Hey guys!

So, I have had my good ole XPA-3 since July. It is currently taking position at powering the center and surrounds.

This is an BADASS amplifier. It is powerful and makes its presence known. If you are looking to upgrade your front soundstage by giving a bit more boost than what your receiver can give....then this is the amp for you... If you're looking for a great addition to your XPA-2 or any 2 channel amp...then this is the amp for you.

I first used this on my old Swan Diva 5.1's. It was definitely an upgrade. The greater power was definitely obvious. I never liked the bass output from the old 5.1's until i hooked up the XPA-3. It put out some serious power and made the bass fuller and deeper.

I then got the Vienna Acoustic Mozart Grands. I like to use the RPA-1 with the viennas because I think it makes them a bit more lively. The Vienna's are a bit more laid back in general, but when I hooked up the XPA-3 to them..good god was this awesome! I know my Mozart's only have 6.5's but these babies hit like colossal giants running a marathon!!! The soundstage was nice and big, and music was as clear as ever. Movies have an awesome impact with the XPA line. The level of slam just can't be outdone. I don't think the XPA-3 gets as much talk as the other amps, but I'll tell you what - if your on the fence about this, go ahead and give it a shot because I KNOW you will love this amp.

Currently it provides an awesome HT experience for me by powering my hungry Maestro Grand center and the ERD-1's. Both these speakers are 4ohms so they are getting some serious power!!! Who doesn't like power? I'll end this by saying that i am in love with my current setup and the XPA-3 is a crucial reason why i do.

Steve
Missouri

My Emotiva amp was delivered Friday Jan 2nd, here is my review as first posted on the Klipsch forum:

Packaging:
Well packaged, double boxed with thick foam protection. Included inside is the amp, power cord and manual, the amp is wrapped in clear plastic, the cord and manual each are in plastic ziploc bags. Power cord is round, detachable with a 3 prong plug.

No other cables are included. Shipping was done very quickly, my order was placed late at night and shipped the next morning.

Appearance:
Nice looking. I like the styling for an amp, basic and solid, and it looks good with the rest of my equipment. The black anodized aluminum front panel is very thick, the visual edge which can be seen is 5/16 inch thick, this is just the visible edge the actual front panel is likely even thicker. The amp is very heavy - weighing about 70 lbs, the amp sits on large heavy rubber feet. Rear connections are nice quality. The brushed aluminum front panel is black anodized, with satin silver brushed aluminum trim pieces on each side in the front and the main casing is sturdy and black powder coated with a slight texture. The Amp is both large and heavy, so be sure your rack stand can accommodate it.

Sound:
My listening volume settings have remained at the same level, also my calibration levels for each speaker did not need to be adjusted - the volumes were all still good. Before I received the amp, I thought I might need to raise the volume of the surrounds to keep up with the fronts, but I found this was not needed. The surrounds even seem to have improved probably because the receiver no longer has to power the fronts, dedicating the receivers power only to the surrounds. My system already had more volume available than I needed, with the added power there should be more headroom.

With the amp my system sounds a little cleaner and more detailed, bass is a little tighter and with more punch.

Listening to music the sound is more detailed. I have noticed a few things I never noticed before on songs I regularly listen to - instruments seem to have more separation, vocals slightly clearer. Music listening was done in 2 channel with subwoofer.

With home theater, both voices and effects seem slightly clearer and more defined.

The XPA-3 has had an overall improvement to the sound of the system. Also even though the amp is not powering them, the surrounds do not seem underpowered and the system seems nicely balanced. Both music and home theater have improved with the most noticeable improvements to music listening.

The amp runs very cool producing almost no heat at all to or from the case.

My system used in these tests:

Front mains- Klipsch RF-5
Center- Klipsch RC-7
Surrounds- Klipsch RS-3 II four used in 7.1 (2 side and 2 rear)
Subwoofer- Klipsch RW-12d
Receiver- Onkyo TX-NR900

Overall I am very happy with the XPA-3, it is a nice improvement to my system. Emotiva seems to be a very nice company to deal with and has a nice web site and online forum that seem to give them a very good reputation.

I give the Emotiva XPA-3 a definite thumbs up!

P.S. in the future, maybe I might like to purchase an XPA-2 to power the front mains, plus another XPA-3, using two XPA-3's to power the surrounds and bi-amp the center.

Rich
Orange County

Hello folks.

After writing up both a review and a comparison on the XPA-2, I will keep my opinions on the XPA-3 fairly short. The XPA-3 was purchased to replace my old and trusty Acurus A100x3. It had been driving my MMGC Center and MGMC1 rears for a few years now and drove nearly an identical setup in my father's listening room before I got my hands on it. It sounded great with my XPA-2. My uncle wanted to pick it up from me, and between that and the Labor Day sale, I went ahead and purchased an XPA-3. After rewiring and making room in my cabinet for this monster I sat down for a listen.

My first comment for everyone who's wondering what all the fuss with the XPA-2 versus the XPA-3 and XPA-5, is that there is a huge difference in the layout. The XPA-3, while the same size as the XPA-2 is much lighter and it is clear that the XPA-2 has more reserve power than the XPA-3. The top of the XPA-2 is loaded with power caps while the XPA-3 has a little pocket of them located in the front.

Onto the sound stuff... The amp is a wonderful piece of gear. Tone wise, it is obviously a perfect match with the XPA-2. It maintains the clarity and powerful sound of the XPA-2. It also helps when I doubled the power to my center and rears since the Acurus did 150 watts per channel into 4 ohms. The main things I heard in my system were an increase in both the clarity and the power behind the dialogue. Voices gained not only a sense a separation, but also they had more dynamics and power behind them. The soundstage in the fronts improved quite a bit. I had a great front soundstage before but now it is more precise and refined.

The rear speakers were a large improvement. Before, my system sounded like it has front speakers and rear speakers. There was not much of a feel that sound came from the side of me. Now, in 5.1 my stereo sounds like it has an encapsulating sound that is 360 degrees. Also I am noticing a lot more information in the rear channels that I have never noticed before. Voices, sound effects, etc all sound clearer and are sonically placed to have a clear soundstage.

I am very impressed with the sound of this amp in conjunction with the XPA-2. My system has a powerful, clear and refined sound that I had not heard before, and the Acurus (like the Anthem the XPA-2 replaced}, is no slouch of an amp. I would recommend the XPA-2 and XPA-3 combo to anyone with a hard to drive speaker system. While many folks with cone speakers, more efficient speakers, and 8 ohm loads probably won't benefit as much from extra power, us folks with 4 ohm loads and speakers that need a dam to power them will certainly do so.

While the XPA-3 doesn't get as much talk on the forum as the XPA-2 and XPA-5, it is a great piece of equipment worthy of the XPA series name. When used with the XPA-2, it will produce wonderful sound. My new amps and speakers are now looking forward to the new subs and processor from Emotiva that will soon be gracing them with their presence.

James R.