Official Emotiva XPA-5 Owners Thread - Page 27

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggs1a 

Thanks.
I'm not sure about spending money on room panels etc. I don't have much room nor money right now but I'll consider it. I've also been told it isn't a big deal in my room.

Right now I've decided to save for a new Integra dtr 50.4 to get audysse xt32. I'll build from there.

You have your priorities reversed. Money spent on room treatments will make far, far more audible difference to your SQ than money spent on any AVR or amp. 

If it is correct that it "isn’t a big deal in your room", what is special about your room that it doesn’t have modes and reflections? (Well, all rooms have modes, so just deal with the reflections).

If you want the biggest improvement in SQ that you can get, then you first address the room and the speakers.

If you say you can’t accommodate room treatments for WAF or aesthetic reasons, that is fair enough - but it doesn't make sense to dismiss room treatments on the grounds of money, and then spending more money still on amps and/or AVRs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Fineberg 

agreed as well as he just returned an xpa-5 and a marantz 7007. so he has money to make the changes,....he is just not willing to apparently. but you can only steer a horse to water...you cant make him drink it

Very true, Brian. I am old enough to know this but evidently not wise enough to observe it. LOL. I keep on trying though, but the horse never changes its mind :)

I suspect that for many people, owning AV gear is more or less an end in itself - the number of photos of 'gear displays' on AVS seems to reinforce that view. There are numerous posts showing off nice racks of equipment, followed by more numerous posts saying "great system", without much regard for how it all might sound. This is fair enough of course - people are all free to pursue any interests they wish without curmudgeonly remarks from the likes of me, who is far more interested in the sound produced than the appearance of the equipment which produces it. It helps that all my equipment is in a separate closet and that my room is a dedicated HT room, which means my speakers can be (and are) pig ugly, as I rarely see them with the lights on, but boy do they perform. I am reminded of an old adage in regard to the fairer sex, but this is not the place to elaborate on that... ;)

Similarly, room treatments are as dull as ditchwater. They have no (blue) flashing lights, no 'wow factor', no menus to play with, not even a mains plug to connect to the wall! And I suspect that this is, sometimes, why they are ignored, despite the massive sonic benefits they can bring to the party. They just are not, in the least, in the slightest, sexy. 

None of this is directed at Buggs... he has been remarkably open and honest in already telling us that he is simply bored with what he has and wants a change. We should perhaps encourage that view, as the more there are who hold it, the more your great economy will be raised from its current slumber and continue once more to be the powerhouse of the world. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Fineberg 

i agree totally. My case in point I cannot do any additional room treatments as the WAF would not work...hell she has let me turn my Living room into a viable HT as it is. but I know that in Buggs case he CAN get a benefit from new speakers. That is the first line of getting a new sound....NOT getting a new receiever.

I highly suggest Buggs looks at a local dealer that could let him try the speakers in house. or he could try the Aperion grands (they offer free shipping both ways so no risk)

After he does that then down the road he can go back to the idea of a new pre/pro and amotiva amp.

We are in complete concurrence, Brian. Which is unusual on AVS :)  Absent room treatments for the very good reason of WAF, then the next line of defence against room issues is good electronic EQ such as Audyssey MultEQ XT32, which I cannot praise highly enough. My own room is extensively treated, but I would never be without the 'icing on the cake' that is XT32.

Your suggestion of a local dealer (or the Aperions) is a great one. Riskless evaluation of options!

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggs1a 

Thanks guys. I didn't mean to sound like I won't do treatments.
Lets try this. Looking at my room. Lets make it into a dedicated ht room that happens to have my bed and that shelf next to it and computer desk by the closet in it. Where should I put stuff?
 

Take a look here:

http://www.realtraps.com/

or here:

http://www.gikacoustics.com/

Both sites have tons of information about how to use room treatments. If you have basic DIY skills it is also very easy to use the info on those sites as a guide to making your own treatments, saving huge amounts of money in the process. There are also threads on AVS dedicated to DIY bass traps and room treatments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinnho 

Hi All - I just picked up an XPA-5 to run that along with my current DENON 3808ci 7 channel amp. Currently I have all 7 channels connected with definitive speakers.

What is the best way to run the XPA-5. Which 2 rear channels is more important? Do i just run 5 speaker wires from DENON and plug that into XPA-5, and leave the other 2 channels alone plugged into DENON? I assume after I do all that, I need to re-run my Audysssey?

Thanks for reading and all the help on this. Fairly new to speakers and amps.

You need to run interconnects between the pre-out terminals of the Denon and the input terminals of the amp. You can’t connect the speaker outlets of the Denon to the amp - the amp is looking for a low level signal. Use RCA to RCA interconnects from Monoprice. Then you connect the speakers to the XPA-5.  The other surround channels can be left connected to the Denon. You are advised to run Audyssey again after making these changes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinnho 

Just to clarify, here's an image of how I have it setup.

So SBL and SBR Speakers will be connected from DENON Preouts to XPA5, and leave SL and SR speakers connected from the denon to the respective speakers?

Aren't the SL AND SR speakers being more commonly used when watching movies?

It won't really make much difference. I’d connect the surround backs to the Denon and the surrounds to the XPA-5.

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggs1a 

Thanks.
I have no skills at all haha.

:)  Well, in that case, you’d have to buy ready-made treatments. Realtraps are good but IMO very expensive. GIK are also good, although not as nice to look at, but less expensive. The treatments will likely cost a lot less than a new prepro and amp and will likely give you much better return on your cash in terms of SQ improvement.  FWIW, I chose GIK and am very happy with their products and their service. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Fineberg 

KB do you have a gallery of your HT?

I have one photo somewhere... I will try to dig it out for you if you are interested in seeing it. It is a very small room, especially by US standards, but it is interesting to see what can be achieved in such a small room - less than 1000 cu ft!

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggs1a 

What about where to put stuff in my room to make it more into a ht room? Speaker placement, tv, rack etc?

Did you post pics of your room already?  Forgive me for forgetting. If you did I will go back and look at them.