[Arcticdeth]

VERY SERIOUS QUESTION. 

I own a pair of the xpa-1's from the first edition st. Jude edition limited mono blocks with lifetime warranty, special laser etched faceplate, serial numbers 005 & 006, in absolutely pristine condition, and as they are older, have less than 200-300 hours of actual "use time" and that is a very generous estimate. My main system which included the emotiva monos, was hardly used, due to crappy speakers, and sounded like crap, compared to my sunfire signature amp in my den. Would it be worth it to sell, and buy kismet amps?

 I know this may be a biased place to ask, but am curious........
Would I gain better sound with way less watts

[Arcticdeth]

I plan on buying kismets anyway in the next year, I guess should I sell the emo amps and use the cash towards kismets, or just keep them as they have a lifetime warranty.

[thunderbrick]

Are you going to do anything about the crappy speakers?   

[Arcticdeth]

Yes, remedied. Helps a little, but sunfire still sounds much better than the emotiva monos.
People will disagree, but this is my opinion.

[thunderbrick]

Then sell the Emotivas.  What good is a lifetime warranty if you don't like them?

[SoCalWJS]

My only input is this: I own Emotiva XPA1's. Rock Solid. Built like a tank. Great for HT.

....but I want to get more "musical" amp(s). I think I can improve my 2 channel performance greatly.

[JackD]

If you would disclose the rest of the system you are going to put new amps in, then maybe members could be more helpful to you.  But regardless of that, Emotiva amps are what they are, HT amps that look good.  From the ones I have heard including the one I sent back, they are forward and grainy.  From this circle to the top of the Industry section there are five amps that will beat them handily in an "audio" setting.  Which one you prefer is up to you.  I don't suspect you will find an Emotiva amp that can keep up with a Khartago, much less a Kismet. Just my opinion as a Odyssey owner since 1999 who has owned Khartago, Stratos and Kismet.  But if I remember correctly we went down this same road about a year ago.

[Chops]

Yes, remedied. Helps a little, but sunfire still sounds much better than the emotiva monos.
People will disagree, but this is my opinion.

Then sell the Emotivas.  What good is a lifetime warranty if you don't like them?

Umm... Why is this even being questioned?

You already said it yourself, that the Sunfire sounds better. That's proof enough for me to ditch the Emo amps, even if they do have a lifetime warranty. I'm in full agreement with thunderbrick on this subject. No point in holding onto the amps just because they have a lifetime warranty. That's no reason to keep them if they sound like garbage.

Sell the Emo amps and get a couple Odyssey amps.

Just recently I tried out a couple different amps, a Marsh A200s and an Audio Research D130. Both sounded great with the D130 sounding better than the Marsh. However, neither sounded anywhere as good as my maxed out Khartago Kismet. And it has nothing to do with the power advantage the Khartago has over the other two amps either as I live in an apartment and don't blast my music.

[JLM]

If you have them connected to crappy speakers, how do you know the Sunfire sounds better?  This could all boil down to a poor match of amp to speakers.


But back to the lack of use and crappy speakers -

Why do these amps get so little use?  How would you describe the better sound of the Sunfire versus the Emotivas?  I assume from your post that lack of use comes from poor sound quality, but there could be many other factors.  Like crummy sounding room, room shared with others (limited availability), or the other system is just plain better equipped/sounding?  I have the "good stuff" in my audio system, but depending on programing available (or how sunlight deprived I feel as the audio system is in a windowless room) spend more time at the AV system.

My absolute first priority would be to look at the speakers (and room).  These factors make more difference than amps (assuming they're not defective) will ever make.  Is the room odd/irregularly shaped or too small?  Is the speaker/listening position very sub-optimal or the room highly reflective (all hard surfaces)?  What is it about the speakers that you don't like?  Before I invested more in amps I'd fix the room or replace the speakers (assuming they're not broken).  I always shop speakers before amps.  IMO the amps serve the speakers, not the other way around.  Once you have an improved room and settle on speakers, the range of amps should become clearer.


If you're willing to buy a new amp(s) to use with crappy speakers on a limited basis, I'm also wondering if you're willing to adopt (and support) a 58 year old son?   

[Arcticdeth]

Main system was in living room, family etc kept me from listening for more than a hour or two even on weekends. Most times i did t even turn on as i have had bad luck with audio, and thought if i only use a handful of hours a month/year, they will last longer before something goes wrong. Plus im lazy, and just did t use as i didnt want to remove the covers and turn them on.  But when the rc-70's arrived i actually had them on for over 6 hours, that was the longest stretch i have ever had any audio gear powered on. Most listening done from under cabinet sony radio.

B&k pro10mc (newer version)
Onkyo p-308
Energy rc-70(just bought)
2 pioneer elite dvd plYers doubling as cd player. Dv48 and a newer one dv60 something?? Maybe.
Sunfire signature
Completely rebuilt cerwin vega d-9's less than 1 hour on rebuilt crossovers/drivers.
3 modded technics sl-1200's.

[Arcticdeth]

Have cash for preamp this summer. Thinking parasound halo p5.
In my price range. I didnt like the NAD 516bee?? pre, sounded sterile and boring. Parasound sounded better.

[Chops]

Have cash for preamp this summer. Thinking parasound halo p5.
In my price range. I didnt like the NAD 516bee?? pre, sounded sterile and boring. Parasound sounded better.

Yes, get the P5.

[Arcticdeth]

Yes, get the P5.

Do you own it?

[Tyson]

Yes, remedied. Helps a little, but sunfire still sounds much better than the emotiva monos.
People will disagree, but this is my opinion.

And the Odyssey will sound much better than the Sunfire, IME. 

[Chops]

Do you own it?

No, but read plenty of reviews of the older P3 and a few of the P5. I would have one right now if I hadn't found such a great deal on the mint Musical Fidelity A3.2CR that I now have.

[cementhead]

I bought in to the whole Odyssey package a little over a year ago. I always wanted a "high end" stereo, two channel, sit and crank it up rig. Just happen to see that Odyssey was made in U.S A. and thought to check it out. Called Klaus and we dialed in what I was looking for and absolutely love the sound. I look forward to listening almost every day, still. That in itself speaks volumes. I still sit and say "Holy shit!" It's just that cool.As far as "affordable" goes, as I've discovered, there is really no limit to what you could spend. I guess the bottom line is another happy customer.

[AlTran]

@ Arcticdeth, please contact Klaus to get you the new LIQUID.

[Arcticdeth]

@ Arcticdeth, please contact Klaus to get you the new LIQUID.

6 large, your outta your tree dude. Not remotely possible. And if I had that kind of coin, I would buy the new bob carver tube mono amps without hesitation.

[AlTran]

Arcticdeth, big fan of Bob Carver huh??? Nice. I love those Black Beauty. How about this pic, I have 2 amps signed by Bob which I set on the side for quite sometime now. This one uses EL34 all the way up to KT150, currently with KT88. I also have the EL84 version.

[Arcticdeth]

Nice!!! I have the sunfire signature, but I have some words from Ulysses at carver site, there may be a solid state amp in the works, looking forward to it, if it happens, as the 9 large is pretty much a pipe dream for me,as far as the Crimson 350's go....

Sunfire sig was bought in poor condition, insides has a loose transformer, I plan to drive it to Rockford Illinois, to have it tightened, and put some fresh grommets on brackets, and re-isolate the tansfdormer