Had a pair of the Gen 1 XPA-1 monoblocks a couple years back that I bought to drive BG Corp 520 loudspeakers. I had been using a Theta Intrepid, bi-amping with 4 channels but wanted to see how they'd sound with more power. Thought the Intrepid was better in every way except, perhaps, the extra bass warmth that the Emotivas exhibited. I then picked up a Cambridge 840W and this destroyed the Emotivas by offering much better resolution---I could clearly hear detail that the XPA-1's glossed over, a more dimensional soundstage with more clearly defined image outlines. The XPA-1's sound good but they never sound like anything other than mid-fi (albeit easy to listen to mid-fi). And the Cambridge has almost Krell-like bone crusher bass when the material offers it. The XPA-1's sound bloated and soft in comparison. And, if your system offers it, the Cambridge is MUCH more transparent. I do have a gainclone and a single-ended triode amp which are both a bit more transparent than the Cambridge but the 840w offers the kind of power you'll never get from either of those kinds of amps. I'm not trying to hype either the Theta or the Cambridge, just saying the Emotivas are way over-rated in my humble opinion. Enjoy!
Emotiva xpa 1 monos
Any love here for xpa 1 monos?While I didn't hear a (big) difference between my Xpa 2 and my xpa 1 mono amps,I'm happy with the price to performance of these amps.I had a McIntosh mc 205 that I sold for upgrade money for better speakers. I replaced it with a Xpa 5 amp.While the McIntosh might have sounded a hair better in bass control it didn't sound 5 grand better! I think Emo xpa 1 's are good value!