This entry-level phono preamp caught my attention due to its low price (currently $130) and sturdy build quality. When I ordered it, the Emotiva website stated that XPS-1 units would begin shipping December 26, 2013. Since I received mine December 27th, I’m guessing I have one of the first units released to the public.
For point of reference I’ve been using a Phonoclone for my phono preamp. The Phonoclone is a DIY op amp based design for MC cartridges only. The circuit is tuned for my Denon/Soundsmith DL103 and I’ve been pretty happy with it. The rest of the phono rig is a Graham 2.2 arm mounted on a vintage Denon DP-80 turntable.
Recently I’ve discovered the magic of listening to the DL103 through Cinemag step-up transformers (SUTs). So I’m now on the hunt for a reasonably priced moving magnet phono stage to pair with the Cinemags and DL103. As a start, a friend of mine loaned me a very nice phono preamp, the Emotive Audio Circa, for evaluation. I bought the XPS-1 as a back-up and to serve as a budget reference. Having a budget reference for equipment evaluation is really helpful. If I’m going to drop significant $$$ on phono preamp A, it had better sound significantly better than budget phono preamp B.
The XPS-1 is pretty small. In fact it is built into the same aluminum housing that Emotiva uses for its remote control. It’s a dual mono design with a quad op-amp per channel, a big PS cap per channel and lots tiny smd components on the compact circuit board. The preamp has gain settings for MM and MC and selectable input impedance for loading MC cartridges. Despite what the manual says, the XPS-1 is powered by a small 12VDC switching power supply.
I hooked up the XPS-1 and gave it an initial listen to make sure everything was working. It sounded a bit rough out of the box, but everything functioned as advertised. So I removed it from the system, set up a burn-in rig for it, and left it alone for a few days. In the meantime I set up a linear power supply and a battery power supply to try out with the XPS-1.
After three days of burn-in, I reconnected the XPS-1 with the included switching power supply and listened. I used the MC gain setting and set the cartridge load at 100 ohms. After burn-in, it sounded smoother than what I initially heard. In stock form, competent is the best way to describe the sound of the XPS-1. This isn’t an insult; it’s an acknowledgement that the XPS-1 sounds like what one would expect from an entry-level hi-fi phono preamp. It’s relatively quiet and the musical elements are clearly defined and spread out across the soundstage. There’s not much depth or air to the presentation and it can tend to sound a bit thin and edgy. But that’s in comparison to much more expensive preamps. It’s much better than the under $100 DJ phono preamps, and certainly in the same ballpark as the Soundsmith MMP4 I tried a few years ago. As part of a budget analog rig, it should work very well. Just plug it in and have fun listening to records.
Now here’s where things get tweaky, just ‘cuz dat’s how I roll (cue eye-rolls from my two teenage boys). If you’re the kind of person (like me) who gets hacked off when you read about a $500 DAC that only sounds good when used with a $2,000 power cord, then just skip the rest and save yourself the anxiety. Because realistically, is someone going to buy the XPS-1 to use it with SUTs and custom power supplies costing hundreds more? Maybe, but not likely. But since I had the stuff lying around…
Before getting into the power supply stuff, I’ll make the standard disclaimer. Do not try this unless you know what you are doing. Before plugging in another power supply, make sure you are using a DC connector with identical dimensions and pin-out as the stock supply. Double and triple check both the voltage and polarity of the alternate supply to ensure it matches the +12VDC of the stock supply. If you get this wrong, you will blow the preamp up. And since this is not covered under warranty, you’ll have to choose between paying to fix it or using it as a paper weight.
That said, power supplies do make a difference with the XPS-1. Using the linear supply, the sound relaxed, moved back behind the plane of the speakers, and smoothed out on top. A glaze of hardness was stripped away to reveal a more natural, midrange-centered tonal balance. Moving to a battery supply took the overall improvement further. The noise floor dropped even lower, revealing a fine level of detail that was only hinted at before. Tonality, resolution and transparency definitely improved with the better power supplies.
Using the Cinemag SUTs between the cartridge and XPS-1 (in MM mode) also made a big impact on the sound, but in different ways. With the SUTs in place, the soundstage opened up and bloomed. The relatively flat delivery of the XPS-1 in MC mode was replaced with a more palpable sense of dimensionality around each instrument. The perceived size of the soundstage was at least 50% larger. Tonality took on smoother, silkier textures with airier, more extended highs. The downside to the SUTs was a slight loss of focus. Images were subtly diffused and not as tightly defined as before. This is a small price to pay for the magic that SUTs bring to the presentation in my book.
The combination of SUTs + XPS-1 + battery supply sounded really nice. I would not have imagined that a $130 phono preamp could sound this good. To be fair, SUTs and battery power have the same effect on many phono stages, so the results are not surprising. Does this make the XPS-1 a giant killer? Maybe.
A direct comparison to the Emotive Audio Circa phono preamp revealed the realistic limitations of the XPS-1. Configured identically (SUTs + battery supply), the Circa exhibited a level of refinement and musicality that was in a different league. It was the difference between “that’s pretty good” and “WOW!”. To be fair, the Riken resistors alone in the Circa cost more than the XPS-1. The Circa is designed and built to a higher price point and performance standard and it sounds like it.
So going back to the giant killer question, one could put together a SUT + XPS-1 + tricked out PS combo that would cost less than half of the Circa and still get about 75% of the magic. And looking forward, this setup would provide a great baseline for evaluating more refined phono preamps when time comes to take the next step.
Conclusion: The XPS-1 phono stage delivers a level of performance that is on par with other entry-level hi-fi phono stages for less than half the price. And with some tweaking, it gets even better.
Russ
