Printer Friendly Forum Posts - Short Xtant 1.1i Review

I recently picked up a pair of Xtant 1.1's to eventually power a pair of Extremis midbass drivers. That project hasn't gotten off the ground yet as I have been spending my free time listening to my Exodus/Adire Kit61 speakers. Hopefully the project will get moving soon.

First, I should say that I generally like Xtant because its amplifiers usually have rather low noise floors and relatively honest ratings. My motivation for full-range class-d amplification was electrical efficiency. I'm too cheap and conservative to upgrade my alternator, and I listen at moderate volumes, so full-range classs D seemed like an easy way to add some power without taking too big a hit to my electrical system. I read a positive review here: and decided to buy a pair. This amplifier is one of the first full-range class D amplifiers. I look forward to seeing more companies release similar products.

I wanted to get these little Xtant's hooked up, so I installed them asap and decided to do a listening test v.s. my Xtant A4004T (Xtant's cheaper class a/b 4-channel amplifier from a few years ago). Recently I had been switching off and on between true bi-amping and using the passive crossover. I found that, for one reason or another, the passive crossover provides better sound in my installation than true bi-amping. (This is probably due to the limitations of the Eclipse 8443's eq abilities).

I used Jamie Cullum (Jazz), Hillary Hahn (Classical) and Metallica (Metal) to conduct my listening tests. I popped Jamie in to start listening after the installation was complete. During the very first second I was a tad sceptical. "Gosh," I said to myself, "the highs sound pretty bright... way more bright than I like them!" However, I gave the amplifier another second or two to warm up, and thankfully, so did the sound. While I say "warm up," the sound from these amplifiers is not warm. The sound is better described as "crisp" or "analytical."

After the initial listen to Jamie, I put in Metallica - Garage, Inc. and turned the cd player to track 4, Metallica's version of Bob Seger's "Turn the Page." This track is bass heavy and I actually noticed an improvement in the bass and midbass tightness using the Xtant 1.1i. Since I have my subwoofer and mains crossed over at 80hz (24db/oct), I didn't expect an improvement in this area. I was pleasantly surpised to hear the midbass become more present and controlled.

The next cd I played was Hillary Hahn - Barber & Meyer: Violin Concertos. I ended up driving around for quite some time with this cd in. The Xtant 1.1i's were giving my front stage a much greater sense of depth and space. Very nice. Those analytical highs actually handled Hillary's violin well. The sound was not too textured, just very sweet; it sounded how violin music should sound (or at least closer, at least, than my A4004 can get).

Overall this is a great amplifier. I'll break out some positives and negatives.

Negatives:
1) Analytical highs. The highs aren't -too- bright for my tastes, but are less smooth than the A4004.

2) Double the wiring (you need one of these babies for each channel).

3) Relatively expensive. At ~$275-$325 street per amplifier, which means per channel, this is an expensive two or more channels.

4) Lack of options. There is no bass boost. No built in crossover. No switch of any kind. Just a gain knob. So, for almost all systems this amplifier will require something, be it headunit or external crossover/processor, to add extra functionality.....

Positives:
1) Lack of options (read: lack of extra cheap circuitry that affects sound). That's right. One of the negatives listed above is also a HUGE positive in my eyes. All mass market car amplifiers use pretty cheap parts and circuits for the crossovers, tone controls, other options, etc. These circuits can only have a negative impact on sound. This Xtant amplifier doesn't have these circuits.

2) Depth / Space / Accuracy.
These subjective observations are only based relative to my experience with other mass market car amplifiers and my home gear, so take these observations however you'd like.

3) Size & Efficieny.
Look at the pictures; the amplifier is tiny. The small size and high efficiency are two characteristics that make this amplifier easy to add to almost any system.

Overall: 4/5 stars. For the price I'd like the highs to be smoother.

I hope this review is helpful.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder