Comments for Emotiva XPA-1 Monoblock Power Amplifier at http://www.hometheaterhifi.com , comment 1 to 91 out of 20 comments http://www.hometheaterhifi.com Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:43:41 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5316 After reading all the reviews and articles, Santa just pulled the trigger on 3 XPA-1s that are on the way to drive a pair of Paradigm Studio 100s V5 and CC690. Santa also included a PANAMAX 5300 as a bonus for being extra nice this year....I will post reviews and thoughts soon as I get these monsters up the stairs.... - RG Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:02:08 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5313 Hello Braulio, I personally don't think you will need to go with XPA-1, as your speakers are on the efficient side with 93db. As far as I recall they are bass ported, too. Correct? The xpa-2 will have enough power to run them with ease. Regards, Arne - Arned Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:52:13 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5246 I have Deftech Mythos speakers and want to know which amp to get for them. They are rated at 350w max. If anyone could help in deciding which one would best benefit me. Please reply. Recommended Associated Amplifier Power :20 – 350 watts Internal Amplifier Power :300 watts Impedance :Compatible with 8 Ohms outputs Sensitivity :93 dB - Braulio Linares Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:00:50 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5240 My first day with these heavy beast- the Confidence 5 plays through all frequencies-everything is there and seems to be getting better from a tonal balancing standpoint. To PaW2000:-as these amps are more than capable to handle the Dynaudio Confidence 5, I can only assume they will have an easy time to make the Contour 5.4 sing to their fullest. I am running the XPA-1 directly connected to my OPPO 95 via Nordost TYR XLR's. My only problem so far is the huge amount of power...as I can use the volume control only between 5% to 40%, every bit more is simply too loud. Guess I need to get a nice preamp if I decide to keep these beasts, and I am really thinking about it. People keep saying that these amps will reach their full potential after about 200 hours. I will write again once that time has passed. Thumbs up Emotiva, I just saved myself $1700 by not buying the Mark Levinson No.332 I borrowed, as it did not sound better. - ArneD Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:55:28 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5229 After reading the review on the XPA 1's and all of your comments I got curious enough to buy a pair and try them out. I have an older pair of Dynaudio Confidence 5 that are very power hungry. I am running them with a NAD Master M3 (2x 180W /8ohm) right now, tuned with Furutech Padis fuses, Pangea AC9SE cord and 0.5m Kimber Select interconnects instead of the cheap pre to power amp jumpers. And though the C5 sound great and holographic with the M3, they are lacking the punch in the bottom and don't fully reveal all details in high frequency spectrum. I borrowed a Mark Levinson No.332 Dual Mono amp(200W/8ohm), just to make sure the Dynaudios have more in them and that really improved bass presence and reveal more upper details, but the soundstage sounded more narrow than with the NAD M3. I have high hopes for the Emotiva XPA1's to finally make the Confidence 5 perform to their full potential. I will share my findings once I have played around with them for a little bit. - ArneD Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:43:59 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5146 I own an LPA-1 and two UPA-1 monoblocks. All of Emotiva's amps run cool to the touch. My monos are stacked, one on top of the other without any additional heat being felt. You should have no problems with the amps in a cabinet, but giving them an inch or two to breathe would still be wise. - JimM Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:23:20 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5143 I am looking to replace an Aragon 8008x3 with XPA 1s to power B&W diamond 803s. Do the XPA 1s run cool enough to be placed in a closed cabinet? The Aragon is hot, and cannot be placed inside. - R.Fitz Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:16:21 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5110 Does anyone run the XPA-1's with Kappa 9s, i'm interested in an upgrade - wheeldealer Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:12:31 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5087 I have a pair of dynaudio contour s 5.4 and thinking of testing a pair of XPA-1 amps, problem is, I live in Sweden and shipping cost will be the same as the amps itself ;) - PaW2000 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:17:50 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5020 When I am playing music for listening while I am reading a book in the evening, I like the Classe. For home theater use, with the sound cranked up, I have no preference. The XPA-1's are truly an astonishing product for the money. - JJ Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:50:48 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5019 Jeez, guys, of course the Classe is better than the XPA-1. It cost seven times more, so you better hope it would be. Yes, the XPA-1 is a very good amp, but there are better amps out there. You have to pay a lot for them. That is the way of the world. I bought XPA-1s after the review because I personally was unwilling to spend the extra coin to get something even better. If I was filthy rich, I would replace the XPA-1s with some Pass XA-100.5s in a heartbeat. But unfortunately I'm not filthy rich, so the XPA-1s do just fine. - CG Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:06:36 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5018 Thank you for the invisible response. I would assume that you would not have gotten the M600's if you did not think that they were an improvement over the XPA-1's that you already own. Keep on doing the good works! Reading your and your staff's reviews are real treats for me! Thank you. - Ampus Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:52:38 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5012 Dr. JJ, You probably sensed that this question was coming, following your reply. So which one is your favorite, CA-M600's or XPA-1's? Thank you. - Ampus Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:03:36 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5010 I wouldn't purchase either of them because I already own a pair of CA-M600's (I bought the review samples) and a pair of XPA-1's. - JJ Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:41:45 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5002 JJ, In another forum, when a reader asked you to choose among the Mark Levinson No 53, The Classe CA-M600, and Pass XA-100.5, you stated that you would choose the Classe. If Ben Bernanke gives you a blank check because Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity is "too big to fail", which amp would you get - the Classe M600 or XPA-1? Thank you for all of your and your staff's wonderful and unbiased reviews. - Ampus Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:32:44 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-5001 The Classe M600's have a bit more detail because of their extremely low IMD. This is only noticeable with low to medium volume. If you crank things up to loud SPL, the speakers are producing so much distortion, the detail differences are not audible. - JJ Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:43:19 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-4998 I read a great review about Classe M600 amp written by JJ. I know that the Classe M600 costs a whole lot more than the XPA-1. However, money aside, I just wonder if JJ could comment on the sound quality / performance difference between the Classe M600 and the XPA-1. Thank you in advance. - Ampus Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:07:29 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-4995 For the kind of price difference you're looking at, I would seriously consider trying the XPA-1s. If you end up not liking the Emotivas, the return shipping would run you $100-$200. That's way less than the price difference between the XPA-1s and the MS500i. I would think it is worth the risk. - CG Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:50:39 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-4994 I use to own a Musical Fidelity KW500 integrated and used it with Dynaudio Special 25s. From where I was sitting I was extremely pleased, happy, nothing missing. I sold the KW500 some years ago. I'm thinking of purchasing the latest incarnation of the KW500 from MF, now the MS500i to feed my Dynaudio Special 25s. I've got fairly decent pre-amp, TACT 2.0 which serves me well so I don't really need an integrated. Pity I can't listen to the Emotiva mono's ahead of a commitment and I am certainly open only spending 1/2 the amount I would if I went with Musical Fidelity. Any thoughts anyone? Does anyone know both amps or the KW500 as the Emotiva monos? - Ralf Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:06:52 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/520-a-secrets-power-amplifier-review.html#comment-4501 There really is no such thing as a big power amplifier being overkill in an audio system (well maybe they would in a pair of modular computer speakers). The problem comes when there is not enough power in a dynamic musical passage or movie scene, and the amplifier clips. That can cause speaker damage. By having a large amount of power available such as with the XPA-1, you insure that demanding transients will get low distortion power, and most speakers can handle a short transient at very high power as long as it does not go into clipping. If you are playing music at an average of 20 watts, a sudden transient can easily demand 200 - 500 watts. You will sleep better knowing that you have plenty of juice under the hood when it's required. - JJ Tue, 17 May 2011 09:41:08 +0100