Hi Jeff. Tks for sharing. The price point is pretty good. This power amp for its quality is really affordable. It should.be at least two or three times the price.
May I ask if you have two of these xtz power amps fed to each speaker or one. And out of curiosity what was lacking in your denon and how it is sounding now. As your denon model is pretty good from my impression similar to my onkyo model I believe. Does your denon with the xtz sound better with movies too? I was actually looking at emotiva and cambridge power amps but i finally ended up with the xtz cause it was really that good and doesnt get hot at all. I actually have my power on the xtz always on. And its not hot. From what I researched, the emotiva while its a good amp can be lean sounding and cambridge 851 W again with its merits can run super hot. I did audition the cambridge and i somewhat felt this xtz had better sonic abilities. The xtz is just so very clear transparent, has impressive soundstage and adds so much tightness and punch to the bass. I dont even use my subs now for stereo music. And before i added this power amp I was actually quite happy with my onkyo. Just never knew the difference could have been so significant. The xtz may be a little forward sounding but more in a lively way rather than fatiguing. This ICE Power amps are really something I must say. Think its getting the better of class A/B amps. So much so am considering a second one.
I find better results with my 2 channel stereo as compared to movies. But that could also be because I havent fully calibrated my system as yet. Would be glad to hear your views.