Power Supply Evolution!
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- čas přidán 22. 10. 2020
- At Emotiva, we are always pushing our engineering know how and expertise to the next level to deliver the best performance and efficiency from our products. The XPA Gen3 amplifiers brought a brand new power supply design into our ecosystem to help continue that high level of performance and bring it into your sound system. In this video, Lonnie discusses the benefits that our Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) brings to the party.
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If you are looking to add some extra power and performance to your system, please check out our modular XPA Amplifiers!
XPA-2 Gen3 Stereo Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA-3 Gen3 Three Channel Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA-5 Gen3 Five Channel Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA-7 Gen3 Seven Channel Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA-9 Gen3 Dolby Atmos & DTS:X Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA-11 Gen3 Dolby Atmos & DTS:X Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA DR1 Fully Differential Monoblock Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA DR2 Fully Differential Stereo Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
XPA DR3 Fully Differential Three Channel Power Amplifier: emotiva.com/collections/amps/...
Looking to build your own custom XPA amp to fit your system needs? Check out our Build Your Own XPA Amplifiers here: emotiva.com/collections/amps/... - Věda a technologie
I have the XPA-2 Gen 3 Power Amp and the XDA-3 DAC for a few months now. I have been an ADCOM customer for over thirty years. I am now an EMOTIVA customer for the rest of my life. Their products are so elegant - outside and the inside. The inside electronics design is nothing short of perfect. Having taught several courses electrical engineering at a university for almost forty years, I look for elegance in design as well as the product performance. The prices are a great attraction as well. I would recommend EMOTIVA to everyone. I thoroughly enjoy listening to them.
100% correct. Been saying it for years, a PROPERLY designed switching power supply removes 60Hz and 120Hz noise and so long as 100KHz or higher... is beyond frequency hearing and noise levels below what anyone can hear. Love your amps and speakers.
I have 9 Emotiva amps. Multiple systems in my home. Everything from the DR3 to an A-100 have been flawless and I’m glad I went with them.
Thank you for your support Mark!
So some 8months later, I did get rid of the XPA5 Gen 3 with the intention of replacing it with an XPA 9 Gen 3! Due to COVID and supply chain issues, Emotiva advised me there was going to be a delay. So whilst I was waiting for the XPA 9, I managed to pick up and XPA5 Gen 1..... to use as a stop gap. Well I was totally blown away by the sound I decided to sell the XPA 9 instead! The Genq uses a toroidal transformer and to me ears it sounds more powerful than the Gen3 it replaced...
Gotta bring back the blue light power meters... miss the meters on my old xpa 2 gen 2...
Okay on the basis of this video, I am keeping my 1 year old XPA 5 Gen 3..! I have been seriously considering replacing it with an amp that uses a transformer just because like he said the heavier it is, the greater the impression it creates. Now I know better.
Emotiva has done a great job by making hifi audio accessible to more & more people, also they have specified their products brilliantly eg. basx-a300 power amp. which i believe is the amplifier which is more than sufficient for almost everyone.
Now I understand why Emotiva's engineers have such large guns. Thumbs up for the explanation and visuals.
I'm just getting into the HIFI and HT addiction, but I have been in the welding field 40 years. I have been a certified welding machine repair tech for the last 15 years and I have seen the SMPS (inverter) power supply taking over in the welding industry. Here's my description of old and new: Transformer = tractor, heavy, powerful and long lasting. Inverter = dragster, light weight, really powerful, goes fast, not so long lasting. When a tractor blows up there is a mess under the tractor. When a dragster blows up there's parts all over the track. Of course, this is just a funny way for me to make that analogy to my customers. And, SMPS (inverters) don't blow up in spectacular fashion like a dragster. Like most electronics, they just fail with a whimper. Now it sure is great to be able to carry a new 300 amp, 33 pound inverter welder to the job rather than needing a forklift to move 300 amp, 400 pound transformer rectifier machine. Another great thing about an inverter is the fact that they are very efficient and use much less input power which saves $. When Lonnie talks about the noise floor we also see that in welding. Since the old welders input-output is 50/60hz the arc is a bit course. While an inverter (switch mode power supply) has an input of 50/60hz and the output of the inverter section is 20,000hz the arc is so much smoother. Lonnie, thanks for another great video.
Kevin, very good point. I'm not a welder. But I can see the merits of having a stable arc in welding rather than a pulsing 60Hz arc. The solder would melt and flow much smoother and that is very important in some demanding situations, such as pressure vessels or pipelines.
Wow, I am not a welder but your explanation is easy to understand. I appreciate your post, thank you.
@@danilobadua7775 Thank you.
Waiting for my XPA-2 GEN3 to arrive. Just ordered today!
Gotta LOVE Emotive. I have the XPA-11 Gen 3 and absolutely LOVE it. It’s very powerful and my speakers have never sounded better. Awesome Video and explanation by the way and thank you 😊
Thank you for the kind words!
Great video. One take too! Just got my XMC-2 today, so excited to be to experience the brand once I’ve got it up and running.
Great James! Thank you for your purchase!
Great explanation. My custom XPA amp (eight-6-1S) shipped today. I can't wait to get rid of the noisy amp I'm using right now!
Rock on!
Making me miss my old XPA-2 Gen 1, but still loving my trio of XPA-1 Gen1s! I totally get the move to switching power supplies. If I were in the market now lighter amps are nice.
Check out my most recent comments! I nabbed a Gen 1 and have put up my Gen 3 for sale! The Gen 1 sounds more powerful to my ears!
It would be very interesting to see the comparison of the budget amps. Specifically BASX A5175 (latest releases with all the issues fixed) and BASX A5. They both have transformers in them. At the same time A5 is significantly less packed inside.
I own the A5175 - it powers my 5 bed layer speakers. No matter at what volumes I watch the movie, the amp barely gets warm. It’s very silent, no issues whatsoever. Loving it. 😊
great presentation, please keep them coming, thanks.
Sometimes I don't think people realize just how good the DR1 monoblocks really are. I have been blown away by them!
Oh and great explanation, most people fear change!
The DR amps are incredible performers and will power virtually any speaker without breaking a sweat!
@@EmotivaAudioCorp Are the DR Amps 2 ohm load stable? Because with us in the German Hifi Forum, two DR1s have broken their teeth on two nubert nuVero 170s. The emos went into protection. Probably because the nuVero 170 comes under 3 ohms. A Quadral Aurum Titan 9 goes up to 16 ohms and the DR1 compresses here at a high level. Only a Rotel Michi M8 was able to remedy this without compromising and without collapsing. I want a DR3 for my Arendal 1723 tower set. At the moment I have a Crown XLS 2502 and hope that the DR3 has more power and plays finer and more relaxed.
I have the Spectron musical MK ll D class that's 15 years old and weights 54lbs Max output 3 KW But have to say l love the new amp technology
Thank you Lonnie for that outstanding presentation which I just got to see.
Glad it was helpful!
I'd posit that switch mode PSUs really became mainstream with the early PC's, which needed very clean rails. Over 40-50 years that evolved with better transistors, better control circuitry, better overall design. Transformer-based PSU's will always have the performance limitations of a 100 year old architecture. Fancy filters and brute force will only get you so far. You have to break tradition if you want to level up. Wait till tell them the amps are going digital too, whoa nelly!
Love my XPA4 Gen 3
Where the Build Your Own page comes in handy.
just received my APX-7 after owning a Gen-2 5 channel for more than 4 years. The Gen 3 to me is bold while maintaining sonic purity. It is also is much quitter at lower volumes. That could also be attributed to me switching to XLR cables and outputs. My Definitive Technology speakers have never sounded better. If my wife permits, I would like to add another XPA to drive my Zone 2 & 3 chancels that are outdoor on my Lanai.
Love your teaching. Make more please
Thanks for this video Lonnie. I have gen 3 Dr2, 7, and 9. I did not know the audio advantages of the switching power supply. I only knew the amps don't heat the room up like my older amps did. I am assuming that is because of the power supply efficiency.
I just bought a BasXA3 after watching many arguments about amplifier topology. Many of the things spewed out there is beyond my comprehension as I am not an audio engineer. I am new to this hobby and wanted to refurbish what I already have, a home theater builton an older model Onkyo receiver that died.
This video is very well made, a layman would be able to see the benefit and advantage of the new power supply design of Emotiva. I already have a plan to build up my system to something better and definitely, Emotiva amplifiers will be my power supplier.
Absolutely awesome video!
LOVE The XPA amps, love that they are modular and modules can be added in the future for upgrades, I own the XPA5 and XPA7 Gen 3's. I may be sending the XPA-5 Gen 3 back to upgrade it to a XPA-7.
Thank you for your support. We will be here to help you out when you are ready to upgrade your amplifier.
How are your Gen 3 XPAs holding up?
First 2.5 KW power supply Niiccee. My concern with nonlinear power supplies is that on the mains side they produce a great deal of 3rd, 5th and 7th harmonics. This of course does not affect the DC side (sound quality). But it does interact with other nonlinear and linear power supplies. In poorly grounded system nonlinear power supplies will produce noise in the ground circuit. Too the audiophiles reading this make sure your mains power system is a star grounded system.
I wish just a little honesty was expressed in how much money Emotiva is saving from shipping an 80lb amp vs 10lb amp. This had to be part of the math.
@@chrisblackwell5543 There must be a reason why these have been avoided for so long? Lonnie makes some good points but I'm not a electrical engineer nor does he understand more complex topic of how noise and odd order harmonics gets introduced either.
@@BrianGarside well remember how class D amps where met with push back but now look how far the tech came and i believe class D is gonna take over
@@chriswelljack4910 I think class D will take over in certain market segments. But not likely for 2ch HiFi it just can’t match sonically but measurement wise all seems well. Very good use cases for multi channel home and commercial theater applications that I can see.
@@BrianGarside ok cool but we shall see
Beautiful
Awesome explanation.
I currently use an AB, 2 ch amp. I am about to step up to monoblocks. For the power I want the prices are extremely high for good equipment. I have always heard good things on Emotiva gear. I am considering a pair of the XPA-DR 1. Have a few in mind, just started shopping.
How about posting the mean time between failure of your switch mode models versus the Rev2 amps?
Well explained.
Awesome tech!
Thank you!
This is a really great video and I have learned something new. When i look at the BasX amplifiers I still see the old transformer style. When will the BasX be upgraded to the switching style?
Done I am going to buy gen 3 xpa 3
Great explenation. Quick question: 5 volt low noise switching power supply? I got iFi Ipower X. Some alternatives?
Still rocking my XPA-2 Gen 1. I am looking at replacing it though. Since moving it to my listening room, it's a giant space heater.
The Gen3 runs much cooler than the other versions as well. It just keeps getting better :)
Go for the new generation . U wont regret . I m using . Cheap n powerful . Heatless .
I have an XPA5 Gen 1 and it runs no hotter than the Gen 3 it replaced!
What is your best sounding amp you make today and how does it/they compare to the XPR line, XPA-1L and SA250 ?
great video
Thank you Shawn.
Got introduced to emotiva more than 10 years and never looked back I still have their mmc1 processor lol I won't if emotiva wanna give me a pair of height speakers for it I believe it belong in emotiva museum
Very good
SO does the gen 1 produce hum or buzz at the amp and speakers??? Looking for an amp in a small room is a gen 3 BETTER suited??
Should I buy Emotiva XPA2 Gen3 or Rotel 1582 mkII..? 😇
Sold!
What is the capacity of the transformer which is found in Basx A-300 product?
Not to be a brown-nose, but that was a great explanation. I know a lot of guitar amp builders that would also like to get rid of 60-cycle hum.
Awesome……
Thanks 🤗
It is an interesting point of view. But at the same time it is in collision with the architecture applied in the construction of power stages that are located in the high-end world. Without going any further, a recent staging as D'Agostino Momentum M400, where a significant part occupies a transformer with a diameter similar to the Home Depot home run. There must be a reason .
All I WANT IS FOR EMOTIVA TO BRING BACK THE XPR-1 MONOBLOCKS!!!! EVEN IF FOR A LIMITED RUN. I had them, LOVED THEM and eventually sold them, buying into the SMPS hype (not that his argument isn't a compelling one) and HAVE NOT STOPPED KICKING MYSELF 🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️. THOSE AMP WERE AMAZING, and while Emotiva amplifiers still sound good, they have yet to produce an amplifier on par with that one. Bottom line, please bring it back!!!
What did you not like about the SMPS?
@@sg1ds919 To me, the music in comparison to the XPR-1's sounded thin. I will admit that I was using a stereo amplifier, and not mono blocks, however everything else in my system remained the same. The music seemed to lack fullness, if that means anything, in comparison to the XPR-1's. I'm not saying that my system sounded horrible. It is still pretty good, however having that frame of reference, I felt like I took a step back.
@@isaacsykes3 Might be so that the new XPA gen 3 are more transparent and what you hear are the actual sound from components before the amp. So in other word, it is more likely that it is your other components that actually sound thin ;). Just speculating :).
Great show Lonnie. Love this video. Many traditional "audiophiles" minds are melted now. Also those who are resistant to change even with the data will struggle. I am delighted that Emotiva wants us to experience progress. Also the SMPS is not going to murder your body moving it around. I love options! I don't care to impress anyone else. Just me! The HC-1 and more of the latest at Emotiva, are some of the smartest amplifers around. I have been doing audio a long time. Emotiva is showing you can do it well another way. You can still get a Linear Power Supply amplifier if you want. You can get the latest that Lonnie showed here at Emotiva Audio. Change is good. Progress is good. It means options. I like options.
Thanks Vincent! People fear the unknown.
If the switcher is transformerless, what do you call that yellow thing in the middle of the switching power supply ?
Bob, most switching power supply has a transformer. They just operates at much higher frequency. 200Khz or above. Transformers transfer power at much higher efficiency (power vs size) at higher frequencies.
There may be some switching power supply design that does not require a transformer, but they are not efficient and has much lower power output.
If XPA GEN3. has 2500 Watt powersupply, how comes that XPA2 is 2x300W, but my XPA3 is "only" 3x275Watts (825 Watts in total). Why not 3x300W, and what happens to the missing 1675 Watts?
Not that I am missing the power in my amp, I am just curious.
Убедительно... Хочу приобрести XPA 3 GEN3!
Looking at the amount of capacitors on the AC side and the magnetics, I get the impression there is no PFC on the front end. Is that the case?
PFC?
Guess I'm old school but it seems like ..the more moving parts (figure of speech) better chance of something burning out . I still prefer copper coil and quality caps .
What is "2 Channels driven"? Is this the same as "per channel"?
Thank you, love your products just a little confused on terminology.
All amps can be rated for virtually any amount of channels that they can drive. Mutlichannel receivers often give their 2 channel driven spec even thought they might be a 9.1.2 Atmos receiver because those numbers always look better since fewer channels are driven. Those numbers go way down when they are all channels driven.
"Per Channel" would be just a single channel running.
@@EmotivaAudioCorp great thanks!
Isn't a SMPS more complex and thus more prone to reliability issues?
Xpa2 Xpa5 Gen 2 here
Is the switching power supply compatible with class a ab and tube amps?
Even though we are using a switching power supply in our Gen3 amps, the modules themselves are class AB so they keep that sonic signature.
I'm glad he showed the 60Hz peaks its time people show the non believers that SMPS are far capable and superior. They just more complicated to design. The SMPS should influence the shipping cost and bring the cost down.
Yes switching power supplies are cool, light weight, and more efficient than transformers but just like most electronic devices there is a certain life span (lower) that those IC's, MOSFET's, and other components have, that transformers do not. Steel and copper are just more reliable than silicon and that's why transformer are in equipment 50+ yrs old and they still function. Just know there is a trade-off with the switch mode power supply that wasn't mentioned here.
Good day.
I have Emotiva C1 , going to upgrade to c2 plus.
I am bi AMPing C1 with XPA 200...
I want to upgrade my amp for single center channel. ..
Wat to get for c2 plus / c1 whether single XPA HC-1 or XPA-2 Gen 3 ( BI - AMPing )
kindly help..plz.
Either direction would work for your system. If you would like to stick with Bi-Amping then I would go with the XPA-2 Gen3.
Love my XPR-1’s! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Yeah! There’s always one of us! Be careful when they’re more! Bahaha!
If they started making them, I'd buy a pair.
So I can buy one of these from overseas and it would be good with Australian power
Absolutely. I have bought direct from Emotiva USA and it works flawlessly with UK voltage.
Never realise that until now that's awesome cheaper for me to buy from them then it is to buy that in Australia with shipping cost
What else do you want? How about reliability? How does a transformer and switched mode power supply compare?
Sonically the Switch Mode is better because the noise floor is 20db lower than the traditional transformer. As far as reliability, they are the same since it is usually capacitors that go out first and not the power supply itself. The real question is that if you need service, would you rather pay to ship a 35 lb amp or 90 lb amp?
@@EmotivaAudioCorp when do you know your caps need replaced? I have an xpa gen1 from 2011.
I noticed the gen 3 is quieter than the gen 1 when I upgraded. Thanks for confirming my observation. Any reason the gain dropp from 32 to 29db from gen1 to gen3? czcams.com/video/WI4qO4nFRg4/video.html
I'm still confused between the the XPA-DR and XPA HC-1 also can I get XPA-DR in smaller chassis?
HC-1 is a single channel XPA amp. DR amps are fully balanced, differential amps with twice the modules per channel, hence twice the power of the standard XPA amps.
@@benjaminvankuren7645 thank you
@@benjaminvankuren7645 you can get the Dr amp in mono blocks also
@@chriswelljack4910 yes sir, dr1. What I was saying, if you look inside, there are 2 amp cards per channel vs 1 amp card on the standard xpa amps
@@benjaminvankuren7645 ok they are fully differential balance amplifiers
Hi just bought the basx a500 for my front stage after connecting the RCA cable and speakers to my emotiva do I need to change the settings on my denon x4400h or that’s it please help
Looking to buy BasX A2 Stereo Amplifier, it is been 'temporarily out of stock' forever now..
We should have more by the end of the month.
Thanks, apprantly it got back in stock today..ordered it..should have asked before I guess 😆
For POWER & WEIGHT SAVINGS THEY ARE GREAT! But for Details not so much!
Installer I have been working with has told me that Emotiva uses digital amplification which is inferior to any other amp out there. Is this accurate?
He is recommending a Rotel amplification with the Rotel preamp. Am I getting the most accurate information?
My UPA-7 suddenly lost the sound and blinking red. I reset it and still no sound.
Please contact sales@emotiva.com
New users of audio equipment can get confused. Do you think why now more audio brands still use by traditional transformer in the them hi-end products? What do you think about this video? czcams.com/video/2Gq-xn3DiX0/video.html
Musically emotiva lacks. If you are only doing HT, they arent bad. But for music, you can do way better
Challenge accepted.
Gen 2 are better. When comes Gen 4?
You guys go to such lengths to obtain the highest quality and yet some of your power amplifiers I have seen don't have Earth ground!
Or more precisely, different components do not have a common ground.
In some cases the earth ground line on your outlet have noises and that can cause a 60 hz hum on your whole system. So proceed with caution.
I mean look at the Hypex Ncores, or any of the classD amps in a lot of the super high end speakers coming out lately. No transformers. Switchers. No power condition needed.
2 pounds....3 pounds tops?
Audiophiles are full of people used to traditions and traditional way of doing things. The purist. you may say. Tube amp, vinyl records, etc. What this video (and Emotiva Audio) going is the pragmatic, engineering way of thinking. Which one is better? You decide.
One thing for sure, the new switching power supplies are way better than those just 5 years ago. Class D amps are getting better everyday. Even some mid-end/hi-end audio gear manufacturers are getting into the game.
So I think the general statement of no switching power supply and class-D for HiFi is somewhat out of date. Of course, your mileage may varies.
I have an XPA-2 that years ago became a doorstop for me. It has control circuit problems, just won't come on. Simple fix I'm sure. Too heavy to ship back to Emotiva. Emotiva won't release schematics of the control circuits so I can fix it. Emotiva won't sell parts to fix it. No more Emotiva for me. My home theater is now all Monolith.
A company that stands by their products and will go out of their way for them. Well word gets around either way. Hmmm, i am shopping right now trying to decide
what you didn't mention the drop in weight???
Da kann ja was nicht stimmen was im Video erzählt wird. Die Gen 3 mit dem angeblich so starkem Schaltnetzteil komprimieren sehr früh und der Sound ist flach im Gegensatz zu den Gen 2 mit Ringkerntrafo Class AB.
literalmente a pior besteir que fiz em compra emotiva no brasil nao tem garantia e o vendedor so se importa com o dinhiero