Emotiva amps

Anyone have experience or thoughts on Emotiva amplifiers? Particularly the XPA-2 Gen3?

One of my brothers had a few different models of their amps, including two of the big amps bridged mono for 1k watts each. They didnā€™t sound half bad at all. I just donā€™t care for the looks of their gear.

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This year I bought an XPA Gen. 3/Eleven/1.5sā€¦ What all that means is the big Gen. 3 chassis with a switching (or something like that) power supply and space for 7 amplifier modulesā€¦ Each module may be a minimum-200-Watts-into-8 mono or 65WPC-into-8 stereo module; then the total number of channels, then the number of mono modules, and then the number of stereo modules.

I have a low-sentivity centerchannel speaker, a Martin Logan Electromotion ELS CC thatā€™s driven very cleanly by the mono moduleā€¦ Also in my system are ten surround or ceiling speakers (all ELAC B6s) that sound just fine driven by the five stereo modulesā€¦ The amp is dead quiet both mechanically and electronically and is 100% reliableā€¦ I had two entry-level seven-channel Emotiva amps that worked just finely but were a bit of a mess physically with all the IC and speakercablesā€¦ The XPA Gen. 3 allowed me to organise all the cable and CC speaker into a nice-looking and great-sounding centerstack.


Iā€™m very pleased with how it all turned out, and Iā€™d certainly buy one again for the same (multichannel) purpose.

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I have owned a few Emotiva amps. Really excellent for home theater (they make some very good processors as well).

However, for 2 channel, I think one can do better for the same money.

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I have no experience with their Gen 3 amps, but I am very pleased with the sound quality of the two XPR-2 amps I own. I did, however, have to replace the power LED and all four soft switches on one of the amps. I opened one of the bad switches and found a lot of corrosion on the contacts perhaps due to poor storage somewhere.

So my main plan is/was to go with a Stellar mono-block system, about $4k; but the Emotiva is 300 watts per channel for $1k. Iā€™m wondering if Iā€™ll really notice the difference in performance between the two. Also planing on running Maggies (1.7ā€™s) or Goldenear Triton 1ā€™s. Although I am planing of the Stellar preamp so maybe the cost isnā€™t all that much more. Always concerned about diminishing returns.

Emotiva XPR-2 is a killer amp hard to beat for the money

Another Red River fan. Very nice.

I had the same thought process but bought the Stellar Stack and am very happy now for over a month. Iā€™d looked at all three. PS Audio, Emotiva, & Schitt. I went over budget as usual. Oh well.

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For front-left/right channels, Iā€™d buy the Stellar M700s.

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yeahā€¦I can see me going a different route and then regretting not going full PSA. I KNOW the Stellars are greatā€¦Iā€™m unsure of the Emotivaā€™s. But my budget may still pull me toward them. I donā€™t know if continuity is a big deal or not, as I see a lot of systems with varied manufacturers and they seem to run well, but an all Stellar amp section seems like it would be more ā€œmatchedā€ if that makes sense. But it is triple the costā€¦

I usually donā€™t post but,I have Emotiva ā€˜s Xpr-1s and Xpr -2s. In my home theater setup. My main system is PrimaLuna Dialogue HPs in mono with focal 1038be speakers. I have switched my Emotivaā€™s in And out of my main system a few times which I should have not done they sound better or should I say more alike my PrimaLuna set up then different they are outstanding it leaves me scratching my head they are that good ā€¦I struggle with what sounds better the Emotivaā€™s definitely more detailed upper and lower and the midrange is just as good . If you go Emotivaā€™s pairing with a tube pre amp gives you that holographic soundstage

I do believe that the output modules used in the GENā€™3s are the same thatā€™s in the XPXs
for the money you can not go wrong with Emotiva I hope this helps you a little.
Enjoy the journey .

Gen 3 Emotiva amps have a very different power supply. Not one Audiophiles crave. The XPR emoā€™s were killer.

Stonefree, did you get my PM?

I did thanks (although I canā€™t find it now). Iā€™m still sorting the whole thing out as to what I want, so Iā€™m not purchasing quite yet.

Ok. If you have any questions. Iā€™ve had a few emo amps over the years. 5 to be exact.

I appreciate that, I may take you up on that. The Emotivas have definitely peaked my curiosity.

If you are on a budget and most of us are.
You should look at Emotivaā€™s BasX line my daughter has that system with ELAC speakers itā€™s an amazing system for the price.

The BasX amp lineup is class a/b they seem to be often overlooked.

Howdy, I did see those and they do indeed look like a great option for higher end budget audio, but Iā€™m already running a Sprout100 which is of comparable performance. Since Iā€™m looking to, maybe, run Maggies, I need at least 300w per ch. The Emotiva XPA-2 fills the bill, but so does the Stellar mono-blockā€¦

Hi sorry I donā€™t have the stellar components but a friend of mine has just purchase a pair of 700s unfortunate he lives in a different state than me.I would love to hear them. How ever he is very happy so far with SQ , and they have all the power you should ever need to run Maggieā€™s . It will all come down to what you want to spend . I think you will be happy with either one . I do believe that the Emotiva xpa-3 and stellar have been in past issues of Stereophile rated class A . However I will have to go back and look that up but I do know they were highly rated, both components .
If budget is not a problem I would probably go stellar for the Maggieā€™s . Both companies have a trial. So they can always be returned if it doesnā€™t work out not much to lose .