I can say 1st hand on the build quality of the XPA-5 that it is a solid piece of equipment. I moved from a Carver AV-705x to the XPA-5, and from about a weeks worth of putting the XPA-5 through it's paces, it is a night and day difference. Though it isn't fair to compare the 2 amps, since the Emotiva has almost twice the power. My extremely efficient Klipsch Legend series KLF-20's(fronts) & KLF-C7(center) with Reference series RB-5II's for the surrounds seem to sound fuller, bass is tighter, high's are very crisp. The soundstage seemed to be wider & deeper. Playing any of Diana Krall's dvd-audio disc's made me a believer in the details of her voice & piano, that quite frankly I didn't hear with the Carver. Al Di Meola's guitar seemed like I was listening to him live, I can hear every note. I had never planned on buying this powerful of an amp since the efficiency of my Klipsch setup allows for less power, but the added power sure has added a new dimension to them. So much so that my wife took notice to their sound while not knowing that I had bought a new amplifier, much less noticing a new piece of equipment in the rack. This amp has fed new life to my speakers, so much so that they sound like a new set of speakers. Emotiva's XPA-5 is hands down a winner and for $860 shipped you get balanced & unbalanced inputs, and the binding post's add a nice high-end touch. I am one very pleased Emotiva customer, and will be buying the sister processor, the XMC-1, when it debuts to match up with this monster of an amp.
