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Official Emotiva XPA-5 Owners Thread - Page 26

post #751 of 1293
BAM!!



And the best part is, Im off of work for the rest of the week!! biggrin.gif
post #752 of 1293
saweeeeet! congrats and be sure to take more pics and post your thoughts!!
post #753 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Fineberg View Post

saweeeeet! congrats and be sure to take more pics and post your thoughts!!

First thought....its friggin heavy!!

Will add more later...
post #754 of 1293
haha...yes it is! but remeber its front heavy so if you brace the front with your belly/hips its actually easy to maneuver
post #755 of 1293
Here are some thoughts to get started.

My system thought.
Not in any special order.

1: I'm just bored with what I have. Would like a change.

2: less bass in middle of room. Sub in from right corner is best place physically. Or in from left. But still less bass in middle of room. Sounds ok just a bit lower vol. would like even bass in room.

3: would like better sound in general. Like better tone. Different. Hear instruments better. Hear each instrument.

4: cooler looking gear. Receiver/amp etc. cooler speakers too.

5: I would like a change in how the processor/receiver GUI looks. It's ok now and has some features I like and is missing some I want. Missing airplay for one. But I have my Sonos. I just want a change. Bored.

6: I think main feature I like in pre pro is to tell it what to output based on sound input. Onkyo/Integra does this. Not sure what else does. You say for PCM output x. And you can choose any. Digital 2.0 input sound then output x. Things like that. I would do for tv if it is digital 5.1 etc then leave it be. Less then 5.0 such as PCM 2.0 or Dolby digital 2.0 etc output pro logic 2 movie. For music such as Internet radio or streaming or CDs played on ps3 or Xbox 360 output stereo, all channel stereo or pro logic 2 music.

7: 5.1 for now. I may get 7.1 in future based on if I move into different room etc. however that won't happen for very long time.

8: I don't like a warm sound. It sounds low for me. Lower vol. tone is to low. Specially with voices from center. Harder to hear voices if speaker too warm. I've tried warm speakers and I had to turn it up in center to hear voices clearer and louder. To me bright that is not to bright sounds clearer. Kinda like a crystal vs a dirty rock. Lol.

9: I'm not sure what else there is but I'm sure I'm missing something.
post #756 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by buggs1a View Post

Here are some thoughts to get started.

My system thought.
Not in any special order.

1: I'm just bored with what I have. Would like a change. ok we can work on that....looks like speakers is going to be the best option here...and you DONT need 6,000$ speakers wink.gif

2: less bass in middle of room. Sub in from right corner is best place physically. Or in from left. But still less bass in middle of room. Sounds ok just a bit lower vol. would like even bass in room. This will best be met by acquiring a second sub or moving your current sub...doing the sub crawl is your best bet

3: would like better sound in general. Like better tone. Different. Hear instruments better. Hear each instrument. this is 100% speaker dependant. I high;ly suggest going with brands you can do an in house demo...give yourself a budget and go from there...if you state a budget you can do now...we can help.

4: cooler looking gear. Receiver/amp etc. cooler speakers too. well the emo is as cool as it gets haha

5: I would like a change in how the processor/receiver GUI looks. It's ok now and has some features I like and is missing some I want. Missing airplay for one. But I have my Sonos. I just want a change. Bored.

6: I think main feature I like in pre pro is to tell it what to output based on sound input. Onkyo/Integra does this. Not sure what else does. You say for PCM output x. And you can choose any. Digital 2.0 input sound then output x. Things like that. I would do for tv if it is digital 5.1 etc then leave it be. Less then 5.0 such as PCM 2.0 or Dolby digital 2.0 etc output pro logic 2 movie. For music such as Internet radio or streaming or CDs played on ps3 or Xbox 360 output stereo, all channel stereo or pro logic 2 music. correct onkyo is the best i have seen so far at this

7: 5.1 for now. I may get 7.1 in future based on if I move into different room etc. however that won't happen for very long time.

8: I don't like a warm sound. It sounds low for me. Lower vol. tone is to low. Specially with voices from center. Harder to hear voices if speaker too warm. I've tried warm speakers and I had to turn it up in center to hear voices clearer and louder. To me bright that is not to bright sounds clearer. Kinda like a crystal vs a dirty rock. Lol. this is DEFINITELY a speaker issue...a tiny bit the processor but mostly the speakers

9: I'm not sure what else there is but I'm sure I'm missing something.
post #757 of 1293
Brian, can you think of anything to ask me? Anyone can ask me. Things that I may be forgetting or not thinking of or something?

Also are we on the right track yet? Lol. Choo choooooo!!!!
post #758 of 1293
What's your speaker budget? Also have you returned your emo? I hope not. It opens up the options for speakers
post #759 of 1293
EMO gone.
Don't have a budget. Whatever it takes. No money now but trying to figure things out.
post #760 of 1293
Well don't you have 900$ from returning the emo? What is your processor/amp now? That will have a factor in what speakers you can get ultimately.

Also I think you should repost this in the speaker forum since this is the xpa5 owners thread
post #761 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

BAM!!



And the best part is, Im off of work for the rest of the week!! biggrin.gif



A couple of hours later...some badly needed cable management done....and she's on!

Haven't ran audyssey yet. I wanted to make sure that all the connections were okay and to see if the amp functioned properly....zero noise or hum...fantastic.biggrin.gif

For the last 10 minutes or so I have been listening to 2 channel music in pure direct mode...and it works and sounds just fine. I do notice there is little to no harshness at -5 and above on the dial! biggrin.gif

Beer, smoke and run audyssey...be back later.
post #762 of 1293
I thought you knew my receiver. Integra dtr 40.3.
Yes I will have the emo money when I get the refund.
I was thinking maybe get the new integra with audysse xt32 and work from there. I could use it as a pre pro later.
post #763 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post



A couple of hours later...some badly needed cable management done....and she's on!

Haven't ran audyssey yet. I wanted to make sure that all the connections were okay and to see if the amp functioned properly....zero noise or hum...fantastic.biggrin.gif

For the last 10 minutes or so I have been listening to 2 channel music in pure direct mode...and it works and sounds just fine. I do notice there is little to no harshness at -5 and above on the dial! biggrin.gif

Beer, smoke and run audyssey...be back later.

Congrats Jason!

Looking forward to read on your additional impressions after calibration is done, and please don't forget to post more pics when all gear is in the right place.

Cheers!
post #764 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by cr136124 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post



A couple of hours later...some badly needed cable management done....and she's on!

Haven't ran audyssey yet. I wanted to make sure that all the connections were okay and to see if the amp functioned properly....zero noise or hum...fantastic.biggrin.gif

For the last 10 minutes or so I have been listening to 2 channel music in pure direct mode...and it works and sounds just fine. I do notice there is little to no harshness at -5 and above on the dial! biggrin.gif

Beer, smoke and run audyssey...be back later.

Congrats Jason!

Looking forward to read on your additional impressions after calibration is done, and please don't forget to post more pics when all gear is in the right place.

Cheers!

I couldn't run the full audyssey set up...too noisy right now....damn neighbors dog and the kid just got home from school. I just did the quick set up. Some time in the wee hours of the night tonight I will do the full audyssey calibration.

As far as sound....one thing comes to mind...CLEAN!. I don't really notice anything really different vs the onkyo 809 powering everything until I get up to -10 or higher on the volume. -5 to -0 no longer hurts...just clean sound. And that is exactly what I wanted. Loud with no or little distortion or harshness. In my old house I had a much smaller room so the onk didnt have to work as hard to put out high volume with no or little harshness. Late last year I moved into my new house and have a march larger space to fill and the last several weeks I have noticed the onk was having trouble giving me clean sound at high volumes. Also in my old set up I was not running wides, now I am and that makes a difference too in power output of the avr. Enter the XP5 and all harshness at loud levels is gone.

Music cranked up to -5 to -0 sounds fantastic now. Everything from depeche mode to nine inch nails to styx to pink floyd, to Apoptygma Berzerk to KMFDM to Men At Work to Pet Shop Boys, to The Who, to tom petty to 'til tuesday to front 242 to the cure....everything is clean.

In a little bit I'm gonna throw on my depeche mode and nine inch nails blu rays to check them out...and later it will be pink floyd and rush SACD's.

Here is a crappy cell phone pic of my room

I hate my god awful TV stand...damn thing is near useless except for housing my center channel. However the little woman likes it and I cant get rid of it any time soon as it was the first piece or "real furniture" we bought together. The audio rack is not strong enough to hold the xpa-5, so until I can figure out how to house everything, the amp is gonna have to live on the floor for now.

I also I know my wides are a bit too close to my mains, but it works out well to my ears...much better then heights that I ran in the old house. I also know my speakers are not anything to write home about, but I like 'em.


Gear:
Mitsubish 65738
Denon 1611 Blu-Ray/SACD/DVD-A player
Dish Network VIP 722k DVR
Sony CDP CX-355 300 disk CD player
PS3
Onkyo 809
Polk Monitor 70's. 60's, 40's, CS2 and dual 505's.
XPA-5

Everything was bought on discount, open box, super sale, used etc...I probably have less then 3k invested and built up over the last almost 2 years. Not to shabby if I say so my self.

Now back to listening....biggrin.gif
post #765 of 1293
Do you guys think if I use the pre-outs from my 818 to an XP-5 I will notice a significant improvement in sound quality and volume? I'm considering adding the amp to my system.
post #766 of 1293
At what volume level do you usually listen? How big is your room and what are your speakers? The quick and dirty answer is probably, but it depends on those factors.
post #767 of 1293
No. I seriously doubt you'll hear any difference in sound until you get col that the onlyo has trouble with. I learned this with my stuff. Sound the same as my Integra. And I don't play loud. So I sent the amp back today.
post #768 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by cr136124 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post



A couple of hours later...some badly needed cable management done....and she's on!

Haven't ran audyssey yet. I wanted to make sure that all the connections were okay and to see if the amp functioned properly....zero noise or hum...fantastic.biggrin.gif

For the last 10 minutes or so I have been listening to 2 channel music in pure direct mode...and it works and sounds just fine. I do notice there is little to no harshness at -5 and above on the dial! biggrin.gif

Beer, smoke and run audyssey...be back later.

Congrats Jason!

Looking forward to read on your additional impressions after calibration is done, and please don't forget to post more pics when all gear is in the right place.

Cheers!

I couldn't run the full audyssey set up...too noisy right now....damn neighbors dog and the kid just got home from school. I just did the quick set up. Some time in the wee hours of the night tonight I will do the full audyssey calibration.

As far as sound....one thing comes to mind...CLEAN!. I don't really notice anything really different vs the onkyo 809 powering everything until I get up to -10 or higher on the volume. -5 to -0 no longer hurts...just clean sound. And that is exactly what I wanted. Loud with no or little distortion or harshness. In my old house I had a much smaller room so the onk didnt have to work as hard to put out high volume with no or little harshness. Late last year I moved into my new house and have a march larger space to fill and the last several weeks I have noticed the onk was having trouble giving me clean sound at high volumes. Also in my old set up I was not running wides, now I am and that makes a difference too in power output of the avr. Enter the XP5 and all harshness at loud levels is gone.

Music cranked up to -5 to -0 sounds fantastic now. Everything from depeche mode to nine inch nails to styx to pink floyd, to Apoptygma Berzerk to KMFDM to Men At Work to Pet Shop Boys, to The Who, to tom petty to 'til tuesday to front 242 to the cure....everything is clean.

In a little bit I'm gonna throw on my depeche mode and nine inch nails blu rays to check them out...and later it will be pink floyd and rush SACD's.

Here is a crappy cell phone pic of my room

I hate my god awful TV stand...damn thing is near useless except for housing my center channel. However the little woman likes it and I cant get rid of it any time soon as it was the first piece or "real furniture" we bought together. The audio rack is not strong enough to hold the xpa-5, so until I can figure out how to house everything, the amp is gonna have to live on the floor for now.

I also I know my wides are a bit too close to my mains, but it works out well to my ears...much better then heights that I ran in the old house. I also know my speakers are not anything to write home about, but I like 'em.


Gear:
Mitsubish 65738
Denon 1611 Blu-Ray/SACD/DVD-A player
Dish Network VIP 722k DVR
Sony CDP CX-355 300 disk CD player
PS3
Onkyo 809
Polk Monitor 70's. 60's, 40's, CS2 and dual 505's.
XPA-5

Everything was bought on discount, open box, super sale, used etc...I probably have less then 3k invested and built up over the last almost 2 years. Not to shabby if I say so my self.

Now back to listening....biggrin.gif

I know how you feel about the entertainment center issue. I had the same problem and I built my center in the flexi rack style. The beauty was I was able to configure the setup exactly how I wanted my components to be. I also have room for when I purchase a second EMO amp and go to 7 or 9 channels. Feel free to look at my HT thread for a simple idea and cheaper than buying a cheap particle board center.
post #769 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

I couldn't run the full audyssey set up...too noisy right now....damn neighbors dog and the kid just got home from school. I just did the quick set up. Some time in the wee hours of the night tonight I will do the full audyssey calibration.

Man, I feel you pain. Happens all the time to me. When I'm about ready to re-run calibration someone arrives or my wife wants to do something. Is like they were keeping an eye on me and as they see me picking the mic up........bam! rolleyes.gif
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

As far as sound....one thing comes to mind...CLEAN!. I don't really notice anything really different vs the onkyo 809 powering everything until I get up to -10 or higher on the volume. -5 to -0 no longer hurts...just clean sound. And that is exactly what I wanted. Loud with no or little distortion or harshness. In my old house I had a much smaller room so the onk didnt have to work as hard to put out high volume with no or little harshness. Late last year I moved into my new house and have a march larger space to fill and the last several weeks I have noticed the onk was having trouble giving me clean sound at high volumes. Also in my old set up I was not running wides, now I am and that makes a difference too in power output of the avr. Enter the XP5 and all harshness at loud levels is gone.

Same experience here......adding the amps has been a great improvement on my room. Next stop, acoustic treatments!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

Music cranked up to -5 to -0 sounds fantastic now. Everything from depeche mode to nine inch nails to styx to pink floyd, to Apoptygma Berzerk to KMFDM to Men At Work to Pet Shop Boys, to The Who, to tom petty to 'til tuesday to front 242 to the cure....everything is clean.

And another benefit on that, is that you are reducing the risk on clippling your speakers by driving them with clean power!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

In a little bit I'm gonna throw on my depeche mode and nine inch nails blu rays to check them out...and later it will be pink floyd and rush SACD's.

SACD's.............yeah, now we are talking!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

Here is a crappy cell phone pic of my room
I hate my god awful TV stand...damn thing is near useless except for housing my center channel. However the little woman likes it and I cant get rid of it any time soon as it was the first piece or "real furniture" we bought together. The audio rack is not strong enough to hold the xpa-5, so until I can figure out how to house everything, the amp is gonna have to live on the floor for now.

Hey, any chance you can put the XPA-5 right beneath the center channel? It seems that you have some decor there right now, but I can't tell from the pic if you will have enough space/ventilation for the amp. Don't ask the wife, just put it in there (if possible) and wait to see when she notices it? By then....................it is too late!

Muahhhahaah!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

I also I know my wides are a bit too close to my mains, but it works out well to my ears...much better then heights that I ran in the old house. I also know my speakers are not anything to write home about, but I like 'em.

Man, if they sound good to you, who cares what other say. It is your system and you are happy with it........so, enjoy it to the max!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

Everything was bought on discount, open box, super sale, used etc...I probably have less then 3k invested and built up over the last almost 2 years. Not to shabby if I say so my self.

That's the way to go!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 67jason View Post

Now back to listening....biggrin.gif

Enjoy!!!!
post #770 of 1293
Here are my pics:





The bottom shelf costs about as much as my first car did. hahaha. I love this amp and it will grow with my system.
post #771 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by K5/SS View Post

Here are my pics:





The bottom shelf costs about as much as my first car did. hahaha. I love this amp and it will grow with my system.

Pretty cool setup!!!

So, what do you think so far?
post #772 of 1293
I am watching my first blu ray right now. I love it!! There were a ton of people that told me the SC-35's 140w I.C.E amps were plenty to drive my Klipsch Reference 5.1 system but I can tell you that I am watching a movie right now at -20 on the AVR and it is about as much as I can take. I used to listen to movies at -12 to -10...... I will be putting in my Dave Mathews and Tim Renolds live at Radio City Blu ray next, I can't wait to hear that in stereo with the new amp. eek.gif
post #773 of 1293


just bought the black trim pieces off emotiva...i am psyched I love the blacked out look...anyone interested in custom made silver ones shown above they are for sale?
post #774 of 1293
I was thinking of these brands.
Legacy Audio
PSB
Paradigm
McIntosh
SVS new ultra floor standing
Integra DTR 50.4 for Audysse XT32
Not sure what other speaker brands.
Thanks Brian and everyone.
post #775 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by K5/SS View Post

I am watching my first blu ray right now. I love it!! There were a ton of people that told me the SC-35's 140w I.C.E amps were plenty to drive my Klipsch Reference 5.1 system but I can tell you that I am watching a movie right now at -20 on the AVR and it is about as much as I can take. I used to listen to movies at -12 to -10...... I will be putting in my Dave Mathews and Tim Renolds live at Radio City Blu ray next, I can't wait to hear that in stereo with the new amp. eek.gif

The reason for the increased volume is that the Emotiva amps have added gain over the AVR amp. The added power is not what is making the volume louder ad the settings you quote.
post #776 of 1293
Quoting 67Jason:

"Music cranked up to -5 to -0 sounds fantastic now. Everything from depeche mode to nine inch nails to styx to pink floyd, to Apoptygma Berzerk to KMFDM to Men At Work to Pet Shop Boys, to The Who, to tom petty to 'til tuesday to front 242 to the cure....everything is clean. "

Man you had me at depeche mode and nine inch nails. I have those blus and they sound fantastic on my Emo HT. I have two XPA-1s, an XPA-2, and a XPA-3 powering the mains and, yup, you can crank it as loud as you want like you said.
post #777 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by dphinsx2 View Post

I just received my xpa-5 and i am caught off guard with how massive and heavy this amp is. You don't realize it until you pick it up. My question is, does anybody have there amp sitting on a tempered glass stand? I don't see any warnings on the glass?

Dphinsx2,

My apologies if I'm stepping on someones exchange . . . new to this forum. But I wanted to respond to Dsphinsx2's post above & I wasn't sure how to do it; so, my apologies & please educate me if there's a better way to do this . . .

I have this AV Center:

http://www.amazon.com/Techcraft-NTR60-60-Inch-Bernini-Panel/dp/B002ISZEEE/ref=cm_rdp_product


The shelves are black tempered glass & rated at 175 (top shelf); middle & bottom are at 60-lbs respectively (kind of silly, IMO, w/ the weight of these AV components). Anyway, I really liked the look of this AV Ctr & the fact that the top shelf supported my center speaker . . . well, here's what I did to remedy the short comings of the weight limits of the bottom shelf:

From Home Depot, I bought 2-sheets of ply-wood measuring 16" x 56" by 5/8" and placed them on the floor under the bottom-shelf . . . now the tempered glass shelf is actually resting atop the wood base (-vs- the rubber bumper-tips of the AV stand frame) . . . because the tempered glass is black in color, you cannot see the wood through the glass. Side Note: I'd recommend putting a sheet of plastic between the wood & your floor. In my case it's carpet, but the plastic serves two functions (1) protects the carpet from anything that may bleed off the wood & (2) if you have to slide your AV-center for any reason, e.g., messing w/ wires, the plastic permits the wood to slide much easier . . . now, my 60-lbs rated bottom shelf is supporting 135-lbs of gear (XPA-5, Denon 4311ci, & APC J25B).

p.s., I'll try to attach a pic (but not sure if I'll be successful).

In any case hope this was helpful.

Shek5150
AV Center.jpeg 88k .jpeg file
post #778 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by runnin' View Post

At what volume level do you usually listen? How big is your room and what are your speakers? The quick and dirty answer is probably, but it depends on those factors.

When nobody is home I'm usually around 80-82 Music, 70-75 movies. Needed to keep the volume indicator so the wife and kids understand the level.

The room is 16 x 15 and the speakers are as follows:

Front = JBL S38
Front Wide = JBL E20
Center = JBL S Center
Surround L&R = JBL E90
Surround Rear = JBL S36II (Actually mounted on the ceiling just behind the couch)
Sub = JBL E150P
post #779 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by buggs1a View Post

I was thinking of these brands.
Legacy Audio
PSB
Paradigm
McIntosh
SVS new ultra floor standing
Integra DTR 50.4 for Audysse XT32
Not sure what other speaker brands.
Thanks Brian and everyone.

Hey buggs, aren't you planning on tackling acoustic treatments at your room first?

I was planning on buying modified crossovers for my fronts and center speakers, but I put that project on hold until I have my room acoustically treated. I have a lot of reflections (walls, floor, table, ceiling, etc.). So, I will not spend more money until I fix that issue first.

I guess, you might be facing the same problem and no matter what gear you bring to your room, if you don't resolve those issues that are inherent to your "room", you will never be satisfied no matter what gear you try.

My two cents!
post #780 of 1293
Quote:
Originally Posted by InfernoST View Post

When nobody is home I'm usually around 80-82 Music, 70-75 movies. Needed to keep the volume indicator so the wife and kids understand the level.

The room is 16 x 15 and the speakers are as follows:

Front = JBL S38
Front Wide = JBL E20
Center = JBL S Center
Surround L&R = JBL E90
Surround Rear = JBL S36II (Actually mounted on the ceiling just behind the couch)
Sub = JBL E150P

Those are some nice speakers and they would definitely benefit from running an amp. You have what I like to call realistic volume levels, many people do not want or need reference movie theater levels(peaks of 105db or so). Speaking of which, the amp would be able to give more impact and slam for movie crashes, etc, and this is where an amp can shine. You didn't mention whether the XPA-5 is on a short list or your only pick thus far. One possible downside could be the metal dome tweeters you have as they can be brighter with some amps. I had a XPA-3 and sold it because of this, but I was listening critically to music with it. If it's your first amp you might not even notice it as your volume levels are pretty safe.
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