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My Emotiva XPA-2 Experiences on Magnepans

Posted by Accurus (A) on August 1, 2008 at 17:24:44

Well I unpacked this XPA2 early this morning after hauling it up two floors. Was it worth it? Yes. Would I buy another Emotiva product again for my 2 channel stereo and home theater? Yes. I first heard of Emotiva at the Magnepan User Group Forum from a member who asked whether or not he should buy the XPA5. I did some looking around and saw the XPA 2 and thought well this should provide a lot more power for my Magnepan MG10s. My system is as follows:
My System:
Fronts: Magnepan MG10QR Modified Crossover
Center: Magnepan MMGC
Rears: Magnepan MGMC1
Subs: Two Rel Strata IIIs in Stereo Mode
Preamp: Audio Refinement Pre5
CD Player: Acurus ACD-11
DVD Player: Denon 3910
Main Amplifier: Anthem Statement A2
Secondary Amplifier: Acurus 100x3
Power Conditioner: Monster Power HTS 3100
Television: Hitachi Ultravision Director's Series 37 inch 120Hz 37HLX99

While this system is not the cream of the crop in terms of sonic performance it has always been a solid performing system that hasn’t cost me an arm and a leg to build up and often I have been lucky buying demos and going out of business equipment. At the time I purchased the unit Emotiva had a free shipping offer and a their usual 30 day trial period. I thought what the heck I have nothing to lose on this product. If I hate it I am not out any money on this amp and have gotten to listen to a new amp. But if I love the unit this is an amazing deal since it only costs $799 for a 500 watt per channel amp. So I took the plunge and got my unit this morning.
I had spent the few days prior to receiving this unit listening to my Magnepans extensively with the sub on and off to get a feel for the sound of the Anthem. I listened to CDs that were well recorded and other CDs that I listen to on a daily basis and know how they sound even if they are compressed due to bad recording practices. My musical tastes are pretty much everything and anything ranging from Metallica to Bach to Ace of Bass and everything in between. I felt the that biggest weakness with my Anthem was that it needed more power to really drive my MG10s. As well all know your ears get used to your gear so other things like transparency, etc all seemed fine in my mind. Of course I know there is better stuff out there but for now I didn’t feel that other sonic issues with the Anthem were anything to make me want to get rid of it.
After lugging the 92 pound packed up the stairs and getting it into my cabinet and hit the play button on the CD player while I packed up the shipping materials and moved them out the way. Immediately while walking around I could hear the difference. Magnepans typically don’t sound nearly as good standing up as sitting down and yet I was hearing dramatic differences. At first I thought well it is probably the 500 watts doing the talking here. The bass was much more dynamic and even at low levels there was a lot more detail coming through. Then I grabbed the CDs I had been listening to over the last few days and gave the stereo a real shake down. I was listening to Gwen Stefani’s song called Early Winter and was stunned to hear a sound effect playing for the first 3 seconds of the track. Before I just thought it was a break between tracks but there was a clearly audible sound effect before the track began. I noted it and figured when I went back to plug my Anthem back in for an A/B I would have a listen again. Then I started playing some Smashing Pumpkins, Bach etc and noticed that there was a lot of detail coming out of my speakers. It wasn’t just small little things that were in the background but stuff that like in the first seconds of the Gwen Stefani track simply appeared out of nowhere but was just as there as the rest of the track. One of the things that struck me about this amp is its detail, dynamics, and separation. The imaging of my Magnepans especially after the crossover upgrade was quite good. But this added more separation and less smearing between instruments and vocals. Everything had a clear place within the soundstage.
I then decided that it was time for the Rels to get turned on. I figured I would get the same bass response but just with a more dynamic bass from 80hz up on the Magnepans. I was totally wrong on this. The Rel’s were completely transformed. I was never disappointed in the Strata III’s and in my estimation they are still some of the finest subs out there at any price. However they had just been taken up a few notches. They now were fast and I didn’t think they were slow before. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the sub and the planar. They were incredibly seamless and blended in. The bass also lifted off the floor and was imaging precisely where the panels were imaging bass on their own. The bass also had an airy feeling like listening to a larger Magnepan. I couldn’t believe the difference. I ran through Enya’s Watermark album and was stunned at the bass I was hearing along with the detail and separation on the Maggie end.
I then decided that I was time to plug the Anthem back into the loop. I was stunned at the difference between the two. The A/B only reinforced my initial thoughts about the new amp. I also wasn’t going crazy with the Gwen Stefani track. I did not hear the sound effect on the Anthem that I did so clearly on the Emotiva. In the end the XPA2 is staying in my system. This amp not only has the resolution of a high end amp but has the power to drive the Magnepans. This amp never sounded fatigued or on the edge. It simply get getting louder with the same amount of clarity until my own ears couldn’t take anymore.
For those who are sitting on the fence about buying this amp or are looking for a high powered amp in general give this amp a listen. Do not let the price fool you. The build quality is there with the best of them and I have looked at amps at dealers costing well over 20k. This unit isn’t some cheap receiver. This is the real deal. I would say that everyone with the means should give this amp a listen. With their in home trial you have nothing to lose and in my case I gained an amazing amp for bargain. I will be comparing this amp to my father’s Anthem Statement P2 next weekend so it should be interesting to see the differences between these amps. However I get the feeling that it will be a draw between the two with it coming down to personal taste in sound in the end. The fact that I am considering comparing an $800 amp to an amp costing nearly 3k should say something. I have enjoyed this amp and hopefully others will too. Happy listening.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

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