How good is Emotiva 2 channel gear??

The XPA-2 I have is really a superb sounding amp. I've had Audio Research, Krell, Classe and several other high end power amps over the years and I will be keeping the XPA-2. Huge, deep soundstage and runs cool. Using the XPA-2 with a Musical Fidelity A308 preamp.

I'm curious too, although I would prefer the UPA-2. Any thoughts on how it sounds relative to XPA-2?

As to the Bryston comparison with Bryston you are paying for a 20 year warranty

Albireo13 - I bought a UPA-2 and a XPA-2 at the same time and compared them. The UPA-2 is a nice little amp (very transparent) but the XPA-2 provides more soundstage width and depth, deeper bass and added head room. I sold the UPA-2 a little while back.

People who spend a lot of money on amps prefer to avoid these threads. I've had a lot of SS amps, from Carver to Rotel and recently Odyssey and currently a Manley Stingray II.

The TRUTH is that it all sounded good without exception. The Stingray sounds best, but it's never a night & day swing. Recently I got to try a XPA-3 and had to admit that it did very well for home theater and music. By "very well" I mean that I would have no issue using it with my Definitive Technology/SVS theater system. For more exotic gear that can bring out the smaller nuances you might want the "higher" end power, but 75% of audio is about personal perception and folks rarely agree on what's best. I think a 300 Oppo CD player sounds better than the 1500 dollar Jolida I had. Go figure.

Most likely you will be impressed and happy with an Emotive amp, even if some people snub it's mid-fi range along with Rotel, Parasound, Outlaw and many others that simply make good music.

Cheers,

Bob