Wondering if Emotiva dropped a deuce...

RCHeliGuy · Jul 24, 2016

I've been really happy with my XPA-2 Gen 2 for a while now. It is a pretty traditional class A/B Amp that weights about 75lbs, has a huge toroidal transformer, large capacitors, large FET's and monster heat sinks etc.. etc..

The new XPA Gen 3 series was recently released with some fan fair. It has a large Class H switching power supply and is "supposed" do to some great things.

However, I've not seen ONE review by anyone for them.

In addition the Emotiva Amplifier forums are DEAD. Everyone was all excited to get them a few months ago and I can't hear anything but crickets.

This was a big change in that all the manufacturing is done in the US now and the amplifiers power supply is completely different.

I know they are not a popular brand in this forum, but I'm very curious if they just bombed.

twich54 · Jul 24, 2016

Mark, while I can't say what all the silence is for I feel that sometimes even when a product performs well beyond it's price point it still doesn't get all the 'hoopla' that the pricier more boutique / mainstream / higher end, call it what you want, models tend to garnish

sdolen · Jul 25, 2016

It seems the new Gen 3 modular design seems more geared for HT duty. I'd better there's plenty of chatter in the HT Forums compared to the 2CH forums. They also seem to be a love or hate product and I get it, they are a stretch for the average HT enthusiast, but not expensive enough for the seasoned 2CH crowd.

Hocky · Jul 25, 2016

I saw/heard some of their new stuff at AXPONA. I don't have any real world experience with it beyond that, but I liked the way that they looked and worked.

RCHeliGuy · Jul 25, 2016

I'm not itchy to buy so it doesn't directly impact me, but it "appeared" that the XPA-2 Gen 1 was greeted pretty enthusiastically when it was released.

RCHeliGuy · Jul 26, 2016

It's pretty funny when you think about it. I'm so used to hearing people crowing loudly about their latest upgrade based on irrational beliefs that when I didn't hear any I assumed something is wrong.

The response I just got from Emotiva was that it certainly was not worth "upgrading" from an XPA-2 Gen 2 to an XPA Gen 3 with 2 channels installed.

I was told that it only made sense if you needed more channels and also that the new amp was lighter so it was easier to move and slightly more efficient.

It is a bit refreshing to not hear from a manufacturer how much better a new product is and how I needed to rush out and buy one