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Post by octavarium on Jul 25, 2022 16:32:12 GMT -5
I currently have a BASX A3 powering my LCR speakers. I chose this amp as I have never had external amplification before and figured it was a nice low cost option to get my feet wet and take some load off of the AVR and to eventually move from an AVR to a processor.
I have to say it does a great job and I am happy with it. I have always wondered though, would an XPA DR3 or even an XPA 3 offer any type of noticeable improvement over the BASX A3? I now have all separates with an MC1 as the processor so I am even more curious as to the impact if any an upgrade would make.
My home theater is in a small room that 18'x9' with 7.5' ceilings.
I would appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks!
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Post by housetech on Jul 25, 2022 17:14:19 GMT -5
My home theater is in a small room that 18'x9' with 7.5' ceilings.
Stick with BasX, it's plenty of power and better than AV receiver power
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 25, 2022 17:33:16 GMT -5
In a small room, with moderately efficient speakers, I'd expect the improvement to be minimal, unless you really play things loud. If you had a processor with balanced outputs, I might get one of those amps just to use XLR cables (but that's me). Speakers make the biggest difference, but if you're happy with them as well, room treatment, and/or tweaking the placement of your speakers would probably be of benefit. The conventional wisdom would say "what are you trying to make better (or fix)".
However, we don't always buy things because we need them, but sometimes (often?) because we want them ('upgradeitis'?), in which case I might go for an XPA-3. If a new, bigger, more powerful amp will make you happier, certainly get it, I often make changes for something other than sound quality (which isn't to say you won't hear the difference, you might).
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Post by davidl81 on Jul 25, 2022 19:46:02 GMT -5
I agree with the above, the DR-3 will have very little impact unless you happen to have speakers that are crazy hard to drive. Don’t get me wrong, I love my DR-2, but there was no difference between it and the XPA-2 I had before it.
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Post by thezone on Jul 25, 2022 20:26:51 GMT -5
If you really want to change things up switch to a Class D amp. Good bang for your buck, really brang my speakers to life!
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Lsc
Emo VIPs 
Posts: 3,435
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Post by Lsc on Jul 26, 2022 0:59:09 GMT -5
It your speakers are fairly efficient then there probably isn’t a lot of value to upgrade the amps. But it also really depends on how sensitive you are to this hobby. Some people don’t notice differences and others care about the most minute detail.
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Post by octavarium on Jul 26, 2022 8:44:06 GMT -5
These are all great thoughts and I appreciate you guys chiming in.
The more I thought about it last night I think I am going through a case of wondering what am I missing? There's also bragging rights that go along with owning something like the DR3, LOL. I am happy with the BASX and the loudest I get with it is within 15db of reference and it doesn't even break a sweat.
It sounds like in my case I am set pretty well where I am. Thanks for the sanity checks.
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