Emotiva Airmotiv. 4 or 5?

I just posted in your other thread

If you have room for them, go with the Airmotiv 5s with the bigger driver. You'll get better bass out of them. And they won't need a sub like the Paradigm MilleniaOne's will. I think you'd probably be very happy with either Airmotiv, though, as an improvement over the T20.

For a DAC, check out the Schitt Audio Modi. I've heard some really good things about it. If you would like a small, portable DAC, the ODAC. Probably fairly equivalent to the Modi, but very useful if you want a DAC to take on the go for some reason or you simply want the small size.
Edited by cel4145 - 1/9/13 at 7:51pm

Guys. I had the GigaWorks T40 II and the Airmotiv 5's blow them out of the water. The T40 didn't even hold a candle to the 18-year-old powered speakers I was using before the Airmotiv 5.

I tried a pair of Definitive Technology SM55's ( $600 a pair ) along with my XPR-5 when I got them. That was a better setup than the Airmotiv 5 but the amp and speakers were for my main room. There will always be something better. It just depends on the amount of money you put into it. I'd say the Airmotiv 5's are hard to beat at the $350 I paid for them. I only got 3 dB more at reference levels with the SM55/XPR-5 combo, but I was running 25' 10 gauge wire to them. LOL

I'm just running the Airmotiv 5's right out of the computer's 3.5mm analog out that has the Analog Devices AD889 chipset on-board. Can't get any simpler than that. LOL

I think for $399 you'd be hard to beat the Airmotiv's with a passive speaker/receive combo for SQ alone. Of course with the receiver, you are getting a built-in DAC.

The thing to think about is the other differences. Powered speakers take up much less space, which is a big plus. An AVR will have bass management should you ever want to buy a sub, and if you get the right one with room correction (not all room correction software will run for 2 channel), it would also help smooth the frequency response of the speakers. Some people say the amplifier is better in powered monitors because it is matched to the speakers, but I don't, know how much that is true at this price point (I suspect that's more of a factor with very expensive studio monitors).

And then there is upgrades. Every time you buy powered speakers, you are paying for new electronics, too. If you get an AVR, then if you get the upgrade bug, just replace the speakers. Or you can always repurpose the AVR for use with a 5.1 setup later on, or use the passive speakers in one.

Then it all comes down to this. Speaker choice is very subjective. What sound you prefer can be different from me. So you can only get so close to a decision from listening to all of us. The next step (and I saw you were thinking about that) is to actually hear and compare a couple of setups.

FYI. I got a post card from Emotiva a couple of weeks ago. They will have a 10% off promo code between 1-15 and 2-15. Not sure if it will be a published code or not.

We use the airmotiv 5 in a hobby room. I really like them. There's something so right about them. So right that I am thinking of using the stealth 8 for our HT in stead of passive towers.

I have another pair of airmotiv 5 (and an XDA-1) still boxed up (for a bedroom in a house that's far from ready) so I will probably hook them up to this iMac for the time being. I suppose the "4" are all you need sitting behind your computer, but the "5" will give that bit more oomph with double the power of the "4"...

I'm looking at some Airmotiv 4s. I've emailed Emotiva 3 times in the last week with some questions and to see if they're running a promo but am not getting a response. Did they ever send you that code?

they are having a warehouse sale right now....but you need to call them:cool:

I called them and bought a pair of Airmotiv 4s. The warehouse sale is on all factory refurbished and demo/display equipment. You get the same 5 year warranty as you would if buying new but not the 30 day trial or free shipping. So it's a pretty good deal if you're certain what you want. Even with shipping I saved $74 so thanks again for the heads up.

I've owned the Airmotiv 4's for about a year now. They are definitely an incredible set of speakers. In terms of bass, placement is key as they are rear ported cabinets. At an optimum distance from the wall, these leave little to be desired in terms of bass (watching movies, listening to music, what have you). The sound on them is excellent and they are very crisp and clear. I auditioned a set of the Paradigm Shift (atom) powered monitors about two weeks ago and was very impressed, also. In my opinion, they blow the Airmotiv 4's out of the water. This is partly due to the larger driver size and built in DAC, but man oh man. If you have the money, I'd go for the Paradigms. They start at 279/ea and if you go for a gloss finish one it's going to be 329/ea. Entirely worth it if you're going to be spending a lot of time using them. Overall, though, you can't go wrong with either. If money is an issue, go for the Airmotiv 4's. If it's not, go with the Paradigms. I can't comment on the Airmotiv 5's but I can tell you that I'd be surprised if they held a candle to the Paradigms. Hope this helps.

Those Paradigms sure look nice but unfortunately they're about the same size as the Airmotiv 5 and Audioengine A5+ so too big for my needs.