Emotiva XPA5 Gen 1
Have the XPA-5 Gen 2 amp and have been using it for 3 years; it is excellent. You can switch from 5 to 2 channels with a pre (use the XMC-1 myself) and it makes going from movies to music effortless. If you mainly/only listen to music I would recommend you stick with a stereo setup; the XPA-5 is not necessary for this. Most music is mixed for stereo and you get a better soundstage with two speakers and channels. Even a subwoofer will interfere with low bass imaging (2 are much better). |
Having owned an Emotiva XPA-5 and now a Class D Audio SDS-470, the 470 is far superior in air, detail, imaging and overall sound balance than the XPA-5. As another person said, it is a bit bright and probably is not a good match with your Klipsch. When I owned a set of Klipsch Heresy II's, I ran them with a Parasound HCA-1205 amp. Smoother sounding than the Emotiva that I had. For me, the Class D Audio is the best sounding Class D amp that I have owned. Even better sounding than my Wyred4Sound ST-250 or Rotel Class D amp. |
Both of these amps are very old. I used to own Adcom amp (GFA545) and it was great for a first amp in my journey. However, I found it was very dirty sounding and low resolution. Both of these amps (Adcom/Acurus) are very warm and laid back sounding. If you want that kind of sound, then I would probably recommend Acurus as the better quality component. Sounds like you are looking for local ads only? Do you have a dislike for internet sales? Parasound 2125 from TMR Audio ($400): http://tmraudio.com/components/power-amplifiers/parasound-model-2125-stereo-power-amplifier/ Parasound 275 V2 (newer model) from TMR Audio ($379) Odyssey Khartago ($525): https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis90340-odyssey-audio-khartago-tube All of these are from reputable sellers (TMR is a retailer that has excellent customer service). Any of these will be better than Adcom/Acurus. They will have more resolution and attack (more detail in the music). |
