Anyone have experience with the Emotiva XPA DR series? (Differential Reference amps)

[Landmonster]

So I will be in the market very soon for a high powered 3-channel amp. This would be used to power a Polk LSiM front stage, which is notoriously hard to drive to full potential.

I would really like 250+ watts per channel, but even 300+ would be fine, and not damaging to the speakers.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the new Emotiva XPA-DR3 (or DR2)? Here is a link: https://emotiva.com/products/xpa-dr3

It looks like a substantially beefier version of the XPA-3 gen3. It provides 450 watts RMS x 3 channels, into 8 Ohms, and supposedly had better quality sound.

According to Emotiva reps, the DR series is the best quality amps they are capable of making. Emotiva has stated that a DR series amp powering the front 2 or 3 channels, along with an XPA-5 powering the rest of your speakers, is the most stellar solution that they can provide from their products.


Questions

• Has anyone used one of these DR amps in person?
• Does this provide noticeably superior sound to the XPA-3?
• How would this amp compare to other branded competitors in ~$2000 price range? (Parasound, Outlaw, Monolith, ATI, etc)
• Is there anything in this $2,000 range that would obviously be a better performer?

Thanks for any thoughts or input on this.

 

[lovinthehd]

Well, after seeing your other amp post and now this.....my first thought is why not just get better speakers rather than sink this much money into mere amplification?

 

[Landmonster]

Well, I don't think $1-2k on amps is excessive.

I'm not sure what speakers I could get that would be much superior to the LSiM 707s for a small increase in cost... and those would require a real amp as well.

 

[lovinthehd]

Well, I don't think $1-2k on amps is excessive.

I'm not sure what speakers I could get that would be much superior to the LSiM 707s for a small increase in cost... and those would require a real amp as well.

I'd just put the speakers first, amp second. What's your cost on the 707s? I'd try to outspend on speakers by 3-4x (i.e. speakers over amplification)
.

 

[PENG]

So I will be in the market very soon for a high powered 3-channel amp. This would be used to power a Polk LSiM front stage, which is notoriously hard to drive to full potential.

I would really like 250+ watts per channel, but even 300+ would be fine, and not damaging to the speakers.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the new Emotiva XPA-DR3 (or DR2)? Here is a link: https://emotiva.com/products/xpa-dr3

It looks like a substantially beefier version of the XPA-3 gen3. It provides 450 watts RMS x 3 channels, into 8 Ohms, and supposedly had better quality sound.

According to Emotiva reps, the DR series is the best quality amps they are capable of making. Emotiva has stated that a DR series amp powering the front 2 or 3 channels, along with an XPA-5 powering the rest of your speakers, is the most stellar solution that they can provide from their products.


Questions

• Has anyone used one of these DR amps in person?
• Does this provide noticeably superior sound to the XPA-3?
• How would this amp compare to other branded competitors in ~$2000 price range? (Parasound, Outlaw, Monolith, ATI, etc)
• Is there anything in this $2,000 range that would obviously be a better performer?

Thanks for any thoughts or input on this.

I would pay a little more to get something like the AT523NC. $2000 for a so called "reference differential" class AB/H 300/500 W amp is too good to be true, don't trust that approach.

 

[Pogre]

I still think 200 wpc channel is plenty for those speakers. You're not even gaining 2 dB going from 200 to 300 watts. You have to double your power to gain 3 dB.

That said I agree whole heartedly with hd. If they're that much trouble then I'd be looking for new speakers.

 

[Pogre]

Well, I don't think $1-2k on amps is excessive.

I'm not sure what speakers I could get that would be much superior to the LSiM 707s for a small increase in cost... and those would require a real amp as well.

No, they wouldn't. You can find higher sensitivity speakers in that price range that are very comparable in build and sound quality that would require no additional amplification. If you pick more sensitive speakers and put your amp money into your speaker budget you could come out waaaayyy ahead and you'll actually be able to hear where your money went.

 

[CARTMAN]

Pogre i inadvertentatly clicked the Reoprt tab in your responce to Landmonster. Sorry didn't mean to.

 

[Pogre]

There goes my perfect record...

I'm pretty sure the reports go to a mod thread for review so no harm, no foul.

 

[Gmoney]

@OP, what PENG said, have you looked at Outlaw? they have a monoblock that’s 200 @8Ohms a couple of those little monsters will do those LSiM’s justice.

 

[TLS Guy]

Which LSiM speakers are we talking about? Many of those speakers are not able to be driven by anything. I suspect you are heading up the wrong alley thinking an amp change will solve your problem. You see a lot of those speakers have serious fundamental design flaws.

 

[PENG]

Which LSiM speakers are we talking about? Many of those speakers are not able to be driven by anything. I suspect you are heading up the wrong alley thinking an amp change will solve your problem. You see a lot of those speakers have serious fundamental design flaws.

As hd linked in post#2, he has had 6 pages of responses already on another similar thread..

Recommend a good 5 channel 200+WPC amp?

Hi guys. Like the title says, I am looking for a 5 channel amp with at least 200 WPC @ 8 ohms. I would like as little distortion as possible, with the best SQ. I will be using these to drive 2 Polk LSiM 707s up front, 1 706c center, and 2 surrounds... which I have not decided on the LSiM...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[Pogre]

Which LSiM speakers are we talking about? Many of those speakers are not able to be driven by anything. I suspect you are heading up the wrong alley thinking an amp change will solve your problem. You see a lot of those speakers have serious fundamental design flaws.

We've tried to explain it to him. He doesn't care, lol.

 

[TLS Guy]

As hd linked in post#2, he has had 6 pages of responses already on another similar thread..

Recommend a good 5 channel 200+WPC amp?

Hi guys. Like the title says, I am looking for a 5 channel amp with at least 200 WPC @ 8 ohms. I would like as little distortion as possible, with the best SQ. I will be using these to drive 2 Polk LSiM 707s up front, 1 706c center, and 2 surrounds... which I have not decided on the LSiM...

forums.audioholics.com

Sorry I missed that link. Trying to improve those speakers by purchasing an amp is trying to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!"

 

[CARTMAN]

Just my 2 cents worth..... After going around and around with amps ( Rotel , McIntosh, Outlaw, almost Emotiva) I wound up purchasing 2 each Monolith 7 x 200 this week on Amazon $1400.00 prime free shipping. My AV is the Marantz 8805, Klipsch RF 7 L&R, RF -64 III C, 4ea RP-502S for Atmos, Boston Acoustics VR-M60 S&B, 2 ea SVS PB 4000 Subs. I am extremely happy with the end results.
Thanks to all the great feed back from you guys.

 

[Am_P]

So I will be in the market very soon for a high powered 3-channel amp. This would be used to power a Polk LSiM front stage, which is notoriously hard to drive to full potential.

I would really like 250+ watts per channel, but even 300+ would be fine, and not damaging to the speakers.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the new Emotiva XPA-DR3 (or DR2)? Here is a link: https://emotiva.com/products/xpa-dr3

It looks like a substantially beefier version of the XPA-3 gen3. It provides 450 watts RMS x 3 channels, into 8 Ohms, and supposedly had better quality sound.

According to Emotiva reps, the DR series is the best quality amps they are capable of making. Emotiva has stated that a DR series amp powering the front 2 or 3 channels, along with an XPA-5 powering the rest of your speakers, is the most stellar solution that they can provide from their products.


Questions

• Has anyone used one of these DR amps in person?
• Does this provide noticeably superior sound to the XPA-3?
• How would this amp compare to other branded competitors in ~$2000 price range? (Parasound, Outlaw, Monolith, ATI, etc)
• Is there anything in this $2,000 range that would obviously be a better performer?

Thanks for any thoughts or input on this.

Did you ever end up getting this DR3 amp? Any comparisons you were able to make to a higher powered class AB?

 

[Landmonster]

Did you ever end up getting this DR3 amp? Any comparisons you were able to make to a higher powered class AB?

Hello,

I still have 7 speakers, so I am using the Emotiva XPA-7 gen3. I never got around to purchasing a DR3, I'm not sure if it would provide any noticeable upgrade.

 

[Am_P]

Hello,

I still have 7 speakers, so I am using the Emotiva XPA-7 gen3. I never got around to purchasing a DR3, I'm not sure if it would provide any noticeable upgrade.

Here are the comparisons i have made on my 5.2.4 setup with a Yamaha RX-A3070's preouts running to a Monolith 5x200 and a XPA-3 Gen3.

- Monolith Vs RX-A3070 level matched for 2 channel listening: The Monolith had more bass, less detail in the mids and rolled off highs in comparison. I could have tried to live with it, but, the amp had intermittent pops on a channel (defective) and I returned it.

- Monolith VS XPA-5 gen3 Vs RX-A3070 level matched for 2 channel listening: I borrowed this xpa-5 gen3 from a friend for auditing. Tighter bass/mid bass, resolution in the mids is about the same, the highs have a shrillness/started to get fatiguing after a longer listening session.

Since the DR3 is a full differential design and maybe they've tweaked/refined this Class H implementation more than they did with the XPA-3 gen3 (it is their reference model), it could sound better perhaps...but, i would like to know as well. I am trying to find a multichannel amp that's a justifiable step up from the 3070's internal amp section, as i plan to go separates with a prepro in the future.

 

[Landmonster]

My Emotiva XPA-7 Gen 3 is running off of my Denon X4500 receiver as the pre-amp, which may not be as good as your RXA-3070 receiver.

I can safely say a few things:

1) I can safely say that the XPA-7 provided a huge sound quality increase and more bass than the Denon, but that was to be expected. It is especially noticeable at higher volumes, and with more speakers connected (5 or 7, vs 3) I have never done any direct A/B testing to other amps, and have not tried a different pre-amp.

2) I suspect I'd likely need a better pre-amp to get more sound quality out of the system, before buying the XRA DR3.

3) To really get the full benefit of my current amp, or especially a DR3, I probably would also need some fully balanced XLR cables. I am using just the Bluejeans RCA cables, which are good, but probably not designed to take full advantage of the DR3 differential design.


Without spending huge amounts of money, it's hard to do direct A/B testing with this kind of stuff.

 

[lovinthehd]

Here are the comparisons i have made on my 5.2.4 setup with a Yamaha RX-A3070's preouts running to a Monolith 5x200 and a XPA-3 Gen3.

- Monolith Vs RX-A3070 level matched for 2 channel listening: The Monolith had more bass, less detail in the mids and rolled off highs in comparison. I could have tried to live with it, but, the amp had intermittent pops on a channel (defective) and I returned it.

- Monolith VS XPA-5 gen3 Vs RX-A3070 level matched for 2 channel listening: I borrowed this xpa-5 gen3 from a friend for auditing. Tighter bass/mid bass, resolution in the mids is about the same, the highs have a shrillness/started to get fatiguing after a longer listening session.

Since the DR3 is a full differential design and maybe they've tweaked/refined this Class H implementation more than they did with the XPA-3 gen3 (it is their reference model), it could sound better perhaps...but, i would like to know as well. I am trying to find a multichannel amp that's a justifiable step up from the 3070's internal amp section, as i plan to go separates with a prepro in the future.

How'd you do the quick switching between monolith and 3070 after level matching? Take measurements to back up all those changes in frequency response?