Any Better Deal Than The Emotiva XPA-3?

[Nestor]

I'm eyeing up the XPA-3 to free up the stress my Yammy RXA3000 experiences when pushed to reference levels.

On a few occasions, the AVR has gone into protection mode, usually during a high frequency transient. (Think gunshot) Surprising, since I didn't figure my Klipsch presented that much of a load. Though I am running 7 channels directly off of the AVR, this has occurred with only 5 channels.

Emotiva is having a Black Friday sale right now, and their XPA-3 is going for $719.00.

Anyone know of a competitive 3 channel amp that I should consider?

 

[agarwalro]

The $720 sale price would be tough to best unless you went to Audiogon.

 

[agarwalro]

If you can live with 2 ch, here are a couple of options,

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/solid-state-adcom-gfa-5500-power-amp-2013-11-11-amplifiers-65203

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/solid-state-parasound-hca-2200-ultra-high-current-dual-mono-amplifier-2013-10-24-amplifiers-canada

 

[ImcLoud]

No better value, 3- dayton apa150s {150x1 when wired mono} for $375 on sale rite now, but thats it, nothing else is going to give you 600w for $700...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My guess is that the Yamaha is not able to drive the 3.6 ohms load @ 179Hz, even though the RF83 is 94dB/2.83V/m.

Klipsch Reference RF-83 Speaker System HT Labs Measures | Sound & Vision

It might be nice if they could measure all the AVRs & Amps into 2 ohms, instead of just 4 ohms.

The $340 Harman Crown XLS 1500 can output 775W into 2 ohms, 525W into 4 ohms, 300W into 8 ohms, so it should do a great job.

 

[j_garcia]

No better value, 3- dayton apa150s {150x1 when wired mono} for $375 on sale rite now, but thats it, nothing else is going to give you 600w for $700...

But in bridged mode you're limited to 8 Ohms nominal, if that matters.

Very pleased with my XPA-3. You aren't going to find many 3ch amps on the market.

 

[Nestor]

My guess is that the Yamaha is not able to drive the 3.6 ohms load @ 179Hz, even though the RF83 is 94dB/2.83V/m.

Klipsch Reference RF-83 Speaker System HT Labs Measures | Sound & Vision

It might be nice if they could measure all the AVRs & Amps into 2 ohms, instead of just 4 ohms.

The $340 Harman Crown XLS 1500 can output 775W into 2 ohms, 525W into 4 ohms, 300W into 8 ohms, so it should do a great job.

That's a good point about the RF83's. The Daytons in bridge mode may not be able to handle the load.

 

[Nestor]

If you can live with 2 ch, here are a couple of options,

Adcom GFA-5500 Power Amp | Solid state | Columbia, Missouri 65203 | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

Parasound HCA-2200 Ultra High Current Dual Mono Amplifier | Solid state | AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community

Those are some good options. I have to say, I'm kinda stuck on having the same amp for LCR. Oh how I'd love to get my mitts on a used Parasound 3ch!

 

[agarwalro]

This is slightly higher than the budget and not as convenient as having a 3 ch amp,

3x Outlaw Audio Model 2200 mono blocks.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html

 

[RichB]

This is slightly higher than the budget and not as convenient as having a 3 ch amp,

3x Outlaw Audio Model 2200 mono blocks.

Model 2200 Monoblock Power Amplifier

I am not sure if you went there you can show for combos and get 3 x M2200's for $979.
Still $200 more than the Emotiva on sale.

Outlaw B-Stock is a good option too.
The were $275 x 3 = $825.

- Rich

 

[agarwalro]

I am not sure if you went there you can show for combos and get 3 x M2200's for $979.
Still $200 more than the Emotiva on sale.

Outlaw B-Stock is a good option too.
The were $275 x 3 = $825.

- Rich

I did, but not to the B Stock. $825 brings cost to the same ballpark. But, B Stock.

IMO, the Emotiva is value king at its sale price.

 

[Nestor]

Decision made.

Payment sent to Emotiva for one XPA-3!

Being in Canada, shipping, taxes, and duties puts it at US$971.64.

Or C$1049.00

Thanks for your help, guys.

 

[jinjuku]

Two Crown 1500XLS DriveCores for $680 from Amazon. Leaves you one channel unused.

 

[agarwalro]

Nice! Congrats on the upgrade.

Sucks that the cost went up that much.

 

[RichB]

I did, but not to the B Stock. $825 brings cost to the same ballpark. But, B Stock.

IMO, the Emotiva is value king at its sale price.

Emotive has the best prices out there. No doubt.

- Rich

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Emotive has the best prices out there. No doubt.

- Rich

I don't think so. Emotiva xpa5 is $900, so $180/200w/ch.

The crown xls1000 is $300, so it's $150/200w/ch.

 

[RichB]

I don't think so. Emotiva xpa5 is $900, so $180/200w/ch.

The crown xls1000 is $300, so it's $150/200w/ch.

I guess I had consumer amp on the brain

have be their been review with a full battery of measurements?

They lack triggers and WAF (mine anyway).

- Rich

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I guess I had consumer amp on the brain

have be their been review with a full battery of measurements?

They lack triggers and WAF (mine anyway).

- Rich

Yeah, I don't own any either. Not my aesthetic. But I have used them. They sound great. Plenty of headroom.

They should put the $150/200W/Ch into a 5Ch amp and turn consumer for $600.

 

[pro10is]

I'm looking into this too. Some people consider the Behringer iNUKE NU4-6000 pro amp a good alternative to the XPA-3 or even the XPA-5. The good news is that it will provide four channels with 315 watts RMS (into 8 ohms) for only about $470. The cons are that it is a Class D amp (although one person claims it sounds as good or better than the XPA-5), it has loud fans (although there is an easy mod for running nearly silent fans), you need converter for RCA inputs and speaker connections (although they are inexpensive), and it looks rather odd.

You can read more about it here: New iNuke NU4 6000 - 4 channel amp