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Official Emotiva Airmotiv Speaker Thread

146K views 953 replies 192 participants last post by  SlaughterX 
#1 · (Edited)
Official Emotiva Airmotiv Passive Speaker Owner's Thread

Since I picked up my C1 last night wanted to go ahead and start the owners thread for the new Emotiva passive speaker line ( http://emotiva.com/products/emotiva/loudspeakers ). I live near the Emotiva headquarters and picked up the speaker there, so I'm assuming I'm the first. From the original press release:

The expanded, highly acclaimed Airmotiv loudspeaker line is engineered and positioned to be a complete sound solution for contemporary hi-end audio systems. All models feature modern elegant black faceted baffles, with critically braced high quality MDF cabinets and magnetically attached grills. New Airmotiv introductions for 2016 include:

Airmotiv T1 (MSRP: $349 ea.): A three-way tower loudspeaker with Airmotiv™ folded-ribbon tweeter. Featuring 3-way ported design with dual 6.5” woven Kevlar® woofers, one 5.25” woven Kevlar® mid-woofer, and one 25mm x 32mm Airmotiv™ tweeter. The T1 has inserts for removable spikes, and dual speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.

Airmotiv B1 ($299 pr.): A two-way bookshelf loudspeaker with Airmotiv™ folded-ribbon tweeter. The B1 features 2-way ported design with 5.25” woven Kevlar® woofer, and 25mm x 32mm Airmotiv™ tweeter. It also has are dual speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.

Airmotiv C1 ($249 ea.): Three-way center channel loudspeaker with Airmotiv™ folded-ribbon tweeter. The C1 features a 3-way ported design, dual 5.25” woven Kevlar® woofers, one 3” woven Kevlar® midrange, and one 25mm x 32mm Airmotiv™ tweeter.

Airmotiv E1 ($249 pr.): A two-way direct-firing side surround or rear-surround loudspeaker with Airmotiv™ folded-ribbon tweeter. Features a 2-way ported design with 4.5” woven Kevlar® woofer, and 25mm x 25mm Airmotiv™ tweeter.

I just listened to the Olympics through the C1 last night so I'll post a full review once I have time to set up and critically listen to it, but I have been fairly impressed with it so far. For the price, I think it will be difficult to beat. Emotiva had previously announced 2 subwoofers and an MTM speaker, but they're not listed on the website so I don't think they'll be available.
 
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#3 ·
Was very interested in these earlier this year. In fact, they were the main reason I decided to upgrade my system this year.
But these particular speakers just arrived too late. I'm just about to start three months on the road for work and by the time I get back, I'm sure they'll be out of stock. And if past experience is any indicator, by the time they get more stock it'll be time for me to hit the road again late winter/early spring.

Will still be looking forward to reading every review that comes in. I have little doubt they'll be a price to performance powerhouse.
 
#5 ·
I have lots of speakers with Heil AMTs, and these are some of the cheapest ones available (outside of the Daytons). I eagerly look forward to hearing more about them! I would like to replace my side surrounds with speakers from this line to make my HT all Heils. :)

IBJamon
 
#7 ·
I checked around online. Only info I can find is the press-release info from the new year. You would think they would have got these into the hands of reviewers ahead of launch to build up some buzz. When they don't do that with movies it's because the movie is a real stinker. Hope that's not the case here. :D
 
#10 ·
Thanks for sharing that. I've been debating whether to get a really nice Bluetooth speaker or a pair of Airmotiv4s for my bedroom night stand. I don't really need the Bluetooth feature. It's just that the Bluetooth speakers will fit a good bit better. I know that the Airmotivs are going to beat up on any Bluetooth speaker in the same price range (I have demoed them). Harder to resist with that coupon code. :)
 
#13 ·
It shows up in the banner image on their home page, and then you use it during checkout.
 
#16 ·
Emotiva had previously announced 2 subwoofers and an MTM speaker, but they're not listed on the website so I don't think they'll be available.
Hi, Rory from Emotiva here.

The subwoofers are still on their way; we've been through a lengthy development process on them that has led to massive improvements in the dynamic limiting stage of the amplifier and the deep bass capability of the 10" and 12", with excellent reduction in audible distortion under limit conditions, and we've added a 15"/650W model to the lineup that is capable of 20 Hz extension, anechoic. At this point it still looks like we'll have them before the end of the year, for those that are waiting. We expect them to be fully worth the wait.

The MTM on-wall LCR speaker is finished, but we're keeping an eye on how quickly the other models are adopted, and that will influence our schedule for availability of the on-wall, since it is more of a 'niche' product. We wanted to bring the more mainstream offerings to market first, and so far the feedback has been excellent.

I hope that gives some insight into our progress, and I am available to answer any questions you might have about the product. I began at Emotiva in February, and was responsible for the final crossover voicing of each Airmotiv passive model; I have also been heavily involved in final tuning of the subwoofers.

Kindest regards,

Rory Buszka
Emotiva Audio
 
#18 ·
Have been using the T1s for a week and have posted a review on the Emotiva Community website -- check it out there under the title T1 Review.
The full towers are very good to excellent in my opinion. They are extremely clean and the AMT high end is accurate without being harsh. The speakers open up after several days of listening and become significantly more full and natural. They are so solidly built that when you touch the case while very loud bass passages are sounding, there is virtually no vibration.
I recommend you give them a try. Have the C1 and E1 for a 5.1 system that will be done in late September. Will let you know the results then. Typical Emotiva quality and design.
 
#20 ·
Will know more about the E1s after installing them in late September. Am replacing my older MMG system with a complete Airmotiv one.
Suggest you direct your specific questions to RoryB at Emotiva -- he is active on this site and, especially, at the Community Emotiv site. He should have the specifics for dispersion and volume.
This is what I know.
The E1s have the custom Emotiva front plate that is contoured for response and dispersion reasons -- this makes me guess that it would work in your Atmos configuration. The AMT ribbons sound fine on my Stealth 8s and 6s off of plane even though they are designed as nearfield monitors. The wall mounts for the E1 are "gravity designed/locked" and might require some customization to make them solid for a ceiling install.
The T1s I have up and running have plenty of volume in fairly large room. Have checked them thoroughly with REW at 80db levels at 8 feet distance and there are no volume issues. Checked as stereo fields and as individual units at 1 meter the T1s show the same response characteristics: they are roughly flat from 400hz to 20khz. From 30 to 400 hz they have fairly large peaks and valleys that are result of 1) my room and 2) that nature of the preamp used. Use ApQualizr to EQ the speakers in the virtual realm as a plugin in JRiver22.
Am getting the best overall result from an Oppo 105D used as a pre and, with its balanced outputs, going directly to Emotiva monoblocks. These operate at class A for most volume levels and, with the Oppo feed, generate an open and natural stereo field.
Good luck.
 
#22 ·
Have now had a chance to complete the 5.1 installation of the T1, C1, and E1 speakers and can report my experiences. The sound chain includes an Oppo 103D feeding an Emotiva XPA5 connected to these speakers. Stereo feeds were done with an HP computer running JRiver22 to the Oppo and T1s.
After the five speakers were arranged in a large room with an 11 foot ceiling (flat), three test content groups were heard: classical 5.1 Bluray recordings, Bluray movies, and popular stereo feeds.
Classical examples included Salonen's recording of Holst's planets on Signum Vision, Jarvi's recording of the Schumann Symphonies by Cmajor, and Chailly's recording of Mahler's 4th by Accentus Musicus. All are splendid performances for fidelity and comparison purposes.
The Emotiva speakers excelled everywhere but distinguished themselves in two particulars.
First, they provide an accurate “picture” of the orchestras so that you can close your eyes and imagine the ensemble actually arranged in front of you. Although nothing actually captures a live experience, being close enough to imagine the same is a significant accomplishment. In the particular case of the Bremen orchestra (Schumann) the strings were so accurately represented that you could hear the minor intonation variances typical of violin sections. The C1 center channel provides the center portion of the orchestra in a matching way to the outer T1s and helps flesh out this cohesive aural picture.
Second, the dynamic ranges of the Holst and Mahler performances were faithfully produced and point to the necessity of adequate amplifier power. These speakers can take a lot of power and will respond accordingly. Classical recordings typically avoid the kind of compression used in movies and popular music and, so, a greater dynamic range must be accommodated. Mahler's infamous crescendo ending the third movement and preparing the fourth (one of the great gestures in western art music) was so effectively handled it earned a repeated listening. Use a powerful amp for these speakers to get this kind of dynamic result.
After finishing this first group, had the chance to try out the just-released Captain America movie “Civil War.” This was a memorable experience. The speakers are superb for music and even better for movies. Others have noted the improvement in dialogue with the C1. Typically, I will rewind several times during the first time through a movie in order to capture slurred or hurried speech. This time, the entire movie unfolded in complete clarity and with easy comprehension. This is, of course, a fabulous flick and the speakers remind you of being in a well-tuned theater. Have tried a number of other favorite movies and heard something new in each. Treat yourself to the movie/score of Skyfall through these speakers – it's worth doing.
Finally, tried a number of stereo recordings. My experiments suggest that the further you separate the two T1s, the better and more accurate the soundstage becomes. Finally settled on a distance of 11 feet angled towards the listening chair. A number of popular mixes that use multiple and front/back positions were accurately represented – so much so that they created that feeling of the performers being right in your house. Two recordings that show this characteristic are “Familiarity” from the Punch Brothers album “Phosphorescent Blues” and “Go Down Moses” from Natalie Merchant's self-titled album. Give them a try and see if each instrument/voice sits in a specific position clearly and independently of its neighbors. For an extraordinary example of clarity and realism, check out the new Sarah Jarosz album “Undercurrent.” This is one accurate recording, complemented nicely by the T1s clarity and damping.
Have one complaint already made by phone to the Emotiva technical people – this is the mounting system for the E1 rear speakers. This simple method of two bolts sliding into slots is sabotaged by the bolt hole sizes (they need to be larger for the round portion) and, more importantly, the width of the supporting plastic holder. The latter needs to be wider in order to keep the E1 from wobbling from side to side. If you mount these high on the wall (as required in this installation) it's a balancing act to get the speaker wires attached, then fit the speaker holes over the two screws placed exactly 10 and ½ inches apart. Good luck here.
Cannot comment on the E1s sounding characteristics because, outside of test signals, none of the SACD or BluRay disks I have send much content to the back. Curiously, the one place where they could be heard was in applause – that was realistic and somewhat startling.
Wanted first to provide some audible reactions to the 5.1 speakers and next, will supply another post devoted to more technical data from checks made with REW.
 
#23 ·
Tried the T1s out first in a summer place then moved them to their final setting in a winter one. After this move they sounded even better and, so, I wanted to check our their specs and see why.
For those interested, am using REW for frequency and waterfall information. The accuracy of this admirable freeware is dependent upon the mic and converter. Am fortunate to have a studio and borrow an Earthworks QTC40 measurement mic and RME converters (UCX and UFX) for this purpose. Have found that it is more accurate to use a USB connection to REW (and the computer) in order to avoid any confusion from calibrating your soundcard and/or mic. For those interested in developing their own data, REW is free and most USB A/D converters will capture 20 to 20k hz effortlessly. If you want to avoid the significant expense of a quality measurement mic (the Earthworks is completely flat from 5hz to 40khz but costs well over a grand) you might consider a PZM mic. Used one of these to double check the QTC40s response data and found it was almost as good for this kind of test – my Crown PZM suffered only from a gradual rolloff starting at 8k. REW has a certain learning curve but patience will hold you in good stead here.
Since the T1s sound so good in this second location, I was not surprised to find that the room itself is favorable to audible audio frequencies. The T1s were, essentially, flat from 200 to 20khz and no adjustment was needed in this 7 octave span. Congrats to Emotiva and this room...
The adjustments required in order to balance out the spectrum of 30-200 hz were minor and produced, essentially, a flat-line response from the T1s alone (meaning, no sub) from 40 to 20k. The bass was about 20db down at 20hz and moved to 0db at 40hz – 30-40hz was still audible.
Keep in mind that these are actual figures but represent only the speakers in this room. Checked in an anechoic chamber, the T1s by themselves might be even better. In your room, who knows? It will be, I assure you, different than the above.
These figures second my initial aural response and suggest that the T1s themselves do not require a subwoofer for most musical needs – pianos and double basses do not extend much lower than 40hz. Movies tends to have explosions and other man-made effects in this low octave that make a sub more essential. And if you want some serious shaking, some subs go down to 12hz or so and will move your furniture. Personal bass preference plays a large part in this choice.
Added a large Hsu research sub (=15 inch) to the T1s and crossed it over at 40hz. The logic is that since tonal accuracy is always going to be compromised by a crossover, the lower the crossover frequency, the better. For whatever reason, this particular sub was much more effective than the 12 inch sub tried in the other place (also a Hsu). One reason might be that I matched the port arrangement (adjustable on the Hsu) to conform to the T1's arrangement (1 port open).
Regardless, this T1 and sub combination is admirably flat from 20 to 23k (there is a slight rolloff after 15k but it is less than 3db).
And the musical result?
Damn, these speaker sound accurate. They are finely damped anyway so there is no “bleed” from one sound to the next (always a problem with the MMG speakers they replaced). This accuracy contributes to the tonal realism of voices and instruments and helps create that “musician in the house” effect mentioned in the previous post.
Obviously, I find this kind of EQ worthwhile or wouldn't go to the trouble. EMO-Q does a version of this without the tools noted above and Emotiva uses Dirac software in one of its prestige preamps that claims it also handles the time dimension shown in waterfall graphs. They can tell you about this.
But I can state, after EQing these in two places, that the T1s are nicely controlled by themselves but will, of course, react to your room – whether it be good or bad.
Personally, this is what I want in a loudspeaker.
 
#24 ·
Could not reply to a personal message from isingh because I do not have the 15 posts necessary. So will add this to the public posts just made.
1. Can easily recommend you try the Emotiva speakers first and then return them if they do not please.
2. Casual listeners used to a certain kind of speaker may find the bass of the T1s soft or "thin" at first. Studio performers and engineers will hear immediately that this is because the speakers are very accurate over their entire range. Give them a chance and you will enjoy the ability to hear double basses (or electric ones) play throughout their entire range without artificial peaks and valleys -- even though at first they might seem less loud than normal. With enough power the bass can be impressive.
 
#25 ·
Just a FYI but trying to read your posts is tiring at best....I gave up after the 1st few lines.

Please break them up by using paragraphs. Puleez!
 
#27 ·
Doesn't seem like a lot of AVSForum guys adopted the Airmotiv passive line. I hope Emotiva sends some review models to the vocal members here. B1 would be a great start

I am quite happy with my T1s but I feel I could use a better quality receiver than the one I'm using right now.
 
#28 ·
Doesn't seem like a lot of AVSForum guys adopted the Airmotiv passive line. I hope Emotiva sends some review models to the vocal members here. B1 would be a great start
They really haven't been out that long yet. Give it time.

But yeah. Emotiva might want to make an offer to let some people demo them.
 
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#33 ·
Emotiva T1s Rock!

I have a pair of Emotiva XRT6.2 s and recently purchased the T1s. My power source is XPA 1 mono blocks supported by an XSP-1 pre-amp, ERC2 CD player and Rega Turntable.
I'll preface my comments with "I am not knowledgable regarding the technical aspects of audio".
I've been an audio guy since I was in grade school. I've done a lot of listening in high-end listening rooms and paid way too much for a high end/high cost system 20 years ago. Fast forward, I replaced that system with an Emotiva system a few years back at a fraction of the cost.

The T1s had great clarity out of the box. They seemed brighter than the 6.2. At the onset perhaps the ribbon speakers were an adjustment. The accuracy of the power source and the speakers revealed noticeable deficiencies in older recordings. Most vinyl sounds amazing through the T1s. I'm hearing detail I had not heard in the past. The same is true for CDs. I think I needed a break-in period. Now really enjoying them. The base is tight and accurate. I don't use my Emotiva woofer with the speakers unless watching a movie. Simply not necessary. I hope this is helpful for others considering the T1s. Great value, like the rest of the Emotiva product line.
 
#34 ·
I have a pair of Emotiva XRT6.2 s and recently purchased the T1s. My power source is XPA 1 mono blocks supported by an XSP-1 pre-amp, ERC2 CD player and Rega Turntable.
I'll preface my comments with "I am not knowledgable regarding the technical aspects of audio".
I've been an audio guy since I was in grade school. I've done a lot of listening in high-end listening rooms and paid way too much for a high end/high cost system 20 years ago. Fast forward, I replaced that system with an Emotiva system a few years back at a fraction of the cost.

The T1s had great clarity out of the box. They seemed brighter than the 6.2. At the onset perhaps the ribbon speakers were an adjustment. The accuracy of the power source and the speakers revealed noticeable deficiencies in older recordings. Most vinyl sounds amazing through the T1s. I'm hearing detail I had not heard in the past. The same is true for CDs. I think I needed a break-in period. Now really enjoying them. The bass is tight and accurate. I don't use my Emotiva woofer with the speakers unless watching a movie. Simply not necessary. I hope this is helpful for others considering the T1s. Great value, like the rest of the Emotiva product line.

Try some SA-CD's and Blu-ray Pure Audio high resolution discs. Trust me, they'll blow your LP's out of the water.
 
#35 ·
Very curious about these speakers, the T1 towers in particular. Has anyone done a side by side with a similarly priced speaker and have impressions? For instance, how would they compare to the EMP e55ti? or maybe the Ascend Acoustic CMT340s? Fluance Signatures towers? or Ribbon offerings- Chane A5RX? Or more expensive offering, like the Philharmonitor 2 or the AA Sierra...which would include RAAL ribbons (and likely, an unfair fight)?

I own the Phil BMR with a RAAL ribbon and just love them for music...however, when I tried those speakers in my theater set up, well, they did well, but the ribbon tweeter wasn't nearly as striking for HT as it was for music. I wonder if using a fold ribbon in HT might be something similar- you just don't have the needs for high end clarity and detail in most sound tracks.
 
#38 ·
I own a pair of Airmotiv 4S and a UMC-500 which are good audio values.

Tried to order three T1s to go across the front to update my ancient Definitive Technology BP10s and CLR 1000, and was told they only sell them in pairs. This is perplexing as SVS sells their towers as single entities so you can buy what you want. Emailed Customer and Technical support staff and was told in pairs only!

They are a good deal for the money but not if I have to buy four to use three.
 
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