[dukja]

Tim:
 
Thanks for the sharing.  Yes, Audio-GD's balanced power amp offering are nice, but they are $$ and heavy for my trial with HE-6.
 
Quote:

I used 2 different Emotiva amps with my Phoenix- the UPA-2 (RCA) and the XPA-2 (XLR). Both sounded great but not to the level of the AGD amps. But for about $700, providing massive power and XLR inputs, the XPA-2 is a good value. The UPA-2 is also good value but it sounded pretty colored (warm) which I liked on a lot of music and not so much on others.
 

 

 

[FauDrei]

PP: Stock bias is 15V according to Kingwa. I settled on 18V in the end.

 
Hmm... I much more prefer lower than stock bias on Roc. Kind of strange that higher than stock biases do the trick on Phoenix...
 
Then again - this might be because of better and stronger PSU on Phoenix or it could be we just have different sound preferences...

 

[TruBrew]

I am thinking about buying a Phoenix and need some opinions. How many of you use it with the LCD-2? I am looking for an amp for them, and any future dynamic cans I buy, so I want something that is an overall winner. I don't want to be buying 10 different amps to match with different cans. I am sure that would be ideal, but I don't have that kind of space or money. 
 
The Phoenix seems like a killer deal, which is the main reason I am looking at it. I am willing to spend more, but I was wondering how this stands up to more expensive amps, and especially how it will do with the LCD-2. I am also considering the Apex P/V, WA6SE, WA22, and maybe the GS-X. While I will spend more money, I try to be price conscious. The GS-X is likely too expensive. Also, very few people own it, which does not inspire confidence. 
 
I know the Phoenix is the only SS of the bunch, but it doesn't mean the can't be compared. Maybe someone has compared it to a well built 4 board Beta 22 or RSA Apache. I know the Beta 22 has more power, but that doesn't affect sound quality with normal headphones.
 
I just want to know, if spending more money will provide any significant increase in sound quality.

 

[TruBrew]

Well you can skip the question about how he LCD-2 sounds with the Phoenix. After being a member here 10 months, I just realized there was a thread search function. That made finding my answer easy. I still see little about its price to performance, and comparison to more expensive gear.
 
PS. If you are selling a Phoenix let me know.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

 
Hmm... I much more prefer lower than stock bias on Roc. Kind of strange that higher than stock biases do the trick on Phoenix...
 
Then again - this might be because of better and stronger PSU on Phoenix or it could be we just have different sound preferences...

My needs are quite different being that I have nearly the entire spectrum of the audible freq range covered (within + - 1 db 23 hz to 30 khz) by my speaker setup which already has excellent bass extension (down by 3 db at 20 hz ) so a fatter warmer presentation is not necessarily ideal (vs headphones). My situation is unique in that regard FD and as such what bias setting I settle on will have little practical correlation to use of cans (say 100% of the time). Since the HD650's and the LCD-2's seem to be a little dark (and warm) to begin with it's not surprising to see Curra and I settle on a higher bias setting (although for very different reasons).
 
Anyone have any experience with the Emotiva XPA-1 mono blocks ?
 
Peete.

 

[TruBrew]

I used to own the XPA-1's. They are the only dedicated speaker amps I have owned, so its hard to compare them. I would say there were rather transparent. I purchased them to power a set of Magenpan MG/12's. They did an awesome job. I ended up selling the Magnepans, don't ask me why. I now own a pair of Thiel 1.2's which I find too bright. Both speakers displayed their expected characteristics, so I assume there was little coloration. I would check the Emotiva forums if you want a better review. I sold them because I almost never use the Thiels, and find them to me an unnecessary amount of power for them.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Thanks TB !
 
I've read all of the end user accounts about the XPA-1 amps ....I actually know more about those amps than the A-gd C-1's which are the other mono blocks under consideration.
 
Peete.

 

[tim3320070]

Still off topic but I felt the XPA-2 did not sound as good as even my FBI-400 integrated let alone my current C10. It's not like it was bad, it just seemed to lack the life-like sound of the AGD amps. And they are a fine value. If you go with Emotiva, be sure to ask for an open box, they usually have some.

 

[BenBau]

I have used the C-1 Master mono-blocks for about one year and could not get used to their neutral sound signature. In my ears they were not neutral but boring on my new B&W 802 Diamonds. I thought that they would open up after a few months, but they newer did. I was constantly yawning, trying to pop my ears open, but nothing changed.
A month ago, I tried a pair of Brystons 7B-SST2. I was sold immediately, WOW! I also auditioned Brystons Pre-amp, the BP26 (@4500 euro!), but the Phoenix is a much better pre-amp than that.
A few weeks ago I sold my C1-Masters. No regrets.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Still off topic but I felt the XPA-2 did not sound as good as even my FBI-400 integrated let alone my current C10. It's not like it was bad, it just seemed to lack the life-like sound of the AGD amps. And they are a fine value. If you go with Emotiva, be sure to ask for an open box, they usually have some.

Thanks Tim.


Quote:

I have used the C-1 Master mono-blocks for about one year and could not get used to their neutral sound signature. In my ears they were not neutral but boring on my new B&W 802 Diamonds. I thought that they would open up after a few months, but they newer did. I was constantly yawning, trying to pop my ears open, but nothing changed.
A month ago, I tried a pair of Brystons 7B-SST2. I was sold immediately, WOW! I also auditioned Brystons Pre-amp, the BP26 (@4500 euro!), but the Phoenix is a much better pre-amp than that.
A few weeks ago I sold my C1-Masters. No regrets.

You know....when I had the FBI 500 hooked up to my main speakers I was a little underwhelmed by the result but I chalked that up to a lack of burn in at the time. Your experience with the C-1's has pretty much convinced me that I should look elsewhere.....the best combo I had going was the dual mono EL34 amp (which is now in need of repair and missed terribly) combined with SS beef on the bottom end. I have tracked down a set of tube amp kits on Audiogon (mono block 120 W RMS if I used KT120 tubes about 100W with KT88s) for a little less money than the XPA-1 SS amps. The Phoenix is a terrific preamp that is for absolute certain so it's going nowhere.

 
Decisions decisions.......I think I'll give the XPA-1's a try...the tube amp kits can always be bought at a later date
 
Thanks BenBau for the insight, that was a great help.

 
Peete.

 

[tim3320070]

Quote:

Thanks Tim.




You know....when I had the FBI 500 hooked up to my main speakers I was a little underwhelmed by the result but I chalked that up to a lack of burn in at the time. Your experience with the C-1's has pretty much convinced me that I should look elsewhere.....the best combo I had going was the dual mono EL34 amp (which is now in need of repair and missed terribly) combined with SS beef on the bottom end. I have tracked down a set of tube amp kits on Audiogon (mono block 120 W RMS if I used KT120 tubes about 100W with KT88s) for a little less money than the XPA-1 SS amps. The Phoenix is a terrific preamp that is for absolute certain so it's going nowhere.

 
Decisions decisions.......I think I'll give the XPA-1's a try...the tube amp kits can always be bought at a later date
 
Thanks BenBau for the insight, that was a great help.

 
Peete.

I should have qualified that more- I have Mirage MS-7i speakers which are very full and warm speakers and with the neutral AGD amps, it's excellent to my ears (seems to tame the faults I think). I can easily imagine Thiels (had and sold 2.4's) or B&W's sounding less than optimum with these amps. But I still feel my C10SE sounds better than the XPA-2 I had, might be placebo though (don't care!).
 
 

 

[Gwarlek]

I have an opportunity to get Phoenix cheap locally (~1k$). Hovewer my source is "only" DAC19DSP.
Will this pair work balanced if I connect them through ACSS? Btw, I take it that CAST everyone talking about is equal to ACSS?
 
Shall I go for it or just order C2.1?

 

[tim3320070]

The Phoenix is a wonderful amp but equally good as a preamp and maybe you don't need it today but someday you might and you'll love that feature. Plus it has a remote. Yes, ACSS was formerly called CAST. The DAC19 will work fine with the Phoenix but you may need some cables for that connection.

 

[haloxt]

Go for it. I had a dac19mk3 (with pmd-100 instead of dsp-1) paired with phoenix for over a year, and it sounded quite good. The phoenix can be extremely revealing though, and may sometimes bring to your attention that dac19 doesn't resolve the minutest of detail or capture the most precise transients, but the sound is still neutral and dynamic.

 

[fasterthanafish]

just love audiogd's build quality.....unbeatable at that price rage.