Thinking of an XPA-3

[penpitt]

Thanks to an unusually high tax return this year I was thinking of getting an Emotiva XPA-3.I thought I was done upgrading last year when I bought the panasonic tv, courtesy of last years tax return, but the bug has bitten me again.What I would like to know is if it would be worth it or if I should look at something else.So here is the situation. All equipment is in my sig.
The room is app. 13'x17' and the tv/speakers are on the long wall. The seating is about 8' from the setup. We use it 80% movies/20% music. Volume is usually on the low side. For movies its usually around -20 on the receiver and music is even lower. The reason for the lower volumes is our house is small (1300 sq. feet) and we have 3 young children, 5 and under.
My first question is: With those facts would it be worth it since I am not driving the system hard? I've heard that having additional amplification helps bring out more detail but is it significant? On the rare occasions when I am home alone I do love to push it though.
Question 2: Is the emo in a standby mode until it receives a signal through the speaker inputs from the receiver? Sort of like how my subwoofer is in standby until it gets a signal?
Question 3:What is the difference between the balanced and unbalanced inputs?

Thanks for any opinions.

 

[greggp2]

To answer your questions

My first question is: With those facts would it be worth it since I am not driving the system hard? I've heard that having additional amplification helps bring out more detail but is it significant? On the rare occasions when I am home alone I do love to push it though.

Yes, it is worth it. You will definitely get more detail out of your system and now your receiver is only being asked to drive your rears and do surround sound processing.

Question 2: Is the emo in a standby mode until it receives a signal through the speaker inputs from the receiver? Sort of like how my subwoofer is in standby until it gets a signal?

No, the Emotiva is on, unless you install a 12v trigger to it and your receiver. If you do this, then it will turn on, when the receiver powers on, so in essence, it would be in standby mode, but only with the 12v trigger attached.

Question 3:What is the difference between the balanced and unbalanced inputs?

Balanced connections require a round type plug that your receiver or pre/pro probably doesn't have. Unless you have a lot of interference in your room, you likely don't need this type of connection. The most common connections are stardard RCA interconnects, which are the same as the old L/R analog stereo connections we used to use before Digital Coax and Optical cables came into being. You can purchase really good interconnects from Blue Jean Cables. They make an LC-1 cable that I use and they work great.

I just recently purchased an XPA-2 and it is really nice. Great build quality and it sounds fantastic. I am using my receiver to power my Center Channel, which I am considering getting rid of anyway, since my Mains are imaging so well now and my rear speakers.

Bottom line, from what I've read, go with the Emotiva. You have a 30 day trial on it anyway and for the money, they build a very solid and great sounding Amp...

 

[rnatalli]

Rockets are pretty efficient so you probably won't hear any difference at low to medium volumes. At loud volumes, you may see a difference as modern Yamaha amp sections have shown weakness at driving multiple channels. Try an XPA-3 for yourself and decide.

 

[KODG]

xpa-3

mine is on order. aim pushing 7.1 set-up with 800 series b&w, so my integra amp is good for most occasions but for the price of the emotiva it is a steal.

if pushing intense speakers go for it. if not your a/v will probably suit you just fine.

 

[Adam]

I have pretty inefficient speakers, and I didn't notice a difference between my Pioneer 1015 powering my speakers and my RPA-1 powering my speakers until it was turned up louder than I normally listen (but not louder than I like to listen on occasion). When I do have it turned up louder, though, the difference is noticeable and quite nice.

greggp2 is spot on for question 2, but I went and looked that up because is surprised me. Both of my Emo amps will power up from a signal (like your subwoofer), but the XPA-3 won't. I use the 12V triggers anyway because it will power the amps on and off with my receiver, which I prefer.

 

[greggp2]

I have pretty inefficient speakers, and I didn't notice a difference between my Pioneer 1015 powering my speakers and my RPA-1 powering my speakers until it was turned up louder than I normally listen (but not louder than I like to listen on occasion). When I do have it turned up louder, though, the difference is noticeable and quite nice.

Adam, you don't notice the RPA being clearer or less distorted? I would think that since the Amp is cleaner and more powerful, you'd pick up some slight details that the receiver may had missed...

 

[Adam]

Adam, you don't notice the RPA being clearer or less distorted? I would think that since the Amp is cleaner and more powerful, you'd pick up some slight details that the receiver may had missed...

At louder volumes, I absolutely notice those things. At my regular listening volumes, I didn't. That doesn't mean that it isn't clearer or more detailed - just that I didn't notice it. I didn't do a lot of comparisons, though. I just know that I'm happy with my Pioneer at normal volume, but not at high volume - whereas I'm happy with the RPA-1 at either.

 

[greggp2]

I hear ya..

 

[greggp2]

Hey Adam,

I stole your Sig set up. I thought mine was looking a bit obnoxious. I was thinking about putting a pick of your dog, but thought that might be too much!!! LOL

 

[Adam]

Hey Adam,

I stole your Sig set up. I thought mine was looking a bit obnoxious. I was thinking about putting a pick of your dog, but thought that might be too much!!! LOL

Feel free! I stole it from someone else a couple of years ago (at least, I'm pretty sure that I did).

Niki won't mind if you use a picture of her. She's shy, until you get her on the internet. The stuff that I see her posting really makes me blush.

 

[greggp2]

Now I just need Warlord status... I'd settle for Spartan though.. Is there a way to Spam post??? Kidding of course...

 

[Adam]

Is there a way to Spam post??? Kidding of course...

I'm pretty sure that my brother wrote a script that will do that. The mods might catch on before you get in another 4900 posts, though.

 

[penpitt]

Thanks for the answers guys. I have decided to hold off for 2 reasons. The first being that I probably wouldn't notice a big difference. The second and best reason is I gave my 2 weeks notice to work today! I was scheduled to go back to school in July for respiratory therapy, but the school called yesterday and someone dropped out of the class that starts March 16 so I'll be starting then.

 

[greggp2]

Best of luck in school... I can tell you that my system sounds much better now with the XPA-2 hooked up to my mains and my receiver only driving my Center and Rears...

 

[Adam]

Congrats on school, and I'm guessing that it felt good to put in that two-week notice! Amps are nice, but there are more important things. Best of luck in your studies.

 

[TheFactor]

Emotivia might be my April upgrade Im thinking of the XPA-3 For my fronts and center . Just out of curiosity whats the difference between the XPA-2 and RPA-2 ? Besides the 50watts PER Channel I think .

 

[Adam]

Just out of curiosity whats the difference between the XPA-2 and RPA-2 ? Besides the 50watts PER Channel I think .

There was some discussion on that today at this thread. I don't know how much it was discussed before today, but there is some stuff in the last two or three pages.

 

[TheFactor]

There was some discussion on that today at this thread. I don't know how much it was discussed before today, but there is some stuff in the last two or three pages.

Thanks i'll check it out