As I have said before, Emotiva gen 1/2 are very competitive amps for the money. They can be somewhat bright stock (hence some opinions above that a tube preamp mates better). This can be resolved by fuse upgrade - Isoclean if you want to lean towards a warmer signature or Furutech fuses if you want additional detail and resolution and transparency. Although, running in Class A mode will remove a lot of the brightness issue.
If you like running Class A then Gen 2 is a great choice. However, if you like Class AB instead, you’re better off obtaining a XPA-1 Gen 1. The Gen 2 circuit has waveform crossover distortion when run in Class AB mode (circuit design is a compromise between Class A / AB).
Obviously, you can get a better amp for a lot more money (i.e. Cambridge / Parasound). Emotiva’s charter is to make the best equipment at a low cost. This means using cheaper components (such as electrolytic and film caps, etc.). The circuit design and implementation is generally very good, however.