chriswhotakesphotos Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 I know there's another Emotiva thread, but I thought I'd start a new one in case someone types this into Google nine years from now and wants to know how it might sound with their speakers. I've been using an Adcom GFA-535 for a while and I like it plenty, but it seems a bit on the bright side. It also does tend to lose some composure when pushed loudly. The Emotiva A-300 seems like it should be a good fit spec-wise, but what sort of sound can I expect on these speakers from an Emotiva amp? To be clear, mine are KP-201s and were manufactured in 1989. Aside from how the amp will sound, my other concerns would be whether 150w is too much (I'm less worried about blowing them and more concerned that they might not be able to play at low volume on that much power!) and whether it's worth fretting that they recommend against anything less than a combined load of 4ohms. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 I have a ton of Emotiva and Sherbourn gear and you shouldn't have any worries about the excess of power. In fact I would say if it is in your budget go for the 300 wpc XPA-2. I have not owned the new line but it compares quite closely to the older UPA and XPA series with 125 wpc. I have several Heresies paired with my Emotiva amps and the amps do a great job. I have Heresy I's as well as Heresy Slant Monitors and finally KP 250's. All of them are paired with the XPA-2 and sound fantastic with this amp. I had no complaints when I had the lower power rated Emotiva amps either so rest assured they should do a nice job for you. Emotiva has their holiday sale on right now and for the prices they are offering the amps at they are pretty much a steal. It has been a long time since I heard the Adcom GFA series amps and they seemed to have a solid reputation but to be able to grab a brand new amp at these prices...heck if you are not happy you can probably sell it for more than you paid on Ebay. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswhotakesphotos Posted December 26, 2016 Author Share Posted December 26, 2016 Thanks for the helpful feedback, teaman! I went ahead and ordered, Emotiva sells through Amazon so if it really doesn't seem like an improvement, it can be sent back (plus my Discover gets 5% back on Amazon until the end of December, woo!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr clean Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 You will love it! I just hooked up my outdoor tv antenna. Listening to the emotiva pt-100 into the a-300 and I'm really loving it! Tuner has 40 presets and it loaded 39. Has everything it needs to rock. Have the it turned up to 26 on a 0 to 100 scale and its loud enough to listen to but not scare the dog. On 50 it makes me want to quit. Guess I'm getting old lol. Tuner is kind of hard to get around on. Took me 3 days. I are not smart:} Love how it works now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswhotakesphotos Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 Thanks for the input, mr clean! Mine came today, I had a chance to unbox but couldn't play with it before I had to go. It's definitely a healthy size! I'm excited to set it up when I get home in a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswhotakesphotos Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 I've been listening to it for a bit now and my first impression is that it sounds really great! The treble continues to be a stand-out quality to me, the Heresies sound less rolled off and have much more air and sparkle than I thought they were capable of. I have a great recording of Glenn Miller's Here We Go Again that I've always liked, and on the A-300 the horns on the track scream! Well-recorded music sounds very much separate from the speakers. I'm also impressed by how well loud and soft can coexist at the same time, background sounds seem undisturbed by whatever happens in the foreground. It reveals a lot of depth. I was concerned that sensitive speakers would reveal a lack of delicacy or finesse on an amp this powerful, but it's instead proving to be very capable. I've been using it for a few hours now for music and video games and it still hasn't generated any heat, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr clean Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Just make sure it gets plenty of air from what I've been told. My amps on a thin sheet of wood under my tv stand on the floor so the rug does not keep air from getting in the bottom. I don't think the a-300 likes being put in a tight fitting cabinet either. What preamp are you running with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswhotakesphotos Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 Air shouldn't be a problem, it's on an open shelf. I'll be surprised if the fans ever turn on! I'm using my Adcom GTP-500 with it currently. Down the line I want to replace it with one of those new-age preamps that has high and low pass filters for the speakers and subs (what took them so long to realize that was a good plan?) In the interim, I might get a Schiit Vali 2 as a shot at using a tube preamp. I'm definitely curious about that and it seems cheap enough to be worth getting. (A new DAC would probably make the biggest difference right now, though) How is the PT-100? The A-300 is my first Emotiva product, but I'm definitely a fan now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr clean Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Love the pt-100. Tuner pulls in stations well and has lots of different inputs. Added Bluetooth easy. Very impressed. I've said this on other posts but will say it again. The etc-3 cd/ transport is top shelf. Very well made and sounds phenomenal! Remote is so nice and never heard cds go so low or high frequency wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronB123 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Sounds like you already got it and are very satisfied! Glad to hear it, I am also a big fan of Emotiva gear, my XPA gen 3 seems to pair extremely well with my K-horns and paired very well with my La Scala's before that. In fact I was so impressed with the reviews the new XMC-1 got that I may have actually ordered one! Your review of sparkle and amazing sound separation seems to be the general consensus that I have heard when reading reviews about Emotiva amps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswhotakesphotos Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Indeed, the sound is surprisingly spacious! I had merely accepted a more 'rolled off' sound as the Heresy's character on my old amp, while they really open up and show depth on this new one. I was skeptical about a higher-powered solid state amp being a good match for speakers that are known to pair well with tubes, but it's been great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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