dgb100 wrote:
Any experience with Emotiva?
Older Yamaha amps?

I forgot to mention that Sherbourn is very similar to Emotiva. They are now the same company, and the older amp designs are very similar.

Ordered Emotiva XPA-2 since it was the last day of a sale. 300 watts should be plenty. Didn't think $400 or so extra was worth the class A with GEs. Have not had any issue with the low power quality of the speakers, sound fantastic at low to moderate levels. The Yamaha preamp section is really nice so I'll stick with it for now. Will report back!

dgb,

Nice move! If you like the sound but still don't have the volume you want, you can always buy a second XPA-2 and use the in mono block mode with 1000 watts into 8 ohms. My guess is, you'll definitely have the volume you're looking for. SQ is another issue. Hopefully you'll be happy with both. I look forward to hearing your impressions.

Cheers,

T Cobe

I love big power (in cars too), but keep in mind that this is well over the maximum rated input power. The speakers will actually not handle this much power, if delivered, the passive components will fail. Think quality over quantity - anything over 300 or 400 watts is probably a waste. Maybe a touch more dynamic range, but not "louder", if that's the goal.

So tried out an Emotiva XPA-2 (stereo 300 watt) which was good.
Tried out the 20 year old Bryston 4B (250 watt) which was a revelation. The power, detail and texture it provides is damn near unsettling. Beyond words. Really brought out everything these speakers are capable of providing. So WINNER.

dgb100,

Thanks for following up and letting us know how you made out. I'm glad you found the amplification you were looking for. Bryston amps are built so well, it will likely last another 20 years. Happy listening!

Cheers,

T Cobe