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Post by mixnmatch on Dec 7, 2015 17:12:02 GMT -5
Yes, The Vega's run about 6 ohms, the AR's will dip below two. Emotivia IMO needs to rethink how they design and implement the protection circuitry on the XPA-1's Gen 2. Way to finicky. I use optical to the Emotiva DAC then to my Parasound pre. Its works great.
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Post by Boomzilla on Dec 7, 2015 17:12:24 GMT -5
Specs, Schmecks - How do they SOUND? LOL
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Post by garbulky on Dec 7, 2015 17:22:38 GMT -5
Ah you do have a pre. Good. So...did you use the pre with the XPA-1's?
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Post by mixnmatch on Dec 7, 2015 17:27:42 GMT -5
Yes yes yes your right, I'm a specky type and like to push the envelope  . But, no they are good clean amps, quiet, IMO. I like the sound 100%. I just thought the design and reading all about them that these had more... as one of Emotiva's flagship.... perfectly fine for rinky dinky little speakers than most spouses only allow....
Yes, the Parasound is tied into the Emotiva DAC. |
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Post by garbulky on Dec 7, 2015 18:07:25 GMT -5
Ah gotcha. Now what is interesting is that the XPA-2 gen 1 has a higher gain structure. So that may have helped it sound better
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Post by dally on Dec 7, 2015 18:31:26 GMT -5
Yes yes yes your right, I'm a specky type and like to push the envelope . But, no they are good clean amps, quiet, IMO. I like the sound 100%. I just thought the design and reading all about them that these had more... as one of Emotiva's flagship.... perfectly fine for rinky dinky little speakers than most spouses only allow....
Yes, the Parasound is tied into the Emotiva DAC. Sounds like you'd be better off with some nice pro amps if your looking for some big power. The lab gruppen fp 14000 can be found used for about the price of a couple xpa-1's. Probably about 3500 watts (per channel) into six ohms. That would wake up your cerwin Vegas! |
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Post by teaman on Dec 7, 2015 19:17:35 GMT -5
Ah gotcha. Now what is interesting is that the XPA-2 gen 1 has a higher gain structure. So that may have helped it sound better I just sold my XPA-2 Gen 2 because I personally enjoyed the Gen 1 more. Not sure if it was the gain or what but the Gen 2 seems to need a push to get it going and seems a bit strained into upper limits. When I was using the exact same set up and A/B'd the two Gen XPA-2 amps the Gen 2 had four lights across lit at the same volume that the Gen 1 was barely lighting it's first LED. |
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Post by garbulky on Dec 7, 2015 19:37:36 GMT -5
Interestingly my personal preferences are quite the opposite. I find the XPA-1 better than the XPA-2.
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Post by teaman on Dec 7, 2015 20:13:54 GMT -5
Interestingly my personal preferences are quite the opposite. I find the XPA-1 better than the XPA-2. Garbulky, I was comparing the XPA-2 Gen 1 to the XPA-2 Gen 2. Not comparing either to the XPA-1's. Personally I prefer the XPA-1's to the XPA-2 as well although to me, there is not much of a difference sound wise. |
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Post by mixnmatch on Dec 7, 2015 22:10:52 GMT -5
Hmmmmmm I see TeaMan's point. I bet the gain change is significant, it was also changed on the XPA-1 gen 2's.
And I am actually thinking about using a Crown Pro amp just to run the woofers as one solution.
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Post by teaman on Dec 7, 2015 23:30:33 GMT -5
Hmmmmmm I see TeaMan's point. I bet the gain change is significant, it was also changed on the XPA-1 gen 2's. And I am actually thinking about using a Crown Pro amp just to run the woofers as one solution. A noticeable difference to me on the Gen 1 and Gen 2 XPA-1's. The second Gen seems to have to work harder to accomplish the same thing. Outside of the obvious warranty issues the Gen 1 has been my choice for both amps. Tim |
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Post by Boomzilla on Dec 8, 2015 6:05:41 GMT -5
I can't comment on the generation two amps - I haven't heard them yet. But I can say that the generation one XPA-2 was THE amplifier that sold me on Emotiva. Compared to the other amps I tried (at up to 10x the cost of the Emotiva), the XPA-2 held its own. No, it wasn't perfect - in fact, it was "brash" at times, but it's iron control of the bass and lack of treble glare made it an absolute bargain! I used that amp with some VERY revealing speakers, and it hung in with the best. I've always contended that the Gen. 1 XPA-2 was the absolute best value in the entire Emotiva lineup, and I still believe it to be true. Its dynamics were superb! I now use the generation one XPA-1Ls, and I'm MOST eager to hear Mr. garbulky's generation two XPA-1s. I've heard the XPR-1s of Mr. novisnick, and they did sound nice! Nice enough to persuade me to change amps? We'll see... |
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Post by bluemeanies on Dec 8, 2015 7:44:10 GMT -5
I was gonna go with the XPA-1's but went with tube amps instead I hope I made a good choice and will be as pleased as you, I wont know till after Christmas Mitch Mitch I am curious about what tube amps you acquired. I definitely think you made the right decision with tubes. They will give you a total different representation to your music. I was formerly in the camp of needing high power amplification. I personally found that the XPA gen2 were TOOOOO much power and overkill for my taste and what I was looking for and wanted to experience in my music at this point in my life. I am looking for clarity, depth, realizism in performance. If your speakers are postioned properly you will have a 3dimensional sound that makes your listening pleasure MORE enjoyable. Being able to hear an artist depress a pedal on their piano and hearing them breath on an open mic is all part of the nuance you will enjoy. By no means am I deflecting other people with their listening views of high volume...I was there once but have seen the light. Besides that's why we have vanilla and chocolate ice cream. One flavor does not fit all. I currently have B&W803d that I was told CRAVE and NEED power to get the full enjoyment from them. I am driving them with tube mono blocks in triode mode...35watts per channel. It is plenty loud and no distortion. I do not jack the volume up on a regular basis but when I do I am not disappointed. |
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Post by thompson12 on Dec 8, 2015 19:47:35 GMT -5
I was gonna go with the XPA-1's but went with tube amps instead I hope I made a good choice and will be as pleased as you, I wont know till after Christmas Mitch Mitch I am curious about what tube amps you acquired. I definitely think you made the right decision with tubes. They will give you a total different representation to your music. I was formerly in the camp of needing high power amplification. I personally found that the XPA gen2 were TOOOOO much power and overkill for my taste and what I was looking for and wanted to experience in my music at this point in my life. I am looking for clarity, depth, realizism in performance. If your speakers are postioned properly you will have a 3dimensional sound that makes your listening pleasure MORE enjoyable. Being able to hear an artist depress a pedal on their piano and hearing them breath on an open mic is all part of the nuance you will enjoy. By no means am I deflecting other people with their listening views of high volume...I was there once but have seen the light. Besides that's why we have vanilla and chocolate ice cream. One flavor does not fit all. I currently have B&W803d that I was told CRAVE and NEED power to get the full enjoyment from them. I am driving them with tube mono blocks in triode mode...35watts per channel. It is plenty loud and no distortion. I do not jack the volume up on a regular basis but when I do I am not disappointed. Same as you, Bob Latino M125 tube mono-blocks Mitch |
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Post by Boomzilla on Dec 9, 2015 6:47:26 GMT -5
I'm not a great fan of tube power amplifiers. With some speakers (such as my old Klipsch La Scalas), they are magic, but the vast majority of speakers seem to prefer the lower output impedance (and greater damping factor) of solid state outputs. I am, however, a great fan of tube SOUND. The dimensionality and "naturalness" are music to my ears. Therefore, the setup I like best is a reliable, cool-running tube preamp mated to solid-state power amps. Or, as an alternative, a hybrid integrated with the same configuration. Some of the Chinese integrated amps use this configuration. Two hybrids that I've heard & liked are the Qinpu A-6000 (16.5 WPC) and the Yaqin VK-2100 (85 WPC). I had the Jolida for a while, but for some reason, it never pleased my ears like the previous two. What I'd REALLY like to hear would be a good Audio Research tube line stage pushing garbulky's new XPA-1s! |
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Post by garbulky on Dec 11, 2015 15:18:09 GMT -5
Review is planned for today. It's going to be long long long!  BTW watching Alladin on Blu ray had the XPA-1 meters dancing. Very powerful. |
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Post by brutiarti on Dec 11, 2015 15:26:33 GMT -5
Review is planned for today. It's going to be long long long! BTW watching Alladin on Blu ray had the XPA-1 meters dancing. Very powerful. Looking forward for your review. I think your signature update is overdue unless you are planning to upgrade to class D |
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Post by garbulky on Dec 12, 2015 1:18:32 GMT -5
Review is planned for today. It's going to be long long long! BTW watching Alladin on Blu ray had the XPA-1 meters dancing. Very powerful. Looking forward for your review. I think your signature update is overdue unless you are planning to upgrade to class D Thanks Brutiarti. I'm afraid I didn't finish in time for today. But I did write the majority of it. Now I need to edit it down a bit. It's 14 pages long right now !!  Hopefully Saturday will see its release. |
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Post by bluemeanies on Dec 12, 2015 12:52:08 GMT -5
Interesting observations. Which DAC did you use to power it and did you use a preamp? I assume you used the Cerwin Vegas right? I have the XDA-1's and have used the XPA-2 gen 1 as well. I thought the XPA-2 was a good amp. The XPA-1s are able to output approx 1750 watts @ 2 ohm according to Lonnie. I suspect if you are using the xda-1 that is your issue. It had trouble fleshing out the midrange on the bigger amps when driving them. Garbulky...congrats on the addition. I am not being cynical here as I was in the camp of high power amplifiers. Believe me I had my share of blown speakers back in the day. Twice to be exact, neither were b/c of ME just sitting there cranking it up. Friends and parties did me in...haha Now at a later age I realize and yes my ears can't handle it but also I want to listen to the music not just hear it. Saying this I have to ask when I read about all of these watts... HOW MANY WATTS ARE ENOUGH? Check this article out written by Steve Guttenberg www.cnet.com/news/whats-up-with-watts-how-many-watts-do-you-need/The article is not to sway anyone but more show the truth about MEGA WATTING speakers. Remember listening to music any genre is better than just hearing it. I mean no offense. |
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Post by novisnick on Dec 12, 2015 13:23:20 GMT -5
Interesting observations. Which DAC did you use to power it and did you use a preamp? I assume you used the Cerwin Vegas right? I have the XDA-1's and have used the XPA-2 gen 1 as well. I thought the XPA-2 was a good amp. The XPA-1s are able to output approx 1750 watts @ 2 ohm according to Lonnie. I suspect if you are using the xda-1 that is your issue. It had trouble fleshing out the midrange on the bigger amps when driving them. Garbulky...congrats on the addition. I am not being cynical here as I was in the camp of high power amplifiers. Believe me I had my share of blown speakers back in the day. Twice to be exact, neither were b/c of ME just sitting there cranking it up. Friends and parties did me in...haha Now at a later age I realize and yes my ears can't handle it but also I want to listen to the music not just hear it. Saying this I have to ask when I read about all of these watts... HOW MANY WATTS ARE ENOUGH? Check this article out written by Steve Guttenberg www.cnet.com/news/whats-up-with-watts-how-many-watts-do-you-need/The article is not to sway anyone but more show the truth about MEGA WATTING speakers. Remember listening to music any genre is better than just hearing it. I mean no offense. bluemeanies, I have it on strong athaurity that there can NEVER be TOO MANY WATTS , a birdie whispered in my ear. As far as Mr Steve Guttenburg, I always take him with a rather large grain of salt! I mean no offense my friend! Merry Christmas |
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. But, no they are good clean amps, quiet, IMO. I like the sound 100%. I just thought the design and reading all about them that these had more... as one of Emotiva's flagship.... perfectly fine for rinky dinky little speakers than most spouses only allow.... 
BTW watching Alladin on Blu ray had the XPA-1 meters dancing. Very powerful. 
Hopefully Saturday will see its release. 
