ADDENDUM - 4/1/09 I (JEJ) was so impressed with Chris' review of the XPA-1 (published in January, 2009), I asked Emotiva to send me one so I could run some of my own tests. I borrowed a different power amplifier from a friend that cost more than 6 times the price of the XPA-1, which I will call Amplifier "X" here. I ran the same tests on both amplifiers. Click on the photo to see the results (go to Page 4: Emotiva XPA-1 On the Bench, and my results are down near the bottom of the page).

Tags: Amplifiers

Everyone would like a "good deal" in the world of audio, but there’s usually a lot of skepticism involved because of the tendency for such products to be made with cheaper components and outsourced labor. It’s not unusual for these kinds of cheaper goods to break, in even short periods of time. Well, you get what you pay for. On the other side of the spectrum are very high quality products that come at astronomical prices that, while providing the ultimate experience, are often way out of many consumer’s budgets. Somewhere in the middle of all this though, there are still a few companies that make products that have high performance and are also affordable. Emotiva, over the years, has been one of these companies and they have gained a favorable reputation with audiophiles because of it.

Tags: Amplifiers

Class D switching amplifiers are here to stay. The RMB-1085 is a five channel home theater amplifier that uses ICE power modules which stay cool and deliver very efficient high power, all from a small chassis.

Tags: Class D | Power Amplifiers | Switching Amplifiers

Halcro's MC series amplifiers come in two, three, five and seven channel configurations (designated the MC20, MC30, MC50, and MC70). The MC70 lists for $7,000, but compared to the Halcro Reference DM88 monoblocks, which will set you back more than $40,000 per pair, the MC70 is quite the bargain. So what kind of amp do you get for a kilobuck per channel?

Tags: Class D | Switching Amplifiers