Emotiva XPA-5???

[damnngina15]

I will start off by saying that I know a little bit about home audio but this is my first experience in breaking into the the higher end. I have always had a simple 5.1 setup with low end AVR's (JVC, HK, Pioneer). The system I have now is my first attempt at getting into something more upscale and I am looking for some opinions to help me out. I am currently in stationed in Iraq and when I was speaking to my wife the other night while her and the kids were playing Guitar Hero that they got for Christmas on our PS3. The wife said the sound was really nice but when they turned it up (she loves playing the music loud) it would lose its clairity and bass. I noticed this a little bit too before as I listened to it before I got deployed. I told her to get a better sound we probably need to get a seperate power amp rather than using the one in the reciever. She said lets do it (JACKPOT!). I have been looking around and I think the Emotiva XPA-5 will fit my bill. They seem to be really good for the money, have excellent customer service, and I really like their upgrade option (40% off future orders). I also have been thinking about a used Rotel RMB 1095 or a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature II. If anyone could give me their two cents worth on either of these or any other way to help my setup. Speaking of which this is what I am currently running.

Denon AVR -2807
PS3
APC H15 Power Conditioner
Front: Deftech BP7004
Rear: Deftech BP1.2X
Center: Deftech C/L/R 2300

Also on a side note I was wondering if it would be better to hook a power amp up through the Power Conditioner or run it strait from the wall outlet. The budget I am looking at for the amp is $1500 or less. Thanks for your help.

 

[JerryLove]

It depends on whether the problem is with the amp or the speakers.

The emotiva amps have some reports of cib death (amp failure in the first couple of months) which is generally delt with by customer service. Other than that they have a good reputation.

The Denon 2807 isnt' a wuss, but the DefTechs may be power hungry. If that's the issue we need to start by determining how much power you actually need. Since there are some DefTech aficinados on this board, I'll wait for someone more familiar with your speakers to comment.

 

[AVRat]

How were the 7004s hooked up? I see there’s no separate sub. Did you split off the sub/LFE to each speaker and set a ~80Hz x-over for the rest of the speaker? Or did you just run speaker wires to each speaker? The 2807 should power the 7004s just fine either way, but the former method may help take some stress off to provide more strength for the above x-over point frequencies.

However, adding an amp like the Emo, Sunfire, Rotel, etc. will really allow them to open up.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The BP7004 has a built-in powered subwoofer. o matter how you hook them up, the only drivers the Denon receiver are powering are the tweeters & midranges, which require a lot less power than the subwoofer.

In other words, the BP7004 is very efficient and require very little power.

At one point I was using a HK receiver rated at 50 watts per channel to effectively power my BP7000SCs.

 

[sawzalot]

Emo recommends plugging their XPA-5 directly into the 20 amp designated wall receptacle bypassing the power conditioner.
I have mine set-up in this manner and could not be more pleased with the performance, oh yeah did I mention I love my EMO,

 

[oppman99]

The bad news is that the XPA-5 is out of stock. I ordered one a couple of days ago and was told they would not ship until February, but the good news is you can still get the sale price if you order by the end of the month.

This will be my fourth Emotiva amp, and I've never had any issues with the ones I have.

 

[damnngina15]

How were the 7004s hooked up? I see there’s no separate sub. Did you split off the sub/LFE to each speaker and set a ~80Hz x-over for the rest of the speaker? Or did you just run speaker wires to each speaker? The 2807 should power the 7004s just fine either way, but the former method may help take some stress off to provide more strength for the above x-over point frequencies.

However, adding an amp like the Emo, Sunfire, Rotel, etc. will really allow them to open up.

I have the 7004's hooked up with speaker wire going to each speaker. I used a y-splitter for the sub channel coming off of the reciever and ran it into the LFE connection on each 7004. I can't quite remember since I am in Iraq right now but I believe I have it set up with the Fronts set to large and the x-over at 80Hz. I know that the 7004s each have thier own built in powered sub which is one of the reasons why we went with them, but do you think a seperate powered sub would be a better way to go? (Might have to move a fake palm tree to make some room) For some reason to me it seems like there should be alot more low end with a 300 watt amp for each sub in each speaker. I also notice that in movies I seem to get more low end responce but not so much when listening to music. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[damnngina15]

The bad news is that the XPA-5 is out of stock. I ordered one a couple of days ago and was told they would not ship until February, but the good news is you can still get the sale price if you order by the end of the month.

This will be my fourth Emotiva amp, and I've never had any issues with the ones I have.

Thanks oppman99 for the heads up but I probably won't be purchasing it for a couple of months as I still have a little bit of time left on my tour over here in sunny Iraq

 

[oppman99]

I like the idea of a separate sub if you have the space and cash. I don't have a lot of experience with DefTech, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I think you would also be very happy with an XPA-5. Stay safe over there and thanks for defending our freedoms.

 

[damnngina15]

I like the idea of a separate sub if you have the space and cash. I don't have a lot of experience with DefTech, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I think you would also be very happy with an XPA-5. Stay safe over there and thanks for defending our freedoms.

Yeah I was thinking of trying the emo route first, see how I like it and if I want more, (which I probably will) I will probably go with an HSU or SVS sub. Can't hurt having both!!! I would just have to figure out a place to put the darn thing.

 

[cfrizz]

All 3 amps you have mentioned will get the job done in spades, and allow your speakers to perform to their full potential. So stay safe & when you come home get one.

All the problems you mentioned with how it sounds now should clear up (litarally) nicely.

To date adding one to my system has been the biggest & best improvement I have made to my system. (Check out my signature!)

 

[jinjuku]

I would say that most if not all reputable amp manufacturers build in power conditioning. Just plug into the wall.

 

[damnngina15]

Thanks alot for all of the replies. I am still a little confused in one area. From my understanding when I put in the separate amp my mids and highs should sound alot better but I will still have the problem with not enough low end correct? (since the bp7004s' have their own powered subs in them) Please help me clarify this. Thanks.

 

[sawzalot]

Emo recommends plugging their XPA-5 directly into the 20 amp designated wall receptacle bypassing the power conditioner.
I have mine set-up in this manner and could not be more pleased with the performance, oh yeah did I mention I love my EMO,

Sorry that I only referenced the Emo as I should have said the same goes for the other Amps as well, power conditioners don't usually apply,

 

[cfrizz]

Thanks alot for all of the replies. I am still a little confused in one area. From my understanding when I put in the separate amp my mids and highs should sound alot better but I will still have the problem with not enough low end correct? (since the bp7004s' have their own powered subs in them) Please help me clarify this. Thanks.

No speaker can take the place of a dedicated subwoofer. Not even the subs that are within your speakers. An amp will help what bass is there to come out better, but if you really want bass, then get a separate amp.

I have always used my sub with 2 channel music. For the short time that I didn't have my sub on, I missed it dearly.

 

[AVRat]

FYI, the DT’s crossover between mids/”sub” is at 120Hz. When using a separate sub, it’s best to run the DTs small with a 60-80Hz x-over in the receiver. The built-in “subs” in the DT towers just can’t compete/compare with the performance of a good quality separate sub.

 

[cfrizz]

but if you really want bass, then get a separate amp.

What I meant to say was SUB!

 

[damnngina15]

Thanks for everyones opinion. I appriciate them alot. I have decided to go with the Emotiva XPA-5 and the SVS PC-13 Ultra. I will let you all know how everything goes just as soon as I get back from sunny Iraq. Thanks again for all of your help.

Andrew