Danzo

It's a no brainer. XPA-2 is better than midrange receivers at all volume levels. Even if you like your music relatively quiet, you will notice improvement in bass and clarity. However, XPA amps exhibit higher noise levels with sensitive speakers than i would like, which made me move on to another amp.

You will not get more bass from Belles but it will be tighter. Also midrange of belles should be superior to that of Cornwall's. It's probably more of a speaker to listen to vocals on.

As David said, ignore colours and follow labels. All XPA-5 channels are the same but you'd do better to match interconnect ends. It's 'neater' and makes it easier to trace out cables later and hook up speaker wires to the amp.

Trying to figure out which combo would sound better for 2 channel: Oppo BDP93 + Wyred 4 Sound DAC2 -->amp Oppo BDB95 + Wyred 4 Sound STP SE -->amp Although in both cases DAC chip is similar (same?), i wonder if W4S will have it implemented better than oppo? But then digital volume control is not so appealing although some people use it that way. Second option is quite pricier, but i liked how W4S implemented volume control. I am not really hellbent on getting W4S, i would probably like similar decent Pre or DAC like Bel Canto, or such, but if i ever manage to find a 2nd hand W4S STP SE i will be all over it. Anyone with experience with the above gear?

Carver had some tiny subs made with big displacement proving that huge size is not necessity for a sub. However, if you like your subs very loud and efficient, you will most like have to go big. Enter Tuba HT!! (of course, it's not like it's anywhere near biggest subs) Having said that, i can assure you that, if you have a sensibly sized room, Legend is perfectly suitable for watching movies and you will be comfortable in knowing you that have one of nicest, affordable subs for music.

It is not common for sealed subs to have much to show at either 20Hz or 22Hz and no, there would not be much difference between Emo and Epik at this frequency range. I personally still fancy Epik over Emotiva, even though i love multichannel Emo amps for movies. Take this with handful of salt though as i did not have chance to listen to Emo sub. Postage would be a pain as i am from London, UK, so you'll have to find your own hehe.. also, many a good explanation of SPL can be found with search engines and online info banks.

Epik Legend is awesome for music, it is well built and being sealed design helps alot. However, it is no slouch for movies. Although 300W constant and 750W at peaks is by far not strongest, second 12'' driver adds like 3dB, which at low end can make all the difference. It also very much depends on your room size, some people feel they need to add two subs just for music listening.. I myself am really satisfied with Legend for movies, but might go for DIY project like Tuba HT or similar, just to see if i can experience the house_shaking_pants_flapping_omg LFE. Then find another apartment to live in after getting ASBO'd and being evicted...

I can vouch for XPA-5. It is very substantial amp and it's 200Wpc rating is very conservative, as it is measured when all 5 channels are driven at full power. It has quite a big form factor (quite tall and deep), but it helps it to stay relatively cool during operation. The blue light on power button is too bright for watching movies in the dark room, but there are ways around it, it gives chance for you to show your creativity hehe.. Fully transferable 5 year warranty helps too. With this, You are very likely to not need another multichannel amp in a long time. Fairly neutral and decent sounding for music playback too, plenty of headroom.

Epik Legend is sure very nice sub for music. Fairly small form factor for dual 12'' and zero vibrations. I, however, am planing to sell it and replace it with one of lower digging, ported woofers just for movies. Reason for this is i just bought a quite powerful stereo amplifier and now i get all the bottom end from my main speakers i ever wanted (for music listening)

'they're finally developing a deeper, more full sound quality.' No.

Thanks for sharing your experience and ideas guys. This calmed me down a bit and i can think more clearly now and 'Must get!!!!' rage is passing -.-

Two Klipsch RSW-12 is better than one Emotiva Ultra-12. Just saying [8o|]

I have a pair of Forte II speakers and i find them very good. Currently run them with Emotiva UP-1 blocks from Oppo95 but about to pickup Bryston 4B ST just to see how speakers would behave with more power and hoping for ever lower noise floor. Used to consider replacing speakers with classic RF-7 (i do watch some movies), but after auditioning decided against it. Still have to find a pair of RF-83 to listen to, but starting to think that i find 3-way sound more pleasing (trying to stay open minded though). Most of other famous Heritage have too big a footprint to be squeezed into my listening area. Heresies do require a good matching subwoofer and i doubt Chorus I or IIs would be a major step up from my current speakers - which left me thinking about KLF series. I wonder if anyone had a chance to compare Forte IIs vs KLF-30? Are they fairly similar or maybe it's worth making it my mission No1 and, for example, importing pair from US all the way to UK?

Surely Cleese would not resort to american spelling.

Tubes sounding better is not a universal fact. It's just an acquired taste, just as listening to stereo (2 channel system) is. It is agreed that humans find pleasurable to listen to even order harmonics some valve amps tend to mix in. Simple as Obviously there is no right or wrong as listening pleasure is ultimate goal for many of us and there is nothing wrong with coloring or 'warming' sound up a bit. For more accurate reproduction it's often easier to find what You want among SS flock though. I am at the moment looking for a decent sounding preamp that would be convenient to use and, among others, came up with this: Preamp buying guide. Sorry for not having a better link handy, but some bits could be interesting reading.

Nothing to 'fix' as it is working as intended. UMC-1 does not do all channel stereo for now; Try PL or other modes

Lonnie removed support for that with one of more recent firmware updates.

XPA-5 is not balanced amp anyways, only balanced amp Emotiva sell now is XPA-1. I can also confirm that blue power buttons are too bright. Otherwise UMC-1 is quite good for movies and XPA-5 does it's job.

1. Welcome to forums. 2. Stop polluting rivers with smoking Onkyo receivers. 3. Buy Wyred 4 Sound STP SE. 4. Profit.

I stand corrected then!

Sorry for not pointing it out, i am from UK and not India. Although mains voltage is similar (¬230V @ 50Hz), i would have no ide how to source the stepdown transformers in India. I am using this one. Remember, it definitely is not 'best stuff' and does not convert AC frequency and is not likely to be suitable for critical or high powered systems. Does it for my PC speakers though.

Most people probably switch preamp on last, or at least after the amps. Also, I find banana plugs to be very convenient, maybe You just need to replace them with sturdier ones?

I've been running my Promedia Ultra 5.1 for 3 years (4-5 hours of daily use) and 2.1 for 5 years ( my brother is using it since i got the 5.1). Used cheap 300w stepdown transformer with 2.1 and am using 500w transformer of similar kind with 5.1. Now, i am not saying 'do as i do' because DJK here is right and it is likely not a proper way to do it, but i am satisfied with this workaround. As for heat, those BASH amplifier plates like i've got in 5.1, are quite notorious for fairly poor layout/design and some parts do tend to everheat, and this is common problem. However, a quiet fan inside of sub, moving air around amp plate made day and night difference and amp is nowhere near as hot any more. Your model is obviously different and You might need different solution (i agree with transformer replacement advice here being best for safety reasons) , just putting it out there, maybe You'll find it useful.

spot an addict!

This article might be of interest to some of us who downloaded some HD content and were left wanting/disappointed.