Well Guys, I have a LOT of black and blue in my stereo system too, but only the XMC-1 is from Emotiva. T Cobe, some red lights in there are pretty nice for color contrast. Well tubes are the best lights to have really boys.
T Cobe, I have the Oppo 95 which has balanced outs for playing my CDs, SACDs and Blu-rays. So I would say the Oppo 105 might be REALLY great, IF you need a balanced player. I have a tubed CD player as well, although not balanced, and it is only SLIGHTLY, barely better than my Oppo. And of course, it can ONLY play redbook CDs. It is resting nicely thank you. It gets almost NO playing time.
BUT if you are interested in POS, two channel only, then yes there are a couple of ways to go better than your 103, but I would bet that you cannot much beat their 105 (and have LOTS of other options too).
Since so much discussion of Emotiva, I will just add that I am pretty much happy with the XMC-1, or I think I will be when they get a couple of annoying bugs taken care of, and get us an android IR remote control. But one of the guys on the Emo forum developed an Android remote that works most of the time on the network, so I am OK for now.
I stay on the Emo forum all the time, waiting (not so) patiently for the next announcement of a firmware update that will fix the bugs. And I can tell you, that forum is NOWHERE NEAR as friendly and helpful as ours is here.
Thanks guys for all you do to make this forum a really great experience and for all the help!!!!
God Bless you all,
Wayne

Wayne,

You're right about the other forum versus this one. I won't post on the other despite reading it regularly. Seems there are a lot of members there that enjoy arguing. A forum should be a place to share and assist. The tone here is far more civilized thanks to our regular members.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with Emotiva, Wayne, Brad, and Splash51. I'll definitely post some listening impressions this weekend. I may have to pick up something new for the occasion besides just comparing it on tracks I am familiar with. Anyone know any good pipe organ albums?

Bach's Toccata in Fugue in D Minor is one of my favorites but it is hard to find a reference quality recording that is full length. Telarc has a great version but it is too short. I was amazed by my T1s the first time I played this track. I wasn't sure what was going to give out first: the subs in my T1s, my basement windows, or my ear drums! Needless to say the T1s played the pipe organ with great authority and clarity and did not falter.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hmmm. I checked out the dimensions on the XPA-1L. It would fit nicely in my stack as an amp for the center channel (either the SCXL there now, or the projected SCXXL). I guess I'll add that to my project list! All these great reviews of Emotiva amps has me thinking...
For now, I'll stick with the NAD C275BEE amp for the T1 fronts, though the reviews the Emotiva XPA-2 stereo amp gets (and for 2/3 the price) are pretty amazing.

Rick

Hi Rjohn79395,

I am using an XPA-1L for my center channel. The XPA-1L is a fantastic amp, it drives the center channel very well. I was happy with the SCXL and was driving it with a Yamaha RX-A1040. When I added the XPA-1L the difference was not subtle. In normal listening levels not so much but when I turned it up a little for a SS movie the center channel was more pronounced. Much wider and deeper sound. With 3 channel music it sounded really good. I just recently replaced the SCXL with a SCXXL. WOW a huge difference. The SCXXL is similar in sound to the T1s without the subs of course. I know the XPA-1L is a vital part in getting this incredible sound from the SCXXL.
I am driving the T1s with XPA-2s in bridge mode. I was using 1 XPA-2 in the beginning and it sounded great. I decided to add a 2nd and run in bridged mode because EMO was running a winter sale last Nov and the price with the e-club discount was to good to pass up. I got the XPA-2 for $685!! It is overkill but I guess I am a power junkie:) The sound improvement was minor adding the 2nd amp. The instrument placement was more defined and seemed to move out further from the speakers. At higher volumes the T1's really sing!!! Even after an hour or so of listening the amps barely get warm. The XPA-1L will get hot if you but it in class A mode even idle.

Oh yea, the terminals are very wide apart on the XPA-1L, about 9 inches. If your speaker cables are formed together they will most likely not reach both terminals. I had to modify mine to make them fit.

Enjoy!
DT

Wednesday morning, listening to Spyro Gyra/20/20 -- (1997) -- 20/20.

T Cobe: the big day is here...are you throwing an XSP-1 party this weekend? I'd come if I could.

John79395: When you get ready to order your Emotiva amps -- REMEMBER -- CHRISTMAS is right around the corner...I'll give you my garage code, just set them inside.

Emotiva usually has a winter sale that starts in November. 10% on all except the reference series.