[jameelch]

I just aquired a Emotiva XPA-5 amplifier. I thought that folks might be interested in the overall experience so far.

1) The ordering process
Kudos to Emotiva for making the sales process super smooth. The price they quoted me included the actual landed cost at my home in mississauga, taxes, brokerage, shipping everything.

The AMP is heavy! Almost 90 lbs boxed. I thought the shipping via FedEx was reasonable - the AMP was delivered within 3 days.

After I ordered, I saw that Emotiva had a July 4th sale where the price went down 10%. I emailed, and they have sent me a refund cheque for the 10%.

Overall, very happy with the customer experience.

2) The listening test
The AMP is being driven by a Denon 3805 now in the role of just a pre. The DolbyHD/DTSMA processing gets done in the blue ray player (Panasonic DMP-BD55).

I could immediatley hear a vast improvement in the sound field. I had always found that with the Denon driving 7 channels, the sound was 'brittle' and 'thin'. With the XPA-5 driving the 5 main channels and the Denon now driving just 2 rear surrounds, the sound felt fuller, the bass felt deeper and rounded (even though the sub is separate) - it was a whole new listening experience.

The AMP seems to have ample power to drive the B&W's well - no more having to turn the volume knob up to almost 0db (and suffering a loud shrill sound). Most movies sound great at about -10db - the point being that loundness is not the key here, good sound quality appears to fill in the room well.

3) Botom line.

I highly recommend this as a relatively cost effective upgrade that has great payback.

Enjoy!

 

[eljay]

I just aquired a Emotiva XPA-5 amplifier.

Congrats on your purchase!

I recently acquired a UPA-5 and, while I haven't experience a similar sonic revelation*, I'm quite happy with how the amp performs and with the peace of mind it provides**.

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* At moderate volume levels, the difference between it and my Marantz receiver is negligible; however, at louder levels, the UPA-5 has a noticeable edge over the Marantz in terms of precision and clarity. (Soundstage was about the same.) Maybe it's because the amp hasn't "burned in" (I've read that this can have an effect), maybe it's because my Marantz has a reasonably good amp section in it, maybe it's because I just don't generally crank stuff loud enough for there to be a significant difference between receiver and amp. The more-powerful XPA-series amps are a step up from the UPA-series amps, so I can see that that might have something to do with improved performance (at all volume levels).

** The performance difference is not the most relevant thing to me - I bought the UPA-5 primarily for peace of mind: I can crank out 7.1 audio without any fear of overworking my receiver (now that it's handling just the rear surrounds).
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Kudos to Emotiva for making the sales process super smooth.

+1

 

[d2e8b8]

jameelch, could you let me know the shipping costs.

 

[jameelch]

jameelch, could you let me know the shipping costs.

Not sure I can post actual prices in this forum. I have sent you a PM with the exact landed cost.

 

[d2e8b8]

Thanks, the information you sent me is perfect.

 

[starchoice]

Nobody wants to share?

 

[WestCDA]

My XPA-5 shipped to Calgary had the following additional charges over the purchase price (699 last December). All prices in USD.

Duty: 45.44
Brokerage: 21.00
Tax: 38.27
Freight: 82.61

Simply email Emotiva and they'll give you a landed quote to your address - they're pretty quick to respond.

 

[eljay]

Nobody wants to share?

I set up a free account at a shipping depot near the border prior to ordering my UPA-5. Total cost was as follows:

- $549 USD for the UPA-5 + $25 USD shipping to my depot = $574 USD = ~$604 CAD

- $10 USD (paid in cash) to have the package held for one week at my depot ($5/wk. for up to 50lbs.; $5 for the excess weight)

- $74.93 CAD for PST & GST (based on a conversion by Customs of the price of the amp from $549 USD to $576.40 CAD)

- ~$20 CAD in gas to get to the depot and back.

 

[Sam]

I don't know if it's appropriate to ask, but eljay, how did you set up a free account at a shipping depot? What shipping depot is this?

 

[eljay]

The place is US Address, located just outside of Niagara Falls, New York. I picked them because my buddy in Grimsby - who has an account there and who I was going to be visiting shortly - told me about it and suggested I register for an account there, too.

So I did. It was done quickly and conveniently via a couple of pleasant e-mails, and the pick-up was just as quick and convenient.

I've been told that the same thing can be done at UPS depots near the border, but I don't know if those shops charge any sort of set-up fee (above and beyond the "receive and hold" fee).

 

[dm_4u]

We have the same type deal in North Dakota for all Manitoba peeps:

http://www.pembinaparcel.com/

 

[WestCDA]

And there's a good one at the Sweetgrass, Montana border crossing for Albertans - but it's got to be a pretty hefty saving on shipping to make the 6 hour roundtrip drive (and fuel cost) worthwhile from Calgary. Edmontonians are looking at double that.

I could have saved a few dollars on this purchase, but for me it wasn't worth the time and trouble. I was surprised to see that Eljay didn't have to pay any duty. Oversight at the border, perhaps?

 

[eljay]

I was surprised to see that Eljay didn't have to pay any duty. Oversight at the border, perhaps?

Possibly, but I didn't try to hide anything: I stated the price I paid for the amp (in USD), I presented the invoice from Emotiva to the Customs officer and I paid to Customs the price that was assessed.

 

[spensar]

I don't know if it's appropriate to ask, but eljay, how did you set up a free account at a shipping depot? What shipping depot is this?

If there is a UPS store near the border near you, an account isn't required. I use the UPS store in Ogdensburg, NY, about 1 hour from Ottawa. Have the package delivered there, and you pay $5 when you pick it up. If there is a UPS store near you, best to call them ahead of time and check that they do that kind of business. The Ogdensburg one does a huge business.

 

[eljay]

I use the UPS store in Ogdensburg, NY, about 1 hour from Ottawa.

Had my circumstances been different, that's the depot I would have used.

 

[runnin']

I had a similar experience with an amp, and more recently an Emotiva cd player, the ERC-1. Ship it to the border and bring it across yourself if you can.

 

[WestCDA]

Starchoice, who asked for someone to share the shipping cost information, is looking at a 12 hour round trip to pick it up from the nearest border crossing - so the cost is significantly higher than driving (for example) from Vancouver to Port Roberts. It could very well cost more than having it shipped directly to his house - even without taking into account the time and bother to go get it.

 

[Sam]

Taking a cue from eljay, I also opened an account with a shipping depot in Niagara Falls, NY. Already used it and everything went fine except that there was no shipping documentation that came with the items I ordered. Was that your experience too, eljay?
I kind of find that odd.

 

[eljay]

Already used it and everything went fine except that there was no shipping documentation that came with the items I ordered. Was that your experience too, eljay?

Not sure if this is what you're referring to but, when I picked up my amp, the box had a little plastic pouch attached to it with an invoice from Emotiva inside it.

(Although I ended up not needing it, I had brought my copy of the invoice with me, just in case Emotiva forgot to include one when it shipped the amp.)

 

[Sam]

Not sure if this is what you're referring to but, when I picked up my amp, the box had a little plastic pouch attached to it with an invoice from Emotiva inside it.

(Although I ended up not needing it, I had brought my copy of the invoice with me, just in case Emotiva forgot to include one when it shipped the amp.)

Yes, I was expecting something similar (a plastic pouch containing shipping docs, invoice, etc.) but nothing. I asked the teller if something came with it but none I was told. It was good that I had the invoice handy when clearing through the border.

I ordered the items from musiciansfriend.