|
Post by Gary Cook on May 2, 2019 15:55:45 GMT -5
FWIW, the internal circuitry in the XSP-1 is also fully balanced (discrete) which means in theory there is no "internal" noise exported out of the balanced outputs. In real life that is exactly what it delivers (to me), with a fully balanced (discrete) ERC-3 feeding it and a pair of fully balanced (discrete) XPA-1L amplifying the whole system is dead silent (when it should be dead silent). Balanced interconnections (in and out) are a minor part of what an XSP-1 is all about, that coupled with the internal balancing circuitry is what makes them incomparable at many times their price point. Yeah - That's my understanding, and it's the direction that I'm currently leaning-in. The XSP-1 seems to be "near-ideal" (at least, ON PAPER) for my application: - Top-notch quality for the $$
- It will allow me to better manage the connection to my Subwoofer
- Balanced Inputs for connections to future upgraded sources
- Balanced Outputs to feed my current XPS-2 Amp (which I KNOW is not fully-balanced, but DOES take advantage of low-noise Input Circuitry)
- Remote (although this is not all that big of a deal for me - once I select a source & volume level, I typically do not do a lot of switching / adjustment)
- The built-in Phono Stage is supposed to be pretty decent (although NAD models similar to mine were once referred to as "semi-legendary"...)
- IT'S "NEWER" - my existing Receiver has probably experienced gradual deterioration that will be "fixed" by almost ANY quality new Pre-Amp
However - I STILL want to explore other good alternatives
Which amp(s) are you currently running with the XSP-1? Is yours Gen 1 or 2? XPA-1L’s are Gen 2, early ones came with silver trims and later with black trims, but they are all Gen 2 on the inside (29 dB gain etc). My XPA-5 is however a Gen 1. When I was looking at upgrading from the USP-1 (my first Emotiva product) I had a lot of what you are experiencing, people suggesting used pre amps with similar specs that still would have cost me 2, 3, 4 times what an XSP-1 would have. I auditioned a few and found many lacking what the USP-1 already provided me, sometimes features and sometimes sound quality. I couldn’t find an XSP-1 to audition but to me it was a no risk choice, it had all of the features that I needed and I knew it would sound better than the USP-1 (that was amazingly good) plus offer the absolute absence of both internal and external noise. Which is exactly how it has turned out. Cheers Gary
|
|
|
Post by mshump on May 2, 2019 17:51:41 GMT -5
I was running the XSP-1 and really enjoyed it. It is a great pre amp. I then ran into a Cary slp-03 tube pre and picked it up. I am still running the Cary. There was a bit more of an air around the music IMO. Cary does have refurbished equipment on their web site.
Mark
|
|
|
Post by milsap195 on May 3, 2019 9:31:13 GMT -5
I may be in the minority here but I just didn’t care for the xsp gen 1 that I had. It just seemed to suck the life out of the music no matter what amp it was used with. At the time the dc-1 got a lot more use. I have since moved on the a McIntosh pre and have never looked back.
|
|
|
Post by leonski on May 6, 2019 11:53:13 GMT -5
Parasound P5 might do. Everything but 2x balanced
Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE, which uses the entire 2000$ budget.
check out specs for wiring options than perhaps move on to reviews to find out if anyone has a dislike when dealing with either.
My P5 is dead silent, has phono, bass management, tone controls, balanced in (1 pair) and several other neat attributes.
|
|
|
Post by boomzilla on May 7, 2019 6:36:32 GMT -5
I may be in the minority here but I just didn’t care for the xsp gen 1 that I had. It just seemed to suck the life out of the music no matter what amp it was used with. At the time the dc-1 got a lot more use. I have since moved on the a McIntosh pre and have never looked back. My impression of both the Gen. 1 and the Gen. 2 XSP-1 models is the same as yours, milsap195. We may be in the minority, but we aren't wrong. I further agree with you that McIntosh IS a big step up in sound quality (and, unfortunately, in price). I liked my old C41... The best preamps I've heard are a Frank Van Alstine modified Dynaco PAS tube preamp, and my current Audio-GD HE-1. I'll be keeping the latter! Boomzilla
|
|
|
Post by leonski on May 12, 2019 12:54:16 GMT -5
I may be in the minority here but I just didn’t care for the xsp gen 1 that I had. It just seemed to suck the life out of the music no matter what amp it was used with. At the time the dc-1 got a lot more use. I have since moved on the a McIntosh pre and have never looked back. My impression of both the Gen. 1 and the Gen. 2 XSP-1 models is the same as yours, milsap195 . We may be in the minority, but we aren't wrong. I further agree with you that McIntosh IS a big step up in sound quality (and, unfortunately, in price). I liked my old C41... The best preamps I've heard are a Frank Van Alstine modified Dynaco PAS tube preamp, and my current Audio-GD HE-1. I'll be keeping the latter! Boomzilla Some, however, do not care for the Mc house sound. Must audition first would be my thought.
|
|
novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,213
|
Post by novisnick on May 12, 2019 13:03:35 GMT -5
My impression of both the Gen. 1 and the Gen. 2 XSP-1 models is the same as yours, milsap195 . We may be in the minority, but we aren't wrong. I further agree with you that McIntosh IS a big step up in sound quality (and, unfortunately, in price). I liked my old C41... The best preamps I've heard are a Frank Van Alstine modified Dynaco PAS tube preamp, and my current Audio-GD HE-1. I'll be keeping the latter! Boomzilla Some, however, do not care for the Mc house sound. Must audition first would be my thought. Ive owned the XSP-1 gen one and gen 2 as well as the XPS-1 and although they were all OK to Good via TT I do appreciate my McIntosh C220 sp much more. Once I swapped the Gold Lion tubes out for the Mullards I was hooked! 🎣
|
|
|
Post by selind40 on May 12, 2019 14:27:21 GMT -5
Is it OK for a man to tell another man he has tube-envy??.......asking for a friend...
|
|
|
Post by The History Kid on May 12, 2019 14:39:14 GMT -5
Hands down, my pick goes to the Parasound 200 Pre. I have been able to have a shootout with it and an XSP-1 Gen II, and it hands down performed better. My buddy who purchased the Emotiva is considering moving to the Parasound before too long. He's having problems with the XSP locking up constantly and audio dropout on one channel.
|
|
|
Post by emoaholic on May 12, 2019 14:41:38 GMT -5
Is it OK for a man to tell another man he has tube-envy??.......asking for a friend... wrong forum, you are looking for Today's Humor =:0)
|
|
|
Post by DavidR on May 12, 2019 14:51:46 GMT -5
Just so you know the only items in my stack that I purchased new were my GE Speakers and my Phono Carts...Everything else was second hand. I too have a wife that I have to explain big expenditures too out of mutual trust and respect. I will also tell you that it takes work to "find" a good deal and even more work to find a "Great deal"! Just one example is my Bryston Mono Blocks the 28B SST2s I found them on Audiogon I had a 14BSST2 that I was smitten with and was not in the market at all. His asking price was $9,000 which was already a great deal considering they were 11.5 each and you need 2! So I engaged him in conversation and he told me he already bought their replacements the 28B squared and the deal he thought he had on these fell through and he was stuck! I offered him $6,800 for the pair and he thanked me and shipped them to me the next day. I sold my 14 for $4,500 in 2 days so I netted 21k amps for $2,300 new money! The point is I (even if I could) would NEVER buy high end gear Brand new...I mean 22k for Amps!?!?! LOL. As for your search for a QUALITY GREAT SOUNDING preamp there are a few on eBay and Audiogon right now UNDER 1K ie.: Audio Research SP-5 PreAmplifier on eBay for $895 obo...I would take this older Tube Pre over anything a "newer" bigbox pre today... NEVER buy used Class A gear. With Bryston you're paying a lot for the 20 year warranty.
|
|
|
Post by RichGuy on May 12, 2019 15:45:36 GMT -5
I have an XSP-1 (Gen 1) and have been very happy with it. To me it is an excellent pre amp, the sound is neutral what goes in is what comes out as it adds nothing and takes nothing away, which is what I prefer in a pre amp, control without colorization.
I normally listen to music from my HTPC using JRiver to my balanced Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 to my balanced MHDT Stockholm NOS tube DAC to my XSP-1 then XPA-2 (Gen 1). I absolutely love the way it sounds. This sounds so much sweeter and so much cleaner than using my XMC-1 or even my ERC-3 balanced to the XSP-1.
I love the clean balanced detail, neutral no sound colorization, black absolute silent noise floor, with excellent control and HT bypass, the XSP-1 is everything I want in a pre amp.
|
|
|
Post by brutiarti on May 12, 2019 16:26:24 GMT -5
The xsp-1/2 is a really good preamp with some bell and whistles but it’s not the best or close to it. Imo The audio gd is the best preamp that I ever had in MY system under 10K. I have a Hegel P20 now that does 95% of the Audio Gd but I don’t notice much because I only use the balance In that is similar to the Audio Gd. The other inputs are less refined. The audio gd has the same refinement in all inputs
|
|
|
Post by DavidR on May 12, 2019 17:27:31 GMT -5
The Audio-GD looks to be Line Stage only and no phono.
|
|
|
Post by amped on May 14, 2019 13:14:52 GMT -5
Just so you know the only items in my stack that I purchased new were my GE Speakers and my Phono Carts...Everything else was second hand. I too have a wife that I have to explain big expenditures too out of mutual trust and respect. I will also tell you that it takes work to "find" a good deal and even more work to find a "Great deal"! Just one example is my Bryston Mono Blocks the 28B SST2s I found them on Audiogon I had a 14BSST2 that I was smitten with and was not in the market at all. His asking price was $9,000 which was already a great deal considering they were 11.5 each and you need 2! So I engaged him in conversation and he told me he already bought their replacements the 28B squared and the deal he thought he had on these fell through and he was stuck! I offered him $6,800 for the pair and he thanked me and shipped them to me the next day. I sold my 14 for $4,500 in 2 days so I netted 21k amps for $2,300 new money! The point is I (even if I could) would NEVER buy high end gear Brand new...I mean 22k for Amps!?!?! LOL. As for your search for a QUALITY GREAT SOUNDING preamp there are a few on eBay and Audiogon right now UNDER 1K ie.: Audio Research SP-5 PreAmplifier on eBay for $895 obo...I would take this older Tube Pre over anything a "newer" bigbox pre today... NEVER buy used Class A gear. With Bryston you're paying a lot for the 20 year warranty.
What? Never buy Class A gear used? Are you talking Stereophile Class A or ? As for the Bryston Warranty Yes it contributes to the cost but boy it feels good knowing that I have highly rated and great sounding amps that just in case they break in the year 2024 it will be repaired free of charge under warranty. Not a whole lot of manufacturers will that be an option...
|
|
|
Post by geeqner on May 14, 2019 14:52:51 GMT -5
Never personally played-around with Mac gear - but I DO fondly remember an old, cozy bar / lounge that used to be in Downtown Milwaukee (John Hawke's Pub) that had a wonderful-sounding Mac Sound System. They used to play Jazz on it.
What I find "funny" about the APPEARANCE of Mac gear is that the knobs and styling look like the old RCA Console Stereo that was built-into our old TV in the early 1970's. I might have to keep my eyes peeled for a good used example when the time comes (I've heard that the XPA-2 can sound pretty nice when paired with a QUALITY, well cared-for tube pre.)
The "construction philosophy" of that Audio GD unit appears to be pretty comparable to the higher-end Parasound and to the XSP-1
Like I said - I'm NOT out to "poo-poo" the Emotiva Pre-Amp. I simply want to explore some good alternatives / options so that I can pick a few to audition when the time comes. (Hopefully soon - I've got some of the funds scraped-up, and working on posting a few non-Audio items to local CL. [Klein road bike, PC Case, basic Lawn Mower.])
|
|
|
Post by geeqner on Jun 19, 2019 9:30:05 GMT -5
CURRENT THOUGHTS: I'm getting close to having the moolah "scraped-up" - probably going to purchase sometime in the next few months. Narrowing things down to something that I can get for under approx $1,500 US (anything more than that is likely to get me in trouble with wifey and prolong my purchasing decision)
NAD XSP-1 IS STILL MY CURRENT "FRONT-RUNNER" CHOICE: As I stated originally - I am simply exploring viable alternatives within my budget.
SHIIT FREYA SERIES?: Anybody here have / have HEARD one of the Schiit Freya-S or Freya-+ Units? (S = Solid-State Version / Plus = Tube with bypass SS and bypass Passive modes) These sound like Solid, well-engineered but relatively "basic" units - but also sound like a lot of money to spend on Schiit stuff?
VTS SP-14?: Did a little reading about the VTS SP-14 that a few members seem to like and it also sounds fascinating. Made by a guy who used to update / service old H-K high-end Tube gear. (It is, supposedly and "Updated / Refined / Modernized" version of the H-K Citation 1 unit that I have also heard good things about.)
AUDIO GD: That Audio GD Unit looks pretty similar to the Parasound 2 Series at a MUCH more palatable price
PARASOUND P5: (then again, the Parasound P5 - although not quite as "high-end" as the P2 may have the Bass Management that might better fit my needs)
NAD C658: Also NAD C658 sounds like another interesting possibility I think that the DEFAULT mode for this one is similar to the NAD "Masters Series" - where ALL Inputs are converted to high-res digital and then routed / controlled within the Digital domain. (But from what I've been told - it also includes the ability to "Analog Bypass" this mode when desired and also includes an Internal BlueSound Node - which would let me sell mine and recoup some of the cost.)
OTHER GENTLY-USED HIGH-END: If a deal that I cannot ignore comes-up (I check local CL and other sources for used gear) Something like a NICE McI, Bryston, Pass, Krell, C-J, or Audio Research in gently-used condition within my price range, I may grab it or ask about auditioning it.
My goal is to narrow this down to the top 3-4 options, and then attempt to "In-Home Audition" all or most of them before picking a winner.
|
|
|
Post by brutiarti on Jun 19, 2019 14:47:30 GMT -5
For features the XSP-1. For purist 2ch the Audio GD.
|
|
|
Post by audiobill on Jun 19, 2019 16:26:04 GMT -5
The VTA sp14 (not vts) has nothing to do with the Citation whatsoever. It’s a turbocharged Aikido design, designed by Roy Mottram based on a GlassWare design in the TubeCad journal by John Broskie.
It offers superb sonics for an excellent price on the VTA site. Don Sachs, with a long background working on Citations, offers a version with film caps and other upgrades.
I had both the emo xsp-1 and the Freya for a short time, no comparison to the SP14, whose sonics exceed most available preamps at 3x the price. It took my $10k CJ et5 to best it. Look up the reviews.
|
|
|
Post by audiosyndrome on Jun 19, 2019 18:46:33 GMT -5
CURRENT THOUGHTS:I'm getting close to having the moolah "scraped-up" - probably going to purchase sometime in the next few months. Narrowing things down to something that I can get for under approx $1,500 US (anything more than that is likely to get me in trouble with wifey and prolong my purchasing decision) NAD XSP-1 IS STILL MY CURRENT "FRONT-RUNNER" CHOICE:As I stated originally - I am simply exploring viable alternatives within my budget. SHIIT FREYA SERIES?:Anybody here have / have HEARD one of the Schiit Freya-S or Freya-+ Units? (S = Solid-State Version / Plus = Tube with bypass SS and bypass Passive modes) These sound like Solid, well-engineered but relatively "basic" units - but also sound like a lot of money to spend on Schiit stuff? VTS SP-14?:Did a little reading about the VTS SP-14 that a few members seem to like and it also sounds fascinating. Made by a guy who used to update / service old H-K high-end Tube gear. (It is, supposedly and "Updated / Refined / Modernized" version of the H-K Citation 1 unit that I have also heard good things about.) AUDIO GD:That Audio GD Unit looks pretty similar to the Parasound 2 Series at a MUCH more palatable price PARASOUND P5:(then again, the Parasound P5 - although not quite as "high-end" as the P2 may have the Bass Management that might better fit my needs) NAD C658:Also NAD C658 sounds like another interesting possibility I think that the DEFAULT mode for this one is similar to the NAD "Masters Series" - where ALL Inputs are converted to high-res digital and then routed / controlled within the Digital domain. (But from what I've been told - it also includes the ability to "Analog Bypass" this mode when desired and also includes an Internal BlueSound Node - which would let me sell mine and recoup some of the cost.) OTHER GENTLY-USED HIGH-END:If a deal that I cannot ignore comes-up (I check local CL and other sources for used gear) Something like a NICE McI, Bryston, Pass, Krell, C-J, or Audio Research in gently-used condition within my price range, I may grab it or ask about auditioning it. My goal is to narrow this down to the top 3-4 options, and then attempt to "In-Home Audition" all or most of them before picking a winner. Sounds like you have no idea what you want. You’re listening mostly to suggestions (used) way out of your price range and “tubey” to boot. Just get a new XSP-1, $1,400 and move on. Just my opinion. Russ
|
|