2ch music setup for RTi A9's with Emo XPA 2,3 or 5??

tugzy

I placed an order on an EMO XPA-2 and USP-1 thinking this is the best way to go for 2ch music. Am I right or should i look at going with the XPA-3 or XPA-5(bi-amp with XPA-5). Would there be a benefit with better sound quality going to the XPA-5 and bi-amping? Ive done alot of searching with no solid answer. I listen to almost everything from classical, contemporary to Soca, Reggae, R&B hip/hop. I was leaning towards the XPA-2 just due to the power reserve and headroom for the more demanding music.

thanks

domflane

Nice rig Tugzy, I lthink the XPA-2 was the right choice. The A9's are some really power hungry speakers and will benifit more from having more power than from being bi-amped IMO. Good luck and welcome to CP.

tugzy

Thanks for the welcome guys .
I love my RTi A9's and im running them now with my G-7500...while they sound beautiful with this vintage receiver, i just find that its not enough. Its rated at 90w/ch, clean power mind you, but the Sansui can easily be maxed out with my type pf music. I can't wait for the Emo's to arrive! XPA-2 it is!!

danz1906

Welcome to the Club!

The XPA2 with the A9s should make a great combo-Enjoy!

mmadden28

I agree on the XPA-2 vs the XPA-5 for music. Although it would seem the XPA-2 would just a 2 channel version of the XPA-5, it's not--its actually designed differently under the hood and more geared towards music rather than HT. The XPA-3 is actually just a 3 channel version of the XPA-5 though.

I use an XPA-5 for my HT with my RTi12's (pretty much the prev version of the RTiA9) and I'm happy with it. Although for pure music listening at higher volumes, I was not happy with the brightness and that is likely attributed to the RTi12's based on the many comments I've seen about them being on the bright side, although I also heard that the RTiA9's are not as bright (being one of the improvements in the newer series). I've never felt that music associated with movies or commercials were overly bright-I actually think they sound great, it was just heavy rock or metal in stereo only mode at higher volumes where I didn't like it. That is pretty much one of the main reasons I built a dedicated 2 channel rig, just for music.

Of course I never did try my XPA-2 on the RTi12s--I just haven't had the desire to lug the heavy beast upstairs and deal with my cable management nightmare, esp since I rarely ever use my HT rig for music.

I just saw a recent posting on here where somebody felt their XPA-5 biamped sounded better to them than the XPA-2 for music, but personally I would still go for the XPA-2. There are just many more positive reviews about the XPA-2 vs. the XPA-5 for musicality, where the XPA-5 is more HT friendly. But I'm not sure you ever will get a solid answer as music is highly subjective and teh synergy of the entire system is a big factor. Not all preamps and amps and speakers are a match made in heaven. And an amp that sounds great on one model speaker may not sound so good on a different model speaker, etc, etc. You just have to find the right mix of equipment and speakers.

Welcome to Club Polk.

tugzy

excellent responses and very much appreciated. I will report back on the sound quality difference between the Elite and Emo Preamp when the new toys arrive..

F1nut

Keep looking.

tugzy

What would be a very good Pre-amp with the XPA-2 & RTiA9? Im actually looking at the Emo USP-1 and notice that there arent any Bass/Treble trim controls. Thats somthing that I like. Suggestions? Thanks

superjunior

tugzy wrote: »

What would be a very good Pre-amp with the XPA-2 & RTiA9? Im actually looking at the Emo USP-1 and notice that there arent any Bass/Treble trim controls. Thats somthing that I like. Suggestions? Thanks

I think the elite receivers make a fine pre-amp and they have eq settings in the manual sp setup, although many prefer not to have this feature in their rigs. I like to have a little tweek factor for different types of music

tugzy

Yes my Elite has these setting to allow for tweaks... i guess will have to see when the Emo's arrive

mmadden28

Yes, Bass and Treble controls are typically a negative feature as they are just more electronics in the signal path.

If you are integrating this into your HT rig, the USP-1 does have a HT bypass mode.
The USP-1 also has Balanced outputs which the XPA series can handle.

Something you may also want to consider is a Vacuum Tube preamp--adding some tubes to a Solid State amp works wonders.

tugzy

The Vacuum Tube pre looks like a nice option... Im not really integrating this into my HT setup as I was thinking the EMO preamp and amp to use only with the RTIA9 for 2ch music... the RTIA9s will serve dual purpose 2ch music and fronts for HT.