Emo XSP1 Gen2 Vs Parasound P5

audiocr381ve

DSkip wrote: »

audiocr381ve wrote: »

DSkip wrote: »

audiocr381ve wrote: »

Interesting find so far. Seems to me like the Emo is the winner with the tone control engaged. Keep us posted

Given the setup, I think its pretty clear why it's 'the winner'.

Just because the speakers aren't ideal for his room doesn't mean he's not hearing distinct differences. Smooth highs vs even smoother highs would still be the case whether the room is scaled or not. If he's hearing more bass from the P5, he'll hear more bass from the P5 in any room with the same set of speakers.

Precisely. But, because he has an overemphasis of bass already, a pre that adds more bass isn't one I'd consider a 'winner'. I'm sure they are both great pre's, but in this case, its pretty straightforward why one would win over the other, given their sonic signatures.

Pressurizing bass is more fatiguing than overdone treble. It can also make you feel physically ill after long sessions.

Gotcha, that makes sense.

erniejade

Changed to the 9’s last night. They are on Pangea Audio - DS300 stands. The 9’s are 6.5 feet apart and 7 feet to my ears, 1 foot from the left side wall, right side opens to the hallway, just shy of 3 feet from the back. This time I did the 9’s on their own, and then with my velodyne spl1200. This was HARD! The P5 has a sub level on the front but, the emo does not. Throwing the ar in the mix was even harder due to no crossover. I ran the 9’s at full and set the velodyne to 60, then 50 then 40 , back to 50 ish then back to 40. Seemed a bit better ran at full range at 40 but, something was still off in my opinion . It was hard to get the levels to be close to each other in the bass but, I think I came close. With a real SPL meter I am going by ear for the bottom end. Preamps were crossed at 80 and then 60 in testing. Small difference but, noticeable. Not sure what why I liked it better just yet. Both had good and bad points.


I will say this right now, using the velodyne with the built in crossover on either unit made the 9’s sound a lot better. Some of the bass just didn’t sound quite right on their own. I am discovering in my room, unless I have the speakers over ½ way on a 10 foot room, the bass just hangs back. I tried moving them to the other side of the room and I got the same problem so it didn’t matter what wall I had them on, I still had the bass issues that I had with the legacy’s! Dang I need to learn about room treatments before I go completely crazy. Anyway with the velo in the mix, not just in the bass range but, even the lower mid and upper bass just seemed to be tighter in general.

After going back and forth a few times for a reference point, this might sound crazy but, the order listening was AR,emo,P5 last. The emo depth where vocals are actually closer to the AR.

AR, sub set to 40 using the velo’s internal crossover ( I would want an external if I was keeping this combo of sub sat) , Same stuff for music. I know the Sweet Baby James cd / LP well. My fave tracks for listening are 2. Lo and behold, 3 sunny skies, 4 steamroller and 7 fire & rain. Lo and behold has a LOT of HISS in the song. It also has a lot of background noise and you can hear things in the background. 3 sunny skies the P you can hear several thuds with the bass especially between 130-145. Lots of stereo separation on all of the songs listed. If you haven’t listen to this cd in a while, I find it good to do some critical listening because of how much is in the back from the guitar being moved on down to fingers up and down the neck.
Lo and behold there is a block being hit, dept along with james voice seemed like it I was 10 rows back. Guitar and other things seems like it was a few feet outside of the speaker. All the songs basically mirrored this. Top end is crystal ( I put the tele’s back into it since I like the sound of the highs on them better than the RCA 3mica) Anyway, now I have my reference point on things since I have lived with this preamp for a few years.


Emo, 1st off I do not like the crossover points. The knob is tiny like small screw driver tiny and it runs from 50 to 250. Found out 80 HZ is something like 830 on the dial 11 is 130 hz. I had to go on the emo form to find figure it out. The top end was way smoother than I expected. It was crisp, not fatiguing, not over the top and had good tone to it. The mid was actually close to the AR. Again though there is a thinness to it especially on the voice vs the AR. The bass was solid and sounded better vs the AR but, I am 100000000% positive this was due to the crossover high and low pass. I set the velo to let the emo take over the crossover, at 80 hz, with the crossover set, then I tried for 60 ( I say try because how that dial is its too hard to figure out if your exact or not). 60 ish seemed like a good matchup. I will try it again over the weekend at 50 and see how it goes but, I was out of time. I was surprised how big a difference the 9’s sounded with the crossover. This preamp sound wise, dept, with, is darn close to the AR but, the AR has much more texture and seems to pull more information on into the front of things. And again, a hair thin to me. Maybe around the 200 hour mark ( next week around this time) this might change? I am going to keep this unit going.


The P5, again, moved me up by several rows in where James was standing. Everything got bigger even vs the AR. Hiss on lo and behold jumped up front as well as the block being hit. It sounded darn good and again warmer than both the AR and the emo but, it seemed to make everything bigger or more up front. While it sounded up front it didn’t sound out of place so to speak. It was quite enjoyable actually. What is the “truth” on where James is standing? Or where the instruments should be? How far away the illusion should be? I liked what I heard though. The highs were good but, not as sweet sounding or maybe even dry sounding in the top and seem to lack a little bit but, this is not a bad thing. I might get some crap for this but, the top end kind of reminds me of a older CJ preamp. Mid bloom, bigger sounding like I remember some of the older CJ’s to have or be. Because of the bigger sound, it just seems to pull out the details more into the front of things. It also seems to have more texture vs the emo especially on drums like almost more ambiance if I can use that in audio terms. Instruments also seem to separate better. The crossover is much easier to figure out on the P5. I love having the sub level on the front.

This one is all personal preference. No clear winner in my book. Being my first time hearing an emo product, if their other products are like this, I can see why people would like them. It depends on the rest of the rig being used with it.

Unless I am keeping the P5, I need to ship back next week sometime so over the weekend, I will be doing more listening. P5, more bottom, bloom, big sounding, moves the sound stage up and just seems louder in general. Emo sounds more like my AR, sweeter sounding highs, close to the same soundstage as the AR but, still thin right now.

audiocr381ve

erniejade wrote: »

Changed to the 9’s last night. They are on Pangea Audio - DS300 stands. The 9’s are 6.5 feet apart and 7 feet to my ears, 1 foot from the left side wall, right side opens to the hallway, just shy of 3 feet from the back. This time I did the 9’s on their own, and then with my velodyne spl1200. This was HARD! The P5 has a sub level on the front but, the emo does not. Throwing the ar in the mix was even harder due to no crossover. I ran the 9’s at full and set the velodyne to 60, then 50 then 40 , back to 50 ish then back to 40. Seemed a bit better ran at full range at 40 but, something was still off in my opinion . It was hard to get the levels to be close to each other in the bass but, I think I came close. With a real SPL meter I am going by ear for the bottom end. Preamps were crossed at 80 and then 60 in testing. Small difference but, noticeable. Not sure what why I liked it better just yet. Both had good and bad points.


I will say this right now, using the velodyne with the built in crossover on either unit made the 9’s sound a lot better. Some of the bass just didn’t sound quite right on their own. I am discovering in my room, unless I have the speakers over ½ way on a 10 foot room, the bass just hangs back. I tried moving them to the other side of the room and I got the same problem so it didn’t matter what wall I had them on, I still had the bass issues that I had with the legacy’s! Dang I need to learn about room treatments before I go completely crazy. Anyway with the velo in the mix, not just in the bass range but, even the lower mid and upper bass just seemed to be tighter in general.

After going back and forth a few times for a reference point, this might sound crazy but, the order listening was AR,emo,P5 last. The emo depth where vocals are actually closer to the AR.

AR, sub set to 40 using the velo’s internal crossover ( I would want an external if I was keeping this combo of sub sat) , Same stuff for music. I know the Sweet Baby James cd / LP well. My fave tracks for listening are 2. Lo and behold, 3 sunny skies, 4 steamroller and 7 fire & rain. Lo and behold has a LOT of HISS in the song. It also has a lot of background noise and you can hear things in the background. 3 sunny skies the P you can hear several thuds with the bass especially between 130-145. Lots of stereo separation on all of the songs listed. If you haven’t listen to this cd in a while, I find it good to do some critical listening because of how much is in the back from the guitar being moved on down to fingers up and down the neck.
Lo and behold there is a block being hit, dept along with james voice seemed like it I was 10 rows back. Guitar and other things seems like it was a few feet outside of the speaker. All the songs basically mirrored this. Top end is crystal ( I put the tele’s back into it since I like the sound of the highs on them better than the RCA 3mica) Anyway, now I have my reference point on things since I have lived with this preamp for a few years.


Emo, 1st off I do not like the crossover points. The knob is tiny like small screw driver tiny and it runs from 50 to 250. Found out 80 HZ is something like 830 on the dial 11 is 130 hz. I had to go on the emo form to find figure it out. The top end was way smoother than I expected. It was crisp, not fatiguing, not over the top and had good tone to it. The mid was actually close to the AR. Again though there is a thinness to it especially on the voice vs the AR. The bass was solid and sounded better vs the AR but, I am 100000000% positive this was due to the crossover high and low pass. I set the velo to let the emo take over the crossover, at 80 hz, with the crossover set, then I tried for 60 ( I say try because how that dial is its too hard to figure out if your exact or not). 60 ish seemed like a good matchup. I will try it again over the weekend at 50 and see how it goes but, I was out of time. I was surprised how big a difference the 9’s sounded with the crossover. This preamp sound wise, dept, with, is darn close to the AR but, the AR has much more texture and seems to pull more information on into the front of things. And again, a hair thin to me. Maybe around the 200 hour mark ( next week around this time) this might change? I am going to keep this unit going.


The P5, again, moved me up by several rows in where James was standing. Everything got bigger even vs the AR. Hiss on lo and behold jumped up front as well as the block being hit. It sounded darn good and again warmer than both the AR and the emo but, it seemed to make everything bigger or more up front. While it sounded up front it didn’t sound out of place so to speak. It was quite enjoyable actually. What is the “truth” on where James is standing? Or where the instruments should be? How far away the illusion should be? I liked what I heard though. The highs were good but, not as sweet sounding or maybe even dry sounding in the top and seem to lack a little bit but, this is not a bad thing. I might get some crap for this but, the top end kind of reminds me of a older CJ preamp. Mid bloom, bigger sounding like I remember some of the older CJ’s to have or be. Because of the bigger sound, it just seems to pull out the details more into the front of things. It also seems to have more texture vs the emo especially on drums like almost more ambiance if I can use that in audio terms. Instruments also seem to separate better. The crossover is much easier to figure out on the P5. I love having the sub level on the front.

This one is all personal preference. No clear winner in my book. Being my first time hearing an emo product, if their other products are like this, I can see why people would like them. It depends on the rest of the rig being used with it.

Unless I am keeping the P5, I need to ship back next week sometime so over the weekend, I will be doing more listening. P5, more bottom, bloom, big sounding, moves the sound stage up and just seems louder in general. Emo sounds more like my AR, sweeter sounding highs, close to the same soundstage as the AR but, still thin right now.

This has been one of those threads that I keep checking back on everyday so thanks for taking the time to post your findings. When I received the predecessor to the XSP-1, the USP-1, I didn't know what to expect. I also thought it was a hair thin but everything else was perfect. Very crisp sounding with out being annoying. The XSP-1 Gen 2 is supposed to be on another level so it's cool to hear that it beat out the P5. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts!

F1nut

The XSP-1 Gen 2 is supposed to be on another level so it's cool to hear that it beat out the P5.

Funny, I don't see that.....at all.

Mikey081057

F1nut wrote: »

The XSP-1 Gen 2 is supposed to be on another level so it's cool to hear that it beat out the P5.

Funny, I don't see that.....at all.

Not sure how that conclusion was drawn

F1nut

Mikey, is that comment directed at audiocr381ve?

audiocr381ve

F1nut wrote: »

The XSP-1 Gen 2 is supposed to be on another level so it's cool to hear that it beat out the P5.

Funny, I don't see that.....at all.

Maybe I'm not reading this right..

"After going back and forth a few times for a reference point, this might sound crazy but, the order listening was AR,emo,P5 last. The emo depth where vocals are actually closer to the AR."

erniejade

Sorry about that. In soundstage and the high end the emo was closer to the ar and so was the airness of the top end but the thinness for me is keeping it from being the right thing for me

. I am typing this on my cell right now so please excuese any typos.

My wife sat down and listened to the rig with me tonight. She also observed some of the ssme things as I did. We both agreed the p5 pulls a lot more backgrounds out of the cd or sacd. For her the p5 was a clear winner because it sounded bigger and she could hear more then she did even with the ar.

Skip funny you mention cables. Been running a set of mit s1. Bridget asked me to make it like it used to be and then put it all back to where it was and then change from the ar to the p5. So i put the ar back up and put my dh labs q10 cables back in. Ic's are dh labs air matrix with locking rca. I also put the tungsol tubes back into the ar. We gave a few songs off fleetwood mac the dance and the james Taylor songs I use a listen. She wrote down some things and then had me switch to the p5 then emo.

She found the p5 easiest to listen to without it "getting on her nerves" she also said bigger and warmer and the vocals and guitar seemed more realistic like a actual live show especially The Chain on the dance. The emo she found thin and to her it didnt sound like a live concert. It sounded more like a studio trying to make the music sound live. That one took me a minute and then it hit me what she was saying as right.

The ar. She loves the openness but it didnt seem to pull the details into the front like the p5 did. I tried popping tubes back to the teles snd then the 5751. It was a toss up between the teles for highs and tung-sol from 1959 for bass but again she prefered the p5 more.

Listening to the p5 with the dh labs did bring a bit more to the table. The s1 while a great cable just isn't playing nice with the rig. Not sure if its the autoformers on the McIntosh 402 or just not the right synergy. The dh labs seemed to put it all more in balance.

I do like the emo. I do like the looks, layout, quality of the rca connectors.its soundstage is darn good as well and the tone but, I dont like the crossover settingst. Its too hard to judge and the thinness. I know its stange to say I like the tone but its thin in the same sentence looks or sounds weird but if you heard it, you night think the same. I am not quite giving up on the emo just yet either. I want to give it another 100 hours before I make a final decision to see if it opens up more.

Putting the dh labs speaker cables back in seems to have a good synergy with this setup. My wife is also now a believer in spesker cables.

The p5 makes me wonder what the j2 spunds like! I wish the j2 had bass management!. I would have spent the extra for it.

erniejade

The p5 and the way its pulling details is making me rethink the ar. And the ar is not stock.
Notice the upgraded caps.

erniejade

I see. That was just the order I listened to them.Because of the big difference in sound I chose to listen to them in that order

Mikey081057

F1nut wrote: »

Mikey, is that comment directed at audiocr381ve?

yup

audiocr381ve

erniejade wrote: »

Sorry about that. In soundstage and the high end the emo was closer to the ar and so was the airness of the top end but the thinness for me is keeping it from being the right thing for me

. I am typing this on my cell right now so please excuese any typos.

My wife sat down and listened to the rig with me tonight. She also observed some of the ssme things as I did. We both agreed the p5 pulls a lot more backgrounds out of the cd or sacd. For her the p5 was a clear winner because it sounded bigger and she could hear more then she did even with the ar.

Skip funny you mention cables. Been running a set of mit s1. Bridget asked me to make it like it used to be and then put it all back to where it was and then change from the ar to the p5. So i put the ar back up and put my dh labs q10 cables back in. Ic's are dh labs air matrix with locking rca. I also put the tungsol tubes back into the ar. We gave a few songs off fleetwood mac the dance and the james Taylor songs I use a listen. She wrote down some things and then had me switch to the p5 then emo.

She found the p5 easiest to listen to without it "getting on her nerves" she also said bigger and warmer and the vocals and guitar seemed more realistic like a actual live show especially The Chain on the dance. The emo she found thin and to her it didnt sound like a live concert. It sounded more like a studio trying to make the music sound live. That one took me a minute and then it hit me what she was saying as right.

The ar. She loves the openness but it didnt seem to pull the details into the front like the p5 did. I tried popping tubes back to the teles snd then the 5751. It was a toss up between the teles for highs and tung-sol from 1959 for bass but again she prefered the p5 more.

Listening to the p5 with the dh labs did bring a bit more to the table. The s1 while a great cable just isn't playing nice with the rig. Not sure if its the autoformers on the McIntosh 402 or just not the right synergy. The dh labs seemed to put it all more in balance.

I do like the emo. I do like the looks, layout, quality of the rca connectors.its soundstage is darn good as well and the tone but, I dont like the crossover settingst. Its too hard to judge and the thinness. I know its stange to say I like the tone but its thin in the same sentence looks or sounds weird but if you heard it, you night think the same. I am not quite giving up on the emo just yet either. I want to give it another 100 hours before I make a final decision to see if it opens up more.

Putting the dh labs speaker cables back in seems to have a good synergy with this setup. My wife is also now a believer in spesker cables.

The p5 makes me wonder what the j2 spunds like! I wish the j2 had bass management!. I would have spent the extra for it.

The wives tell it like it is. I'd much prefer a fuller sound over a thin one, and some of my cheering for the Emo may have came out of my frustration with some of the Emo haters around here. Their stuff isn't nails on a chalkboard and there are some really phenomenal pieces they offer for the price. I ran the USP-1 pre against my Rogue Perseus tube pre and honestly could have lived with the either. Our conclusions are the same with it being a hair thin in OUR systems, something a warm amp or speakers could balance out.

erniejade

Believe it or not the legacy I have are warmer sounding. So is the polk lsi9. I am definately not an emo hater. This was my first piece. Well technically 2nd since the first one had an issue. Looks, quality of the rca connectors, back layout ( outside of the actual crossover) and front looks, usefull remote to me all go to the emo. It
Definately did not suck quite the opposite. For my rig it wasnt quite right but if I still had my rig in the livingroom ( not the big basement where I had the carver amazing) I think the emo would have been a better fit. Making a 10 foot darn near square room sound like a big stage, thats not an easy thing to do. Its amazing how big a difference on the preamp makes as well as the cables. Again my wife is now a believer since she heard it and the cable change.

The winner is, there is no winner! Both preform way above the new on new price point. If you want to stay with ss but have a warm liquid big soundstage go with the p5. If you like a more anlitical sound with a nice airy top go with the emo. I was hopping there would be a clear winner but to me there isnt it depends on what you like and what the rest of your system needs.

Skip im in no hurry. Its a tough question. I need to sell the legacy first.

The polks, because my room has issues, I moved the speaker closer together to 4 feet and i am now 5 feet from them just made the soundstage better. Listening to the new tom petty cd. I like it!. But the move of the speakers even though closer together and closer to me now disapear in the room a lot better. I again put on the dance from fleetwood mac and asked the wife to point where things were coming from. She pointed way beyond where the speakers are. She even said with her eyes closed she cannot tell where the speakers sre sitting till she opens her eyes. She doesnt like how close they are in looks but as we both agree shes in this room like once a month or so where im in here almost nightly they stay. Lol.
Sub placement was also not easy with this setup. Too far past the speakers and no bass. I did the crawl and got it where I think it sounds good for now. Or for today lol.

I realy have enjoyed both pieces and I can see why there is a lot of fans of both. Even audiohalics put the emo above the p5 with a gotta have rating lol.

On a side note the wife said instead of black with the p5 if im building another rig go silver lol.

F1nut

Even audiohalics put the emo above the p5 with a gotta have rating lol.

Sorry, but considering the source, that means squat.

vcwatkins

Excellent objectivity and sincerity. Not easy to bare one's soul in front of others we care about. Thanks.

tonyb

"thin" sound is something I personally would never want in my system, that's just me though. Very good write up Ern, but can you elaborate a tad more are your conclusions with the bass ? On the P5, is the bass more rounded on the lower end or is the emo more tight ? Which is more dynamic ? Does either put an emphasis on any part of the musical spectrum ? Compared to the AR....which piece has the tighter more dynamic lower bass.

Mikey081057

Great thread ernie ... A very interesting journey. When I chose my P5, I only had reviews and 1 listening session on unfamiliar gear and ended up very happy with my choice. I am currently not using the sub management feature but hope to soon. I hope to soon have my upgraded SDA's in the rig with my A21/P5 combo and can't wait to get it all dialed in.

erniejade

Mikey, when you do add a sub, depending on what music you listen to, you might start hearing like something is walking up stairs from you. With your 703's I would crossover around 40-50 depending on your room. Like when the wife wants to listen to some older tori amos, I have to turn the sub off. The foot of the piano was too much in front and would bug the heck out of me. America I need you on the sacd America in the first 20 seconds I can hear a fffump in the low level. The p5 just pulls a lot of detail out and brings it up front. Again for the price, its darn good. ALSO, if you have the crossover set that low and your sub on auto on, depending on the music, it will turn itself off. Like America sacd doesnt have a lot of bass on several songs so the sub turns off. That says to me the crossover in the p5 is doing a good job but the reason why i am telling you this is if your going to do a lot of listening that doesnt have a lot of bottom, turn the auto off on the powered sub during listening of that type of music.

Tony, it has a much warmer bigger sound across the board vs the ar. The AR I feel is more accurate. Remember the older Conrad Johnson pre's? They had just a warm pleasing easy to listen to sound with a bloom. Kind of like some of the old Fisher tube receivers or Scott. Warm, big sounding and just something special about them. Lots of fans of that gear for good reason in my opinion. Some find it too warm some don't. This preamp is like that. Even though the AR is tube, it is not "tube" sounding. It's articulate, accurate, fast, extended in the highs.

The bass itself, not just the overall warmth on the p5 is tight but, not as tight as the ar. I feel the ar has a little more control on it in this tiny room but the P5 has more bloom. Like an old Audio Research large speaker, they had a lot of bloom and a little thicker, very pleasing sounding, close to accurate but not fully accurate but, easy to listen to.

Drake5

Hi. First time poster on this thread and a very long time lurker. Thanks to this thread, especially ernie's findings, I was able to finalize my preamp purchase. I was really weighing between the emo xsp1 vs the parasound and ernie's post pushed me toward the para p5 -- without an actual audition.

I am now around 120 hours on this unit and parasound's president himself told me via an email question that it would be around 300 hours when this unit starts to be really transparent.

During the first few hours of owning this I was feeling that the sound was so constricted, like the music is so boxy sounding. By now though the sound stage is now wider.

I have to concur with ernie that this pre is really has a bloom and has a thickness to it that it makes it so enticing to listen to for hours on end. I was even surprised that it sounded thicker than the bottlehead foreplay 3 preamp with the amperex 12au7. When I compared these two preamps, the bottlehead pre sounded thin after listening to the p5. The P5 sounded to be more in control of the music and sweeter sounding.

My associated gear are wd tv live streaming flac from a hd on a router. Running this through a Maverick Audio tubemagic D2 DAC with AD8620 opamps (I find this DAC to be more transparent and more resolving than the built-in DAC of the P5, although the P5's DAC is no slouch and sounds really sweet, I just prefer the dedicated tube DAC better).

Thanks.

erniejade

Yep the unit needs break in time. I am glad I could help!!. Also, thank you for the confirmation on the sound having a lot of bloom. Its sometimes nice to know its not just you that hears something! It is amazing on the price vs preformance with this preamp. The soundstage is also just as wide as my ar sp16 tube pre but a bit warmer. Good bass control also.
Around the 200 hour mark is where the magic started for me but off the bat before it broke in what hit me was wide soundstage, bass, warm, and control.

erniejade

Btw welcome!!

Drake5

Thanks Ernie.

Again I will have to assert your findings on the amount of detail that the P5 pulls in. I was noticing things that I thought were not in the music before I had this pre, subtle things like the reverb of a guitar or an electronic organ in the background (of Bonjovi's Wanted Dead or alive) ooohh and the slam... you can really feel it.

I tried to use the xover feature to a subwoofer but took it off, I find it difficult to achieve the top to bottom response and integration smoothness of the ohm Walsh 2.2000 speakers with a separate sub. Anyway matching the P5 with an older HCA 1500 amp and I get a nice smooth balance. I wonder if the new halo a21 would sound even better esp with the xlr connection.... future upgrade I suppose.

Can't wait to get off from work and play some music everyday.

[Deleted User]

you know you have hit some pay dirt when...
"Can't wait to get off from work and play some music everyday."

erniejade

@rednedtugent‌ I agree! It's also a nice way to relax. It's funny how things you have heard 1/2 your life, all of a sudden your hearing more out of them. My wife will say a lot I never heard that bell in the back before or where did that noise come from? Again for the price, it really is a good preamp. Better then I though it would be that is for sure. I still flip between that and the arc. Right now the arc is in line but, next week for a month I am going to put the p5 back in. I need to sell one of them soon. My 2nd system that I wanted to do didnt pan out.

@Drake, crazy question with your sub, have you tried it on a 180 reverse? Some speakers i have tried out, getting the sub to be smooth on it took me flipping the 180 switch on my velodyne. If I had my wish on the preamp though like if I was designing it, I would have put the freq, and high and low pass being selectable on the front instead of the back.

Drake5

@erniejade, I never thought of the 180 phase on the sub. Will try that and see if it gets better. Agree with you on the crossover settings being on the front. It makes me lazy in experimenting because I have to pull the rack out and play with the settings... listen... adjust some more...a lot of times I just figure nah too lazy, I just want to listen and relax instead of tweak.

Drake5

A follow up on the DAC of the P5. I used to never like the sound from the p5s DAC, it sounded mushy to me.... sweet but indistinct and no separation.

I was surprised when I changed my interconnect cable from straight wire to morrow ma1 (pre to amp)to find that the sound has more distinction now. Now its more balanced sounding too. No longer using the maverick d2since I figure that there is less interconnect to affect the tone.

erniejade

Amazing what the cable can do!! Folks we have another believer!!!

Upstatemax

I've been contemplating the P5 for a few weeks now...

The internal DAC is one of the big things holding me back, plus the seemingly weak headphone section.

My SDAC has an excellent DAC and headphone section, but the analog section on the P5 has the tinkering section of my brain in full swing.

[Deleted User]

Me too! I think the P3 would be right up my alley.
To be honest, I was hoping the Emo would fair better.

Upstatemax wrote: »

I've been contemplating the P5 for a few weeks now...

The internal DAC is one of the big things holding me back, plus the seemingly weak headphone section.

My SDAC has an excellent DAC and headphone section, but the analog section on the P5 has the tinkering section of my brain in full swing.

erniejade

The emo didnt suck. I just thought the p5 pulled more detail out. Although if you have bass heavy speakers, the emo might do better. Its all personal preference.