NAD 955 vs Emotiva XPA-5


Both these 5-ch amps are the same price (Emotiva gives military discount, so they are actually cheaper for me) with the NAD being 100wpc and the Emotiva 200wpc. I have heard the 955 paired with Totem Sttaf and it sounded great. So I am pretty confident with the NAD. Yet, the Emotiva has twice the power and has also been well review.

So, who has heard either? I will be pushing Axiom M22 mkII so power is not a problem (both will do) but, when I do upgrade, probably to Totem, I do not want to get a new amp. I listen to 50/50 HT/2-ch Music, and of the music, about 50% is vinyl.

Would love to hear what anyone with experience with one of these amps thinks.

Thanks.
affejunge

Showing 2 responses by hieule5

Totem Sttaf is an 8 ohm load speaker and thus 100 continuous watts produced per channel should be enough to drive the Sttaf at any sane listening level.

In addition to the 3db headroom increase when you double your wattage, another reason why people pay for more wattage is that they want to have clear bass definition at low volume listening (fast and tight bass rather than boomy or bloated bass).
Totem Sttaf is a floorstander and I think it can hit cleanly down to the 40Hz. The Sttaf's tweeter is probably silk too so they will go nicely with the brass played at high listening level.

Dynaudio is also a great speaker. You should give them a listen if you happen to be close to one authorized dealer.

For jazz, vocal, & piano, both Dynaudio and Totem are neck to neck. But you occasionally listen to classic rock you will see that Dynaudio will edge out Totem.