Emotiva XPA-5 Arriving Soon

[bfalls]

I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the Emotiva XPA-5 five channel amplifier. Judging from the many comments on this and other forums and Emotiva's website, I decided to buy before the inevitably price increase. With 200w/ch 8ohm (all channels driven), balanced and unbalanced inputs, 1.6KVA transformer, low-impedance drive capabilities and plenty of reserve supply capacitance, it was hard to pass up the $799 price tag or the $25 shipping for the 75lb beast.

I'm not exactly sure how I'll use it. My HT room consists of two systems, one Sony STR-DA5300ES based, the other has a Denon AVR-3300. I think I'll use three of the channels for R/C/L of the Sony system, using the side and rear surround amps from the Sony. The other two channels I I'll use with my Denon for two-channel reference listening. I have many speaker systems I've collected over the years, some 4ohm, so I'm looking forward to see how the extra power relates to sound quality. Has anyone tried separating a multiple-channel amp for use with two systems?

I'm interested in hearing any stories, or setup hints. I've read most of what Emotiva has on their Forum and overall everyone sounds pleased with the amp and the manufacturer.

[kexodusc]

Hey that's cool. My LPA-1 is a far superior sounding amp over my NAD, Rotel, Adcom, stuff. Much more powerful than the specs suggest. It's not the finest piece I've ever heard, but does perform beyond what I ever hoped for the price. I don't like the glowing blue LED a whole lot but thankfully it's not a distraction. The XPA-5 should expand on the LPA-1's strengths a bit so I'm sure you'll like it.

I was thinking of buying a XPA-2 down the road to upgrade the electroinics in my now rarely used stereo system, but I'm finally happy with the way things sound so I just might do away with separate HT and stereo systems altogether...

[bfalls]

The XPA-5 and LPA-1 share a lot of the same options---Like the manual. Apparently they edited the LPA-1 manual for the XPA-5 since the name is all over the document. I've found a lot of other errors in the document and on the website.

I've always wanted additional power than a receiver's 100W-140W and separates. This unit provides both. At 70+lbs it should have enough guts to do the job.

Emotiva's forums were helpful. I looked through the amp section for any problems with the unit. I really like the modular design. If one channel goes bad you don't need to ship the entire unit.

Are the LEDs switchable on the LPA-1? They are on the XPA-5. They can be distracting. I have a Monster power conditioner and had an HDMI switch with piercing blue LEDs. I sold the switch and placed a candle in front of the Monster's LEDs.