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Post by rmazzi on Jul 11, 2015 12:04:29 GMT -5
My set up is currently:
Pre amp: USP 1
Amplifier: XPR200
DAC: XDA2
CD player: Yamaha CD-S300
Turntable: Rega RP6/Exacta cartridge
Speakers: KEF LS50
JRiver app running on Dell desktop as the music server
I am an EClub member and since it is expiring and the summer sale is on, it would cost around $600 for an XSP1 after discounts and trade ins. Is it worth the money, or is the USP1 just as good. I figure this is the last chance to do this kind of upgrade at this price. I will probably go to an external Phono Amp at some point. After that, will probably stand pat for a while.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jul 11, 2015 12:16:01 GMT -5
I personally found it was worth it for:
1) slightly better sound
2) less finicky volume control
Others may not feel the extra $ are worth it - but I did.
Mark
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Post by stads77 on Jul 11, 2015 12:16:27 GMT -5
I do not think it is 600 better, but that's just me. I have owned both, though not the Gen 2. If it were 300 more, maybe.
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Post by stads77 on Jul 11, 2015 12:17:23 GMT -5
Especially if you go seperate phono, I say no.
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Post by kauai82 on Jul 11, 2015 12:19:57 GMT -5
I had the almost same set up you, see signature, and was happy with my setup with my USP-1 but for the phono stage. I was going to buy the Emotiva phono preamp and be done with it. But I found a used xsp-1 gen 1 on the forum for $550 and snatched it up. Boy is the Xsp-1 an upgrade from the Usp-1 ! The USP-1 is no slouch but the XSP is in another league altogether. If you can get the xsp-1 gen 2 for $600 dollars net I would jump on it !
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Post by novisnick on Jul 11, 2015 12:21:00 GMT -5
I personally found it was worth it for: 1) slightly better sound 2) less finicky volume control Others may not feel the extra $ are worth it - but I did. Mark I agree with you Mark, and i went from the XSP-1 gen 1 to the gen 2 and still think it's a great investment! So much so that I won't part with it and have purchased an XMC-1, but for a second system. Then again, aren't we all a little ,,,,,,  |
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Post by sahmen on Jul 11, 2015 12:33:47 GMT -5
XSP-1 is better, especially if you get it at a used/discounted price.
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Post by novisnick on Jul 11, 2015 12:34:41 GMT -5
My set up is currently: Pre amp: USP 1 Amplifier: XPR200 DAC: XDA2 CD player: Yamaha CD-S300 Turntable: Rega RP6/Exacta cartridge Speakers: KEF LS50 JRiver app running on Dell desktop as the music server I am an EClub member and since it is expiring and the summer sale is on, it would cost around $600 for an XSP1 after discounts and trade ins. Is it worth the money, or is the USP1 just as good. I figure this is the last chance to do this kind of upgrade at this price. I will probably go to an external Phono Amp at some point. After that, will probably stand pat for a while. Hello , glad your hear, I was just admiring your sig when I found that I can't identify your amp? XPA-200 or XPR-2?? Love your TT, what color, mine is red and I do love the sound of the XSP-1 gen 2 , Rega P-6 + Exact !! Outstanding!! Id say do it,,,,,,but I've already said that!,,,,he,,,,he,,,,he,,,,,, |
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Post by Priapulus on Jul 11, 2015 12:37:20 GMT -5
If you are wealthy and must have the best of the best, then go ahead and buy it. I have an XSP-1 and love it.
But does the XSP1 have some feature that you need, and lack on the USP-1? Is that feature worth $600? The USP is very fine; you won't hear the difference between it and the XSP-1, unless you drink a lot of blue koolaid. If you're not wealthy, that $600 can get you much more musical value, like 30 CDs; than the musical value of an X instead of a U...
Sincerely
/b
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stiehl11
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Post by stiehl11 on Jul 11, 2015 12:46:31 GMT -5
Coming from a Pre-1 (USP-1 with tone controls) I found the XSP-1 a significant upgrade in sound quality and aural soundscape from the Pre-1. What I missed was the ability to add more bass or treble than the XSP-1 allows. However, the improvement of the sound made it much more palatable.
Of course, with all things audio, YMMV.
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Post by rmazzi on Jul 11, 2015 13:06:59 GMT -5
Thank you all for your input on both sides. I spoke with the sales team and they certainly aren't pushing the upgrade. The features of interest were the tone control and leaving the option for a differential system in the future. I liked the extra sub output possibilities if i wanted to add a sub or two to the KEF bookshelfs. I also assumed that the overall quality would be better than the USP. I have had the USP returned twice, one for a bad phono stage and once for a blown channel (not caused by abnormal volume or a power surge). Although they have great customer service, shipping costs are annoying when you need to get something repaired.
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Post by monkumonku on Jul 11, 2015 13:16:32 GMT -5
I've had the USP-1 and XSP-1 (gen 1) but never compared them directly. The main differences I found between them were that the volume control on the USP-1 was not that friendly to remotes because of its high gain and difficulty of getting a remote to adjust the volume in small enough increments, and the better flexibility of the XSP-1 with regards to handling dual subs, especially if you ran them in stereo. In terms of sound quality I didn't think there was any difference that was noticeable. If you are looking to upgrade mainly for an audible improvement, I would say it isn't worth the money. An upgrade would be in line if you found the features of the XSP-1 valuable, and also wanted a finer adjustment of the volume control.
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Post by mshump on Jul 12, 2015 7:36:21 GMT -5
I upgraded from the USP-1 to a used XSP-1 (gen1). I thought the SQ difference was worth every penny.
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Post by knucklehead on Jul 12, 2015 11:46:19 GMT -5
I've previously owned 2 UPS-1's and currently have an XPS-1 (thanks Dan!). IMO unless you have full range speakers and want to use the HT bypass for multi channel it probably isn't worth it. The volume 'issue' is overcome by learning how to use the remote effectively. When I bought the song towers I began looking for an XSP-1 and sold the USP-1 since I knew using the HT bypass in the USP-1 doesn't allow for a full range signal to reach the song towers and I'd lose all that low end goodness they are famous for - no sub needed! They sound like one of my DIY 12" sealed subs is on. The USP-1 is a nice preamp if you're using a sub with bookshelf speakers or towers and don't mind not having full range to your mains. Just learn to control the volume - it just takes a quick tap on the volume up/down to get minor adjustments out of it.
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LCSeminole
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Posts: 20,850
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Post by LCSeminole on Jul 12, 2015 11:57:25 GMT -5
Coming from a Pre-1 (USP-1 with tone controls) I found the XSP-1 a significant upgrade in sound quality and aural soundscape from the Pre-1. What I missed was the ability to add more bass or treble than the XSP-1 allows. However, the improvement of the sound made it much more palatable. Of course, with all things audio, YMMV. It does have an external processor loop if you wanted to go the glorified graphic equalizer route for bass & treble. |
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Post by Gary Cook on Jul 12, 2015 12:03:47 GMT -5
In regards to the USP-1 volume sensitivity, I have 2 sources connected to mine, an ERC-3 and a Denon DD TT. The turntable volume (Sumiko moving coil cartridge) is pretty much perfect while the ERC-3 volume is a bit too responsive for the rest of the family, but OK for me. So I've inserted a couple of 6 db attenuators from the ERC-3, which matches pretty closely the volume from the TT.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by garbulky on Jul 12, 2015 17:05:23 GMT -5
This is a tough one. On one hand, I know that your DAC benefits from a pre-amp. But is it worth the large price increase? The XSP-1 is an improvement over the USP-1. It's a pre-amp where I could happily live with for a long time and is very musical in nature. So the long term prognosis for such a device is good! But..are you on a budget? Because the XSP-1 the sound quality increase isn't equal to the price difference. But there is one and I like it. I couldn't tell you yes or no on it.
But I plan to upgrade soon as I can and the XSP-1 is on the list. THe only other unit that is on the list is a $2300 audio GD HE-1 pre-amp which I likely won't be able to afford.
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Post by Gary Cook on Jul 12, 2015 20:35:24 GMT -5
From my point of view;
Early last year I had a suspicion that my system would benefit from a better CD player. So I got an ERC-3 and my suspicions were correct, a noticeable improvement in sound quality.
Later I also had a suspicion that a quality power amp would lift my DIY subwoofer, not more watts, just better quality. So I got an XPA-100 and the difference was way more than noticeable, it was amazing.
More recently I had a suspicion that a pair of monoblocks would lift the quality for stereo 2.1 music listening and the XPA-1L's certainly provided that. Again not night and day, just a small subtle increase in sound quality.
With the USP-1 I frnkly don't have any suspicions, it does everything I need and I just don't hear any deficiencies in its sound quality. Plus garbulky is right, an XSP-1 is a big investment, especially as it's going to end up over $A1K and I'll most likely have to pay duty (5%) and tax (10%) on top of the substantial freight cost to Sydney, Until I develop some pretty strong suspicions, I'm sticking with my USP-1.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by stereowiz on Jul 16, 2015 22:42:04 GMT -5
Does the XSP-1 have a mono switch like the USP-1? I found that to be a very nice feature when listening to mono vinyl. I want the XSP-1 for the balanced outputs but not at the sake of losing this feature.
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Post by monkumonku on Jul 16, 2015 23:08:07 GMT -5
Does the XSP-1 have a mono switch like the USP-1? I found that to be a very nice feature when listening to mono vinyl. I want the XSP-1 for the balanced outputs but not at the sake of losing this feature. The XSP-1 (at least the gen 1 I had) does not have a mono switch. But why would you need one when listening to a mono recording? It is already in mono to begin with. Having a mono switch will add additional processing to the signal. |
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