DT, thanks for chiming in, and I hear you about YPAO.
Audyssey works much the same way, checks for speakers being hooked up correctly in phase first. It is just that it (Audyssey) is wrong almost half the time. YPAO may be much better. I only suggested that it just takes a minute to switch wires and find out.
Hope this helps.
God Bless, Wayne

Steveo,

Okay, I admit I'm coming in late here but have we knocked any of the low hanging fruit off the tree? Seems like we haven't checked anything off of the list. We haven't established phase or looked at any room layout issues with pics. Up front, I'd say those speaker cables certainly look suspect. Getting some inexpensive speaker wire certainly would not hurt. I've had good luck with AudioQuest wire by the foot. It's about a dollar a foot and sounds great. Monoprice also sells very inexpensive wire.

After ordering some inexpensive wire, my next step would be troubleshooting and confirming your connections and audio settings. Connections and settings make a BIG difference. Direct sounds great in my set up and use of Audessey or any EQ settings does more harm than good. I've also found that the less signal processing, the better everything sounds. Sound engineers that mix records, by and large, are far better at mixing levels than the majority of the rest of us... I use analog RCAs out of my Oppo direct through my receiver for best sound. Digital signal transmission into my Integra strips the richness and depth from my sound. Huge difference!

Lastly, if we have not already, can we see the room layout with all the furnishings, etc? Another member had issues for a significant period here and I believe it wound up being the placement of a coffee table... Correcting the room acoustics makes a big difference. I do a lot of troubleshooting for a living and it's always best to start with the easy stuff before you start going down too many rabbit holes. Let us know how you progress and good luck. Please post some pics if you haven't already.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Steveo,

Out of curiosity, what type of cables are you using to connect your Yamaha to your XPA-5? I've been getting my Emotiva set up as well and found that the first set of RCAs I was using sounded poor. Just another possibility if you're using really bad cables.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Thanks for your input T Cobe. I have rang a local dealer about audioquest and he is recommending the Rocket 44 but its about $41 AUD a metre.

Whats the exact name of your cable for $1 a foot because its obviously a big difference in price? I will look into the other suggestions for cables from the others as well

For RCA cables from the receiver to the amp I am using these brands or something pretty similar. They definitely have a more premium feel to them than a normal RCA cable with flimsy black wire if you know what I am talking about.

www.jaycar.com.au/Sight-%26-Sound---Home...ugs---1-5mt/p/WQ7226

You make a good point when you are talking about digital vs analog connects. The common denominator I am using is HDMI to my applet TV and well as to my PS3. As mentioned I am looking at maybe buying this and running it from RCA to my receiver over analog.

www.sony.com.au/product/hap-z1es

This has a pretty good DAC and have heard of great tings plus it will allow me to store high res files as well.

I will also do what Wayne suggests and swap the cables out from red to black and see if that works. I have to recheck all the connections in case but I do remember I have swapped them out when I added the XPA5 so I am 90% sure they are in phase but I will check.

I might ring my dealer and see if he can lend me a top of the range Denon receiver or pre amp. Since I am wanting to go Av 8802 I figure this will be the closest I can get as no dealer wants to lend out a $6500 Preamp it seems

Looks like I have a few things to try out ) I will report back when I tinker some more. Thankyou all for your replies and your help. No suggestions will go unnoticed. Thanks again

Rocket 44 is a bi-wire cable. Use any AudioQuest cable look on Amazon.

Steveo,

I think I am using the FLX/DB 14-2. It's their bulk spool wire. My local dealer carries it by the foot. It was right about $1 a foot. Hopefully your run is small and this will be a low cost upgrade and test.

Cheers,

T Cobe