Magneto_Plasmoid Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Hey guys, My new Klipsch Reference speakers arrived yesterday (2 x RF-82 II, 1 x RC-62 II) and after setting them up and running a calibration, I am in love! A friend of mine near by has the RF-82 series 1 and an emotiva xpa-5 and I was thoroughly impressed with the sound, so I'm now looking at adding one to my system. In a previous post here I was seeking advice on a XPA-3 vs a marantz power amp but I ended up holding off and buying better speakers instead, so here I am again choosing a power amp! After reading alot of reviews and hearing my friends XPA-5, I've decided to go with what I like instead of what i can get cheap! The big question is, will I notice a difference going the xpa-3 over the xpa-5? I am 60% music, 40% movies in my setup so the music side of things is a little more important to me and I want that to reflect in my upgrade. My friends XPA-5 seems to drive alot more of a dynamic sound when listening to 2ch music. But from what I can gather from emotiva's website, they should almost be identical being both rated at 200 watts per ch. Or am I missing something? Cheers, EDIT: Iagain, I'm open to opinions if anyone thinks the there is something better then Emotiva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I think either the XPA-3 or the XPA-5 will be about the same, unless you plan to go to a pre/pro later on and need 5 channels of seperate amplification. Your Marantz SR-7005 is very capable of amplifying your surround channels only while an XPA-3 powers the front soundstage. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I like the sound of the emotiva amps, they are neutral/bright IMO more on the neutral side with a hint of bright and have a clean and clear sound. Barring my negative experience with my xpa-5 i thought it performed very well. I think id purchase another emotiva amp just in case my amp was wonky (many other appear to have had similar hum issues as I have had and no troubleshooting methods fix it) and test it out to see if it works as i perceive an amp should. I will however admit i like my outlaw 7125 much more than the xpa-5. Swapping amps in and out with the same exact setup the outlaw create no hum through my speakers at all. I also found that the outlaw is a much smoother sounding amp and has a crisp sound to it. The amp performs fantastic for both music and home theater. It is 7 channels, more than you need right now but you can biamp your rf-82's. There is a power difference between the 2 amps, the emo is rated at 1khz and the outlaw is rated at full range which should yield power rating differences (comparing apples and pears). 125 watts a channel is a ton of power for klipsch speakers and you most likely wont tape its full power unless you plan to go deaf or are in such a large room that you are pushing them to fill the room with sound. The outlaw 7125 is only a bit more than the xpa-5 and a bit more than a bit more when you look at the xpa-3 but its a great amp that can allow you to expand you system to a 5 or 7 channel and if you want to, biamp your front l/r and do a 5 channel setup.. Just my .02 I know there are alot of people who like emotiva and i respect them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nezff Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Sometimes you can find a b stock xpa5 at emo alot cheaper. They have xpa5 and 3s all the time used on the emo fourm. transferable warranty too. I paid $700 for my xpa5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I've had my XPA-2 and XPA-5 for almost 4 years now - so far they have been rock solid power amps with a nice sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshjp Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Is it worth it to get the Emotive XPA-3? for my klipsch RF-62,RC-62 and RB-61, some people say that i wont benefit much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechnut Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 XPA-3 will only do 3 channels. Typically L/R/C, letting the receiver run the surrounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshjp Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Yea i know, do you think it will help my L/C/R speakers?. as of now im running them all using a Pioneer VSX-1121. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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