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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 15:04:27 GMT -5
I will admit, I do not have much experience with Emotiva, much less the XPA series. I was brought to this board via some interaction I had with an audiophile who has some good things to say about the XPA1. I went through the website and looked at the description and the specs of the XPA1 and it looks impressive. 60w class A or 600w ab? Nice!
Pricing looks very fair and down to earth.
So how is the amp? Recommendable? Comparable to what other amp? And how does it compare to other amps in the Emotiva umbrella?
Thanks!
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Post by teaman on Dec 1, 2015 15:30:36 GMT -5
Most of the Emotiva amps have a neutral sound which is good when it comes to audio reproduction. I own a pair of Gen 1 XPA-1's and they sound fantastic. They are built like tanks and play very loud with a low noise floor. The audiophile you spoke with gave you good advice. They are on sale right now which is even better. If you are in the market and have room for the monster monoblocks I would say grab them!
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Post by dally on Dec 1, 2015 16:19:41 GMT -5
How good are the xpa-1's ? They are junk. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them for you. I'll even cover the shipping.  |
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 16:24:08 GMT -5
How good are the xpa-1's ? They are junk. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them for you. I'll even cover the shipping. Heheh.... methinks that's a trick sir....  Are these Emotivas comparable to a similarly priced Rotel amp? |
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Post by dally on Dec 1, 2015 16:36:07 GMT -5
I've heard Rotel amps, but I've never compared them back to back. When I owned my Xpa-5 I compared it to an anthem mca 50 and I really couldn't tell the two apart. Dollar for dollar though, you'll get WAY more amp with an emotiva than you would with, say a Rotel.
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 16:56:36 GMT -5
I was looking at Rotel 1590 ($3000) vs a pair of the XPA1 (nearly $2000?).
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Post by novisnick on Dec 1, 2015 17:11:20 GMT -5
How good are the xpa-1's ? They are junk. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them for you. I'll even cover the shipping. I think that your trying to muscle in on my business sir!!! I'm currently paying $0.76 lb for these.  |
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 17:19:51 GMT -5
How good are the xpa-1's ? They are junk. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them for you. I'll even cover the shipping. I think that your trying to muscle in on my business sir!!! I'm currently paying $0.76 lb for these. Wait this is a terrible proposition... |
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Post by routlaw on Dec 1, 2015 17:47:12 GMT -5
Quick answer, get the XPA-1 Gen2, you will not regret it. I haven't compared mine side by side with too many other amps, but have owned a number of Stereophile Class A and B rated amps over the years and had on loan many others. I don't feel like I have given up much if anything at all since those days. If you go for them, be forewarned in Class A mode these amps are cooking hot, but to my ears sound better. I only listen to them in Class A mode for music, for HT I keep them in A/B mode. I hope this helps.
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 17:49:49 GMT -5
Quick answer, get the XPA-1 Gen2, you will not regret it. I haven't compared mine side by side with too many other amps, but have owned a number of Stereophile Class A and B rated amps over the years and had on loan many others. I don't feel like I have given up much if anything at all since those days. If you go for them, be forewarned in Class A mode these amps are cooking hot, but to my ears sound better. I only listen to them in Class A mode for music, for HT I keep them in A/B mode. I hope this helps. I think Class A will always sound better, it is a truer amplification method IMO. I am really interested in a pair and am interested to see how these fair and compare. |
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Post by Loop 7 on Dec 1, 2015 17:56:06 GMT -5
I agree with Dally. The amps are garbage and sound terribly in any system. I will send you a FedEx shipping label so I can properly recycle them.
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Post by routlaw on Dec 1, 2015 17:56:22 GMT -5
It is worth noting, some people don't hear the difference. I do as have others who have heard it in our audio room.
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Post by garbulky on Dec 1, 2015 17:58:44 GMT -5
Something you need to know is it is both class A and class AB. Once it passes 60 watts class A, it reverts to AB mode and will give you that 600 watts. So in class A mode you don't "lose power". The only reason the switch is therer is that class A mode takes a good amount of electricity and generates heat. So if somebody doesn't like that they can run cooler in AB. Also it is 2 ohm stable. I think it does something like 1800 watts at 2 ohms but the 15 AIt is a beast and a half. If the gen 1 was anything to go by, class AB will still give you about 10 watts class A. The XPA-1's were Emotiva's flagship amp for a long long time until the XPR series came out. Also if you haven't noticed it is a fulyl balanced amplifier. This requires two amp modules and close to double the parts. And so it is expensive. As the signal has to be amplified twic In fact I believe this is the only amp in its price class that is fulyl balanced and puts out this kind of power. The only other one even close to its price is the little boy XPA-1 L's. And the others are the ATI amplifiers which are also supposed to be very good but about double I think the price. e. If you have other fully balanced gear then your entire chain can be fully balanced which cancels out a certain types of distortion picked up along the way. I will tell you my personal impressions of them soon. |
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LCSeminole
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Res firma mitescere nescit.
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Post by LCSeminole on Dec 1, 2015 17:58:52 GMT -5
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Post by dally on Dec 1, 2015 18:12:15 GMT -5
I was looking at Rotel 1590 ($3000) vs a pair of the XPA1 (nearly $2000?). I'm sure the rotel is a very nice amp, but.... For $1000 LESS, you get double the power, Monoblocks, and 60 Watts class A. Plus the Rotel doesn't even have a power rating into 4ohms. I'd go XPA-1's all day. |
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 18:17:56 GMT -5
I enjoyed my Rotel RB1090 a few years ago. Sold it though when I got out of the "game".
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 18:18:43 GMT -5
Something you need to know is it is both class A and class AB. Once it passes 60 watts class A, it reverts to AB mode and will give you that 600 watts. So in class A mode you don't "lose power". The only reason the switch is therer is that class A mode takes a good amount of electricity and generates heat. So if somebody doesn't like that they can run cooler in AB. Also it is 2 ohm stable. I think it does something like 1800 watts at 2 ohms but the 15 AIt is a beast and a half. If the gen 1 was anything to go by, class AB will still give you about 10 watts class A. The XPA-1's were Emotiva's flagship amp for a long long time until the XPR series came out. Also if you haven't noticed it is a fulyl balanced amplifier. This requires two amp modules and close to double the parts. And so it is expensive. As the signal has to be amplified twic In fact I believe this is the only amp in its price class that is fulyl balanced and puts out this kind of power. The only other one even close to its price is the little boy XPA-1 L's. And the others are the ATI amplifiers which are also supposed to be very good but about double I think the price. e. If you have other fully balanced gear then your entire chain can be fully balanced which cancels out a certain types of distortion picked up along the way. I will tell you my personal impressions of them soon. Nice man... I am definitely interested. |
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Post by pinipig523 on Dec 1, 2015 18:19:06 GMT -5
It is worth noting, some people don't hear the difference. I do as have others who have heard it in our audio room. I'm sure I can hear the difference. |
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Post by leonski on Mar 4, 2016 2:36:00 GMT -5
My Rotel RB-1070 was INCAPABLE of properly driving my Panels. The fact that there is NO 4 ohm rating for the amp should have been a red flag. The OTHER dead giveaway is that the 8 ohm power was 130x2 and 'bridged' was 330 @8 TOTAL.
That implies a 4 ohm power of 165x2 which is a good reason NOT to advertise it.
I should have known.
Amp lasted about 4 or 5 months before being sold
And for SURE. A fully balanced signal chain does have some advantages. But OH! all those XLR cables can really add up.
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Post by garbulky on Mar 4, 2016 16:00:04 GMT -5
pinipig523 So I don't know if you ever got around to making a decision. In the meantime, I got hte XPA-1 gen 2. It's all that and a bag of chips. If you are still wondering about the right decision. It would be the XPA-1 gen 2. I didin't expect it to make a difference. I was buying just so I would have an mp with enough horsepower and quality for my end game system. Sort of as a base so my eventual upgraded suorce electronics could shine through. I didn't expect it to make a difference just by itself. I live in a small house and my UPA-2 even doesn't really get taxed in it. But the XPA-1 provided such a leap in quality that I am quite happy where I am at. It brings some SERIOUS quality to the table. It allows a sense of realism to come out due to its superior detail retrieval and improved dynamics.
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