what do you all suggest

[selkec]

OK. I am wondering what you all suggest. You can see in my sig what I have. In the past I have had Enotiva amps and like them. I sold them due to a hand suregery and dr bills. I had the xpa-1's and xpa-3. My system rocked. Let me explain my system, I run 4 towers full rangem the rtia9's up front and the rti 150's for rears. (the 150's put out alot of bass, more than the a9's by double). I have no sub. I live in an apartment. So my question is Im ready to buy either an amp or a sub. Which do you all think I should get. Im up to spending maybe $800. So I could get a pretty good sub then I would not need an amp to get the bass or I could get an Emotiva xpa-2, 3 or xpa-5. I like Emo. Its a great bang for the buck. So....I guess Im asking should I get a sub or an amp? Willing to maybe spend $800 but would rather spend 500-$600. Take in mind Im in an apartment. So, Im leaning back towards the xpa-4 for now then either an xpa-2 or 2 upa-1's. Any and all ideas welcome. Thanks everyone.

 

[Alex2507]

Which subs did you have in mind?

 

[GO-NAD!]

My gut reaction is that apartments and subs don't mix well. Of course, it all depends on how well sound isolation has been implemented in your building and the volume at which you typically listen.

Plus, although you have a good receiver, running those four towers full-range may be demanding on its power supply. Again, depends on the volume.

With no other info to go by, I vote for adding the amp. Good luck with your decision.

Too bad about the medical bills - hope all is well. If you lived here, you wouldn't have had to sell your emo's! Then again, if you lived here, your emo's would've cost you a lot more....

 

[selkec]

Not sure on the sub. Looking at Epik, Hsu research and Elemental designs and SVS. But I kind of think they will be so loud that I wont get good use of them. Bass seems to travel thru the walls alot more than higher frequencies. I think I may get an emo xpa-3 then later on upgrade with a xpa-2 or 2 upa-1's.

 

[Alex2507]

My gut reaction is that apartments and subs don't mix well.

Sure they do. You just need to pick your music and movie watching times with more care ... but you have to do that anyway in an multi dwelling building, right?

Cool read at HTS. I have a couple of Infinity PS-10 subs stacked which I'm hoping rank almost as well as the PS-12 sub but with a smaller box and smaller price tag.

I think it's clear that the SVS 10 incher blows everything out of the water with regards to extension but not necessarily SPL in a bigger box with a bigger price tag. I personally would be hard pressed to find the extra room and the extra funds but boy oh boy would I ever like having that extension. As has been mentioned several times by several people a Gramma isolation platform is pretty much mandatory. No reason not to get it right off the bat.

Another thing about the SVS deal that appeals to me is the front firing port. That makes up for some of it's size. I have my mains externally amplified and could deal with loosing the amp but not the subs ... not even one of the subs. I may not use them all the time but I ain't giving them up either.

If I am watching a movie later in the evening I tend to crank the center up 3db and tone the subs down 3db. I use to turn them off completely but this arrangement has produced zero complaints.

 

[Davemcc]

Too bad about the medical bills - hope all is well. If you lived here, you wouldn't have had to sell your emo's! Then again, if you lived here, your emo's would've cost you a lot more....

If you lived here, you wouldn't have medical bills but your new nickname would be lefty.

To the original question, I vote to save your money and accept the limitations of apartment living.