holtrp Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 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... Good question. Personally, I am always skeptical of any amplifier that shows up and is 'too bright' or 'isn't a good match' for a certain set of speakers. For me, an external amplifier needs to do one thing and one thing only: provide MORE decibels / spl with LESS volume increase from the receiver. It should perform this task with absolutely no coloration or otherwise altering of the source signal. The only thing the amp does or should be doing is sending more watts to the speakers which should minimize distortion at higher volumes which will also provide a bit more headroom and clarity in the source signal. A good amp doesn't need gain controls and all sorts of wacky gimmick buttons and knobs to play with and it most certainly shouldn't alter the signal. I have heard lots of different amps, and more or less, they all generally sound about the same to me. The best thing about Emotiva XPA is they sound just as good as amps that cost 5 times as much money, allowing me to pour more money into subwoofers or IRA's or steak dinners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Josh, that should be great for the front stage and the amps exceptional performance should make the dynamic of movies better and improve channel separation for music listening. Can't wait to hear your take on the new addition. I like the amp/avr combo. It keeps the cost down since most nice pre-amps are pricy. I have never had a problem with distortion, congestion, strain or signal compression with amps in my setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfelliot Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 See my equipment list below. Addition of the UPA-5 (no longer made) was a huge improvement to the Onkyo alone - low or high SPL! Not sure about the new UPA-500 as it is a little lower in power, but at $400 and the 30 day return policy, there's not much to risk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I like to know roughly how much power I am pushing with a range of at least 40 dB. Thus amps with no indicators are not useful to me, those with only 'clip' indicators not so useful either if that power might already be too much, and amps with -10 dB and clip indicators would be the bare minimum. My 30 year-old amp has about a dozen LED meters that go from 0.01W to 200W. It's hard to tell from pictures what the Emo amps have. Can someone answer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftwinger57 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 BH, That's pretty much exactly the same thing that I did .I saw an Adcom for sale and got it because my Yamaha rx-v665 was clipping way to easily. It always came back but as you know it's not thing to gamble on. I still wasn't all that impressed using the Yammi as a pre so I got a vintage Onkyn p-301I did call Klipsch to see if it was the speakers and they said even though they are smalls the wattage of a combined 90watt avr isn't the same as running a dedicated power amp.Long story short the avr never clipped again and I couldn't be happier w/ the Adcom. BTW-Idon't know if your sig has to do w/ a dog .I did own a black and white blue eyed husky at 1 time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Smaller speaker may benefit the most from power amps. The lower the sensitivity of a speaker to more power it take to achieve a given SPL. For example Klipsch RB 81 need 170watt to reach 105 db at 12 ft compared to RF 82II needing 107 watts to reach 105 watts at 12 ft. Sometime I think there is a tendecy to only thinks of large towers needing power amps. But, good clean power is good for all size speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Smaller speaker may benefit the most from power amps. The lower the sensitivity of a speaker to more power it take to achieve a given SPL. For example Klipsch RB 81 need 170watt to reach 105 db at 12 ft compared to RF 82II needing 107 watts to reach 105 watts at 12 ft. Sometime I think there is a tendecy to only thinks of large towers needing power amps. But, good clean power is good for all size speakers. Excellent point. My folks have these RCA 3x5 cube-looking things in their HT. They take ~20 dB more power than the La Scala to sound even remotely satisfying for movie night. They are physically warm to the touch after a night of getting the snot rung out of them. [:|] Of course, with the amp and speakers nearly at the end of their ropes, mid-range clarity is non-existent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I have had my RF-5's powered by several upper end Onkyo receivers, then an Emotiva XPA-3 and now an Emotiva XPA-2. I have to say that the XPA amps brought my RF-5's to a completely new level that the receivers could never match. It is not just volume which the amps improve, I still listen to my system at the same volumes as I always have. But throughout all volume levels there is a very nice improvement in detail, imaging, separation and the punch and thunder of bass is considerably stronger. The headroom improvement actually lets you enjoy lower volumes much more as the bass hits stronger even at lower volumes. The XPA-2 has brought out much more detail and clarity to my system than it ever had before and I have definitely been very impressed switching to separates after years of using upper end receivers. I would highly recommend Emotiva amps for Klipsch Reference speakers they sound excellent together. I have a dead silent noise floor and the sound is excellent. However Klipsch Heritage line maybe another story and probably work better with tube amps than higher powered solid state amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 However Klipsch Heritage line maybe another story and probably work better with tube amps than higher powered solid state amps. They work with well with several quality amps...tube or transistor based. What they don't work well with is poor placement and poor choice of source material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Noneone has an answer? [*-)] I like to know roughly how much power I am pushing with a range of at least 40 dB. Thus amps with no indicators are not useful to me, those with only 'clip' indicators not so useful either if that power might already be too much, and amps with -10 dB and clip indicators would be the bare minimum. My 30 year-old amp has about a dozen LED meters that go from 0.01W to 200W. It's hard to tell from pictures what the Emo amps have. Can someone answer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Noneone has an answer? I like to know roughly how much power I am pushing with a range of at least 40 dB. Thus amps with no indicators are not useful to me, those with only 'clip' indicators not so useful either if that power might already be too much, and amps with -10 dB and clip indicators would be the bare minimum. My 30 year-old amp has about a dozen LED meters that go from 0.01W to 200W. It's hard to tell from pictures what the Emo amps have. Can someone answer? I see on this clip that there are LEDs that lights upwith more power level. Can anyone tell me the range in dB or Watt? (when does the first or second one light up? -40 dB? 0.01W?) and how many there are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 There are no indicators or LED's of any sort on the XPA-3 or XPA-5. The XPA-2 has a very simple LED system 'Multi segment bar graph output level meters with clip detect' on the front that consists of about 8 lights but there are no dials. If you want dials, LED indicators, and such, stay away from Emotiva. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well, the XPA-2 bar graph seems like it does what I want, if there are labelled in any way. Thanks for the info! I'll stay away from the -3 and -5 for that reason. Jury still out on XPA-2... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 There are no indicators or LED's of any sort on the XPA-3 or XPA-5. The XPA-2 has a very simple LED system 'Multi segment bar graph output level meters with clip detect' on the front that consists of about 8 lights but there are no dials. If you want dials, LED indicators, and such, stay away from Emotiva. That is wrong the XPA-3 and XPA-5 both have LED's for each channel, they look very similar to ones on the XPA-2 however the XPA-3 and XPA-5 have no motion to sound (multiple LED lights). The XPA-3 and XPA-5 LED's are red when the amp is first turned ON changing to blue once the amp has fully turned ON, if any channel proves faulty or has a bad cable connection etc. the amps safety switch will kick in and the problem channel either turns or remains red rather than blue. The XPA-2 LED's look and work similar but each channel has multiple LED's that can light up as more sound and volume is used in that channel. Of course the power button also is a blue light as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 There are no indicators or LED's of any sort on the XPA-3 or XPA-5. The XPA-2 has a very simple LED system 'Multi segment bar graph output level meters with clip detect' on the front that consists of about 8 lights but there are no dials. If you want dials, LED indicators, and such, stay away from Emotiva. That is wrong the XPA-3 and XPA-5 both have LED's for each channel No, the question was instead for power meters, similar to what the XPA-2 has (if they are labelled in any way). This one goes from -20 dB to +3 dB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I've had an amp such as the one below for 30 years (still works great and it's on 24 hours a day) and it has meters from 0.01W to 240W. Can't live without that anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 No, the question was instead for power meters, similar to what the XPA-2 has (if they are labelled in any way). This one goes from -20 dB to +3 dB I saw the above referring to LED's not meters. Personally I like an amp with the more basic look while I really like the look of some amps with meters like Carver for example, I don't like the look of many amp meters, as far as function I don't really have any use for them. I do like the look of Emotiva amps and like the look and function of their LED's. My equipment is on a side wall and not near my display screen so I have no distraction problems but I can see how the LED's could be a distraction if close to the display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 If you like meters and need an amp, this one is a monster amp and dead quite while running. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-M-85-Amplifier-/320911998225?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item4ab7d87d11 The M-85 was introduced in 1986 as the flagship amplifier of one of Yamaha’s all-time, most successful hi-fidelity components, the M-Series. It was the result of intensive research and an absolute commitment to quality. It incorporates Yamaha’s exclusive, landmark amplifier circuit innovations-Auto Class A Power and Zero Distortion Rule-that take its performance to a level that many high dollar contemporary units can’t touch. The M-85 provides a conservatively rated 260 watts of power per channel with an amazingly low 0.003% THD into 8 ohms. It was specially designed to deliver massive transient power output on demand, and will drive a low-impedance load without danger of overload distortion or activation If I did not have 2 Yamaha M 70 amp, this would be the one I would get. The M 70's are outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 If you like meters and need an amp, this one is a monster amp and dead quite while running. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-M-85-Amplifier-/320911998225?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item4ab7d87d11 The M-85 was introduced in 1986 as the flagship amplifier of one of Yamahas all-time, most successful hi-fidelity components, the M-Series. It was the result of intensive research and an absolute commitment to quality. It incorporates Yamahas exclusive, landmark amplifier circuit innovations-Auto Class A Power and Zero Distortion Rule-that take its performance to a level that many high dollar contemporary units cant touch. The M-85 provides a conservatively rated 260 watts of power per channel with an amazingly low 0.003% THD into 8 ohms. It was specially designed to deliver massive transient power output on demand, and will drive a low-impedance load without danger of overload distortion or activation If I did not have 2 Yamaha M 70 amp, this would be the one I would get. The M 70's are outstanding! Heh, this vintage 80's Yammy amp strongly reminds me of KITT from 'Knight Rider'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Yes it dose have that feel. The meter lights are pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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