[neekomax]

I saw these amps mentioned in a thread tonight, and it piqued my curiosity. A cursory googlation revealed only their own hype, no reviews could I find or what have you. Does anyone have any experience with these, or is it a brand new product or something? The cool thing is that for the first 35 watts it can run in Class A, and then seamlessly switch itself to AB above that, all the way to 250 wpc into 8 ohms! Neato!

Here's some copypasta from the Emotiva website, and a photo for the lazy... check out the selector switch for class A or AB!  :



Emotiva XPA-1L
Monoblock Power Amplifier

Next shipping date: 4/19/2013

Ask any audiophile what kind of amplifier they dream about owning, and they’ll tell you: “a set of Class A mono-blocks!” Audiophiles know that Class A amps sound the best. There is zero crossover distortion, and the output devices are biased up to their most linear operating range. Class A, fully balanced, differential amplifiers, although a rare breed and very hard to find, sound even better! Unfortunately, Class A amps are typically very large, very expensive, and tend heat up the whole house when you run them. They also usually aren’t the most powerful amps in the world, either. Well, not anymore! We’d like to introduce you to the new Emotiva XPA-1L, with selectable Class A and Class A/B mode switching. Now you can have both: remarkable sound backed by real power. In Class A/B Mode, the XPA-1L is a potent, superb sounding, fully balanced mono-block Class A/B amplifier – delivering 250 watts into 8 ohms (or 500 watts into 4 ohms) with incredibly low levels of noise and distortion. Flip the switch into Class A Mode and the XPA-1L transforms into pure Class A, high bias 35 watt sweetheart... with a kick. If you exceed the 35 watt threshold, it seamlessly transitions into Class A/B mode when the signal level goes above 35 watts, allowing it to delivering its full power. You get the awesome purity of Class A for power levels up to 35 watts, with none of the high power limitations. (The XPA-1L does run a bit warmer in Class A Mode, but hey, it worth it.)
Maybe we should also mention that the XPA-1L also includes the other luxury features you’d expect from a premium amplifier: a machined, gold plated, RCA input connector; heavy duty, gold plated, audiophile grade speaker terminals; a solid milled aluminum face plate with an individually laser-etched serial number plate; and our advanced microprocessor controlled operating system. And did we mention it was fully balanced, and fully discrete? Well, it is.

FEATURES

Fully balanced, Differential Reference™ design with quad differential input stage and cross-coupled active current sources.
Switchable Class A and Class A/B operating modes.
Massive, high current toroidal power supply.
Advanced microprocessor operating system protects the amplifier from all fault conditions.
Discrete differential front end, no integrated circuits.
Balanced and unbalanced inputs.
Trigger input and output.
Front panel status LED with switchable stealth mode.
Fully protected from all fault conditions.
Machined, gold plated, unbalanced RCA input connector.
Heavy duty, gold plated, clear jacketed audiophile speaker binding posts.
Soft-touch power switch.
Solid milled aluminum faceplate.
Automatic 120/230 AC voltage detection and switching.
IEC power inlet.
Laser etched serial number badge.
Emotiva 5-year transferrable warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS

Number of channels: 1
Topology: Fully balanced, fully discrete, Quad Differential, high current, short signal path, with switchable Class A or Class A/B operation.
Power output (all channels driven):
250 watts @ 8 ohm (0.1% THD)
500 watts @ 4 ohm (0.1% THD)
35 watts @ 8 ohm; Class A operation
Note: In Class A mode, under normal conditions, the XPA-1L operates in pure Class A mode at all power levels up to 35 watts, above this level it will automatically transition into Class A/B mode.
Rated Power Bandwidth (at rated power; 8 Ohm load): 20 Hz to 20 kHz + / - 0.15 dB
Minimum Recommended Load Impedance: 4 Ohms (which equals one 4 Ohm load or two paralleled 8 Ohm loads).
Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 80 kHz (+ 0 / - 2 dB).
THD + noise: < 0.005%
Signal to Noise Ratio (8 Ohm load): > 90 dB at 1 watt (A-weighted).
> 116 dB at rated power (A-weighted).
Damping Factor (8 Ohm load): >500
Speaker Output Connections: Audiophile grade five-way binding posts, gold plated with clear insulator, 1 pair.
Power Supply: 90,000 uF of storage capacitance.
450 VA heavy duty toroidal transformer
Input Sensitivity (for rated power; 8 Ohm load): 1800 mV.
Gain: 29 dB.
Input Connections: Unbalanced (RCA); balanced (XLR); switchable.
Input Impedance: 50k ohms.
Trigger: Trigger Input: 5 - 20 V (AC or DC); <10 mA input current required.
Trigger Output: 12 VDC; can drive any load up to 100 mA.
Power Requirements: 115 VAC or 230 VAC +/- 10% @ 50 / 60 Hz (automatically detected and switched).
Front Panel Controls and Indicators: Standby; push button (halo ring changes color to indicate Standby or On).
Status LED; illuminates blue for normal operation, flashes red during power-up or when a fault occurs; (may be disabled by rear panel Status LED switch).
Rear Panel Controls: AC Power switch; rocker controls AC mains power.
Status LED switch; rear switch disbles front panel Status LED.
nput selector; toggle switch selects between balanced and unbalanced inputs.
Protection: The XPA-1L is protected against excessive operating temperature, shorted speaker connections, ground faults, and other common fault conditions.
Dimensions:
unboxed: 17” wide x 3.875” high x 19” deep (includes feet and binding posts).
boxed: 23" wide x 8.75" high x 24 1/2" deep
Weight: 35 lbs (45 lbs boxed)


*Note: Consecutive serial numbers cannot be guaranteed at time of order.

[WC]

It is a new amp offering. It has been out a month or so. The first shipment had an issue with the Class A to Class A/B switching amperage. Emotiva says they fixed it. I would check the Emotiva Lounge forums for the early Emotiva adopters who would have the most experience with the amp.

[neekomax]

It is a new amp offering. It has been out a month or so. The first shipment had an issue with the Class A to Class A/B switching amperage. Emotiva says they fixed it. I would check the Emotiva Lounge forums for the early Emotiva adopters who would have the most experience with the amp.

Yeah, just a 50+ page, 1200 response thread, no big deal.

I'm on page 3. 

[srb]

First thing that caught my eye was the unusually large spacing between the + and - speaker binding posts which looks to be ~ 10".

The majority of speaker cables would not work with this, so I guess you would have to modify existing or DIY new speaker cables.

Steve

[neekomax]

First thing that caught my eye was the unusually large spacing between the + and - speaker binding posts which looks to be ~ 10".

The majority of speaker cables would not work with this, so I guess you would have to modify existing or DIY new speaker cables.

Steve

Good call, hadn't noticed that. That would be a bummer if you had beloved fancy speaker cables that couldn't be used without radically (?) modifying them.

Personally, I have $25-from-Amazon 12 gauge speaker cables that I terminated myself with bananas, so that would not be an issue. Just pull 'em apart, and yer good. 

[Rclark]

Buy em and let us know what you think! Pretty sure they have an in home trial period, they're a really good company to deal with too. You have nothing to fear there.

I've purchased 3 components from that company so far and have nothing but nice things to say.

[fredgarvin]

It's a good price for what you're getting. I think RClark gave good advice.

[CrazyBlue]

Been using their little brothers, the now discontinued UPA-1s (http://emovault.org/EmoVault/UPA-1.aspx), for going on three years now with zero complaints.  They've been switched off (standby) for maybe 36 hours total during that time.  Otherwise they've been on pretty much 24/7 playing music or doing TV / movie duty.  More power than I can use and they don't even get warm.  Quite good sound quality, and stellar for the price I paid. 



Mine are prettier, as I have custom-made bubinga trim that exactly replicates the original silver aluminum.



I'd like to try the new monos, but all future audio funds are going toward a second, higher-end dedicated system. 

[Rclark]

I wouldn't spend the money on the UPA's, even as cheap as they are, I'd at least stick with these new amps they have. I convinced an online aquaintance who also has UPA's to build some Ncores, and the 'cores pretty much slaughter them.

TonePub wrote a nice review on them, but even he says they lack that nth dimension audiophiles crave. And the UPA's were budget monoblocks, even for Emotiva, but I'm sure they are nice, reliable, bang for the buck.

If you're thinking of trying Emo amps Neeko, I would stick with trying their brand new and seemingly nicer models like you have here.

[AJinFLA]

I convinced an online aquaintance who also has UPA's to build some Ncores, and the 'cores pretty much slaughter them.

Really? Would you mind sharing the specifics? What was the load, how was this "slaughter" conducted, etc.
TIA

TonePub wrote a nice review on them, but even he says they lack that nth dimension audiophiles crave.

Nth dimension?? Like the Twilight Zone? What exactly does that mean?
Could http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/cables/messages/15/57471.html give it that missing "nth dimension"?
Just to be clear, I don't own/use any Emotiva products.

cheers,

AJ

[Rclark]

Read the Tone review, it's from a few years ago, and then the guy of whom I'm speaking is a member here. I'm just paraphrasing, apparently badly.

[srb]

I convinced an online aquaintance who also has UPA's to build some Ncores, and the 'cores pretty much slaughter them.

Is that better or worse than "blowing their doors off", "kicking them to the curb" or "leaving them for dead"?

A pair of assembled Internet Direct monoblocks selling for $600 were subjectively not as good as a pair of $2000 DIY ones.  I can believe that.  A more appropriate and fair Emotiva comparison would probably be to the XPA-1L, XPR-1 or XPR-2.

Steve

[Rclark]

Is that better or worse than "blowing their doors off", "kicking them to the curb" or "leaving them for dead"?

A pair of assembled Internet Direct monoblocks selling for $600 were subjectively not as good as a pair of $2000 DIY ones.  I can believe that.  A more appropriate and fair Emotiva comparison would probably be to the XPA-1L, XPR-1 or XPR-2.

Steve

And you, and this forum is one of the only places that can make a distinction like that. There are a lot of people who think an amp is an amp and they're all the same.

I agree. I bet the XPR's are nice and would love to hear them

[CrazyBlue]

Hell, I just figured I'd share my experience with the company's products in general, not recommend my amps to the OP, who was asking about the XPA-1Ls.  Who cares what beats the UPA-1?  The point is that their products perform above their price-point, are well built and rugged, and very reliable. 

 

[Rclark]

Hell, I just figured I'd share my experience with the company's products in general, not recommend my amps to the OP, who was asking about the XPA-1Ls.  Who cares what beats the UPA-1?  The point is that their products perform above their price-point, are well built and rugged, and very reliable. 

 

I'm pretty sure I said that too.

[CrazyBlue]

Sure did.  I wasn't replying directly to your post,  but in general.  WC nailed it.  The OP is going to get the most feedback on these and any other Emo amps over at the Lounge.  I think the thing to remember is that all of their products seem to be bang for the buck, not just the budget stuff.  So the XPA-1L should be a hell of an amp. 

On a different note, a buddy at work just bought an XPR-5.  Another friend and I are going to go have a listen next weekend.  If previous experience with Emotiva is any indicator, it's probably a monster, and if I ever build a 20 seat dedicated home theater, I'll probably buy one.   

I am kind of disappointed that the XPR-5 page on their website gives the 25mm thick machined billet aluminum engraved front baffle and array of LEDs top billing though.  All of the XPR amps get their heavy jeweled cases mentioned first, although the stereo and mono seem to get right to the design and parts quality and sound quality after one quick line. 

Maybe skeptics will believe there's actually an amplifier in there.     

[CrazyBlue]

Back to the original topic, of all the new Emo offerings, I find the XPA-1L the most interesting and appealing.  I'm guessing it's a real sleeper.   

[AJinFLA]

Read the Tone review, it's from a few years ago, and then the guy of whom I'm speaking is a member here. I'm just paraphrasing, apparently badly.

Found and read it. Yes, I think you are interpreting slightly different than I read.
As for the builder, still no specifics.

There are a lot of people who think an amp is an amp and they're all the same.

Name one.
(it's rhetorical, as that is pure recursive strawman)

cheers

AJ

[Rclark]

Ok, I'll keep travelling along your bizarre little tangent..

From the article: blah blah blah sounds nice for the money, did a respectable job blah blah blah, good power blah blah blah.....

..."When pushed too hard, the UPA-1’s soundstage quickly collapsed..... it became obvious that there were textures and that prized third dimension that the Emotiva gear couldn’t bring to the table."

which pretty much right there eliminate them as an audiophile choice. And was what I meant to say. Damn I have a sharp memory. On "the builder"? You want his name just PM me. No big deal there..

On name one place, um try visiting Tech Talk for starters. And with that, I feel I've said enough on this matter.

Have a good day sir.

[AJinFLA]

Ok, I'll keep travelling along your bizarre little tangent...

About avoiding UPA amps. Ummm, ok.

"When pushed too hard...

...all amplifiers will falter, "Audiophile nth" or not. Still not a valid reason to avoid a UPA, unless it has inadequate output vs load vs listener requirement.
Now priced too low/low Audiophile "street cred", etc. etc. sure!!! Maybe throw in some cognitive dissonance, one of my faves.

On name one place...

Swing and a miss.

You have a nice day also RClark.

cheers,

AJ