Emotiva XPA-2 Conclusion
Not only
does Emotiva have a winner on their hands with the XPA-2 two channel amplifier,
but they’ve literally hit the ball out of the park with this creation rewriting
the rule book on high performance amplifiers on the cheap. The XPA-2 is not only the most powerful
amplifier that has come across my test bench, but it represents the best value
in consumer two-channel amplification that I’ve ever seen. Its closest competitor is their very own
RPA-2 which cannot compete dynamically to this amplifier nor does it offer the
bridging feature capabilities of the XPA-2.
Quite frankly, when I think about it, the XPA-2 is a lone wolf in a
pasture of sheepish amplifiers. The
XPA-2 can pump out ungodly power without ever breaking a sweat and its also
very friendly installable, thanks to its cool running operation. My only caution is to make sure you feed this
baby plenty of juice. Emotiva recommends
at least 10A of reserve on your 120V line so don’t go plugging this into the
same outlet you’re running your lights and hair dryer on. In fact, I always recommend 1 or 2 dedicated
20A lines run specifically for you’re A/V gear.
No, the XPA-2 doesn’t treat my music with the kid gloves that my much more expensive $7k Denon POA-A1HDCI amplifier is able to do, but it shares many of its sonic virtues while also besting it in sheer output power. The XPA-2 is the best antidote for the common receiver which often tend to be power shy, especially when driving 4 ohm speakers. The fact that I would even compare far more expensive amplifiers in this review speaks volumes for just how good the XPA-2 really is.
Emotiva was very clever in the roadmap of their products of the XPA family of amplifiers. A typical user can purchase an XPA-2 for the front channels and an XPA-5 for the rest of their 7.1 setup, or purchase an XPA-3 for the three front channels using the internal amplifiers of their receiver for the remaining channels, ensuring clean high power amplification for their entire setup for less cost than a mid priced A/V receiver. I am fearful for the competition once Emotiva launches their highly anticipated UMC-1 pre/pro for $699 which will empower fellow Audioholics with a high performance separates solution at less than ½ the price of a flagship receiver and certainly less expensive than competitor separates solutions. The only question that remaining is, are you ready to drink some fine wine at beer prices or do you prefer to continue paying for beer at wine prices?
Emotiva Audio
Corporation
106 Mission Court
Suite 101
Franklin, TN
37067
615-771-1224
877-EMO-TECH
Fax: 615-771-1128
XPA-2 Review
MSRP: $799
The Score Card
The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:
Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating
Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.
Audioholics Rating Scale
— Excellent
- — Very Good
- — Good
- — Fair
- — Poor
| Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| Frequency Response Linearity | |
| SNR | |
| Output Impedance | |
| Measured Power (8-ohms) | |
| Measured Power (4-ohms) | |
| Multi-channel Audio Performance | |
| Build Quality | |
| Fit and Finish | |
| Ergonomics & Usability | |
| Features | |
| Performance | |
| Value | |
See also:
I agree that an input sensitivity switch would make sense, I see no value in reaching 100% amplifier output with the volume at 50% when using a decent pre/pro. In fact I would prefer the more precise control the volume would allow with a lower gain amp.
It sounded cleaner to me. Same speakers in the same positon at the same time in an A/B switching.
There was also other members at my GTG where Emotiva brought the gear to my home. Might want to PM them and ask. Here's the link to my meet thread:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44262 [forums.audioholics.com]
I appreciate your help majorloser (and everyone else). Out of curiosity though, is AB really "much perferred to audiophiles" over H. Or at least any more than A is over AB? Interesting their "reference series" would be H and their "power series" be AB.
More digging has brought up another general statement: analog (RPA-2) v. digital (XPA-2) preferences which would echo some of the other statements. Though I question how much of this is experience and how much repeating.
I think I'm most confused by the XPA-2 being "more transparent" and the RPA-2 having "lower distortion" ... course I may be misinterpreting here.
lonnie@emotiva.com
He'll know better than all of us.
majorloser;530006
I believe the RPA-1 was a class "G" amp (?).
Sounds familiar, but I can't remember. I thought that the RPA-1 and RPA-2 were the same except for cosmetics based on two things on Emotiva's product page. First, this (ignoring what I firmly believe is a typo regarding "RSP-1" instead of "RPA-1"):
*The RPA-2 shares all the features, design and build of the acclaimed and award-winning RSP-1, and features an updated look that complements current Emotiva products.followed by their linking to the AH review on the RPA-1.
