XPA Gen 3

[toy]

I was just about to order an XPA-2 Gen3 amplifier when I saw the Gen3 offering on the website. I think I'm gonna pre-order and wait for them *rubs hands slowly.

In the mean time, I have a UPA-200, XPA-200 and XPA-100 all powering my 5 channels. I needed something powerful and quick to power my fronts. I listened to my uncle's XPA-1,2 and 5 and was blown by the difference particularly in the speed. I can actually differentiate each sound.

Can anyone recommend me what amplifier I have would be better suited to power each channel ? I indulge in 70% Movies and 30% music.

When I watch movies, I use Chromecast in my pre-amp to DD+ 5.1 surround Netflix, so every channel is important. *Daredevil season 2 just released! Cannot wait anymore

I'm using Emotiva's ERT 8.3, ERM 6.3 and ERD.1 for speakers. Also have a Def Tech Sub

[Deleted]

Mar 18, 2016 5:31:09 GMT -5 toy said:

I was just about to order an XPA-2 Gen3 amplifier when I saw the Gen3 offering on the website. I think I'm gonna pre-order and wait for them *rubs hands slowly.

In the mean time, I have a UPA-200, XPA-200 and XPA-100 all powering my 5 channels. I needed something powerful and quick to power my fronts. I listened to my uncle's XPA-1,2 and 5 and was blown by the difference particularly in the speed. I can actually differentiate each sound.

Can anyone recommend me what amplifier I have would be better suited to power each channel ? I indulge in 70% Movies and 30% music.

When I watch movies, I use Chromecast in my pre-amp to DD+ 5.1 surround Netflix, so every channel is important. *Daredevil season 2 just released! Cannot wait anymore

I'm using Emotiva's ERT 8.3, ERM 6.3 and ERD.1 for speakers. Also have a Def Tech Sub

Sorry, my original post was long and involved but disappeared.  I'll try again.  You might think this sounds goofy, but some here will understand my wisdom.  Here goes.

I would get the XPA-2 for an amazing price of $719.  Forget the $1599 Gen 3, no audible advantage IMO.  Better yet and this is where I might lose you.  I would for the best bang for the buck (this is the real name of the game), sell your current amps plus the Def Tech sub.  I would buy the Gen 2 XPA-5 for an amazing $899!  I own this amp.  Your Emo speakers are all 4 ohm and it will put out over 320 watts per channel into 4ohms with all channels operating.  Most of the time you will not need that much power into the surround ERD-1's and thus you will even have slightly more power into the front LCR speakers (the 2ea ERT-8.3's and the 1ea ERM-6.3).  The LCR ideally will have equal power.  I have no idea why you chose the XPA-200 and XPA-100 up front (the XPA-3 would have been better).  You will not be able to hear any difference between the XPA Emo amps, they are all equally fast.  You will end up with one single amp  that weighs about 73lbs.  It is a real beast of a powerful amp.  It should provide plenty of power unless you live in an auditorium.

Here is the next part.  No offense to your Def Tech sub (you didn't list the model) but it is simply mediocre for your purposes which includes lots of movies.  For high quality movie playback including the lowest bass and the LFE channel  (that is the special effects low bass channel that is the .1 in the 5.1 track and is 10dB's louder than the main track) You need a big sub for proper play back for movies.  The Def Tech will not do it.  The ERT-8.3 is a great tower but still is fairly flat (-3dB's) down to about 45Hz or so.  The sub should take over at about 20Hz higher than 45Hz or even slightly higher at about 70-80Hz for the best crossover and mix with the sub.  Many don't realize this and make a huge mistake by playing the low bass simultaneously thru both the towers and the sub.  This make for boomy indistinct bass and some phase issues.  With a top quality sub that has the output and power handling of the ERT-8.3 and ERM-6.3 you will have a perfect seamless flow of the low bass from the bottom of the main speaker right down to about 15-20Hz which is top performing low bass.   Right now you have 5 great and perfectly matched speaker with a mismatched sub.  You would set up your pre-pro to crossover the mains designated as "small" (not large or full range) and filter at 80Hz and the sub would take over at 80Hz and down.  The sub would take all 5 channels redirected low bass below 80Hz and combine it with the LFE channel and send it over one cable to the sub.  The sub frequency filter would be off/bypass as the pre-pro sets this.

Selling the UPA-200, XPA-200 and XPA-100 will just about zero you out for buying the XPA-5 or simply get the XPA-2 (again forget the gen3).  I recommend one of the below subs based on your available funds.  Note these are large and heavy subs.  You need a large sub to match the output of the Emo mains.  Movie mains reference output = 105dB's.  Movie sub reference output (LFE) =115dB's.

.......... HSU Research, VTF-15H MK2,  $899
www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15hmk2.html  (excellent sub, good price)

.......... Outlaw Audio, Ultra-X12, $639
www.outlawaudio.com/products/ultra.html  (best buy with slightly less performance)

.......... Power Sound Audio, 15V, $949
www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/vented-subwoofers  (excellent sub, good price)

.......... Rythmik, FV15HP black matte, $1200
www.rythmikaudio.com/FV15HP.html  (superb sub)

.......... SVS, PB-2000, $800 or PB12-Plus, $1400
www.svsound.com/collections/ported-subwoofers  (PB-2000, very good sub ..... PB12-Plus, exc-super sub)

There is quite a range here but this will give you many of the very best bang for the buck subs, all online direct (the only way to go).  Some folks will recommend always going with two subs.  This is not necessary unless you have multiple seats to cover with the best bass.  If you have only one or two adjacent seats then one sub should be OK.  Use the sub scrawl method to locate your sub.  A huge advantage of crossing over the mains to the sub at 70-80Hz is that the main amp (XPA-5) will only have to drive the main speakers down to 80Hz and not down full range.  The lower bass takes the most power and thus this will lighten up the power demands from the main amp(s).  The sub's dedicated powerful amp will reproduce all the low bass from 70-80Hz and down.  This will make for very defined and clean low distortion low bass.  Don't be confused by the deceptive specs of the super cube subs.  They are OK but are relatively small and have huge amps and very long throw drivers that are necessary to compensate for the medium sized enclosure.  They will not play as loud or as distortion free as the ones I have listed above.

Sorry this is so long but you have the beginnings of a great system and only lack a powerful sub, correctly set up along with your excellent Emo reference speakers.  Any combination of the amps should be fine and give you plenty of power.  IMO they will all sound almost identical.  The Gen2 XPA-2 and Gen2 XPA-5 run very cool.  

[brubacca]

Toy,

If I were you and I had heard the old generation XPA and liked the old generation XPA then I would just pull the trigger on the XPA-2. It is a phenomenal price at just over $700.

Waiting for the new thing that nobody has heard yet, which is a major shift in technology from what you have heard (and liked) is a risky proposition. I would say, buy the XPA-2 Gen 2 and spend the extra $300 on music or movies.

Good luck

[repeetavx]

The XPA-1 and XPA-2 (Gen. 1&2) are two of the "quickest" amplifiers that they make with 24 and 12 output devices per channel respectively. The Gen 1&2 XPA-3,4, and 5 have 6 output devices per channel, as do apparently the new Gen. 3 blades. Though the Gen. 3 blades have a few tricks incorporated in them that Emotiva utilized in their XPR line of amps.

It's going to be at least a month (or maybe two) before the general public get to be able to critically listen to the Gen. 3 blades and make a comparison to the other Emotiva amps. And there is a noticeable price increase which we are hoping, but not certian, will be justified, hopefully by performance. Though several of us fear that the price increase merely reflects a change in manufacturing location and dealer pricing justification.

So if you liked what you heard in the Gen. 2 amps, and don't mind paying a lower price per channel ( ), then the currently available Gen. 2 amps maybe what your looking for. Only you can decide for yourself.

[Lsc]

The Gen3 amp is the right choice imho. First, you get the refined XPR amp sound and also have the ability to add extra channels down the line, if you are not ready to upgrade your center and surrounds yet.

Honestly the idea of selling your 3 amps and putting that towards the new Gen3 amp (5 channels) doesn't sound bad. It's a serious upgrade and something that you won't have to upgrade again for a long time.

Another option is to go with the 3 channel version and keep one of your 2 channel amps for surround duty. You want equal power across the front 3 for home theater (even though I regrettably don't have it..lol)

I tend to look at long term solutions...but that's just me.

[garbulky]

I would go used XPA-1's gen 2s. They really are phenomenal bringing serious speed but also a natural portrayal of the dimensions of the room. The XPA-2 gen 2 is also very good bringing with it serious speed. I haven't spent enough time to see if it could do the detail retrieval of the XPA_1 gen 2 in class A mode. But it's also a very good amp. It is superior to the old UPA-2 I had.
That's what I would do. Go with the current generation. The new generation has some things I am not too keen on (Classh H power and small switching power supply) and also I am not too sure if it really does bring anything that great to the table over their current amps. I haven't heard them but there's nothing there that entices me. I've heard their XPR amps which these amp modules are based on and though fantastic, I didn't find them to do anything compelling over the XPA-1 and 2 amps.

[toy]

Mar 18, 2016 8:13:10 GMT -5 brubacca said:

Toy,

If I were you and I had heard the old generation XPA and liked the old generation XPA then I would just pull the trigger on the XPA-2. It is a phenomenal price at just over $700.

Waiting for the new thing that nobody has heard yet, which is a major shift in technology from what you have heard (and liked) is a risky proposition. I would say, buy the XPA-2 Gen 2 and spend the extra $300 on music or movies.

Good luck

I hear you, bro. Think going out with the current generation XPA-2 might be the way to go now. Not only safe but I really enjoy the sound. I was using a Naim NAP-140 Steele amplifier before (which was actually my entry into the high end audio) and I actually preferred the sound of XPA-2 over it. This is just more musically and damn, so quick ?

[toy]

Mar 18, 2016 9:38:56 GMT -5 repeetavx said:

The XPA-1 and XPA-2 (Gen. 1&2) are two of the "quickest" amplifiers that they make with 24 and 12 output devices per channel respectively. The Gen 1&2 XPA-3,4, and 5 have 6 output devices per channel, as do apparently the new Gen. 3 blades. Though the Gen. 3 blades have a few tricks incorporated in them that Emotiva utilized in their XPR line of amps.

It's going to be at least a month (or maybe two) before the general public get to be able to critically listen to the Gen. 3 blades and make a comparison to the other Emotiva amps. And there is a noticeable price increase which we are hoping, but not certian, will be justified, hopefully by performance. Though several of us fear that the price increase merely reflects a change in manufacturing location and dealer pricing justification.

So if you liked what you heard in the Gen. 2 amps, and don't mind paying a lower price per channel ( ), then the currently available Gen. 2 amps maybe what your looking for. Only you can decide for yourself.

Haha, I would really like to save some money if I can. I was just excited by the modular qualities of the new gen amps. But, I guess I'll just get a Gen2 for now and if the Gen3 is received well, I'll sell my almost new and upgrade!

When you mean, output devices - what exactly do you mean ? You lost me on that. Thankyou!

[toy]

Mar 18, 2016 9:49:21 GMT -5 Lsc said:

The Gen3 amp is the right choice imho. First, you get the refined XPR amp sound and also have the ability to add extra channels down the line, if you are not ready to upgrade your center and surrounds yet.

Honestly the idea of selling your 3 amps and putting that towards the new Gen3 amp (5 channels) doesn't sound bad. It's a serious upgrade and something that you won't have to upgrade again for a long time.

Another option is to go with the 3 channel version and keep one of your 2 channel amps for surround duty. You want equal power across the front 3 for home theater (even though I regrettably don't have it..lol)

I tend to look at long term solutions...but that's just me.

Modularity and XPR qualities, on the Gen 2 XPAs is pretty much winning the battle. But, I was also thinking if I could get the Gen2 now and wait for the Gen3 to get its reviews, six months from now - I could recoup most of my investment.
I agree with you that the front three require almost equal power, if not same. But, to me I think I'll get 2 x XPA-2s and 1 x XPA-1 or equivalent power in the future to properly bi-amp my fronts. The center can surely survive on 1 XPA-1. What do you think ?

[toy]

Mar 18, 2016 9:54:49 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I would go used XPA-1's gen 2s. They really are phenomenal bringing serious speed but also a natural portrayal of the dimensions of the room. The XPA-2 gen 2 is also very good bringing with it serious speed. I haven't spent enough time to see if it could do the detail retrieval of the XPA_1 gen 2 in class A mode. But it's also a very good amp. It is superior to the old UPA-2 I had.
That's what I would do. Go with the current generation. The new generation has some things I am not too keen on (Classh H power and small switching power supply) and also I am not too sure if it really does bring anything that great to the table over their current amps. I haven't heard them but there's nothing there that entices me. I've heard their XPR amps which these amp modules are based on and though fantastic, I didn't find them to do anything compelling over the XPA-1 and 2 amps.

I buy a lot of used good stuff and I might just go for a used XPA-2. I found one for 500$ the other day and I knew I should've pounced. Instead, I got a handsome UPA-200 for a really good price. I already got some few ideas now that I want to try as I mentioned above: thanks for taking the time to help a young one out!
Cheers

[Lsc]

Mar 19, 2016 2:11:52 GMT -5 toy said:

Mar 18, 2016 9:49:21 GMT -5 Lsc said:

The Gen3 amp is the right choice imho. First, you get the refined XPR amp sound and also have the ability to add extra channels down the line, if you are not ready to upgrade your center and surrounds yet.

Honestly the idea of selling your 3 amps and putting that towards the new Gen3 amp (5 channels) doesn't sound bad. It's a serious upgrade and something that you won't have to upgrade again for a long time.

Another option is to go with the 3 channel version and keep one of your 2 channel amps for surround duty. You want equal power across the front 3 for home theater (even though I regrettably don't have it..lol)

I tend to look at long term solutions...but that's just me.

Modularity and XPR qualities, on the Gen 2 XPAs is pretty much winning the battle. But, I was also thinking if I could get the Gen2 now and wait for the Gen3 to get its reviews, six months from now - I could recoup most of my investment.
I agree with you that the front three require almost equal power, if not same. But, to me I think I'll get 2 x XPA-2s and 1 x XPA-1 or equivalent power in the future to properly bi-amp my fronts. The center can surely survive on 1 XPA-1. What do you think ?

It's not a bad idea to buy a used XPA gen 2 now because with the much higher prices of the gen 3, the depreciation on the gen 2 will be very small. If you are thinking along the same lines, I agree with you.

I'll try to explain it from a different angle. The XPA gen1 and gen2 in my humble opinion, I do not classify as "high-end". They are an amazing value and have great power but they lack the special refinement to equal much higher priced retail amps such as the McIntosh MC452. They come pretty close for most folks and that's close enough for those folks - I'm actually very happy for people who don't have to spend more and still enjoy audio bliss.

Except for the lucky few, most of us are also constrained monetarily which is a huge factor on settling in on that perfect sweet spot where you can just stop and enjoy the music. For some audiophiles, they never achieve this and spend a lifetime upgrading in search of this as they are never satisfied and constantly suffer from upgraitis.

My personal goal was to have my system come close to those "high-end rooms" at those audio dealers, within my budget. When I finally got my dream speakers, the Revel F208, the dealer had them in the most high end room powered by the McIntosh Mc452. The fact that the F208 sounded so close to the Studio2....I was sold. I'm getting 90% of Revel's $16k speakers for less than 1/3rd the price! Amazing!

But when I brought them home, the F208 never sounded as incredible as when I was at the dealer. I found the culprit when I upgraded the XPA-5 to the XPR-5...the delicious silky highs, the thundering bass and the dynamic pop that I heard at the dealer I finally heard at home. Now to some people the sound quality btw the XPA-5 and XPR-5 is a small difference, but to me it was an important step to coming close to audio bliss as things sounded so much more "realistic". The final step was when I got the XMC-1 and retired the XDA-2 / UMC-200.

Next, based on many of the comments here I got the XPA-2 gen2. I was hoping to use it for my L & R but because it just didn't cut the high end mustard, I relagated them to my surround backs. This was my only regretful Emotiva purchase, as I had went backwards in sound quality. Luckily, I found a great deal locally on a XPR-2...which sound even better than the XPR-5. More musical and better bass punch.

Others may say they all amps sound the same...hey lots of people are happier with a $200 HTIB than some crazy audiophile who has $50k speakers and $60k amps. That guy needs to upgrade to $80k speakers to be happy for a while, until the upgrade bug hits again.

Point of my story was to tell you why I don't recommend the gen2s...bc I personally moved on. You can be very happy with them until u are ready to upgrade down the line .

[smarties]

Mar 19, 2016 2:15:06 GMT -5 toy said:

Mar 18, 2016 9:54:49 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I would go used XPA-1's gen 2s. They really are phenomenal bringing serious speed but also a natural portrayal of the dimensions of the room. The XPA-2 gen 2 is also very good bringing with it serious speed. I haven't spent enough time to see if it could do the detail retrieval of the XPA_1 gen 2 in class A mode. But it's also a very good amp. It is superior to the old UPA-2 I had.
That's what I would do. Go with the current generation. The new generation has some things I am not too keen on (Classh H power and small switching power supply) and also I am not too sure if it really does bring anything that great to the table over their current amps. I haven't heard them but there's nothing there that entices me. I've heard their XPR amps which these amp modules are based on and though fantastic, I didn't find them to do anything compelling over the XPA-1 and 2 amps.

I buy a lot of used good stuff and I might just go for a used XPA-2. I found one for 500$ the other day and I knew I should've pounced. Instead, I got a handsome UPA-200 for a really good price. I already got some few ideas now that I want to try as I mentioned above: thanks for taking the time to help a young one out!
Cheers

I wouldn't bother getting multiple XPA to bi-amp. Depending on how many channels I'd get

2 channel
XPA-2

5 channel
XPA-2 and a XPA-3
or XPA-5

7 channel
XPA-5 and XPA-2
or XPA-3 and XPA-5

I've got a 7 channel system, I had five x 2 channel power amps, front three bi-amped. Was a bit silly. So I went for a 3 channel for front three, and a 4 channel for side/rears. So for 2 channel the 3 channel is just on, for old movies that are either mono or stereo I use a mono DSP or stereo to front three DSP. For old movies that are 5.1 (but generally lousy mixes) I down mix it to stereo or front three. For modern movies both amps are on.

[brubacca]

Mar 19, 2016 1:56:33 GMT -5 toy said:

Mar 18, 2016 8:13:10 GMT -5 brubacca said:

Toy,

If I were you and I had heard the old generation XPA and liked the old generation XPA then I would just pull the trigger on the XPA-2. It is a phenomenal price at just over $700.

Waiting for the new thing that nobody has heard yet, which is a major shift in technology from what you have heard (and liked) is a risky proposition. I would say, buy the XPA-2 Gen 2 and spend the extra $300 on music or movies.

Good luck

I hear you, bro. Think going out with the current generation XPA-2 might be the way to go now. Not only safe but I really enjoy the sound. I was using a Naim NAP-140 Steele amplifier before (which was actually my entry into the high end audio) and I actually preferred the sound of XPA-2 over it. This is just more musically and damn, so quick ?

I am familiar with Naim. Knowing that you like the "naim" sound and preferred the xpa-2 makes me feel even stronger in my opinion. Naim gear is the antithesis of Emotiva. Naim intentionally voices their equipment away from neutral where Emotiva strives to be straight wire with gain. Neither is wrong per se, just different approaches. It appears that Gen 3 XPA is a hybrid of XPA Gen 2 and XPR series. Others here have reported that the XPR was smoother sounding than the XPA-2. there have been a couple of direct comparisons of XPR-2 vs XPA-2. The XPA-2 was a bit more aggressive than the XPR. Which if you are a Naim fan would be more your flavor.

Good luck!

[repeetavx]

Mar 19, 2016 2:00:51 GMT -5 toy said:

When you mean, output devices - what exactly do you mean ? You lost me on that.

Output devices are the output transistors that go directly to the speakers. They are sometimes compound devices such as Darlington Pairs.

As you increase output devices, you lower output impedance. That is, a lower resistance for the electrical current returning to the amplifier. The lower the impedance, the easier it is for the output transistors to control the movement of your speakers. The down side is, that as you increase output devices you increase the signal to noise ratio. So you have to be careful as you engineer the amplifier. Emotiva includes  these signal to noise measurements in their products specification information.

[toy]

I guess I’ll just write down a post entirely and not quote individually. Big thanks to Chuckie too for editing his post. This is going to be a big post – I’ll divide it into three parts:
(a) Setup
(b) Ideas
(c) Upgrade Path

Setup
I go to grad school in Atlanta and always in search of new places. This is my second place and going to move to a different place in a couple of months. In the first place, I had a Naim Setup (CD5/HiCap/202/140) – I inherited them from my uncle. I just needed to invest in some speakers but since this is going to be my first major setup – I decided to go with something really cheap and still good. The result, Philharmonic Audio Accuracy Monitors. They come close (about 80%) to the performance of the ERT 8.3s I’m rocking now. I was really happy with it but I needed more power and wanted to upgrade from Stereo to a 5.1 at least.



My uncle has a stereo setup at his home too with horizontally tri-amped Def Tech fronts and is more than happy with it. He currently has 2 x XPA-1s, 1 x XPA-2 and 1 x XPA-3. I was really impressed with it and wanted to try something more, keeping my setup with two key principles: Affordability, A taste of High-end and upgrade paths. So, basically I sold the Naim components and upgraded into 5.1 HT system.



Right now, I have a Marantz AV7005 Pre-Amp with Emotiva UPA-200, XPA-200 and XPA-100 powering Emotiva speakers. Primary sources are my PC and Chromecast. The subwoofer is a cheap Def Tech Powerfield.

Ideas
I gathered from all the responses that going with XPA-2 will be the best option right now. I do know I won’t settle down with anything for more than a year (if not less) but I think it does sound the best option right now, considering all the factors. Plus I’m really interested in active bi-amping my speakers (not these ones though) in the future. The efficiency benefits of giving the amps direct control to the loudspeaker driver really interests me and is an upgrade for the future since I need to use an active XO for that & disable the internal passive XO.
I really do not see the need for surround right now, with all the moving - but with the surround, almost every movie/show encompasses me in its environment. But, honestly I think a stereo setup will make me happy too. I will get rid of that Sub though. That is the worst decision I made! It’s so ineffective and the bass is just baaaad and lags and what not. I tried a lot of positions for the sub but it’s just really bad.
So, right now – I feel like I have two options here:
1. Sell all the amps and sub (maybe even the salamander rack) to finance an XPA-5.
2. Sell the amps, sub, surrounds (and center) and rack to finance an XPA-2 and upgrade the speakers.
3. Sell the amps and sub (salamander rack) to finance an XPA-2 and an XPA-3.
I’m inclined towards Option 1 and 3, with 3 going to take a little time to pull off

Upgrade Path
If I chose to go with a stereo setup, the upgrade path will be speakers first to the Revel F208 (I personally loved them). From there, I can expand slowly to the HT.
But, if I chose to go with surround – it’ll be a slower upgrade since I need to match the speakers and also the amps with them. Not to mention, once I pin down good speakers – I’m a huge fan of the Nautilus 802D too – I’ll be happy to Bi-amp

[vneal]

PAth 1

[garbulky]

If you choose to do stereo I would lean towards an XPA-2. However the XPA-5 is an excellent choice because it's got tons of power. But it also won't obsolete itself when and if you eventually buy a mono or stereo amp. The XPA-5 will do a very good job running the centers and surrounds when and if you do decide to buy a different amp. So either way you can't lose. The XPA-2 has a slight edge in sound. But I must stress that you won't notice a weakness in the XPA-5.

[toy]

Mar 22, 2016 9:35:33 GMT -5 garbulky said:

If you choose to do stereo I would lean towards an XPA-2. However the XPA-5 is an excellent choice because it's got tons of power. But it also won't obsolete itself when and if you eventually buy a mono or stereo amp. The XPA-5 will do a very good job running the centers and surrounds when and if you do decide to buy a different amp. So either way you can't lose. The XPA-2 has a slight edge in sound. But I must stress that you won't notice a weakness in the XPA-5.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna go down the XPA-5 route too since I can add XPA-2s later on from the fronts. I'll also stick to the surround for now since it means less things to put on sale for now. I'll get back after I plug in the XPA-5

[cheddar]

wouldn't an AV receiver and a good pair of bookshelf speakers make more sense until you are settled in your life?  Why move these massive amounts of amplifier power around just to enjoy music? Based on your photo, a set of speakers on stands powered by an inexpensive AVR would fill that room with beautiful music.  You could allocate the extra money towards a new subwoofer if you really feel it necessary.

In addition to being smaller, lighter, and less costly, a new AVR would also have network and streaming functions built in - saving you even more money.  Also room correction.  

Easy to move and set up, just plug in your speakers and run the room correction.  

[toy]

Most of the receivers I listened to were pretty bad. Maybe I should've kept my AA monitors and stuck to 2.1 setup, but I've heard how good it sounds on my uncle's setup. Not to mention the Naim I had for a while.

I just cannot unhear it now

My room correction skills are pretty good too. I believe its worth it - moving all the stuff inc. my amps and speakers. I do have Chromecast and networking functions on my Marantz too. The PC is a necessity, which acts as a HTPC now and then.