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Post by mike23 on Aug 27, 2015 16:42:13 GMT -5
Hi everyone. Well guys, I received this monster of an amp and listened to it in my 2 channel rig for a couple of days. Do you want my honest opinion, good or bad, in a review or should I just say it is not the power amp for my system? I do not want to anger anyone or start any forum wars.....
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Post by teaman on Aug 27, 2015 16:55:25 GMT -5
Go for it Mike, pros and cons always help others to determine if the piece is good or bad for them.
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Post by mike23 on Aug 27, 2015 17:24:28 GMT -5
If you guys are on board then I will post my review tomorrow.........I will play nice.
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Post by novisnick on Aug 27, 2015 17:30:19 GMT -5
Either way,,,,,,I'm a MONOBLOCK kind of guy,!
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Post by teaman on Aug 27, 2015 17:35:00 GMT -5
Did you return the amp?
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Post by mike23 on Aug 27, 2015 17:58:49 GMT -5
Yes, I did return the amp. Customer service was very helpful in handling my return and refund was issued in a prompt manner.
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Post by brutiarti on Aug 27, 2015 18:36:01 GMT -5
All reviews are welcome! I'm curious what you didn't like about the xpr-2.
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Post by mike23 on Aug 28, 2015 9:17:38 GMT -5
The more I think about this amp that I returned the more I think I got a bad one. Guys, this amp sounded terrible! Just got off the phone with customer service to let them know this. The nice lady informed that all returns go through a complete factory renewal. What were the characteristics? Simply put amp sounded distorted across all frequencies. Highs were cut off, bass would get loud then all of a sudden disappear. It's as if someone were turning the bass control up and down. Made my speakers sound like a damaged pair of Cerwin-Vega's! I asked how many amps they had returned that were bad and she told me about 2-3%. Well, I believe I got a 3 percenter.....
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Post by badsarge on Aug 28, 2015 9:32:36 GMT -5
mike23,
It would seem appropriate that after making an investment of approximately $1800 for the XPR-2, unless you got it on sale of course, that if you feel you received a "3 percenter", perhaps a replacement XPR-2 is warranted? I can imagine the PITA it was to install and remove the beast. Just hard to imagine a properly functioning unit would sound that bad. What did you put back in the system after the XPR-2 was dismissed? Did the sound improve?
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Post by brutiarti on Aug 28, 2015 10:07:27 GMT -5
mike23, i thought you are gonna describe little things like soundstage, dynamics, etc. You are pretty much describing a faulty unit. I run an xpr-2 and the sound is beautiful, specially with revealing speakers. Matching with a good preamp you will be a happy camper.
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Post by mike23 on Aug 28, 2015 10:36:54 GMT -5
IF, (and that is a huge IF) it was NOT a faulty unit then I can't chance it guys. Close to $400. to send this unit back.I'm using a modified Hafler that I sent back for their ultimate mod which is almost double the cost of the Emotiva. After reading about the XPR I just wanted to explore other options before spending this kind of coin on Hafler. That being said the modded Hafler is the best sounding amp I have ever heard. To each his own...
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Post by Boomzilla on Aug 28, 2015 10:53:53 GMT -5
Based on your description of symptoms, your amp was defective, IMHO. I had an XPR-2 that did none of those things. The ONLY artifact that I noticed that wasn't present in other amps was a few thermal expansion tics & pops while warming up. After warm, my amp was dead silent. It also had really good sound.
So why did I sell it? Two reasons - One, it was so big & heavy that I couldn't move it by myself without risking back injury. This wasn't a trivial consideration. I ended up with some XPA-1Ls for their light weight, actually. Two, although the amp did "break in" over a month, the treble wasn't especially "extended" sounding. It was there, it was natural, but it wasn't "sparkly" (think of B&W speakers, and you've got an idea of what "sparkly" sounds like). Not that I wanted a sparkly amp, I actually like the naturalness of my XPA-1Ls very much, thank you.
But the combination of weight and treble finally conspired to make me sell it. I'm sorry your XPR-2 didn't work out - they really are very good amplifiers.
Boomzilla
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Post by mike23 on Aug 28, 2015 11:14:53 GMT -5
No harm no foul. If we all liked the same things in audio there would be one amp company. I do tend to like crisp highs. With my current amp I can easily tell if cymbal is being hit in the middle or on its edge. Just one example. Extreme detail! Emotiva was very pleasurable to deal with. This amp was simply not for me. I will not be one of those that goes onto other sites and blasts their products. Take care guys!
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Post by teaman on Aug 28, 2015 11:26:12 GMT -5
Cool, sounds like a fair assessment.
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Post by motobman on Aug 28, 2015 11:26:24 GMT -5
Yah, what speakers did he say he had? I have had my XPR-2 in my back bedroom setup with the Wharfedale's for about a month. I love the sound. It has a broader, deeper sound than the XPA I have. I do here a click once in a while from it though. Not sure what that is. After it warms up it clicks pretty loudly. Other than that, the power and sound is amazing. My neighbor to the left must hate me. But he does like ZZTop and ACDC though.
Good luck with the system,
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Post by mike23 on Aug 28, 2015 11:32:54 GMT -5
I have original Polk Audio (extensively modified) SDA-SRS along with 2 Paradigm servo-15 subs. Incredible sounding speaker system.
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Post by garbulky on Aug 28, 2015 14:39:27 GMT -5
Yah, what speakers did he say he had? I have had my XPR-2 in my back bedroom setup with the Wharfedale's for about a month. I love the sound. It has a broader, deeper sound than the XPA I have. I do here a click once in a while from it though. Not sure what that is. After it warms up it clicks pretty loudly. Other than that, the power and sound is amazing. My neighbor to the left must hate me. But he does like ZZTop and ACDC though. Good luck with the system, It's likely the heat sink. It used to happen on the XPA-1 units. The screw at the bottom of the chassis was too tight. Loosening it just teeny bit solves the issue. However I don't know how it works with the XPR amps. For the OP, I can promise you that was a bad amp or some other fault. Sometimes RCA/XLR cabling that is slightly messed up can do what you mentioned. It's that or the amp. I promise the amp sounds way better than what you described. I can understand your reluctance to give it another go. The good news though is other than some exceptions, their amps tend to be rock solid and dependable:) |
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Post by fastmatt on Dec 27, 2015 17:10:05 GMT -5
I absolutely love my xpr2. Sounds great, has for over 10 months now.
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