Emotiva xpa-3 or Outlaw 5000x?

[audiophool7878]

You should take the advice of your first sentence. Since you didn't like them that doesn't mean that the OP or anyone else doesn't like them. But you try to push your agenda. He already owns the speakers why would you go there when he's asking for amplification recommendations. SMH

Ya. I really woukd like to make these work if I can

 

[audiophool7878]

I also have the LSi9's. 4- LSi9, 1- LSiC, 2-LSi7's in a 7.1 system. I powered the system with the Denon 4806 without issue never felt I was running the receiver too hard. I've also connected external amplification (200w) but notice no audible difference.
That being said based on your room size, based on your volume levels, your receiver will drive them without issue

Man that means a lot to hear from someone who has actually used similar gear. Thanks very much brother. Have you ever really turned them up loud? In either 2 channel or multi? Played loud for extended periods of time?
I would also really be interested to see how you had them crossed over? Were you ever running full range? Any little details like that you can offer will be much appreciated.

Thanks again

 

[audiophool7878]

Also Id love to know how long you were running all 7 speakers on the 4806 for before you added external amps.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have a Denon 5308ci flagship and am on the fence about whether or not to add external amplification as well.

I used to own the 5308 for a while until I sold it a few months ago. And it wasn’t because of the power output capability. That thing is a beast.

The AVR-5308 can output 336W x 2CH into 4 ohms.
The RX-A3080 can output 294W x 2CH into 4ohms.
The RX-A2080 can output 260W x 2CH into 4 ohms.
The X8500 can output 256W x 2CH into 4 ohms.

I am confident the 5308 can power just about any speaker.

If you are still concerned about having to use the volume of -10, send me a PM and I can tell you what kind of settings I used for my 5308.

 

[PENG]

Man that means a lot to hear from someone who has actually used similar gear. Thanks very much brother. Have you ever really turned them up loud? In either 2 channel or multi? Played loud for extended periods of time?
I would also really be interested to see how you had them crossed over? Were you ever running full range? Any little details like that you can offer will be much appreciated.

Thanks again

I thought you said you only turned it up to -10 so what's the concern? If you tell me what you anticipate to be the worse condition based on your listening habit (such as maximum seating distance, full range or with sub and crossover setting, maximum SPL you listen to, would you run 5 ch stereo mode, do you listen to music that has low dynamic range at loud level?) then I can tell you what kind of amp you need with high degree of confidence.

If you don't want to provide such details, then I would suggest you either spend $20 on two usb fans, put them on top of the 5308, or go for the Outlaw 5000 since you mention that's the only one that fits your budget (not exact words but something like that iirc). Keep in mind the official Polk Audio specs as follow:

That tells me a 200 W, 4 Ohm rated amp is adequate, more may be better but power not used will not contribute to sound quality, so that's why I would need more details of your specific "conditions" in order to predict if you even need the cheap Outlaw, or something more capable.

Anyone who tell you power that you never tapped into will "open up.....your speakers blablabla.." simply does not much about how electricity (voltage, current, power, impedance etc..) works.

 

[audiophool7878]

I am confident the 5308 can power just about any speaker.

I really appreciate your time and input.
How about powering 5x4ohm speakers for a 5.1. You mentioned the 2 channels driven power specs and I was wondering if your confidence in this receiver extented to 5 channel duty using all 4ohm speakers.

 

[audiophool7878]

"If you don't want to provide such details"

There wasn't any part of anything that I wrote which suggested a reluctance to "provide such details".

I did detail my listening habbits, but that doesn't preclude me from asking other people what their experience has been taking their equiptment further than I would tend to take mine. The purpose of asking such questions is to gain further insight into the real world limits and capability of my gear.

If I am misinterpreting the intended tone of your comment then i apolgize but the way it was worded seemer a bit finger waggy and I'm really not here for that. Everyone who has replied thus far to this point has been extremely helpful and to the point.

I appreciate your feedback as well and I'll simply restate that I have already given accurate parameters for my general listening habits (-10 db on the dial with -1.5 trims), room size (medium, listening about 9-10 feet away), gear (polk lsi 5 speakers system crossed over to svs subs at 80hz), and budget ($700). If I go on to ask people about their experience which might reach beyond my own stated limits that is only for the sake of knowledge and not because I am changing my story.

Again, I very much appreciate your time and feedback as with anyone else.

 

[PENG]

There wasn't any part of anything that I wrote which suggested a reluctance to "provide such details".

I did detail my listening habbits, but that doesn't preclude me from asking other people what their experience has been taking their equiptment further than I would tend to take mine. The purpose of asking such questions is to gain further insight into the real world limits and capability of my gear.

If I am misinterpreting the intended tone of your comment then i apolgize but the way it was worded seemer a bit finger waggy and I'm really not here for that. Everyone who has replied thus far to this point has been extremely helpful and to the point.

I appreciate your feedback as well and I'll simply restate that I have already given accurate parameters for my general listening habits (-10 db on the dial with -1.5 trims), room size (medium, listening about 9-10 feet away), gear (polk lsi 5 speakers system crossed over to svs subs at 80hz), and budget ($700). If I go on to ask people about their experience which might reach beyond my own stated limits that is only for the sake of knowledge and not because I am changing my story.

Again, I very much appreciate your time and feedback as with anyone else.

You definitely misinterpreted my intents, but okay I might have used the wrong tone without realizing, it is very early in Ontario and I haven't even finished my first coffee, just too eager to try and help after seeing so many pages in short order. So apology not needed for either of us, just the info I asked, if you are interested in my take on your amp need, or whether the Outlaw is even needed.

Some of those responded so far may know that I have developed my own calculator based on Excel so I could not share it on this forum because the site would not accept Excel as an attachment. I did PM Gene weeks ago if AH would host it but no response so far, but I am willing to take the time to figure things out for you as long as I have the needed info. Otherwise there is no point as you have more than enough help already though may not totally tailored to your specific conditions as such, otherwise you wouldn't still have questions, unless I missed something.

 

[PENG]

I have already given accurate parameters for my general listening habits (-10 db on the dial with -1.5 trims), room size (medium, listening about 9-10 feet away), gear (polk lsi 5 speakers system crossed over to svs subs at 80hz), and budget ($700).

To be clear, I got all that, and thanks. But I meant "your worse case scenario" as others have already commented that the 5308 is fine, one even said it would do better than the Outlaw 5000 (if I understood him right). So my intent was to give you feedback based on "worse scenario", example: that you may want to crank things up once in a while, so instead of volume -10, may be -5, or even 0? Or you may listen to 5 Ch stereo, without cutting back from volume -10? Or you may occasionally, for certain music, run the LSi9 full range, and they do have very good bass response for their size. I don't do that but apparently some people enjoy that mode.

So again, what I am talking about are:
"maximum seating distance, full range or with sub and crossover setting (okay you did say 80 Hz, but always, or would do full range sometimes?, maximum SPL you listen to, would you run 5 ch stereo mode, do you listen to music that has low dynamic range at loud level? "

If you are not interested in "worse case scenario" requirement, then I concur with others, you don't need to pair your very capable AVR with a power amp, but I definitely would encourage you to put two fans on top, to protect your very nice AVR.

 

[mazersteven]

I really appreciate your time and input.
How about powering 5x4ohm speakers for a 5.1. You mentioned the 2 channels driven power specs and I was wondering if your confidence in this receiver extented to 5 channel duty using all 4ohm speakers.

Dude you keep going round and round basically asking the same question and we are on Page 5.

How many channels does your receiver have? THAT'S HOW MANY 4ohm SPEAKERS IT CAN DRIVE

Most of the misconception with these speakers and 4 ohm speakers in general is trying to drive them with a receiver that is not 4ohm stable and has low watts per channel.

 

[mazersteven]

I would also really be interested to see how you had them crossed over? Were you ever running full range?

If I remember correctly they was set to Small - crossed over at 60hz.

Your application I would try crossing at 60hz, and try at 80hz see how they sound to you

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I really appreciate your time and input.
How about powering 5x4ohm speakers for a 5.1. You mentioned the 2 channels driven power specs and I was wondering if your confidence in this receiver extented to 5 channel duty using all 4ohm speakers.

Yes, I am confident the AVR-5308 can power 5 x 4-ohm speakers for 5.1.

 

[mazersteven]

Yes, I am confident the AVR-5308 can power 5 x 4-ohm speakers for 5.1.

How Confident??? LOL

 

[Timforhifi]

You should take the advice of your first sentence. Since you didn't like them that doesn't mean that the OP or anyone else doesn't like them. But you try to push your agenda. He already owns the speakers why would you go there when he's asking for amplification recommendations. SMH

no agenda here at all

If you’ve had speakers for a long time and you still aren’t pleased with the sound maybe it’s time for a change. The Polk lsi have been out for a very long time. 5308 denon was from 2008 era. So I am assuming you’ve had these for awhile. I use to be a huge Polk fan, the rt2000p and cs1000p were my first real setup. I bought them from circuit city in 1996, I was 18 and worked in car audio there. Then I tried Polk rti12 and csi5 combo. Then Polk lsi setup back in 2009 era. The rti were better for me overall over lsi. The original rt2000 and cs1000 were the best Polk setup I owned. In my music setup I went through many other high end speakers and realized Polk are nice but I wanted something different.

maybe try a pair of new speakers off crutch field that you could easily return. Just remember to pick speakers that you like. If you’re home theater first pick something with great center channels. Plenty of brands out there that are music first and center channels are an after thought. For example jbl 590 towers are fantastic but the matching 530 center is well below average.

 

[lovinthehd]

no agenda here at all

If you’ve had speakers for a long time and you still aren’t pleased with the sound maybe it’s time for a change. The Polk lsi have been out for a very long time. 5308 denon was from 2008 era. So I am assuming you’ve had these for awhile. I use to be a huge Polk fan, the rt2000p and cs1000p were my first real setup. I bought them from circuit city in 1996, I was 18 and worked in car audio there. Then I tried Polk rti12 and csi5 combo. Then Polk lsi setup back in 2009 era. The rti were better for me overall over lsi. The original rt2000 and cs1000 were the best Polk setup I owned. In my music setup I went through many other high end speakers and realized Polk are nice but I wanted something different.

maybe try a pair of new speakers off crutch field that you could easily return. Just remember to pick speakers that you like. If you’re home theater first pick something with great center channels. Plenty of brands out there that are music first and center channels are an after thought. For example jbl 590 towers are fantastic but the matching 530 center is well below average.

FWIW the 530 is a bookshelf, the 520 is the center. I do wish the 520 were more substantial, but it works well enough....

Agree if sound quality is an issue then an amp isn't much of a solution....new speakers could well do the trick, tho.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How Confident??? LOL

100% confident.

 

[audiophool7878]

To be clear, I got all that, and thanks. But I meant "your worse case scenario" as others have already commented that the 5308 is fine, one even said it would do better than the Outlaw 5000 (if I understood him right). So my intent was to give you feedback based on "worse scenario", example: that you may want to crank things up once in a while, so instead of volume -10, may be -5, or even 0? Or you may listen to 5 Ch stereo, without cutting back from volume -10? Or you may occasionally, for certain music, run the LSi9 full range, and they do have very good bass response for their size. I don't do that but apparently some people enjoy that mode.

So again, what I am talking about are:
"maximum seating distance, full range or with sub and crossover setting (okay you did say 80 Hz, but always, or would do full range sometimes?, maximum SPL you listen to, would you run 5 ch stereo mode, do you listen to music that has low dynamic range at loud level? "

If you are not interested in "worse case scenario" requirement, then I concur with others, you don't need to pair your very capable AVR with a power amp, but I definitely would encourage you to put two fans on top, to protect your very nice AVR.

Just woke up. Thanks again for your input and apologies for my misinterpretation. I like to mess around with a 60hz crossover for 2 channel but thats the lowest I ever go and always 80hz when in multichannel. I prefer 2 channel to multichannel stereo so I never us multi chanel stereo.
I think the loudest I have ever been compelled to turn things up was -8 and that is not common for me, though if I though there was no problem with doing so i might try it more often.
I have never owned a proper spl meter but I did have one of those phone apps for it which I hear are quite accurate for db up to 90db. I dont believe Ive ever wanted to listen about 85db. I have prety good hearing I think for being 37 years old.
Im not too worried about being able to listen outside my main listening position for now

Pretty sure my next upgrade is going to be 3x monoprice monoblocks for my front stage. Jist gonna have to save a bit more.

 

[mazersteven]

Pretty sure my next upgrade is going to be 3x monoprice monoblocks for my front stage. Jist gonna have to save a bit more.

I'd rather go with proven monoblocks

Model 2220

Mono? Mini? Micro? Magnificent? Whatever that M is, this is one UNREAL little single-channel amp. 200 Watts (conservatively!) into a 3-inch chassis with balanced input stage to offer Common Mode Rejection! MANUAL See Front Panel Huge See Rear Panel Huge

outlawaudio.com

 

[audiophool7878]

Dude you keep going round and round basically asking the same question and we are on Page 5.

How many channels does your receiver have? THAT'S HOW MANY 4ohm SPEAKERS IT CAN DRIVE

Most of the misconception with these speakers and 4 ohm speakers in general is trying to drive them with a receiver that is not 4ohm stable and has low watts per channel.

Bud I wouldn't ask a question if I already knew the answer. Ill never understand why people who live in this forums get so uptight with people who come here to ask honest questions. I'm glad that you are as knowledgable as you are ok the subject and you should be. You are in here every day.

The all caps and the condecention is pretty silly.

If there is a question that I ask and you don't like it you are under no obligation to answer, much less to provide a snarky one.

Im an honest and kind person who is asking perfectly reasonable questions that 99.9% of people on the planet wouldnt have an answer to.

 

[audiophool7878]

I'd rather go with proven monoblocks

Model 2220

Mono? Mini? Micro? Magnificent? Whatever that M is, this is one UNREAL little single-channel amp. 200 Watts (conservatively!) into a 3-inch chassis with balanced input stage to offer Common Mode Rejection! MANUAL See Front Panel Huge See Rear Panel Huge

outlawaudio.com

I actually meant to say Outlaw, not monoprice