Considering a XPA Gen 3 2 channel amp. Need some help.

[hemster]

You'll likely need RCA cables. Unless the pre-amp has XLR outputs. If so, you could use XLR cables. I find the connections are more secure with XLRs. They're not needed unless you have long distances between your components.

[gkprabhu]

Thank you all for your replies. I have decided to get this amp for sure now. I am very very excited about the prospect of owning one. Can't wait to hook it up and listen to some of my ECM records.  Thank you all again and happy thanksgiving. 

Gopal 

[ehmokey]

I can't speak for the change in sound going from tubes to SS, since I do not remember hearing a tube amp (I might have been too young if I did). But I believe you will like what you hear. My speakers (B&W CM1) are not efficient at all (84db) and they came alive with the new Emotiva amps, so much detail and sound stage and control...mmm, mmm, mmm! I have an old Yamaha HTR-6090 and it is being used as a pre-amp with my XPA1-L amps. It works wonderful in my set up.

I hope it works well in yours too.

[gkprabhu]

Just about to pull the trigger on this and I had one last question. Is my Yamaha RX- V665 good as far am pre amp voltage goes for the XPA Gen 3 ? I was reading somewhere that Yamaha's are around 1 volt and that is sometimes a problem. Do I need to worry about this ? Thank you much

[hemster]

Dec 17, 2016 20:59:48 GMT -5 gkprabhu said:

Just about to pull the trigger on this and I had one last question. Is my Yamaha RX- V665 good as far am pre amp voltage goes for the XPA Gen 3 ? I was reading somewhere that Yamaha's are around 1 volt and that is sometimes a problem. Do I need to worry about this ? Thank you much

You're going to be fine with the Yammy. It'll work with the XPA, fikar not.

[gkprabhu]

Dec 17, 2016 21:07:53 GMT -5 hemster said:

Dec 17, 2016 20:59:48 GMT -5 gkprabhu said:

Just about to pull the trigger on this and I had one last question. Is my Yamaha RX- V665 good as far am pre amp voltage goes for the XPA Gen 3 ? I was reading somewhere that Yamaha's are around 1 volt and that is sometimes a problem. Do I need to worry about this ? Thank you much

You're going to be fine with the Yammy. It'll work with the XPA, fikar not.

HA HA HA ..Fikar not...that is funny indeed. Thanks hemster. I am going to get the amp next week. Really excited and looking forward to it.  Thank you and all the rest who have replied. I will post my experience here after getting it.  

Thank you 

[mgbpuff]

Did you say that you are using two speakers per side of your small amp? Did you mean that the Yamaha is driving one set? Please explain because I wouldn't expect just one amp to work very well. Series or parallel? What tap? If parallel, since the 363 goes down to 4 ohms and the minis are 8 ohms, the combination would be 2 ohms, maybe even too low for the Emotiva amp. How do you adjust volume with two differing speakers? If you want 4 channels get a 4 channel amp. Surely you are using two of the Yamaha channels also!

[gkprabhu]

Hi, thanks for posting mbgpuff. I just have one set now. I got rid of the infinity speakers. I have the paradigms connected. I am hoping to hear music a lot better and cleaner with the amp now.  

Best 
Gopal 

[gkprabhu]

Just pulled the trigger and ordered it. Am really excited and can't wait to get it and hook it up. I will post my experiences here ( not that it will surprise any of you ). Thank you all for helping me make up my mind.

Happy new year and best regards to all
Gopal

[gkprabhu]

Hi repeetavx

Thank you for your spot on reply. I just returned the Emotiva amp. I got it and was surprised when my 16.5 wpc Chinese amp ( with Western Electric 396A tubes) sounded distinctly better than the Emotiva. I am no audiophile, but to my ears, the amp I currently have had a better or warmer sound. Not that the Emotiva did not sound good, but I was imagining that it would blow my current amp out of the water. Not at all what I experienced. I was surprised that it wasn't even louder than my current amp. 

Anyway, thank you for your insight and advice on the 30 day money back guarantee. I am glad that it is there for folks like me who  can't get to a showroom to try Emotiva products before buying them. 

Best 
Gopal 

Nov 21, 2016 12:13:02 GMT -5 repeetavx said:

Hi Gopal,

Welcome to the lounge!

Wow, moving from tubes to solid state, your bucking the trend.

Last question first. I have six Emotiva amps and I have never had a bit if trouble out of any of them. (My experience, remember we are talking about consumer electronics here.) While you'll see some threads here about problem units, (this is the place that they would complain at.) I'm sure you've noticed that we praise them a lot here too.

As far as a "huge improvement in sound". It's certainly going to be a big difference in sound. Tubes add harmonic content, and make recorded music "more musical". Solid State amplifiers are ruthlessly accurate, and in comparison, sound "thin".

That being said, you should get a major boost in bass note control and definition. Also a big boost in dynamic range, if you use it.

As you see I can't give you a definite answer, because only you know what type of expectations you have. If you live in the U.S., then do yourself a favor and give the 30-day Money Back Guarantee a try.

[monkumonku]

Jan 23, 2017 14:40:43 GMT -5 gkprabhu said:

Hi repeetavx

Thank you for your spot on reply. I just returned the Emotiva amp. I got it and was surprised when my 16.5 wpc Chinese amp ( with Western Electric 396A tubes) sounded distinctly better than the Emotiva. I am no audiophile, but to my ears, the amp I currently have had a better or warmer sound. Not that the Emotiva did not sound good, but I was imagining that it would blow my current amp out of the water. Not at all what I experienced. I was surprised that it wasn't even louder than my current amp. 

Anyway, thank you for your insight and advice on the 30 day money back guarantee. I am glad that it is there for folks like me who  can't get to a showroom to try Emotiva products before buying them. 

Best 
Gopal 

Nov 21, 2016 12:13:02 GMT -5 repeetavx said:

Hi Gopal,

Welcome to the lounge!

Wow, moving from tubes to solid state, your bucking the trend.

Last question first. I have six Emotiva amps and I have never had a bit if trouble out of any of them. (My experience, remember we are talking about consumer electronics here.) While you'll see some threads here about problem units, (this is the place that they would complain at.) I'm sure you've noticed that we praise them a lot here too.

As far as a "huge improvement in sound". It's certainly going to be a big difference in sound. Tubes add harmonic content, and make recorded music "more musical". Solid State amplifiers are ruthlessly accurate, and in comparison, sound "thin".

That being said, you should get a major boost in bass note control and definition. Also a big boost in dynamic range, if you use it.

As you see I can't give you a definite answer, because only you know what type of expectations you have. If you live in the U.S., then do yourself a favor and give the 30-day Money Back Guarantee a try.

Regarding your surprise that the Emo amp wasn't "louder" than your Chinese amp - do you mean at maximum volume your amp is capable of higher volumes than the Emo? Or do you mean at the same volume setting on your preamp that the Chinese amp is louder than the Emo? If the latter, that has to do with the gain on the amp and has nothing to do with how loud the amp is actually capable of playing. Different amps have different input gains so you would just need to adjust your volume when comparing the two amps to make sure you listen at the same volume levels.