Emotiva xpa 1 monos

Which Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks are you talking about? The very 1st generation that were quite big or the smaller ones that followed later? I remember years ago the 1st gen XPA-1 monoblocks had their fans here. 

I would concur re the xpas being good value, but with a cautionary imperative, and that is that the Elmo's are dependent an awful lot on the system in which they're being used. Obviously this applies to all components, but I would say it applies to these more than most.

They are very speaker dependent, and sound much much better with a tube preamp stage. The speaker sensitivity is also very important , since the first 60 watts are class A, and much clearer and more linear than the next 100s of watts, so the more sensitive speakers may sound better, again contingent on your desired listening db. They are not the best but may be the very best bang for the buck on the market if used in a conducive system.

I'm using all  Emo gen 2 amps.I thought xpa 1 's might be bright using them with B&W 805 Diamonds,but they are not.Using balanced interconnects with the monos made a noticeable difference.i noticed more of an upgrade using monos with my 805's  than I did with my Thiel 3.7 's on an upstairs system?I would have thought the opposite?Im  happy with these amps but time will tell how they last in the long haul?