Post by mrclean60 on Dec 16, 2009 10:42:25 GMT -5
Non-Audiophile Review of the XPA-5 Amp.
What I have:
Pioneer 1015TX Receiver
Front: Definitive Technology Mythos STS Speakers (Remember each has a 300w powered subwoofer built in)
Center Def Tech Mythos 9
Surrounds – Def Tech Gems
Sony BDP-N460 Blue Ray player. HDMI to switch to HDMI-DVI adaptor to TV. Digital Coaxial to Receiver
Direct TV HD-DVR. HDMI to switch to HDMI-DVI adaptor to TV. Optical to Receiver
XBOX 360. Component to TV, Optical to Receiver
IPod adapter: RCA to Receiver.
Buttkicker on the way.
Recently I purchased a full Definitive Technology Surround system from my local high-end dealer, replacing a 15 year old Cambridge Soundworks surround setup. Flame me if you like - the new speaker system sounded AWESOME but it also revealed some of the limitations of my system (Got rid of the weakest link, revealing the next weakest component). For the first time I heard distortion at higher volumes, mainly on simple things such as a woman singing (Jane Monheit), piano strikes, and anything with strings.
Hmm, research time…
I don’t even remember how I stumbled onto Emotiva but I’m glad I did. I couldn’t afford or justify a famous name, big dollar amp for thousands but I could probably pull off something costing 3 figures. I struggled for a long time with several factors including where on my rack to put it, and how would I sneak it past my wife who is still sensitive from the cash I spent on the speaker system. I also pondered which amp to buy? After reading the Emotiva lounge board (lots of other boards and reviews also) and calling Emotiva directly I settled on a XPA-5 for my regular 5.1 system. The Def Techs are pretty efficient (93db front , 91 others) so I felt comfortable that 200wpc would be plenty.
The XPA-5 arrived on time and in perfect condition. The Fed Ex driver was thrilled that I was there to carry it off the truck for her. I settled on the bottom spot on my rack for stability – it fit with 1” to spare.
Wiring was easy – I bought Ultra series RCA cables to connect the receiver pre-amp outputs to the amp and Ultra speaker wire to re-wire the front and center speakers. Now it was time for power-up – no issues, no hum, and no problem with my heavily loaded circuit. My biggest fear was that I would have spent all this money on the amp and that I wouldn’t hear any difference vs. my receiver. Well, my fears were put to rest immediately. I didn’t have to carefully listen for improvement – it presented itself to me immediately. I played the same music I mentioned before – no distortion at any volume level that I could tolerate. It sounded great. Strings and piano strikes sound almost three-dimensional. The lack of the esoteric audio review value of “listening fatigue” became obvious as well – I could listen to music cranked for hours without having to turn it down for a break. I re-discovered all my old music. Xbox Games and Movie soundtracks are awesome. Between the amp and the speakers I now know just how many cuss words are captured by the fancy parabolic mic guys during televised football games.
The wife factor: She ended up loving it. She thought it looked nice and she said she could certainly tell the difference. She might be saying that because I’m now spending less time in bars and more time with her in the living room. Whichever it is – no objections. My son loves it too – I came home early the other night to find him cranking Metallica at volumes that mere mortals cannot endure.
So would I buy this amp if I had to do it all over again – hell yes! I have never had separates so I can’t compare the amp to anything else other than the receivers I've owned. It doesn’t matter because my system now sounds great. If you are looking to make your receiver sound better or to begin the move to separates – I would say go for it.
P.S. I now plan on getting a UMC-1 processor, when available, based on how solid a piece of equipment the XPA-5 is. My older receiver doesn’t do HDMI, thus it can’t do any of the new Blue-Ray audio formats.
What I have:
Pioneer 1015TX Receiver
Front: Definitive Technology Mythos STS Speakers (Remember each has a 300w powered subwoofer built in)
Center Def Tech Mythos 9
Surrounds – Def Tech Gems
Sony BDP-N460 Blue Ray player. HDMI to switch to HDMI-DVI adaptor to TV. Digital Coaxial to Receiver
Direct TV HD-DVR. HDMI to switch to HDMI-DVI adaptor to TV. Optical to Receiver
XBOX 360. Component to TV, Optical to Receiver
IPod adapter: RCA to Receiver.
Buttkicker on the way.
Recently I purchased a full Definitive Technology Surround system from my local high-end dealer, replacing a 15 year old Cambridge Soundworks surround setup. Flame me if you like - the new speaker system sounded AWESOME but it also revealed some of the limitations of my system (Got rid of the weakest link, revealing the next weakest component). For the first time I heard distortion at higher volumes, mainly on simple things such as a woman singing (Jane Monheit), piano strikes, and anything with strings.
Hmm, research time…
I don’t even remember how I stumbled onto Emotiva but I’m glad I did. I couldn’t afford or justify a famous name, big dollar amp for thousands but I could probably pull off something costing 3 figures. I struggled for a long time with several factors including where on my rack to put it, and how would I sneak it past my wife who is still sensitive from the cash I spent on the speaker system. I also pondered which amp to buy? After reading the Emotiva lounge board (lots of other boards and reviews also) and calling Emotiva directly I settled on a XPA-5 for my regular 5.1 system. The Def Techs are pretty efficient (93db front , 91 others) so I felt comfortable that 200wpc would be plenty.
The XPA-5 arrived on time and in perfect condition. The Fed Ex driver was thrilled that I was there to carry it off the truck for her. I settled on the bottom spot on my rack for stability – it fit with 1” to spare.
Wiring was easy – I bought Ultra series RCA cables to connect the receiver pre-amp outputs to the amp and Ultra speaker wire to re-wire the front and center speakers. Now it was time for power-up – no issues, no hum, and no problem with my heavily loaded circuit. My biggest fear was that I would have spent all this money on the amp and that I wouldn’t hear any difference vs. my receiver. Well, my fears were put to rest immediately. I didn’t have to carefully listen for improvement – it presented itself to me immediately. I played the same music I mentioned before – no distortion at any volume level that I could tolerate. It sounded great. Strings and piano strikes sound almost three-dimensional. The lack of the esoteric audio review value of “listening fatigue” became obvious as well – I could listen to music cranked for hours without having to turn it down for a break. I re-discovered all my old music. Xbox Games and Movie soundtracks are awesome. Between the amp and the speakers I now know just how many cuss words are captured by the fancy parabolic mic guys during televised football games.
The wife factor: She ended up loving it. She thought it looked nice and she said she could certainly tell the difference. She might be saying that because I’m now spending less time in bars and more time with her in the living room. Whichever it is – no objections. My son loves it too – I came home early the other night to find him cranking Metallica at volumes that mere mortals cannot endure.
So would I buy this amp if I had to do it all over again – hell yes! I have never had separates so I can’t compare the amp to anything else other than the receivers I've owned. It doesn’t matter because my system now sounds great. If you are looking to make your receiver sound better or to begin the move to separates – I would say go for it.
P.S. I now plan on getting a UMC-1 processor, when available, based on how solid a piece of equipment the XPA-5 is. My older receiver doesn’t do HDMI, thus it can’t do any of the new Blue-Ray audio formats.
