wake175m5 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 i currently have an Onkyo TX-NR807 running: RC-64 (center) RF-63s (left & right) KG 4.5 (left & right surrounds) would adding the Emotiva XPA-5 to my setup and using the Onkyo TX-NR807 as a preamp be a good improvement to what i currently have or do people think there wouldn't be much of a difference? i seem to read everywhere that when using a separate amp to power your speakers you get much richer, more full / robust sound from your speakers. thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 If you listen at louder levels it would be a great addition.If you listen at mid to lower levels the built in amps would do fine although you may give up a little overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Moving to a separate amplifier can yield a significant improvement under some circumstances: 1. Your speakers have impedance dips which the receiver was not designed to handle. This can lead to higher levels of distortion than expected and an earlier onset of clipping than expected. Unfortunately, I don't know what the impedance dips of the RF-63 and KG 4.5 are. The RC-64 has conflicting measurements: 2.8 ohms minimum per Sound and Vision and 3.71 ohms per Home Theater. Either is lower than I'd personally care to subject the 807 to, and 2.8 ohms is lower than I'd care to subject just about any AV receiver to. 2. You've reached the point of clipping under typical usage, ie you've run out of clean power and your receiver is putting out garbage. Even if it is not glaringly obvious, this can be an issue with highly dynamic material where you have a split second peak which clips the receiver. In such a circumstance, because the XPA-5 simply has more power on tap, it will not clip at as low a volume as the 807. Long story short, I think it would be worthwhile in your case to give the XPA-5 a test drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Disclosure: My experience only. When I added a 200w/channel 3-channel B&K Ref 4430 amplifier to my Onkyo TX-SR705 driving my RF-63/RC-64 combo, everything improved noticeably, at low,medium, and high volumes. Musical instruments had better seperation and the bass had a punch that just wasn't there with the Onkyo alone. I have no experience with the XPA-5 but do believe there will be an overrall improvement that you can hear. One thing I will point out is that your 807 is a more potent receiver than my 705 so you may not experience quite the dramatic change that I experienced. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xi-razorback Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I'm not a home theatre nut but I do own Emotiva equipment. It is very good quality stuff. Adding a seperate amp will improve the sound a lot. The Onkyo won't have to manage so much. If I was going the 5 channel route I would buy Emotivas 3 channel amp and the 2 channel amp as that would give me more flexability down the road. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 would you guys pick the monoblock over the 2 channel emotiva? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xi-razorback Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Given that I'm a 2 channel stereo guy; If money and space were not an issue and my speakers could handle it, yes, I would do the mono blocks. Not sure if the cost benefit is there in a home theatre setup though...............but those mono blocks are very useful and flexible when it comes to stereo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wake175m5 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Thank you everyone for your feedback. i ordered it today - not sure yet when it is supposed to arrive but ill let you know when it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Late to the thread here but My Experience with Emo amps and Klipsch Heritage i\is that the amps have too much gain. I use an XPA-5 with RF-83 with no problem. XPA-1s with my Belles exhibited a gross amount of floor noise (hiss). Once the volume was turned up I overrode the hiss but it had to be at a level that was "party" level not my typical listening level. I like silence at idle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehusky Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I seem to recall it was 2 or 3 business days. I live in Connecticut, and they ship from Ky. I upgraded from a 200 watt ADCom Amp, about twenty years old. Was very happy, but wanted to consider adding HT. The XPA-5 was an incredible upgrade. My speakers were Forte II and KLF C-7 center speaker, the sound improved amazingly. I also added Emotiva UMC-1 as my processor. All of my upgrades caame from reading from our Klipsch Forum. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Late to the thread here but My Experience with Emo amps and Klipsch Heritage i\is that the amps have too much gain. I use an XPA-5 with RF-83 with no problem. XPA-1s with my Belles exhibited a gross amount of floor noise (hiss). Once the volume was turned up I overrode the hiss but it had to be at a level that was "party" level not my typical listening level. I like silence at idle. very interesting... thanks. that's part of my issue with looking for a monoblock setup, I like silence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wake175m5 Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Night & Day!!!! this was a huge improvement! i recommend it to anyone that has been thinking about adding a separate amp. overall it sounds like a brand new and improved system. thanks very much everyone for your input! i am thinking about adding the xpa-2 to my setup so i can utilize my onkyo's 7.1 ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skally Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thank you for the feedback! I too have been thinking about adding an external amp to my HT but the advise I received my many on the AVS fourm pretty much mentioned it would be a wate of time/money as it wount make a differnace unless it were to listen at high levels, good to know it does make a differnace. I have an Onkyo 808 as it does quite well but after getting a pr of KG 5.5's it seems as if there isnt enough "power" per say to run them.... or at least to me that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I keep reading about problems using the emotiva amps on this forum. Seem like ground loop problems, hiss and noise are major problems. Is this just a problem with Klipsch speakers, or is it a design problem with emotiva? I do not see complaint about other amps for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluehusky Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Have seen posts some negative posts, but most that I read did not conclude that the Emotiva XPA-5 Amplifier was the issue. I have been a Klipsch owner for 28+ years, 24 of those years I used ADCom Processor with a 200 Watt, Two Channel Amplifer. This past summer I upgraded to Emotiva due to reading on this forum so many positive comments regarding their Amplifers. I purchased during this past summer sale the XPA-5 Amplifer and have been extremely happy with it. Besides having the option to grow my two channel to a five channel, it also runs far cooler than my old AdCom. I also purchased their UMC-1 Proccessor, that has allowed me to not only enjoy two channel stereo music. But also HDTV and BluRay Movies. My Sony 46" LCD picture improved dramactically and the options too numerous to list are incredible. Many earlier owners of the UMC-1 had issues with their units. Emotiva continued to improve and provide software upgrades, I bought at the right time as I have not had any issues. They just made a new software upgrade, that their Forum members have remarked basically rewrote the code from day one and supposely takes care of issues I am not even aware of. I have not done the upgrade yet, but will get to it. Most important the sound is incredible, and has only enhanced my Klipschs. I just received this week my new Heresy III speakers that are incredible, better than my former Heresy I's. I recently upgraded my Forte II's with Bob Crites crossover, new Titatium Tweeters and Titatium Mids. The Forte II's sound even better than they did when new, much warmer, cleaner, and so smooth. Back to your originial comment, I love the quality of my Emotiva equipment, I compared against other providers. Based on quality, sound, and value for the dollar, were very happy. Plus they gave us a free 30 day look, with the option to return if we were not happy. We decide what was the down side to give them a try. Glad we did, saved about $1,000 and far happier with the performance. Good luck, enjoy the hunt for what you want/need. That is part of the fun. All the best, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shake777 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Wake, wondering how things panned out for you? I had the 5 and liked it so much, I bought a bunch of monoblocs and they are quiet as a church mouse not to mention great all around amps...I'm tempted to say at any price but really don't have the experience to back it up. Many would question why I would use so much power with Palladiums but I just felt like all things considered that's what I wanted. I checked with Klipsch Techs before going with the massive power on the Palladiums and got an enthusiatic yes although on of the them was not at all enamoured with Emotiva. I noticed that there's a Member who could be considered very knowledgeable and he's biamping P-39s with two McIntosh 602s which pump out 600wpc. Mine, being that they are 4 ohm can produce 1000wpc. I've run them louder than I can stand it and never noticed the slightest bit of distortion anywhere...just lots of good clean sound. I think they are very lively and lifelike throughout the frequency range and produce accurate harmonics even from difficult instruments like the piano which has a complex sound and also taking into consideration the range of decay from the strings. Not everyone agrees with my opinion regarding the piano. The most agreeable critics have said that the Emos just don't have what it takes to be in the class of the best. Be that as it may, horns are obviously going to sound exceptionally great through Klipsch speakers so its hard to criticize an amp in that arena. Drums sound particularly life like to me as well. While I don't think the Emotiva Techs have always been exceedingly helpful when I've had technical questions they have been very good when I've had any problems that required repair or replacement. These instances have been rare especially since I've owned nine of their products and they even fixed free of charge a lug that I admittedly broke myself. I've read lots and lots of reviews and different discussion forums and the jist of it has been an overwhelmingly in favor of the Emotiva even among those who are familiar with the upper end. There are also a small percentage of those who say they are crap. I'm certainly no guru or genius but my system gives me countless hours of enjoyment and I hope things are working out for you as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I have owned three different Emo XPA series amps and never had a problem with them. Sure, you can spend 3, 4 even 5 times as much money for a Classe, Mark Levinson or Mcintosh amp, but dollar for dollar, Emotiva are the best amps on the market. Period. With my current setup, my ears will bleed and my head will explode before the amps give up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanhurd Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 ^^^But besides it being loud, are emotiva amps a good match for klipsch? I've still be looking at Marantz as I've heard they are a good match sound wise with klipsch speakers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roaddog359 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 ^^^But besides it being loud, are emotiva amps a good match for klipsch? I've still be looking at Marantz as I've heard they are a good match sound wise with klipsch speakers... I have the xpa-2 and xpa-5 for my speakers and I run the rf-83's in the front with the rc-64 center and the rf-63 for my back channel and rc-62 for the side. Ii will tell you it made a big improvement in the quality of the speakers performance. Very good investment for sure. And the match well with the klipsch in my opinion. Go for it and dont look back. Best bang for your buck, next to your speaker purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshjp Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I cant wait till i get my XPA-3, next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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