Denon X4400H with Emotiva XPA gen3 power amps

S

SpiritRises

Audiophyte
Hi guys

i am deciding to buy Emotiva Audio XPA5 5-channel audio amplifier in order to drive my Front Left / Right and Center channels with two rear surrounds.

i already have Denon X4400H so do i really need this power amp?does it make a noticeable difference?

and as far as i read on the internet, Emotiva power amps do some hissing noise or humm whatever it is called.Is that normal? does any other power amp brand make the same noises?

and i have read some information about being in phase or out of phase for the speakers.I really could not understand what they have been talking about.What do they mean by phase?

if i buy Emotiva, is there anything i should pay attention to when connecting speakers or channels etc ?

thanks in advance.


Edit: Klipsch RP-260F

Klipsch 440C

RP-160M for rears

2x Klispch R-112SW
 
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G

Grandzoltar

Full Audioholic
Phase is the timing of the cone in relation to your other speakers. X4400 should auto correct all of that. But you could get Dirac with UMIK-1 and get even more technical but audessy works fine for me. I would do a three channel amp your Denon can push all your surrounds.
 
Paul DS

Paul DS

Full Audioholic
Hi guys

i am deciding to buy Emotiva Audio XPA5 5-channel audio amplifier in order to drive my Front Left / Right and Center channels with two rear surrounds.

i already have Denon X4400H so do i really need this power amp?does it make a noticeable difference?

and as far as i read on the internet, Emotiva power amps do some hissing noise or humm whatever it is called.Is that normal? does any other power amp brand make the same noises?

and i have read some information about being in phase or out of phase for the speakers.I really could not understand what they have been talking about.What do they mean by phase?

if i buy Emotiva, is there anything i should pay attention to when connecting speakers or channels etc ?

thanks in advance.


Edit: Klipsch RP-260F

Klipsch 440C

RP-160M for rears

2x Klispch R-112SW
If you are using Klipsch speakers it is highly doubtful that you need more amplification. You can run those speakers very loud using less than 20 watts. Your Denon should have more than enough amp power to make your ears bleed.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
@SpiritRises
Couple things to consider before you buy an amp:
What are your goals and listening habits? How far from your speakers are you, how big is your room, how loud do you like to listen, what percentage Music/HT?

Even though Klipsch is known to fudge the sensitivity spec, they still test higher than avg. sensitivity... meaning of course, they will play louder with less juice. As an example, say your L/R performed at 92dB@1m with 1 watt, you will have the following:
2w = 95dB
4w = 98dB
8w = 101dB
16w = 104dB
32w = 107dB
64w = 110dB, and so on with an increase of 3dB for every doubling of power.
In-room, you will lose, say 3dB for every doubling of distance away from your speaker, so if you sit 3m (~9') away you should experience reference level dynamic peak with just over 32w being used.
There are of course other acoustical issues that come into play, however I will say, that if you listened that loud all the time: you will go deaf. ;)

A handy tool to play with is this online SPL calculator:
Peak SPL Calculator

If you asked me whether I think you should buy an amp: no, you don't really need one. You may want one, and that is fine!. ;)

Please understand that Amps and receivers, at the level you are purchasing in, should not affect SQ in any way. Only speakers do: the individual drivers are transducers that convert electrical signal to soundwave. THIS is what make a difference in SQ. That, the build of the box, and the way the speaker overall interacts with your room.

All of this brings us back to the earlier question: what are your goals and habits?

Re: your other questions: I have heard that many amps, in general, can impart a slight hiss, usually through the tweeter. It should not be audible when in use. I have not heard anything specifically wrong with Emo Amps.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
Ryan gave a detailed response already but I would like to add a couple of points.

- double the distance you would actually lose 6 dB, Ryan cited only 3 but I am sure that's because he expects for most rooms you should get some "room gain", at least for the first doubling of distance. If you sit say 4 meters (doubling twice) away though, expect to lose more than 6 dB total for sure, probably more like 8 to 10 dB.

- Some of the older XPA amps have much higher gain than the nominal 27 to 30 dB for most AVRs and power amp. Amps with such higher gain, say 32 dB, combined with 93 to 97 dB/2.83V sensitive Klipsch speakers, you may hear some quiet but audible hiss.
 
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D

Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
Hi guys

i am deciding to buy Emotiva Audio XPA5 5-channel audio amplifier in order to drive my Front Left / Right and Center channels with two rear surrounds.

i already have Denon X4400H so do i really need this power amp?does it make a noticeable difference?

and as far as i read on the internet, Emotiva power amps do some hissing noise or humm whatever it is called.Is that normal? does any other power amp brand make the same noises?

and i have read some information about being in phase or out of phase for the speakers.I really could not understand what they have been talking about.What do they mean by phase?

if i buy Emotiva, is there anything i should pay attention to when connecting speakers or channels etc ?

thanks in advance.


Edit: Klipsch RP-260F

Klipsch 440C

RP-160M for rears

2x Klispch R-112SW
Hey I have an Emotiva Gen 3 3 channel for my front 3 towers 3 of the Klipsch RP 8000f's.

I never hear a hiss or any sound at all it runs dead quiet.

It sounds great and what I mean l
by that is it sounds like any other amp I've used that's a good one in that you can't really tell how it sounds at all it provides power and reproduces the sounds the way it's intended. That's it nothing more

I have mine paired with the Denon X4400H I run the front 3 with the gen 3 it sounds really good I think you'd enjoy it

You just need to decide as a few have already mentioned if in your room do you really need it. If not that's money saved.

Best of luck!
 
S

SpiritRises

Audiophyte
my current room size is 40m² and i could not maintain the acoustic.There is no carpet in the room and it does not have any shape.The main listening area is rectangle but the right and left side don't have any walls and opens to another rooms which are 3 or 4m².And the back of the main listening area is wide open.You can imagine that i am sitting in a place that covered with 3 little rooms and 1 kitchen with no walls or doors seperating those roooms or kitchen or main listening area.And there is no carpet on the ground.

So i could not maintain the acoustic and probably will not be able to.So i am moving to 20-21m² room that can be esignable much more easier.And my main listening area i mean the sofa will be maximum 2-2.5 meters away from the screen.And i will my rear surrounds most probably 1.5meters away.

For a 40m² or more sized rooms should i need a power amp?

and for 20-25m² sized room i will not need an amp right?

i mainly use my system for movies by the way.

Denon states 125watt for each channel for the Denon X4400H but i do not think that can feed that much power on a channel.What can be the real power of the channels when the all channels get drive?

I also use 7.2.4 Atmos setup.I achived that via my old Pioneer VSX-921K AV receiver in order to drive 2 atmos channels.Denon only supports 9.2 and i could able to add 2 channels more via Pioneer VSX 921K.

And i am using Logitech Z906 speakers for as my ceiling atmos speakers:)
is it a right thing that i am using z906 speakers as atmos speakers? if i change them with the Klipsch ceiling 3800 or 5800 series , will there be any significant difference?

Thank you all for your advices and replies.

EDIT: i could find the pictures i have taken before.The subwoofers are located in all the way the right and left corner of the whole area.So for the area in the pictures, should i get a power amp?

room01.JPG
room02.JPG
room03.JPG
room04.JPG
room05.JPG
 
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P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
Hey I have an Emotiva Gen 3 3 channel for my front 3 towers 3 of the Klipsch RP 8000f's.

I never hear a hiss or any sound at all it runs dead quiet.
Gen 3 has the more typical 29 dB gain and probably much better SNR spec than some of the gen 1 amps (don't remember which models) that have the higher 32 dB gain. Even then, hiss should only be a concern if the higher gain coincides with poorer noise specs and matching up with very sensitive tweeters.
 
D

Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
my current room size is 40m² and i could not maintain the acoustic.There is no carpet in the room and it does not have any shape.The main listening area is rectangle but the right and left side don't have any walls and opens to another rooms which are 3 or 4m².And the back of the main listening area is wide open.You can imagine that i am sitting in a place that covered with 3 little rooms and 1 kitchen with no walls or doors seperating those roooms or kitchen or main listening area.And there is no carpet on the ground.

So i could not maintain the acoustic and probably will not be able to.So i am moving to 20-21m² room that can be esignable much more easier.And my main listening area i mean the sofa will be maximum 2-2.5 meters away from the screen.And i will my rear surrounds most probably 1.5meters away.

For a 40m² or more sized rooms should i need a power amp?

and for 20-25m² sized room i will not need an amp right?

i mainly use my system for movies by the way.

Denon states 125watt for each channel for the Denon X4400H but i do not think that can feed that much power on a channel.What can be the real power of the channels when the all channels get drive?

I also use 7.2.4 Atmos setup.I achived that via my old Pioneer VSX-921K AV receiver in order to drive 2 atmos channels.Denon only supports 9.2 and i could able to add 2 channels more via Pioneer VSX 921K.

And i am using Logitech Z906 speakers for as my ceiling atmos speakers:)
is it a right thing that i am using z906 speakers as atmos speakers? if i change them with the Klipsch ceiling 3800 or 5800 series , will there be any significant difference?

Thank you all for your advices and replies.

EDIT: i could find the pictures i have taken before.The subwoofers are located in all the way the right and left corner of the whole area.So for the area in the pictures, should i get a power amp?

View attachment 29113View attachment 29114View attachment 29115View attachment 29116View attachment 29117
Hmmm I'm at work and I want some time to give you an answer so I'll hit this thread back later tonight tell you what I think.

I had a similar experience with yours I'm in a huge open room so maybe my experiences can help u with your decision

I'll hit this thread back later!
 
S

SpiritRises

Audiophyte
Hmmm I'm at work and I want some time to give you an answer so I'll hit this thread back later tonight tell you what I think.

I had a similar experience with yours I'm in a huge open room so maybe my experiences can help u with your decision

I'll hit this thread back later!

Waiting for your reply then..But as i mentioned above , i am moving to a room sized of 20-21 .I think i will be able achive better experience much more easier than the current room.But i do want to hear your experiences.My first serious setup and appereantly it was very challenging at least for me.I never thought that i am going to have that much acoustic problem.

Thanks in advance.
 
D

Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
Waiting for your reply then..But as i mentioned above , i am moving to a room sized of 20-21 .I think i will be able achive better experience much more easier than the current room.But i do want to hear your experiences.My first serious setup and appereantly it was very challenging at least for me.I never thought that i am going to have that much acoustic problem.

Thanks in advance.
Hey sorry I'm late getting back works been crazy

20190325_173156.jpg20190325_173107.jpg20190320_173340.jpg

Ok so that's my place just setup like yours is crazy crazy lots of walls and arches and open open space with no real place to setup surrounds can't wall mount them stands are just begging to get knocked over

Open big big space not sitting close lots of air to move in that room

lots of difficult reflections etc etc

So how I resolved my issues is 1 I went to all towers in my 7 bed layer surrounds
In picture 3 you see where I moved the SVS prime towers to surrounds and have the Klipsch towers upfront In picture 1 you see where I had the prime towers placed at just the right height on special stands I made

Using towers just improved dynamics helped move air and really helped out on when I wanted to get a good setup for listening to lower volumes

Using Klipsch really helped with directivity they have good controlled dispersion which helps with avoiding reflection problems that can come into factor in that room.

Wanting to use all towers and wanting to move some serious air not just loud but also for lower playback I found amps were necessary for me in a room that size.

They don't improve the sounds a good amp is neutral to the source but they allow you to hit good volume clean with great dynamics in big spaces like that

To help with the acoustical issues you have in that room making sure you have the right speakers using room correction room treatments and proper speaker setup in all positions should do a lot to help with your acoustical issues

The amps will just help to hit good volume level in that room size with clean no distortion neutral playback of the source. But power won't fix acoustical issues it may even make them easier to hear you can't power your way out of them

You have to utilize room treatments proper speaker layout and a good room correction program to help that

After that you use those amps to jam those speakers to any level you want!
 
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