mgvsev:

I've been looking at adding an xpa-5 for my pair of 6T's, 5C and future aperion surrounds, but I'm only runninng an Onkyo 605 at the moment.....is this receiver capable of being hooked up to an amp such as the xpa-5 or am I looking at having to upgrade my receiver before going with an amp like this?  the problem is, I really don't have the budget to bite the bullet on a new mid-upper level receiver and and a more than adequate amp in the xpa-5 as well...I eventually would like to have a quality system that will open up the 6T's full potential....any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciatedthanks

Looking at the specs of the SR605 on Onkyo's website, it only has a pre-out for the subwoofer.  So you would not be able to use an external amp with that receiver.  Like you, I was looking to upgrade my receiver to a higher-end model when I stumbled upon Emotiva.  For less than I was planning on spending on a new receiver, I determined that I could get an XPA-5 that was waaaay more robust than the amps in the receivers I was considering and hook it up to my existing receiver.  Going this route also alleviated my frustration with how quickly new receiver's become outdated.  I figured by investing in a quality amp, I'd have the power side of the equation taken care of for good.  If you can swing it, my suggestion would be to pick up a used or refurbished lower-end receiver that has a full set of pre-outs (you can probably find one for a few hundred bucks) and take advantage of the Emotiva holiday sale.