Emotiva XSP-1

[ChipByrd]

I was wondering if any of you guys have one of these. I know they just came out, but thought someone may have been eager to give it a shot. I have to say that it has aroused my curiosity. And Emotiva is supposed to be coming out with a reference line monoblock. I have to say I listened to the USP and the UPA's and wasn't all that impressed.

[Boomzilla]

I don't yet have an Emo XSP-1, but do plan to order one. I hang out at the Emo forums, and the buzz there from those who have both the USP-1 and the XSP-1 is that the difference is easily audible and audibly significant. Of course, at double the cost of the old USP-1, the sound should be so.

I've previously owned Emotiva gear including XPA-2 (300 wpc power amp), XDA-1 (DAC), and UMC-1 (AV preamp).

The XPA-2 was my first purchase. I got it because nothing I could find could provide sweet treble and tight bass with my Thiel 3.6 speakers. The Emo power amp was a match made in heaven for the Thiel speakers. I've lately come into a pair of La Scalas, and for some reason, the Emo power amp just does not work well with the La Scalas. Maybe the required power output is so low that the multiple output transistors of the power amp aren't quite singing in unison, maybe some other reason. The bottom line, though, is that I'm selling the Thiels and the Emotiva XPA-2 and keeping the La Scalas.

The Emo XDA-1 DAC was a wonderful DAC for the price. It was superior to the built-in DACs of my Rotel and Emo AV preamps, but not enough so for me to keep it.

The Emo UMC-1 AV preamp sounded as good as my Rotel (pretty darned good), but nowhere near the quality that I wanted for stereo listening. Both units are gone.

I know that I'm wandering far afield from your question, but there's a reason. The La Scalas that I bought came with a pair of VTL Compact 100 tube monobloc amps. This match was the best I've ever heard. Since I need source switching and bass management for my subwoofer, I think that the XSP-1 from Emotiva is the best choice that I've got. I could buy a used USP-1 really cheaply, but in every case where Emotiva has offered both a U and an X model, the online buzz is that the X models are clearly superior.

I'll post a review when my XSP-1 ship comes in.

Cheers - Boomzilla