All three front-panel lights are activated by the rear-panel on/off rocker switch next to the IEC power-cord socket; above which is an oversize circuit-breaker button and a tiny switch, labeled Status LEDs, for turning off the front-panel eyes/status indicators. The XPA-2 is quite a powerful two-channel amp and we shall delve deep into the inner workings today." Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest news first. I learned something important that day: Experienced audiophiles will "observe" the same pulsing matrix emanating from the loudspeakers—but each, in his or her own naturally prejudiced way, will notice different things and assign different value to the phenomena they hear. The .7 is a 57"-high, quasi-ribbon dipole speaker with a specified impedance of 4 ohms, and thrives on a class-AB amplifier that doubles its power each time the load impedance is halved. Rhaudioreviews.com reviews the XPA-2 Gen3 Amplifier! At 78 pounds in the box, it’s no lightweight. They have earned this reputation by offering amazing products that rival the best money can buy at unbelievably low prices. I would never tell him this, but I think O. should smoke a joint before he listens. Image focus was tight in the extreme—and felt very not real. At the end of the session, both of us complimented our friend on the high quality of sound his expertly set-up system was generating. . I recently reviewed the Emotiva XPA Gen3 power amp. My need to tell you the above story appeared exactly one day after I installed the Emotiva Audio Corporation's new XPA Gen3 modular power amplifier in my humble Bed-Stuy reference system. Description Under the hood, Emotiva has bumped up the power from 250 wpc to 300 wpc. It could satisfy your mind on both counts. Ive had the XPA-2 for nearly 5 months now. See the complete review of the Emotiva XPA Gen3 Power Amplifier Throughout their history, Emotiva has been widely recognized as the world’s best value in high-end audio. A little over a year ago I spoke to the Dan Laufman, President of Emotiva, about making a balls to the walls two channel power amplifier for under $1k that would utilize a single massive power supply instead of mono block construction like the RPA-1.His reply was “no I can’t do it for $1k, but I can do it for around $800.” Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. The new second generation XPA-3 includes all of the advanced engineering and exceptional sound quality of our original XPA-3, but adds a few extra refinements that make it even better. I like the high quality binding posts and dual power switches (one in the front and the other in the back). This unusual solidness was almost brutal. You can choose to configure the Gen 3 amplifier to accommodate anywhere from 1 to 7 channels in a single chassis and choose multiple power levels per channel. US pricing has a set value for additional channels, $200. Shortly after I purchased it, Emotiva released the UPA-1, a mono-block at 200 watts. One day, O. and I made a little pilgrimage to hear a mutual friend's million-dollar audio system. Customer ratings and reviews. RMS výkon je ve stereo … Instantly, I noticed the fearsome potential force of the Gen3's output stage and switch-mode power supply as they insinuated themselves against the 16-ohm nominal impedance of the Soul Supremes' full-range drivers. I don't want to embarrass my friend, so in this story I will call him O., for Mr. Objectivity. It made Paul Butterfield's first album, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (mono LP, Elektra ELK-294), sound exactly as I remember it sounding from my Chicago childhood. Thanks for the nice review! The Emotiva made the recording's reverberant space sound more musically and structurally relevant than I had previously realized. 6 - Emotiva XPA-2 First Generation 2 Channel Amplifier, Beast, 250-1000 Watts! The modular Emotiva XPA Gen3 can be ordered with two to seven channels. He squinted and gave me an annoyed look. The bell of his trumpet was right there in front of me. Sharp-edged contrasts upstaged vocal nuances and delicate rhythms. I have tried bryston 4b side by side, and mark levinson n.29. It's quite powerful, the two-channel version specified to output 300W into 8 ohms, 550W into 4 ohms, or 800W into 2 ohms. Add to cart. I agreed. Thank Herb Reichert, who also thinks this is also a worthwhile comparison: I removed the heavy, two-box, dual-mono, single-ended, tube-rectified, five-watt Woo Audio WA5 amplifier ($5899), and replaced it with the much lighter, class-AB, balanced/single-ended, solid-state, 300W (into 8 ohms) Emotiva XPA Gen 3 ($999), I became anxious and confused. On the outside, the XPA-2 features a sleeker look than its predecessor. Free shipping for many products! Overview Emotiva XPA-2 Gen3. Customization Galore. Mono Amp for $699. I told O. I found it lacking in two ways: instrumental colors seemed less than full-spectrum, and momentums felt sort of staid and unsupple. They are very low efficiency speakers (86 dB to 87dB @ 1 watt/1 meter). XPA-3 $2200. item 7 Emotiva XPA-2 First Generation 2 Channel Amplifier, Beast, 250-1000 Watts! And, if that wasn't enough, we upped the power output to 600W into 8 ohms in Class AB mode. it doesn't really matter xpa2 or 5 the XPA line sounds pretty much the same, I wrote this review because emotiva claims to be HIGH END with the famous Motto Rethink high end, so I was completely disappointed when I found out what emotiva … Maybe should have got the nine channel in case of a future upgrade to 5.1.4. XPA-2 Introduction Thank you for purchasing the new and improved second generation Emotiva XPA-2 stereo power amplifier. Now, you get the immense, relaxed power of the previous XPA-1, together with switchable 60W Class A mode for even more amazing musicality. I thought, Not bad for $2400 total! Emotiva A-5175 The picture shows 8X10,000 uf/50 V. So to be on the conservative side, it is reasonable to assume they have to group 4 of them in parallel and then put the two groups of 4 in series for them to work with the rail voltage with sufficient safe margin. The only thing O. could possibly say against this fantastic, moderately priced system is that it played a little softish and roundish. If the XPA-2 Gen 3 is $999 and someone who owns a $5,000 amp is critical of the $999 Emotiva amp. I became concerned. So an XPA-3 costs $200 more than an XPA-2, an XPA-5 costs $400 more than a 3, etc. And it did. XPA-7 $3500 The cost of additional channels isn't constant which is odd. During my Retail Days, I ( we ) favored Electrocompaniet Mono Amps., back then I'd be paying $2,000 each. To late now its arrived and plugged in. Posted on April 20, 2015 by Jim Lansing May 17, 2016. I was astonished by what a few extra watts and a high damping factor were doing to the low-power-friendly Soul Supremes. Emotiva XPA-2 Introduction. Their emotional involvement with great music and film, their thrill at bringing top-level performance to more people than ever before, the fun of changing the game of high-end audio. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. This record, these tall speakers, and the XPA Gen3 were producing really big, juicy Miles music, in CinemaScope and Technicolor. Class A amplification with lots of headroom has always commanded a premium in audiophile circles. Listening with the Magnepan .7 Compare. I only admired it. Getting good, clean Class A amplification is an audiophile’s dream. If there's such a thing as sweet, sexy sound, then that is the kind of sound Bitches Brew was making. It made me want to try music I'd never liked before. It made Black Uhuru's Red (LP, Island MLPS 9625 A) sound exactly as I'd always wanted it to. The setup: I run all Pinnacle Black Diamond speakers in a 5.1 setup (BD 2500 PLB L/R, BD 700 II center, BD 500 surround). It's a whole new generation of Emotiva's most popular mono block power amp. This need occurred because, when I removed the heavy, two-box, dual-mono, single-ended, tube-rectified, five-watt Woo Audio WA5 amplifier ($5899), and replaced it with the much lighter, class-AB, balanced/single-ended, solid-state, 300W (into 8 ohms) Emotiva XPA Gen 3 ($999), I became anxious and confused. The modular Emotiva XPA Gen3 can be ordered with two to seven channels. He should have heard the Maggies singing with the Emotiva XPA Gen3. I've also found that those who tend to give the gear bad reviews, tend to own more expensive amps. He has a high natural intelligence and is an extremely experienced listener, but once he knows a component doesn't measure well, he can never again experience it, Emotiva XPA Gen3 two-channel power amplifier. Listening with the Zu Audio Soul Supreme I swear, if the Gen3 and LS50s don't let Ralph Stanley and Roscoe Holcomb take me to church, I'll be writing my first bad review in a long while. Theres been a lot of posts asking about Emotiva Amps especially the XPA-2, so thought I would post my findings so far, as I dont believe anyone has actually posted an actual review as yet. I purchased the emotiva xpa 2 gen. 1 after reading quite a bit of its reviews. I suspect that the $999 Emotiva amplifier was specifically designed for difficult-to-drive, $1400/pair speakers such as the Magnepan .7. I had never before experienced such a dramatic difference in sound character by changing just one component. Add to wishlist. $7,600. Page 10: Unpacking Your XPA-3 was carefully packed and should reach you in perfect condition. The XPA Gen3's input impedance is 33k ohms balanced, 23.5k ohms unbalanced—which should be sufficient for use with tubed preamplifiers. I thought the system sounded Puritan. Emotiva refers to their implementation of class-H architecture, which increases efficiency and minimizes the need for massive heatsinks, as "Soft-Switch" technology. If you're one of those readers who claim, "I'm a music lover, not an audiophile," or who think high-priced audio is mostly snake oil, then you absolutely must try the combination of Emotiva XPA Gen3 and Magnepan .7. Emotiva has delivered a major upgrade to its XPA lineup with the announcement of its third generation amplifiers. We listened for hours: LPs, CDs, hi-rez files—you name it. I loved this amplifier so much that I nominated it for the Secrets of Home … Now, Schiit has it's 400W. Now, we can have the Emotiva for $1,000 ... or a pair of Schiit Mono's for $1,400. Take our 5 mins quiz and find your perfect product, "In this review we will explore the Tour de Force of power that is the Emotiva XPA-2. O. is no fan of the Magnepan .7. O. then reminded me that "The system's greatest virtue was its astonishing coherence." But he loved the system. Each of the Gen3's amplifier modules (two for stereo) has switch-selectable unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR inputs, and a pair of five-way speaker binding posts. The first loudspeakers I connected to the superpowerful Emotiva XPA Gen3 were the supersensitive (97dB/2.83V/m) Zu Audio Soul Supremes ($5625/pair). I'm a former owner of the Emotiva XPA-2 Gen2 and XPA-5 Gen2, I have compared both with the Halo A21 and the halo blew them away in every single area PERIOD!