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Emotiva XPA-2

I've heard this called mid fi crap and no better than mass market junk.My ears say different.And yes i clean them using this stuff called auro and pluck the hair out.Unlike some folks giving their opinions.
Having owned very expensive amps,Krell 300s,Pass x-350,Counterpoint NP220,the list is almost endless.The Threshold T series 100,200 and 400 were in my system.The McCormack upgraded DNA-1 lasted about two days,along with Belles Ref.Sorry Dave.Granted, everything comes down to synergy.
Thats why we try this then that,regretting the bad choices we make and the massive amounts of money we waste in the process.
Call me waxing nostalgiac but my sonic memories of Marantz recievers are pretty good.Folks we get caught up in the BS.Trust your ears,to hell with opinion.Doesn't matter.I got this amp that sounds great and I plan on installing better fuses etc.
Heres the rub as soon as you say some positive stuff the cost doubles and then other less well to do folks find it out of reach and in a crowded expensive market,So maybe its better to say ,"everyones right it is a POS,then smile and turn the volume up".I can afford something costlier as fortunes have it.Perhaps all those naysayers are using SS pres.Personally i loathe SS preamps,I had the Pass Aleph p,Threshold T2 i believe it was along with fet-10 and a few others.Folks get a Manley shrimp,or BAT or Arc or VTl 2.5 even or any of those others like CJ 17ls.
soundsgood05
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
I don't have an Emotiva amp, but I have been very impressed by the XPA 1 D/A/Preamp in my system. Very impressed indeed. Emotiva, as a company, seems to have the right formula for the future.
I have seen little that compares with them for five times the price.

The Krell amp I tried ten years ago was too bright for my speakers too. Doesn't mean they make bad amps.
hotmailjbc
571 posts
 
hey gumby, i replaced my music fidelity v-dac/v-link with a emotiva xda-1 dac. the mf went to the garage system and won't be coming back. emotiva = very good value and good sound quality. i agree with your opinion.
runnin
397 posts
 
Gumby, are you referring to the XDA preamp they have? That was also too bright in my system, plus the volume is lossy, so it wasn't a good purchase for me. I'd beg to differ on it beating units costing much more as some find the DAC Magic by Cambridge to be better. But the Emo amps can be good depending on the speakers.

What I don't like about their amps is the small power supplies and Caps they have. They get around this by higher gain structures, but owners of some speakers complain of hiss. Their power is always spec'd to .1% THD so at rated power they're already climbing rapidly into distortion.

Krell or other amps, heck even Outlaw Audio, have better cap and power supplies and don't have the dancing LED lights straight out of the 80's that the Emotiva amps have. Having said that, for the money spent they are decent. Their newer line looks better, the XPR series. To each their own I guess.
gumbydammit
186 posts
 
I have the XDA-1 DAC/PRE

Sorry for the confusion.

This:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/dacs/dacs-reviews/introduction-to-the-emotiva-xda-1-differential-reference-dac-for-the-audiophile.html
runnin
397 posts
 
Okay, Emotiva has a newer DAC now. I suppose I'm a little hard on them, I've been quite happy with the ERC-1 cd player from Emotiva, I just wasn't impressed with the XPA amp with my speakers.
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