no i have not. ive been rather pleased with sound lately and that leads to lazy......
........and i forgot to post this here but i did get the Emotive XPA-2 (and an Oppo 980HD universal disc player which i have no pics of right now so ill leave it out of the conversation) which has been a huge improvement over my 24yr old adcom. the biggest immediate improvement was the dynamics / sound stage and the low end. as for dynamics and SS, it throws the sound from in front of you to all around you, it is quite cool and very pleasing to listen to....but the low end seems much improved in clarity and depth, which has made the sub blend better than before. along with much more over-all detail and clarity, it is a very forward amp compared to both the adcom and my denon 3808 also, and with that forward presentation i find it more engaging and very fun to listen to. ive now had many extended listening sessions which were enjoyable not fatiguing. over all its not giant killer, but i would have to spend at least 2k more to do better, so im very happy for now. its the perfect unit to use as a building block while i upgrade all the other components around it, and its totally able to push big loads like a set of full ESLs
. oh and its really fucking loud. like retarded loud, which is not really an improvement since i never listen at that level.
here are some pics and stuff:
blacked out or STFU.
Specs:
• Number of Channels: 2
• Topology: Fully Discrete, Dual Differential, High Current, Short Signal Path Class A/B
• Power output (all channels driven):
500 watts RMS @ 4 ohm (0.1% THD)
300 watts RMS @ 8 ohm (0.1% THD)
• Power Band Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than .05db deviation at rated power
• Broadband Frequency Response: (-3db): 5Hz to 150kHz
• Amplifier Gain: 32db
• Signal to Noise Ratio:
1 watt: >91db
Full Power: >110db
• Input Impedance:
Unbalanced - 23.5kohms
Balanced - 33kohm
• Transformer Size: 1,200VA
• Secondary capacitance: 45,000uF
• Output Devices: 12 per channel
Size: 17” W x 7.75” H x 19” D
Weight: 75 lbs (89 lbs boxed)
FEATURES:
• Fully protected from all fault conditions
• Soft start circuitry
• External trigger turn on
• Soft touch power switch
• 4RU chassis w/ solid milled aluminum faceplate
• IEC power inlet, 120/230 VAC configurable
• Output design: Triple Darlington with On output stages
• Differential Drive: Dual Differential input
• Types of inputs: Balanced (XLR) and Un-balanced (RCA)
• Type of outputs: Audiophile quality 5 way binding post
• Display type: Digital status indicators