emotiva mono block amps any good?

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Tony the used 50 watt Plinius is $1500. A new 50 watt Emotiva amp is $189. Sure the used class A Plinius amp is better...at ten times the price. I have speakers at home that will make the $1500 Plinius and Rowland amps you mentioned cry for their mama.

Just compare apples to apples.

Don't compare a 50 watt stereo amp to a pair of 500 watt monoblock amps...they are two totally different applications. With a hard to drive speaker, the 50 watt amp is going to run out of steam...period. Go find a used amp from one of names that you mentioned with some serious muscle, and you'll find that your price just went through the roof.

I own two pair of Pass Labs X-600 monoblocs with similar specs as the Emotiva monoblocs mentioned here. No way on earth you will find them near $1600 a pair used. More like $6k-$8k per pair used.

I have not heard the XPA-1's, nor have I heard any of Emotiva's amps. But, you name me a pair of used big name high powered monoblocs for $1600 that can drive my Infinity Kappa 9 speakers. You won't find it...I've already looked. Those speakers will vaporize all the ones you've mentioned above.
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We know the amp has lots of watts per dollar, but is it any good?

You know, Mitch. As I said above, I was just trying make sure that the OP realized that there were alternatives on the used market.

Besides, other than the amps mentioned above, there was also a Krell and a Belles, each of which was rated at 250wpc at 8 ohms, doubling that into 4. I'm sure that your Kappas would not have made either of those cry for their mamas. From a practical perspective, I doubt that there's a hole lot of difference between a 250wpc amp and a 500 wpc amp. I will concede that the larger amp would provide more headroom, but the question of whether that much headroom would be needed still remains.

Personally, I'd grab either the Krell or the Belles before the Emotivas at the same price.

What I find most odd is that you are making an argument for a product that you have NO experience with. It seems that you are basing your argument on what is written on paper and taking the watts=quality approach.

I have heard amps in the XPA line and based on the experience and for the same money, I'd take the Belles all day long.

Many also tout the 30 money back guarantee and free shipping. That is all fine and dandy and I commend Emotiva for having such a policy; although having that policy makes sense, since they are a direct seller and it's the only way that they can get people to audition their products.

What some may not realize on the back end is that the return doesn't include free shipping. If the OP buys the XPA-1s and decides that he doesn't like them, he has to pay for shipping about 150lbs of amp back to Emotiva and that isn't going to be cheap.

Tony
"I have heard amps in the XPA line and based on the experience and for the same money, I'd take the Belles all day long."

Totally; XPA is not in the same league as amps mentioned above. But any info on the XPR Reference line? Is it a redesigned amp?

It looks like the XPR line may be a totally different animal. I'd like to know more myself.

The only things that strike me as POSSIBLE areas of concern are that the power doesn't double when going from 8 ohms to 4 ohms, which is something that most amps with "testicular fortitude" do. Still, I don't know that it makes much difference when talking about a whopper of an amp like that.

The other thing that bug me a bit is that the specs listed on their website says that 4 ohms is the minimum recommended load. On the other hand, another Agoner did contact Emotiva and asked them about this and Emotiva's response was that the amp would handle a load lower than 4 ohms without problems. If this is the case, Emotiva really needs to update their web site because this could leave prospective buyers believing that the XPR amps are capable of less than they truly are.