[robc1976]

I am about to purchase a Emotiva XPA-5 (Link below if needed) and have a couple of questions for people who own theses, on my recievers pre-outs (Denon AVR-4311Ci) I have 2 otputs (red & white) that would go to the Emotiva XPA-5 but the XPA-5 only has 1 input??? Who does it get the signal if there is only one?? Do I just use i output on the 4311Ci?? Also the channels are labeled on the XPA-5 FR, FL, RS,LS does it matter what speakers I hook up because I am getting this to put power to my Center (RC-64II), fronts (RF-82II) & wides (RF-82II) and want to make sure they get the correct signal. I have never used a external amp but think it is about time to do it LOL!!

Emotiva XPA-5:

http://emotiva.com/xpa5.shtm



Emotiva Audio cables I am using 2nd ones down on the list:
http://emotiva.com/interconnects.shtm

 

[mjpearce023]

The 4311 has preamp outputs for each channel. You need to run the outputs to the corresponding inputs on the XPA 5. FL out from the 4311 goes to FL in on the XPA. Then you just hook the speakers up to the post on the XPA.


I do want to warn you that the Klipsch Reference series will probably not benefit from adding an amp. The 4311 has plenty of power so don't expect an improvement by adding a XPA5. If you have spare money laying around you could send it to me or start looking at room treatments if you don't already have them. You will get a bigger improvement treating the room than adding more power in my opinion.

 

[jdsmoothie]

+1


It can be a bit confusing to be sure. The speaker preouts are colored red/white just as the Zone 2/3 preouts and the stereo analog inputs. However, if you take a closer look at the speaker preouts you'll note that there is only one preout jack for each speaker which would then plug in to the single input jack on the XPA-5.


You can learn more about your 4311CI by checking out the Denon 4311CI Owner's thread.

 

[grouper8]

I had purchase a XPA-3 a few years ago to go with my Onkyo 3007. Well, I ended up selling the 3007 and purchase the Pioneer SC-37 and did use the XPA-3 with it for front speakers. I have the RF-7 II which are even more efficient then the RF-82 II. The one thing I do notice after I run MCACC is that it sets the trim levels to RF-7 II and the RC-64 II to -10.5. Do I need the amp? I would say no... but I'm pleased with the sound. Maybe one day I will take the XPA-3 out and just hook the speakers to the SC-37 and see if I can tell the differance.

 

[robc1976]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jdsmoothie /forum/post/20865706


+1


It can be a bit confusing to be sure. The speaker preouts are colored red/white just as the Zone 2/3 preouts and the stereo analog inputs. However, if you take a closer look at the speaker preouts you'll note that there is only one preout jack for each speaker which would then plug in to the single input jack on the XPA-5.


You can learn more about your 4311CI by checking out the Denon 4311CI Owner's thread.

That is what I was not seeing LOL!! I was like "There is 2 for each speaker"...I guess there is not LOL!! I love that thread also, you have answered many questions for me in there LOL!!

 

[robc1976]



Quote:
Originally Posted by grouper8 /forum/post/20865766


I had purchase a XPA-3 a few years ago to go with my Onkyo 3007. Well, I ended up selling the 3007 and purchase the Pioneer SC-37 and did use the XPA-3 with it for front speakers. I have the RF-7 II which are even more efficient then the RF-82 II. The one thing I do notice after I run MCACC is that it sets the trim levels to RF-7 II and the RC-64 II to -10.5. Do I need the amp? I would say no... but I'm pleased with the sound. Maybe one day I will take the XPA-3 out and just hook the speakers to the SC-37 and see if I can tell the differance.

That is something to note...my reciever sets my center at -10 and fronts & wides to -6.5.

 

[robc1976]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mjpearce023 /forum/post/20865561


I do want to warn you that the Klipsch Reference series will probably not benefit from adding an amp. The 4311 has plenty of power so don't expect an improvement by adding a XPA5. If you have spare money laying around you could send it to me or start looking at room treatments if you don't already have them. You will get a bigger improvement treating the room than adding more power in my opinion.

LOL!! I will order 2 ...one for you and 1 for me LOL!!

I would do room treatments but I have no idea where to even start LOL!!

 

[robc1976]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mjpearce023 /forum/post/20865561


The 4311 has preamp outputs for each channel. You need to run the outputs to the corresponding inputs on the XPA 5. FL out from the 4311 goes to FL in on the XPA. Then you just hook the speakers up to the post on the XPA.


I do want to warn you that the Klipsch Reference series will probably not benefit from adding an amp. The 4311 has plenty of power so don't expect an improvement by adding a XPA5. If you have spare money laying around you could send it to me or start looking at room treatments if you don't already have them. You will get a bigger improvement treating the room than adding more power in my opinion.

I was just looking at your theater and would like to know where you got those mounts for your surrounds and how much weight will they hold?? Very nice system you have there also!

 

[mjpearce023]



Quote:
Originally Posted by robc1976 /forum/post/20866376


I was just looking at your theater and would like to know where you got those mounts for your surrounds and how much weight will they hold?? Very nice system you have there also!

Thanks. The black mount for the right surround is the Pinpoint AM40. The max is 55 lbs. I like them because I didn't want to drill holes in the speakers.

Here is a link http://www.pinpointmounts.com/am40.html


There is a lot of info on room treatments in the Audio theory setup and chat thread. I read a lot about them but I am waiting till I have a dedicated theater room. Some stuff is small like putting a thick area rug over hardwood floors or putting heavy drapes on a window. The wall treatments/bass traps are where it starts to get more complicated. The XPA is a good amp and if you had some 4 ohm B&W that are 84db you would get a lot of go for it responses. Those 8 ohm Klipsch are probably only using a couple watts so the Denon 4311 has plenty of headroom unless your room is gigantic.


Ill take a 4311 while you're feeling nice.

 

[robc1976]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mjpearce023 /forum/post/20866613


Thanks. The black mount for the right surround is the Pinpoint AM40. The max is 55 lbs. I like them because I didn't want to drill holes in the speakers.

Here is a link http://www.pinpointmounts.com/am40.html


There is a lot of info on room treatments in the Audio theory setup and chat thread. I read a lot about them but I am waiting till I have a dedicated theater room. Some stuff is small like putting a thick area rug over hardwood floors or putting heavy drapes on a window. The wall treatments/bass traps are where it starts to get more complicated. The XPA is a good amp and if you had some 4 ohm B&W that are 84db you would get a lot of go for it responses. Those 8 ohm Klipsch are probably only using a couple watts so the Denon 4311 has plenty of headroom unless your room is gigantic.


Ill take a 4311 while you're feeling nice.

LOL!! on the 4311Ci!

My room is only 25' X 25'. Those mounts are a LOT better than what I am using...I am using a omni mount that says it can hold 30 lbs...yeah right!

....I need a heavy mount to mount some Rb-61II and these will be what I am getting...thanks!!

 

[MichaelJHuman]



Quote:
Originally Posted by robc1976 /forum/post/20866231


That is something to note...my reciever sets my center at -10 and fronts & wides to -6.5.

Efficient center speaker maybe, but wow, that's a big diffence.


I have the crappy B&W 600 series center with an 85 dB sensitivity. My trim on the center is at least 3 dB higher than the left/right to compensate.

 

[robc1976]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelJHuman /forum/post/20866717


Efficient center speaker maybe, but wow, that's a big diffence.


I have the crappy B&W 600 series center with an 85 dB sensitivity. My trim on the center is at least 3 dB higher than the left/right to compensate.

My center is 99Db so it is pretty efficent.

 

[kikkenit2]



Quote:
Originally Posted by robc1976 /forum/post/20866678


LOL!! on the 4311Ci!

My room is only 25' X 25'. Those mounts are a LOT better than what I am using...I am using a omni mount that says it can hold 30 lbs...yeah right!

....I need a heavy mount to mount some Rb-61II and these will be what I am getting...thanks!!

I run a 4311 and they are sweet. I use wall mounts a lot. The omnimount 20 is really only rated for 15 lbs. And about the only thing more stout is the pinpoint am40. I just bought and installed several of those. It is only rated to 40 lbs. Maybe thats why they named it the 40? And for heavy speakers they do need small screws into the speaker for a solid mount. In fact 5 screws in each speaker besides the clamping effect (3 on the bottom and 1 on each side). But it does make for a decent robust speaker mount. The box doesn't come with enough screws though. About the only thing more robust is the wood shelf he did on the other corner. I just did several of those also.

 

[mjpearce023]

I like my shelf and it was not even in the plans. I ordered the 40s and figured out the door would hit the mount every time it opened. I had to figure out a new plan and I couldn't. I called in the big guns (my day) and he said ohh I can build a shelf for that. Sweet. He even matched the color and the trim. Now I wish he would make one for the other side. He also made that entertainment center which I personally think is awesome. It would be hard to find a stand made of real wood that's that sturdy for a decent price. I don't know why I never learned how to do this stuff when I was growing up but at least somebody I know knows how to do it.

I thought the 40s could hold up to 55 lbs but I checked the website and says 50.

 

[grouper8]



Quote:
Originally Posted by robc1976 /forum/post/20866231


That is something to note...my reciever sets my center at -10 and fronts & wides to -6.5.

After going back and forth listening with the XPA-3 hook up to SC-37 and then listening to just the SC-37,,,I took out the XPA-3 and will just power my Klipsch speakers with the SC-37. It really sounds better without the XPA-3. Running MCAAC did lower my trim setting to around -7 from -10.5.

 

[guitaraficionado]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelJHuman /forum/post/20866717


Efficient center speaker maybe, but wow, that's a big diffence.


I have the crappy B&W 600 series center with an 85 dB sensitivity. My trim on the center is at least 3 dB higher than the left/right to compensate.

I have the same center speaker -- you don't like the sound quality? Or is it the sensitivity that's the issue? My Denon doesn't like driving it for sure...

 

[rjyap]

I found out with 4311 + XPA-5 + JTR T8 (98db/w), the trim is set at -12 for all 3 L,R,C speaker. I need 12db RCA attenuator to reduce the gain and the trim is now -1 to +0.5 for L,R,C. Also, I found out that the system no longer sound too bright before the attenuator. XPA-5 gain (32db) is higher than normal power amp (27db) so combination with efficient speaker might not be a good match without the attenuator. If your trim is at around -10, you can try out 6db or 10db attenuator. Part Express only have FMOD RCA attenuator at 3db, 6db and 12db.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitaraficionado I have the same center speaker -- you don't like the sound quality? Or is it the sensitivity that's the issue? My Denon doesn't like driving it for sure...

Sensitivity.


Speakers sound great. I only have one complaint, actually.


On some movies, some sounds are annoyingly harsh. But I played NIN's "Beside you in Time" at a pretty high volume (for me,) and my system sounded much better than satisfactory.


So where's the problem? I don't know.


I feel the B&W 600 series speakers may not handle movies above a certain volume without noticably distorting. They are not reference level speakers, in my opinion for sure. But even at -10 dB they don't seem to handle everything well.


I also suspect acoustic issues and my ears as being potential sources of problems.


I will admit that one of the movies I found most harsh is a 1970s movie...Raider's of the Lost Ark. Modern movies are cleaner in how they sound, in my experience.

 

[guitaraficionado]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelJHuman Sensitivity. Speakers sound great. I only have one complaint, actually. On some movies, some sounds are annoyingly harsh. But I played NIN's "Beside you in Time" at a pretty high volume (for me,) and my system sounded much better than satisfactory. So where's the problem? I don't know. I feel the B&W 600 series speakers may not handle movies above a certain volume without noticably distorting. They are not reference level speakers, in my opinion for sure. But even at -10 dB they don't seem to handle everything well. I also suspect acoustic issues and my ears as being potential sources of problems. I will admit that one of the movies I found most harsh is a 1970s movie...Raider's of the Lost Ark. Modern movies are cleaner in how they sound, in my experience.

I know we're off topic a bit, but I've had trouble with distortion too with the 600 series and I think it's my Denon AVR, not the speakers. That said, my center is just not cutting it -- dialogue is not very clear, even though I've adjusted the levels as you have. I'm really hoping an external amp will remedy this.

 

[penngray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitaraficionado I know we're off topic a bit, but I've had trouble with distortion too with the 600 series and I think it's my Denon AVR, not the speakers. That said, my center is just not cutting it -- dialogue is not very clear, even though I've adjusted the levels as you have. I'm really hoping an external amp will remedy this.

The amp in the AVR is probably clipping and also chocking on B&W Impedance curves but I still think its the B&Ws, I think they distort a lot during movie peaks. B&W speakers are not really designed to handle movie peaks. They are music designs, HT requires a different set of design parameters.


If maximize the HT experience is a priority then amplification and speakers that actually are design to handle movie peaks are a must.