XPA-3 placement

[ougrad02]

And as for me I'll know what I think of Emotiva by tomorrow once everything is properly set up. Technical numbers and specifications are nice but when, at least in my case, the whole idea is to find something sounds good to you and is hopefully near your price range. So if my ears tell me tmrw that the amp is worth it than that's all that matters to me. If they don't then I'll consider some of the other mentioned amps.

 

[zumbo]

I was watching a movie

Really if that is the best you can do after I posted the link to Gene's review which says it all then you are the one slipping my friend. The fact of the matter is Emotiva amps are well built, well designed, and all indications are they sound and perform as good as anything else on the market, and they beat up on quite a few of them. One can not argue with facts and those are the facts.

Gene's review? I read it to the point where he said they said the amp was purposely designed to be used with a budget receiver.

Well built? Except for the ones that broke. Wait, did you have one of those?

Well designed? Didn't you correct me, and say it was the design quality that was the reason for .1%.

Sound? It has a sound? Oh, yeah. The .1%.

Beat up on? There is a 200WPC amp they beat up on?

Post it.

EDIT. You said "quite a few". So, post them.

 

[zumbo]

I will check back in the morning. This may take a while.

 

[GranteedEV]

harmonic distortion is not a very relevant stated spec. For starters, it gets higher as you raise the output.

If amp A does 180WPC at .03% THD and amp B does 200wpc at .1% THD and amp C does 300 wpc at 1%THD what does it mean? does it mean amp C will have the most distortion and amp A the least at the volumes we listen at?

Nope. For all we know amps A, B, and C are the same amp measured differently.

Lets stick to facts about amps that really matter... audibility of class AB crossover distortion, high current delivery, high voltage capabity, audibility of noise floor, infinitesmal output impedance, and high power efficiency.

Which is why Hypex UCD700 is where it's at

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Gene's review? I read it to the point where he said they said the amp was purposely designed to be used with a budget receiver.

Well built? Except for the ones that broke. Wait, did you have one of those?

Well designed? Didn't you correct me, and say it was the design quality that was the reason for .1%.

Sound? It has a sound? Oh, yeah. The .1%.

Beat up on? There is a 200WPC amp they beat up on?

Post it.

EDIT. You said "quite a few". So, post them.

I suggest you read the entire review then. Not sure why you are so hung up on the .1%? In real world listening it is meaningless.

From Gene's review

"Not only did the XPA-2 stomp the RPA-1 in terms of sheer output power, but it also bested my $7k 10 channel Denon POA-A1HDCI by a considerable margin. For example, with 1 CH driven into 8 ohms the XPA-2 delivered a whopping 312 watts while the POA-A1HDCI delivered around 185 watts. In 4 ohm loads, the XPA-2 delivered 515 watts while the POA-A1HDCI delivered 300 watts. In bridged mode it was especially interesting how the XPA-2 delivered nearly 2X the power of the POA-A1HDCI belting out 860 watts and sagging my 20A line from 119Vrms to 116Vrms in the process. This amplifier was so powerful that I had to create an elaborate series-parallel wiring scheme for my power resistors to avoid them turning into a grilled cheese sandwich. I was unable to achieve the 1 kwatt power that the XPA-2 is speced for in bridged mode but I am sure its achievable (at least momentarily) into hard clipping when using a variac to keep the line voltage at a constant 120Vrms. This is NOT a real world test scenario and one I don’t subscribe to when doing power tests."

 

[zumbo]

Not only did the XPA-2 stomp the RPA-1 in terms of sheer output power

RPA-1 is an Emo.

but it also bested my $7k 10 channel Denon POA-A1HDCI by a considerable margin

Denon POA-A1HDCI is a 150W 10-channel amp.

So, it's stomps it's predecessor, and it bested a 150W amp in output.

Well, you did find one 200WPC amp it stomped. Another Emo.

And the end of the review, che,che,chem, advertisement quote.

This is NOT a real world test scenario and one I don’t subscribe to when doing power tests.

 

[zumbo]

harmonic distortion is not a very relevant stated spec. For starters, it gets higher as you raise the output.

If amp A does 180WPC at .03% THD and amp B does 200wpc at .1% THD and amp C does 300 wpc at 1%THD what does it mean? does it mean amp C will have the most distortion and amp A the least at the volumes we listen at?

Nope. For all we know amps A, B, and C are the same amp measured differently.

So an Emo rated 200WPC with .1% could be an exaggerated output compared to an amp that is rated 200WPC with .005%?

Or, are you saying it is an exaggerated spec?

 

[zumbo]

Don't place the amp on the sub.

Build, or buy a simple shelf that will allow plenty of air circulation.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Well Zum it is quite obvious to all that you are biased against the company no matter how may people have told you they are good amps. I would take them in place of NAD, Adcom, Parasound, Rotel, Outlaw, any day of the weak at the prices they are asking.

I am using one of these for all my stuff. They work great and they are strong. Just add some casters and they roll around. They are less than 50 bucks at Lowes and you can get them in black or chrome.

 

[GranteedEV]

So an Emo rated 200WPC with .1% could be an exaggerated output compared to an amp that is rated 200WPC with .005%?

Maybe, although the difference might be a quarter decibel of unclipped headroom.

Basically, not a real world scenario. Nothing to get hung up on...different companies need to market their own way because there isn't a concrete written standard. 3rd Party Power Cube measurements are the number one most useful way of rating amps IMO.

But the general consensus on emotiva is that people are happy to own them. Sometimes people don't feel comfortable buying used old gear, plain and simple. Nor do they want to pay more. the end goal is amps that drive most loads well, and the XPAs are usually as good as most three to twenty times as costly new.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I use the VTI amp stands for my ATI amps:

View attachment 9278

I think it can hold over 300 lbs.

 

[just-some-guy]

I LOVE buying "made in USA".

but the fact is, if i did that every time. i would have hardly anything.
a 200wpc 3 channel amp at $3000+ = i can't justify that.

i didn't make this world. i just live in it.

 

[zumbo]

Just for the record, I am not flying the American flag here.

I actually prefer German products, but also wish to support tried and true brands who show respect for their employees by keeping them employed.

The whole idea of starting-up a company completely utilizing China manufacturing is not my idea of a good thing for our industry either.

 

[zumbo]

Look what I found:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1305752946&/Denon-POA-8300-3-channel-power

 

[GranteedEV]

Enthusiasts buying used products ain't exactly the greatest thing for the industry either.

 

[zumbo]

Enthusiasts buying used products ain't exactly the greatest thing for the industry either.

Sure it is. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, the enthusiastic owner of such a piece moved on to something better. I can guarantee it wasn't Emo.

Out with the old, and in with the new.

 

[zumbo]

And on top of that, if the idea here is to add power to a budget receiver such as the Emo review stated, what a perfect piece to do so.

Wish I knew then(when I purchased my Adcom), what I know now. I would be all over that Denon in a minute.

Made in Japan!

 

[ougrad02]

Zumbo,

Ok I'm considering buying that Denon just to compare the two. Do you think there will be an audible sound difference is or is your major beef the building up of a company on chinese manufacturing at the expense of a solid, tried and true brand? I'm just trying to build a system that I am happy with but some of these issues do interest me. I noticed the specs on the Denon:

120.0 Watt - 4.0 Ohm - THD 0.5 % - 3.0 channel(s)
200.0 Watt - 8.0 Ohm - THD 0.02 % - 3.0 channel(s)

Now please excuse my ignorance. I'm extremely new to the idea of separates. But in the above specs the THD is rated at 0.5% as opposed to the 0.1% on the xpa-3. So how is that better in terms of quality? I'm asking cause I'd like to learn and see your viewpoint.

I'd like to move eventually to the integra 40.1 at a discount used and use external amplification for all 5 channels. I was going to pick up the upa-2 from emotiva for the surrounds. But I'm happy to explore all avenues.

 

[ougrad02]

And as a disclaimer I don't know Emo's business model so when I say the part about a company starting by buidling up on chinese manufacturing I am not pointing out Emotiva. I have no idea about their business model.

Also to play devil's advocate I did hook up the xpa3 with my studio 60's and cc-590 and felt that it sounded great. Unfortunately not being a so called "audiophile" I can't really describe it in terms that others here could. I just felt like there was more clarity in the center and that overall things sounded more wide open. Only my random interpretation for whatever that means. I guess these terms can mean different things to different people so sorry for my newbie review lol.

 

[zumbo]

Those specs can't be right. Give me a minute.