Official Emotiva UPA-500 AMP Discussion Thread

Finally, truly affordable separates. The UPA-500 is the first amplifier of our revamped Ultra Series line, and it delivers the most amazing price-to-performance ratio available today. It offers everything you’d expect in a great multi-channel, audiophile power amplifier: oversized power supply with plenty of storage reserves, wide, flat frequency response, vanishingly low noise and distortion, bulletproof protection, advanced engineering, and heavy-duty construction. And like all of our power amplifiers, it’s rated to deliver full power under all conditions, with all channels driven.

The UPA-500 - Don’t tell them how little you paid for it; it'll be our secret...

FEATURES
A true audiophile-quality multi-channel amplifier.
Advanced engineering with our proven class A/B design topology.
Top quality parts and construction.
Real power easily drives complex loads.
Heavy duty power supply with oversized toroidal transformer.
Gold plated five way binding post output terminals.
Classic Emotiva styling with rugged solid steel chassis.
15mm solid milled aluminum faceplate.
Channel status LED’s.
Remote trigger input and output.
115 VAC or 230 VAC with automatic detection and switching.
Full protection from all common input and output fault conditions.

Specifications

Topology: Fully discrete, dual differential, high current, short signal path Class A/B
Number of Channels: 5
Power Output
(rated power; THD < 0.01%):
120 watts / channel (4 ohms; all channels driven)
80 watts / channel (8 ohms; all channels driven)
Rated Power Bandwidth (at rated power; 8 Ohm load): 10 Hz to 20 kHz + /- 0.06 dB
Minimum Recommended Load Impedance (each channel): 4 ohms (which equals one 4 ohm load or two paralleled 8 ohm loads per channel)
Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 70 kHz (+ 0 / - 3 dB)
THD + noise: < 0.01%
Signal to Noise Ratio (8 Ohm load):
> 96 dB at 1 watt (A-weighted)
> 117 dB at rated power (A-weighted)
Damping Factor (8 Ohm load): > 500
Speaker Output Connections:
Full-sized 5-way binding posts; one pair per channel x 5
Power Supply:
0.85 kVA toroidal power transformer
40,000 uF of storage capacitance
Input sensitivity (for rated power; 8 Ohm load): 850 mV
Gain: 29 dB
Input Connections: Unbalanced (RCA); one per channel
Input Impedance: 47 kOhms
Trigger:
Trigger Input: 5 - 20 V (AC or DC); <10 mA input current required
Trigger Output: 12 VDC; can drive any load up to 50 mA
Power Requirements: 115 VAC or 230 VAC +/- 10% @ 50 / 60 Hz (automatically detected and switched)
Front Panel Controls and Indicators:
Standby; push button (changes color to indicate Standby or On)
Status LEDs (one per channel); illuminate blue for normal operation or red to indicate a fault (may be disabled by rear panel Status LED switch)
Rear Panel Controls:
AC Power switch; rocker switch (switches AC mains power)
Status LEDs switch; small slide switch on left rear (disables front panel Status LEDs and dims Standby button halo lighting)
Protection: The UPA-500 is protected against excessive operating temperature, shorted speaker connections, ground faults, and other common fault conditions. If a fault occurs, the UPA-500 will return to Standby mode, the Standby push button will light amber, and the Status LEDs will flash red.
Dimensions: 17” wide x 3.375” high x 16.5” deep (includes feet and binding posts)
Weight: 24 lbs (net); 32 lbs (packaged)

UPA-500 | 80W x 5

Originally Posted by Blu_One

^
I think it's perfect for someone wanting to step into the world of separates.. like you said you can just relegate it to surround duty later on.

I was considering adding this amp to my setup, instead of using the internal Onkyo 809 amp, I only have a 5.1 setup, but I'm not sure now, I might take a closer look at the XPA line.

I think its a good move by Emotiva though to introduce this amp, I'm looking forward to reading reviews, hopefully soon.

Originally Posted by Blu_One

I know theres one in the works, not sure if its a U or X series 7 channel amp. Dan (from emotiva) commented about it in the lounge..

Would you agree that when it comes to amplifiers, size does matter..

Originally Posted by UNICRON-WMD

Not really what I was saying. I wasn't trying to match the wattage of his speakers. It is the only Emotiva I see that I believe that would come close to fit the bill. If they still made the XPA-7, I would have recommended that one.

I just don't see the value in this amp. Yeah, most inexpensive AVRs only put out 40-60watts all channels driven but this amp a little bit of a performance boost.

Think of it this way, if I go out to buy a $600 AVR and then the UPA-500. Wouldn't I more then likely see better performance, SQ and feature set if I just buy a $1,000+ AVR?

In my opinion, for a true HT enthusiast, the UPA-500 is a tide you over amp. If you buy cheap, you buy twice.

Originally Posted by streamerlover

I don't get why everyone is so excited about this amp. To me it's like a neutered UPA-5 which closed out 1.5 years ago for the same price! I doubt that they were losing money on it at that prics so why would they not have just kept that one in the line up?

Originally Posted by MUDCAT45

Hang in for another year or two and you may get to hear the new processor. The UPA may be replaced before the new processor is available.

Originally Posted by MUDCAT45

When did they drop DTS and Dolby? I haven not tried XT32. I have not been impressed with the other RC systems.