Dysmae Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hey guys. I just wanted to get some feedback and opinions. I know a lot of the forum members use the XPA3 with rave reviews, and I know a lot of people have also used the Marantz MA700 mono blocks. I currently have two Ma700s already and I love them, however Emotiva still has their holiday sale going on, and the XPA3 can be had for $599 shipped. I want 200 watts across my entire front stage, so do you think it would just be easier to by another ma700 for around $200 then to plunge $600 into a XPA3 and then go through the trouble to sell the MA700s? For those of you who have used both, how would you compare them? Most of my use is movies/TV/gaming, but music is also very important to me. I haven't heard any Emotiva gear, but my assumption is that the Marantz would be better than the Emotiva as far as music. Thanks for any feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I want 200 watts across my entire front stage, so do you think it would just be easier to by another ma700 for around $200 then to plunge $600 into a XPA3 and then go through the trouble to sell the MA700s? For one, I like the cool factor of monoblocks across the front. Two, there really is no trouble selling MA-700's, they get snatched up very quickly if priced right and are pretty easy to pack and ship if needed. I love the Marantz monoblocks and I think they are very musical. No personal experience with the XPA's. Shoot for another MA-700 and see what you get. If pleased, enjoy to the fullest. Use the $400.00 saved to enhance your system somewhere else. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superedge88 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Marantz mono blocks are hard to beat, bench tested they do just over 350 Watts into 8 ohms. I've owned some, awesome little power houses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dysmae Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Yeah, I have been very happy with my MA700s so far. They really open up my towers. I just know most people on here love the XPAs and in the past, that is what I always wanted to get, but the Ma700s are great because I don't have to drop a huge chunk of cash all at once by buying them piece by piece. The only downside is that I am starting to run out of outlets on my Panamax, and it would be nice to have the amp running through one outlet. I didn't mention this, but I also have two MA500s sitting in a closet. I was planning on either using them for rear towers in a 7.1 setup when I move to a bigger home next year, to power bookshelfs in a Sonos system or to sell to fund other audio endeavors. I suppose I could try bridging them and run 250 watts to my center channel and see how that sounds, although I am really running out of room on my stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 3 Mono block amps are better than a budget 3 channel amp with a shared power supply any day. I was running dual DBX BX-1 (2,3,4 channel) configurable amps until I relented and purchased a single Sherbourn 7/2100A which is a true 7 channel monoblock amp that can do 7 X 300W. Dual power cords prevent you from needing a 30A dedicated outlet. Pick up another MA700 and call it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitedemo Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 i had 2 ma500s on each speaker and was happier with a xpa3 for a while until i switched to a 2/5, probably not much of a real world difference between between the 700 and xpa3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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