Emotiva XPA-5 amplifier

ranger · May 2011

What does the XDA-1 do? Where does it fit in a system that already has a receiver and amplifier such as the XPA-5?

EndersShadow · May 2011

ranger wrote: »

What does the XDA-1 do? Where does it fit in a system that already has a receiver and amplifier such as the XPA-5?

Since it acts as a pre, it replaced the receiver in the setup. It however lacks any power connections for speakers and relies on an external amp to power them.

However it looks to be setup to run only a 2 channel stereo setup, not a full 5.1 one.

cfrizz · May 2011

Terrific review Piker, and you explained the benefits of separate amplification perfectly!

Now that you know, I doubt that you will ever go back to just running a receiver again.

Congratulations & enjoy!

piker · May 2011

cfrizz wrote: »

Terrific review Piker, and you explained the benefits of separate amplification perfectly!

Now that you know, I doubt that you will ever go back to just running a receiver again.

Congratulations & enjoy!

Thank you. I don't believe I will ever go without an amplifier again, and I'll also rethink my future purchases. No more looking at mid to high end receivers for me. Amps are where it's at.

piker · May 2011

audiocr381ve wrote: »

I have the Emotiva XDA-1 Digital Audio Converter coming in this Friday. It acts as both a preamp and a DAC. This would be an awesome upgrade to your system. The price of the XDA-1 of $349 shipped is absolutely ridiculous.

Looking at that preamp it doesn't have any HDMI and doesn't seem to support surround sound. It couldn't replace my TX-NR808 receiver.

On the other hand, the UMC-1 would be a direct replacement for the 808. I just don't feel like getting rid of the network playback, because I find myself using it often.

EndersShadow · May 2011

piker wrote: »

Looking at that preamp it doesn't have any HDMI and doesn't seem to support surround sound. It couldn't replace my TX-NR808 receiver.

On the other hand, the UMC-1 would be a direct replacement for the 808. I just don't feel like getting rid of the network playback, because I find myself using it often.

The UMC-1 has had a bunch of problems and honestly I would suggest you stay away from it. Look at something like a refurbished Maratnz AV7005 from Accessories4less.com, or another pre but honestly would suggest just staying w/ your Onkyo for now.

If you did anything I would suggest putting all your gear but your sub and amp on a APC S15 battery backup (the silver one). That or there are other options from companies like Panamax, Furman, ect. I just like the APC since it basically is giving you a free battery backup as most power conditioners cost about that much.

That would help keep all your gear from potentially having problems in the future.

Sherardp · May 2011

Excellent review, make sure you run the calibration software your receiver uses again since installing the amp.

Systems · May 2011

EndersShadow..thank you for say that about..the UMC-1..thats what i have been reading about it..they are having some software issue's ..i have been in the Emotiva Lounge..and the one's who have it..are having to do reset,s update's or sending it back in for service..but they also are saying that when it's up a running it's great..

Systems · May 2011

piker..you are going to have lots of fun with your new amp..the guys in here are great..they have help me out lots!..

la9ers · May 2011

How much different is the xpa-5 to the xpa-3? I actually have the same setup as piker onkyo 808, m70's, m60's, CS2 and been looking a different amps to see what is good. By getting the xpa-3 and letting the receiver do the center and surrounds would that still be okay?

Geoff4rfc · May 2011

la9ers wrote: »

How much different is the xpa-5 to the xpa-3? I actually have the same setup as piker onkyo 808, m70's, m60's, CS2 and been looking a different amps to see what is good. By getting the xpa-3 and letting the receiver do the center and surrounds would that still be okay?

With an XPA-3, why don't you just let the amp take care of the center as well as the front L & R and let the receiver do the surrounds?

la9ers · May 2011

Geoff4rfc wrote: »

With an XPA-3, why don't you just let the amp take care of the center as well as the front L & R and let the receiver do the surrounds?

Yes you are right.... I meant to say for the xpa-3 to control L-C-R.

How do you like your xpa-3 with the onkyo and speakers? Do you recommend it? Night and day difference?

thanks.

Geoff4rfc · May 2011

la9ers wrote: »

Yes you are right.... I meant to say for the xpa-3 to control L-C-R.

How do you like your xpa-3 with the onkyo and speakers? Do you recommend it? Night and day difference?

thanks.

Well, I'll be honest with you, it's not night and day, but, I really enjoy the XPA-3. My speakers sound great and I really love my set up.

Yes, I definitely recommend the Emo to any set up.

TECHNOKID · May 2011

Reported again, so soon to vanish!

piker · May 2011

If you can afford the XPA-5 over XPA-3 I would go with the 5. It's only $200 more. I also debated going with the 3 and just running the front sound stage, but now I'm glad I didn't go that route.

Has anyone used a 5 channel amp to bi-amp front R&L and run surrounds through receiver? That may be cool too.

EndersShadow · May 2011

piker wrote: »

Has anyone used a 5 channel amp to bi-amp front R&L and run surrounds through receiver? That may be cool too.

I have attempted to bi-amp in all possible configurations. Basically its not worth it so dont do it.

If you want to check out why in more detail, search my username both here and on AVSFORUM. I dont feel like rehashing it lol....

piker · May 2011

I'll take your word for it. I'm already happy with the way it sounds so I doubt I'll change anything. I think I'm done with upgrades for the rest of the year. Time to enjoy what I've put my hard earned money into.

EndersShadow · May 2011

piker wrote: »

I'll take your word for it. I'm already happy with the way it sounds so I doubt I'll change anything. I think I'm done with upgrades for the rest of the year. Time to enjoy what I've put my hard earned money into.

Boom goes the dynamite!

Enjoy your system and let us know if you need help tweaking when that time/twinge comes....

piker · May 2011

EndersShadow wrote: »

Boom goes the dynamite!

Enjoy your system and let us know if you need help tweaking when that time/twinge comes....

I could certainly use some help tweaking some things. I ran the Audyssey setup on my Onkyo over lunch today and it came back with crossovers of 40 for all 5 speakers.

I normally run the crossover at 60 or 80. I've gone back and forth trying to figure out what I like better. At 40 my sub doesn't get a workout at all, but at 80 it gets more of the lower frequencies.

I can't decide what sounds better. Also the Audyssey setup sets my surrounds way too loud. Even though they match the fronts in db rating, the surrounds are way louder than the fronts. It doesn't matter how many times I run the setup with the mic, it's always too loud, and so I end up increasing the fronts db rating a few notches in order to compensate. Is this a bad idea?

Polk M70 fronts, M60 surrounds, CS2 center, PSW505 sub.

EndersShadow · May 2011

piker wrote: »

I could certainly use some help tweaking some things. I ran the Audyssey setup on my Onkyo over lunch today and it came back with crossovers of 40 for all 5 speakers.

Most suggest going to start with between 70-80hz to start with. You can play around and move the crossover above what Audyssey does and be fine, but never never move it below what Audyssey sets it at. The reason is that if Audyssey sets it at say 100 and you go to 80, Audyssey is not EQ'ing anything between 80-100hz, since it set the crossover at 100. That make sense?

So what I would do if your not getting enough bass is move your Fronts to 70hz, your center to 80hz (or even higher if you wanted), Surrounds at 80hz. Then set the LFE or sub to 80hz (or 100 if you really like bass).

Regarding setting your surrounds too loud, I would not increase your fronts to go over them, but rather pull your surrounds lower till you get it how you want. Last thing you want to do is clip the signal to your speakers and running stuff too hot can do that for sure.

Its gonna be trial and error for the first couple weeks with a new amp figuring out how you like it set. Your settings and mine might be different, but those should give you a good starting point.

piker · May 2011

That is some very good advice you gave me. I didn't even think about the repercussions of lowering the crossover points below what Audyssey provides. Good to know.

I will try the settings you suggested and see how it sounds. I know that the Onkyo's show 80hz as the THX certified crossover point and the LPF of LFE is 120. Is it better to have the LFE set closer to the main speakers crossover? Does that create a more seamless soundscape?

EndersShadow · May 2011

piker wrote: »

I will try the settings you suggested and see how it sounds. I know that the Onkyo's show 80hz as the THX certified crossover point and the LPF of LFE is 120. Is it better to have the LFE set closer to the main speakers crossover? Does that create a more seamless soundscape?

Some folks like some overlap between the sub and their mains, some dont. Thats a total preference call. For me I have my mains (LSi 15's) @ 70 and my sub (PSW125) @80 because my sub needs all the help it can get lol.

I have my center however set at 90 right now so that I am getting lots of clear dialog from it. Like you I am still tweaking my setup.

Also keep in mind you want to ensure the physical dial on the sub is all the way up if your using the LFE in (which I am assuming you are). If your still wanting a bit more bass, then turn the gain knob on the sub up a bit.

kuntasensei · May 2011

piker wrote: »

I will try the settings you suggested and see how it sounds. I know that the Onkyo's show 80hz as the THX certified crossover point and the LPF of LFE is 120. Is it better to have the LFE set closer to the main speakers crossover? Does that create a more seamless soundscape?

LPF of LFE doesn't do what you think, and it should always be set to 120Hz. The LFE channel is brickwall filtered at 120Hz by design, so the only way to completely reproduce it with your subwoofer is to leave LPF of LFE at 120Hz on the receiver and set the filter on your subwoofer itself to bypass or to its highest point. This prevents the filter on the sub from cascading with the digital crossover on the AVR, which would create a gap in frequency response. Please note: The LPF of LFE control does NOT overlap in any way with the crossovers set in the AVR, as it only low-pass filters the LFE channel - not the redirected bass from the other channels as determined by each channel's crossover point.

The only reason the LPF of LFE control exists on THX receivers is to maintain legacy compatibility with THX-spec'd subs that were designed not to reproduce above 80Hz. However, this throws out any harmonics in the 80-120Hz range that are present in the LFE channel and should not be used UNLESS you're using a THX-spec'd sub. Don't worry that this will make your sub easier to localize, because mixers typically don't put audio above 80Hz in the LFE channel anyway.

Also, please note that Audyssey does not change this setting (because there'd be no way to test for it anyway), and they recommend leaving it at 120Hz.

kuntasensei · May 2011

piker wrote: »

Also the Audyssey setup sets my surrounds way too loud. Even though they match the fronts in db rating, the surrounds are way louder than the fronts. It doesn't matter how many times I run the setup with the mic, it's always too loud, and so I end up increasing the fronts db rating a few notches in order to compensate. Is this a bad idea?

The first question is: Are you using a tripod or boom mic stand to do your Audyssey setup? This is absolutely a must. If you hold the mic during setup, you introduce low frequency vibration that can throw off calibration. If you place it in the seats, the mic capsule is so low that it throws off readings and reflections from seatbacks will play hell with the measurements. Ideally, you want to place the mic on a tripod or boom mic stand and place the mic at ear level for each position, making sure that the mic capsule is slightly above the seatbacks so it doesn't reflect/absorb the sound. Tripods can be had on the cheap for about $20 on Amazon. In many cases, it is also good to do a couple of your mic positions at varied heights if you notice a change in sound when you raise and lower your head. This would also be a good indication that you need to toy with your speaker placement a bit.

Also, you should run every mic position that Audyssey lets you so that it can have more data on your room acoustics. The mic should be pointed straight up, such that the front three channels are roughly at a right angle to the mic capsule, because the mic response curves are batch calibrated for grazing incidence.

piker · May 2011

I'll have to try the setup with a tripod when I get a chance. After running the setup I've noticed it sets all my speakers to about -9db and the center to -12db... therefore it results in quieter operation than I had before I ran Audyssey.

pdxfj · May 2011

Not sure what this is worth but...

I have a similar setup and at lest for me I found my system likes having everything crossed over at 60hz, with Audyssey setting the sub at 120hz.

With my 808 and amp (older 5ch Sony ES) my M70's and CS2 really came alive at 60hz. 80hz sounded ok but was a little harsh and rather flat.

Even have my di-pole surrounds and standard (mono-pole) back surrounds also set at 60hz which is a little higher than what Audyssey suggested.

Tried the CS2 and M70's at 50hz but they started to sound muddy.

kuntasensei · May 2011

Another thing to note about your 808: Audyssey DynamicEQ boosts the surround presence a little the further you get from reference. If, after a proper calibration with a tripod, you feel like the surrounds are overpowering the front soundstage, look in the menu for DynamicEQ's options and change the offset from 0 to 5, 10, or 15. This changes the point where the boost zeroes out, effectively changing the boost in surround presence and bass that DynamicEQ applies as you get further from reference. You can also change the Intellivolume setting to give volume a boost or cut to change the amount of boost DynamicEQ applies. Another way to change the offset, if you don't care about 0 on the volume readout equaling reference level, is to bump up all your channel trims equally a few dB.

kuntasensei · May 2011

pdxfj wrote: »

I have a similar setup and at lest for me I found my system likes having everything crossed over at 60hz, with Audyssey setting the sub at 120hz.

And again, so we're clear... Audyssey doesn't set your sub at anything. The crossover points of the individual channels determine where the transition to the subwoofer occurs. LPF of LFE isn't changed by Audyssey, nor is it applied to the entire subwoofer output - just the LFE channel.

See http://ask.audyssey.com/entries/321931-lpf-on-lfe
and http://ask.audyssey.com/entries/93934-lfe-vs-subwoofer-signal

piker · May 2011

I'm not telling anyone what they should do here, but for me personally, I bumped up the front stage about 3db and left the surrounds where they were. Now everything sounds more cohesive to my ears. I'm getting more sound out of the front, which is more like how it was before I re-ran Audyssey.

Maybe I need to go splurge on an SPL meter. That would be things dialed in most accurately, wouldn't it?

piker · May 2011

Back to the subject of the XPA-5 now... I was watching a blu-ray movie tonight and a scene came up where I knew that someone was about to fire a gun, and when the shot finally went off it actually startled me. That's the sort of dynamic sound I was hoping for when purchasing the amp. Just like when they throw those sudden, loud surprise crashes or bangs at you in theaters and you sort of jump. Then you feel retarded because people around you didn't move a hair.

Emotiva XPA-5 amplifier

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