What is Best for Me? 2 x UPA-1 or one XPA-2?

[baniels]

These are some awesome looking speakers. What a great job you did. I wish I had a gift like that.

Thanks - I'm glad you like them. Looks are great, but the sound is incredible. To be honest, the most important ingredient for me was patience and pace. The really gifted ones are the guys designing high quality speakers in their spare time.

 

[Pyrrho]

I won't pull out those cards.

See my poker face?

As my 8 yr old daughter would say, "Not I!"

I see the points made by both sides, and since this is just a fun hobby, it's cool to agree to disagree.

If we can tell the difference ---- that's great.

And if we can't tell the difference ---- that's cool too.

No harm done whatsoever.

If people could tell the difference, that would be fine. What is not fine is believing that one can tell the difference when one cannot. If I claimed to be able to see into your bedroom from where I am sitting right now, would you believe me without proper evidence? If not, then why would you believe some story about what someone claims to hear without proper evidence?

 

[GranteedEV]

If I claimed to be able to see into your bedroom from where I am sitting right now, would you believe me without proper evidence?

Whether I believe you or not, I would call the RCMP!!!

 

[Pyrrho]

...
I find that the more you invest in the utmost in revealing speakers it truly starts to translate up the river of electronics involved in the chain... Some people will also state unequivocally that electronics are all the same, and from my experience it couldn't be farther from the truth...
...

I have a pair of speakers that many regard as some of the most revealing speakers one can get, the Apogee Stage. Ordinary wire and ordinary electronics (except the amplification being adequate for dealing with their 3 ohm impedance and fairly low sensitivity) is fine with them. They are still the weak link in the chain, not the ordinary CD changer and ordinary other things connected to them.

If one's amplification is adequate to drive the speakers, the speakers (and source recording) will be the weak links in the chain, for any equipment that is decently made and has any pretensions to decent fidelity.

 

[Pyrrho]

Whether I believe you or not, I would call the RCMP!!!

Call them, and they will have a nice story about the lunatic who imagines people are watching them from far, far away, in the US.

 

[Theresa]

I would get the XPA-2. The UPA-1s don't handle low impedance loads as well (see THD spec is quite high for 4 ohm loads). I don't know what sort of load your speakers present.

 

[Adam]

Call them, and they will have a nice story about the lunatic who imagines people are watching them from far, far away, in the US.

Ahhh, the joy of innocence. Just wait until Alex PM's you with a description of your house.

 

[Warpdrv]

It's only conjecture, but it sounds to me like your amps are low sensitivity while your receiver has weak "throw away" preouts. I honestly don't have a clue what exactly is happening, but it sounds like this is one of those case of operating outside its limitations. I'm not convinced it's just "2 channel preamp" magic. Obviously if there's a major audible difference, it's something.

the other possibility, is that your receiver is doing something funky to the phase relationship between the speakers, warping your soundstage. Did you set speaker trims and distances manually by any chance?

I think at the end of the day, any comparision done at home is always subject to countless unknown, unidentified sources of error.



I'm not gonna lie, this one's a pretty dubious claim, unless the DAC is the audiophile sort that has built in EQ to appeal to people.

I don't want to derail this thread any more then I already have - So I'll take this to a new post, as I'm intrigued with the results I have found....

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/76465-can-source-components-better-quality-signal-path-make-difference.html#post835128

 

[moves]

PENG
There is no need to get hostile. Just because I prefer the sound of Cinepro, Threshold and Belles amps over most other amps.

I thought you said that amps have no impact on sound???????

 

[moves]

For receivers, you would need at least something like an AVR-4311 if you room is relatively small, such as less than 2500 sq. ft and you don't listen to classical music at live concert SPL.

2500 sq ft???????????????????????/ thats that size of a HUGE house?????

 

[PENG]

2500 sq ft???????????????????????/ thats that size of a HUGE house?????

Thanks for catching another typo of mine. I meant cu ft not sq. ft. There is no point talking about sq ft without knowing the height.

 

[GranteedEV]

I thought you said that amps have no impact on sound???????

No one said that they have ```no```` impact on sound.

Let me redirect you to my own post in your own thread:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/836861-post49.html