:11 GMT -5
BTW no one answered my question about how the XPA-1's or XPR-1's work when hit with a transient. If I have a single 20A circuit for my whole stereo and hit a transient will the XPA-1 or XPR-1 tend to just pull from it's capacitors or will it pull from the wall as hard as it can? Not everyone has 4kW available to feed an amplifier on the circuits in their listening room and having the breaker trip frequently could take a lot of fun out of listening to music. By my calculations my XPA-2 along with the 2 x Class D 200W amps in my speakers is all my circuit can handle. As usual Keith answers this sort of question better than I can. Also bear in mind that those power ratings you see for each gauge of wire assume continuous duty. (In real life, unlike using a light bulb or an air conditioner, the average amount of power you use when playing music with an amplifier is about 1/10 to 1/20 of the maximum power you have available. So, for example, an XPA-1L playing music quite loudly is really probably consuming two or three amps average in Class A mode, and even a bit less than that in Class A/B mode - and, of course, it is the job of the filter capacitors to supply virtually unlimited amounts of current over the short time periods when the demand exceeds the available current, which makes this even less of an issue. Another thing to bear in mind is that those current ratings are talking about the amount of current which will warm up the wire, whereas what we're talking about here is whether the resistance of the wire will limit the current available to the amplifier. In a six foot cable, even the resistance of 18 gauge wire is pretty small, and not much of a limiting factor. (If you were going to swap that cord for a twenty footer, or add a twenty foot extension cord to it, I would definitely recommend going up to 12 gauge or 14 gauge. Your house is wired with 12 gauge wire because they expect runs of up to 100 feet between the breaker box and the outlet, and resistance is calculated on a per-foot basis. Cheers Gary |
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Post by rcheliguy on Feb 21, 2015 16:28:54 GMT -5
Thanks!
That was exactly what I was curious about.
I do have a full 20A circuit. Every non HVAC, or electric drier breaker in this house is rated for 20A. My Den breaker also covers the lights, but they are all upgraded to LED's and sip power.
Good to know if I ever change my mind at some point.
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Post by garbulky on Feb 21, 2015 16:33:49 GMT -5
BTW no one answered my question about how the XPA-1's or XPR-1's work when hit with a transient. If I have a single 20A circuit for my whole stereo and hit a transient will the XPA-1 or XPR-1 tend to just pull from it's capacitors or will it pull from the wall as hard as it can? Not everyone has 4kW available to feed an amplifier on the circuits in their listening room and having the breaker trip frequently could take a lot of fun out of listening to music. By my calculations my XPA-2 along with the 2 x Class D 200W amps in my speakers is all my circuit can handle. Eventually there will be voltage sag followed by a trip in 15a. But in real life, the capacitors will provide what they need. For me the advantage is NOT the volume but the sound itself. My usual listening volume is about 60-65 db at listneing position. That doesn't take a huge amount of power. If you find that all amps sound the same within their power envelop, you'll be surprised that there are some cheap $200-300 class D amps that provide all the wattage you'll need and get down to 2 ohms. But the thing is (at least for me, subjectively), all amps do not sound the same. Usually I find the tone to be different and also how they do the balance between bass and everything else to be difference. The XPR series sound very similar to the old UPA series - except better. Their main advantage is that it produces a bit of 3d "body" to the music with a bit more weight, and has a laid back sound. They aren't necessarily better than the XPA series. Just different. If I had to describe it, I would consider it a more "sophisticated" sound though that means nothing, but that's the feeling I get. If people have trouble with "glare" the XPR is not a bad idea. I think both offer really nice value for the money. FWIW, the XPA-2 is a really good amp. |
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Post by Gary Cook on Feb 21, 2015 16:50:21 GMT -5
Thanks! That was exactly what I was curious about. I do have a full 20A circuit. Every non HVAC, or electric drier breaker in this house is rated for 20A. My Den breaker also covers the lights, but they are all upgraded to LED's and sip power. Good to know if I ever change my mind at some point. Being in Australia I don't have this sort of problem, our house circuits each are a nominal 240 volts at 15 amps i.e.; 3.6 kilowatts continuous. I also have 3 x 20 amp circuits (4.8 kilowatts), one each for the 2 air conditioners and one in the garage for the MIG welder and the air compressor. We also have access to what we call "3 phase", which is 480 volts (240 up + 240 down) at 20 amps i.e.; 9.6 kilowatts. A lot of countries all over the world run 220/240 volts (almost all of Europe and Asia), USA is one of the few with 120 volts. Cheers Gary |
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Post by novisnick on Feb 21, 2015 16:51:12 GMT -5
BTW no one answered my question about how the XPA-1's or XPR-1's work when hit with a transient. If I have a single 20A circuit for my whole stereo and hit a transient will the XPA-1 or XPR-1 tend to just pull from it's capacitors or will it pull from the wall as hard as it can? Not everyone has 4kW available to feed an amplifier on the circuits in their listening room and having the breaker trip frequently could take a lot of fun out of listening to music. By my calculations my XPA-2 along with the 2 x Class D 200W amps in my speakers is all my circuit can handle. Eventually there will be voltage sag followed by a trip. But in real life, the capacitors will provide what they need. For me the advantage is NOT the volume but the sound itself. My usual listening volume is about 60-65 db at listneing position. That doesn't take a huge amount of power. If you find that all amps sound the same within their power envelop, you'll be surprised that there are some cheap $200-300 class D amps that provide all the wattage you'll need and get down to 2 ohms. But the thing is (at least for me, subjectively), all amps do not sound the same. Usually I find the tone to be different and also how they do the balance between bass and everything else to be difference. The XPR series sound very similar to the old UPA series - except better. Their main advantage is that it produces a bit of 3d "body" to the music with a bit more weight, and has a laid back sound. They aren't necessarily better than the XPA series. Just different. If I had to describe it, I would consider it a more "sophisticated" sound though that means nothing, but that's the feeling I get. If people have trouble with "glare" the XPR is not a bad idea. I think both offer really nice value for the money. FWIW, the XPA-2 is a really good amp. Garbulky, when have you heard the XPR-1 amp?? This must be very recently from my memory. The XPR-1 and XPR-2 are very different sounds from what I have gathered. I have yet to hear the XPR-2 myself but I don't think you can do any justice to the XPR-1 amp without experiencing it. Just my two cent here!!, 8) y'all know how bashful I am,,,,,,,,,  on another note, to the OP. One 20A breaker should carry the day for an entire system unless you have an auditorium and need to fill it with detailed sound. IMHO |
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Post by garbulky on Feb 21, 2015 18:02:47 GMT -5
I made a mistake. I meant 15 A circuits under test conditions will sag - but not in real life probably. I've heard the XPR-2 only. novisnick |
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Post by milsap195 on Feb 21, 2015 18:23:06 GMT -5
I know I am in the minority here since I had both the xpa-2 and the 1L and prefered the 2. With the 1l the sound was set back in between the speakers and the xpa-2 it was out in front. Sent the 1l's back.
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adi67
Minor Hero
Posts: 10 
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Post by adi67 on Feb 21, 2015 19:01:49 GMT -5
wow, lots of replies...  ...i love it...i've had my Nimbus singing with 20W/channel tube amps, and with 250W/channel class D amps...i would love the mono blocks....maybe i'll wait a little until a new pair of Emotiva mono blocks becomes available...something like XPR-1's but not that much power...maybe 30W class A then up to 300W in class A/b, but instead of linear LED's would have some cool analog meters like McIntosh has... ...priced around $2000 a pair... thank you all for your replies...i'll be trying a 100W/channel amp from an European manufacturer...price is great...if i it doesn't work, then i might get the XPA-2... |
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Post by vcautokid on Feb 21, 2015 22:26:47 GMT -5
If you do get an XPA-2. Don't feel you compromised. The XPA-2 is a powerful amp.It won't make any excuses about being so good for so little. I sometimes wished I still had mine. An awesome amp ready for it all.
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Post by Gary Cook on Feb 22, 2015 18:11:59 GMT -5
maybe 30W class A then up to 300W in class A/b The XPA-1L's do 35 watts in Class A into 4 ohms and 8 ohms plus in Class AB 250 watts into 8 ohms and 500 watts into 4 ohm. Sounds exactly like what you are looking for. Cheers Gary |
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Post by ocezam on Feb 22, 2015 18:29:53 GMT -5
Being in Australia I don't have this sort of problem, our house circuits each are a nominal 240 volts at 15 amps i.e.; 3.6 kilowatts continuous. Cheers Gary Yeah I lived in Europe for a few years in the early 80's. I wish America had 220- 240 volts standard. Actually it is there, at least in most homes, for the clothes dryer, oven/range. But to use it on your stereo you'd have to run a line from the breaker box. Unless you put your audio equipment in place of your oven, lol. I just happened to have a 240 volt line behind my HT rack in this house. It was from an old wall heater. I use it to run my XPA-5. If I ever get to running a dedicated line for my XPRs, it'll be 240 volt, not 120 volt 20 amp. Peace |
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...i love it...i've had my Nimbus singing with 20W/channel tube amps, and with 250W/channel class D amps...i would love the mono blocks....maybe i'll wait a little until a new pair of Emotiva mono blocks becomes available...something like XPR-1's but not that much power...maybe 30W class A then up to 300W in class A/b, but instead of linear LED's would have some cool analog meters like McIntosh has...
