Buy this incredible McCormack DNA 500 and save yourself $$$. If it doesn’t work out you can probably sell it for little/no loss so very little risk and no doubt will be a huge improvement over your Emotivas on every level — read the reviews. Best of luck.
Looking to upgrade from Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks
I am currently running 4 XPA-L1s bi-amped into a pair of Legacy Whisper HDs along with a Legacy Wavelet DAC. My main sources are an Emotiva ERC 3 CD transport and a Rega RP 6 turntable through a Moon preamp.
The Wavelet and the Moon pre are recent upgrades and have made a pretty big difference coming from a Yamaha RX-A 1050 receiver!
For the most part the system sounds pretty good. But lately I am starting to feel like the sound is a little edgy (if that makes sense).
I feel like I have exhausted the tools I have at hand, the Wavelet room correction/contouring, room treatments, cable upgrades etc. So, I am thinking new amps would be the likely upgrade to get that little extra out of my system.
Do I stay with a 4 monoblock setup? Could I move up to better stereo amps? Stay with bi-amping? Yada, yada, yada!
Budget wise I would like to stay under $6000.
I have been doing a lot of research, but thought I would throw it out here to get some input as well.
BTW...I will be attending AXPONA next weekend so any recommendations to explore are welcome also.
Sorry for the long post!
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- 15 posts total
When did the edginess start, after which component upgrade? I ask because it could be that one of your components introduced it and not the amp, or one of your components, like your preamp, is revealing something in your amp or source. My point is, changing the amp may not address the edginess. You will need to determine the source of it before you can fix it. |
It's kind of always been there. I heard these speakers at friend's house and was really impressed with them. I don't recall what he had on the front end at the time. Always buying and selling gear. That's how I ended up with them. I will say the Wavelet is probably the biggest change since I have owned the Whispers. I live an hour away from Legacy and had them program it for the whispers specifically and it did smooth things out a bit. I have been doing a lot of critical listening lately. Maybe it is just me! I will check out the McCormick though.
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If it’s always been there and you like your speakers you might try some tubes somewhere in the mix of components, like a tube pre with ss amps. I don’t know what the McCormack sounds like or if it will take the edge off. Listening preferences change as well. I used to like a bit of brightness but that bothers me now and I prefer neutral to warm. |
Sorry, I put the wrong link for the McCormack amp above. 🙄 Here it is… https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650201477-mccormack-dna-500/ |
- 15 posts total