XPA-1's Vs Threshold SA/4e

[lynxo]

OK, these things are just sounding better and better as they get some hours on them. They definitely are not an amplifier that you want to form an opinion of until they have had a chance to burn in. Even that first 24 hour burn in made a substantial improvement in their sound.

I began to wonder why I didn't notice the high end harshness when I first plugged in my XPA-5 a few months ago. The only thing I can come up with is that with those, I ran them for the first few days hooked up to a pair of Magnepan 1.6qr's, and didn't try them with the thiels until they already had a few days use on them. The magnepans sounded wonderful driven by the XPA-5 right out of the box. The only conclusion I can draw is that the Thiels are just more revealing of high end harshness than are the maggies.

Hi Strindl,

excellent review! I currently have the xpa-5 and the 1.6's.
sounds good, I find the xpa-5 is fine for H.T. but not for music.

I'm curious if you had a chance to try the xpa-1's with the 1.6's.

How is the sound of the thiels vs. the 1.6's? which do you consider provides a wider soundstage? do you prefer one over the other.

I'm considering the xpa-1's to drive the 1.6's or a pair of Usher BE-718's.

thx

[strindl]

Hi Strindl,

excellent review! I currently have the xpa-5 and the 1.6's.
sounds good, I find the xpa-5 is fine for H.T. but not for music.

I'm curious if you had a chance to try the xpa-1's with the 1.6's.

How is the sound of the thiels vs. the 1.6's? which do you consider provides a wider soundstage? do you prefer one over the other.

I'm considering the xpa-1's to drive the 1.6's or a pair of Usher BE-718's.

thx

So far, I have not tried the XPA-1's on the magnepans. I did try the XPA-5 on both the maggies and the thiels though, in two channel mode. The XPA-5 was the equal of the Threshold S-500 amp that I use normally for the 1.6's.

The Theil 3.6's and the Magnepan 1.6qr speakers are both excellent sounding gear, but they do not sound the same at all. I have had multiple magnepan models going back to a pair of Tympani 1d's back in the late 70's early 80's.

The Thiels go quite a bit deeper into the bass than the maggies, but they were also $4900.00 vs the $1700 I paid when I bought the 1.6's in 2001. There is something magical about how the magnepan speakers handle vocals. Sometimes, that's what I want to hear and that's why I have them.

[strindl]

I'm considering the xpa-1's to drive the 1.6's or a pair of Usher BE-718's.

thx

I just had the opportunity to try the XPA-1's driving the Magnepan 1.6's. They blew the Threshold S-500e that I normally use on the magnepans out of the water. MUCH better bass response out of those panels with the XPA-1's. Very detailed highs without being harsh, and the outstanding sound stage that the maggies are famous for was even better.

The XPA-1's work great with magnepans, and deliver all the power they could want for effortless sound.

[lynxo]

I just had the opportunity to try the XPA-1's driving the Magnepan 1.6's. They blew the Threshold S-500e that I normally use on the magnepans out of the water. MUCH better bass response out of those panels with the XPA-1's. Very detailed highs without being harsh, and the outstanding sound stage that the maggies are famous for was even better.

The XPA-1's work great with magnepans, and deliver all the power they could want for effortless sound.

Thanks Strindhl!

I'm looking forward to trying the XPA-1's in the future.

Right now, I'll be using a diy Aleph J amp. I have no idea how the Sound Quality of a 15W of Class A power compares to 1KW Class AB. I'm leaning towards the xpa-1's due to less idle current ;D

[strindl]

Thanks Strindhl!

I'm looking forward to trying the XPA-1's in the future.

Right now, I'll be using a diy Aleph J amp. I have no idea how the Sound Quality of a 15W of Class A power compares to 1KW Class AB. I'm leaning towards the xpa-1's due to less idle current ;D

You are using 15w of class A power for the maggie 1.6's? Boy, I've never used anything like that for any of the magnepans I have owned. They like plenty of watts pushing them. I have had the 1.6's, and years ago a pair of Magnepan MG IIIa's hooked up to my 100 watt per channel pure class A Threshold amp. That did a real nice job.

[strindl]

I'm looking forward to trying the XPA-1's in the future.

Right now, I'll be using a diy Aleph J amp. I have no idea how the Sound Quality of a 15W of Class A power compares to 1KW Class AB. I'm leaning towards the xpa-1's due to less idle current ;D

I'm curious...have you been able to try that 15 w class A amp on the maggies? My experience with magnepans tells me that that would not be enough power for them to sound their best, but I never tried it.

[lynxo]

I'm curious...have you been able to try that 15 w class A amp on the maggies? My experience with magnepans tells me that that would not be enough power for them to sound their best, but I never tried it.

Hi,

still have yet to build it. I did have a mini-Aleph I built previously.
Class A, about 10watts. I drove Magnepan MMG's and Vandersteen's 2C's to pretty loud room filling levels. These are 86dB speakers and especially the maggies as you know are hard to drive. I believe for Class A, lower output power is not an issue.
Part of my curiosity between a lower output power Class A vs. higher output power like XPA-1.

Also would depend on room size, how loud you listen and type of music.

will keep you posted. my test would be with the Usher BE-718's though. My 1.6's are boxed away for awhile.

[johnrice]

strindl,

I'm glad to see your impressions of these amps with the 3.6s. I also have 3.6s, which I got shortly after they were introduced, so I've had them over 17 years. I have been driving them with an Aragon 4004 mkII for 14 or 15 years. I plan to migrate back to separates, so I ordered an XPA-5 this week to power everything except the 3.6s, but I plan to at least try it with them as well. Now I know it is best to give it an extensive break-in first. One thing that isn't clear. Did you just leave it turned on during the break-in or did you have anything playing?

One thing I have been concerned about is how much I'm straining my available power, since the Aragon is not a very efficient amp, and it has incredibly high current capability. Like your Threshold, it runs pure class A, though I think it switches over around 50 watts. It definitely draws everything a 15 amp circuit can provide and with the low impedance of the Thiels, would take even more if it was available. I don't have dedicated circuits, so I am limited to the 2 15 amp circuits in the room. If the XPA-5 does well, I might add an XPA-2 next year to power the Thiels. The thing is, the Aragon is a great match for the Thiels and I don't want to sacrifice sound.

One observation. It's a shame you don't have more room for the 3.6s to breathe. It wasn't until I freed them up that they truly came to life. After getting some good advice, I set them up with no barriers within 4 feet in any direction. Yes, that means their backs are four feet from the wall behind them, they are about 8 feet apart and have about 6 feet to the sides. They really benefit from it.

[Deleted]

Oct 19, 2009 18:09:06 GMT -5 strindl said:

I'm considering the xpa-1's to drive the 1.6's or a pair of Usher BE-718's.

thx

I just had the opportunity to try the XPA-1's driving the Magnepan 1.6's. They blew the Threshold S-500e that I normally use on the magnepans out of the water. MUCH better bass response out of those panels with the XPA-1's. Very detailed highs without being harsh, and the outstanding sound stage that the maggies are famous for was even better.

The XPA-1's work great with magnepans, and deliver all the power they could want for effortless sound.

strindl:

I'm not familiar with the Threshold S-500e. Are you referring to the 550e ? or 5000 ?

[Deleted]

nevermind, I think you have the S-500 upgraded to the e series?

[strindl]

Jun 24, 2010 23:26:26 GMT -5 johnrice said:

strindl,

I'm glad to see your impressions of these amps with the 3.6s. I also have 3.6s, which I got shortly after they were introduced, so I've had them over 17 years. I have been driving them with an Aragon 4004 mkII for 14 or 15 years. I plan to migrate back to separates, so I ordered an XPA-5 this week to power everything except the 3.6s, but I plan to at least try it with them as well. Now I know it is best to give it an extensive break-in first. One thing that isn't clear. Did you just leave it turned on during the break-in or did you have anything playing?

One thing I have been concerned about is how much I'm straining my available power, since the Aragon is not a very efficient amp, and it has incredibly high current capability. Like your Threshold, it runs pure class A, though I think it switches over around 50 watts. It definitely draws everything a 15 amp circuit can provide and with the low impedance of the Thiels, would take even more if it was available. I don't have dedicated circuits, so I am limited to the 2 15 amp circuits in the room. If the XPA-5 does well, I might add an XPA-2 next year to power the Thiels. The thing is, the Aragon is a great match for the Thiels and I don't want to sacrifice sound.

One observation. It's a shame you don't have more room for the 3.6s to breathe. It wasn't until I freed them up that they truly came to life. After getting some good advice, I set them up with no barriers within 4 feet in any direction. Yes, that means their backs are four feet from the wall behind them, they are about 8 feet apart and have about 6 feet to the sides. They really benefit from it.

I bought my Thiels about the same time as you...1994 I believe..maybe late 93. I know they came out sometime in 1993.

For breaking in my XPA-1's, all I did was leave them powered up over night...no signal was going through them. That was enough to do whatever it was that needed doing in removing the treble harshness I heard that first night. The combination of the XPA-1 and the Thiel 3.6's sounds wonderful on music or movies.

I do have my two XPA-1's all by themselves hooked up to a 15 amp circuit. They have shared that with no problems whatsoever..never tripped a circuit breaker.

As good as my Threshold amp sounds driving those Thiels, the pure output capability of those XPA-1's makes a noticeable difference, and the 3.6's can make use of that extra power.

[strindl]

Jun 26, 2010 12:12:07 GMT -5 neekos said:

nevermind, I think you have the S-500 upgraded to the e series?

exactly. I bought it in 1987 as an S 500 and sent it back to Threshold and had it factory upgraded to E series status in 1993 or so. That upgrade changed the amp circuit boards and also added the balanced XLR inputs.