EMOTIVA Thread Q&A [TECHNICAL TALK ONLY] - Page 149

I get an error when I try the link on their website for these speakers. Do you have any stats on them?

BTW, that's an interesting Jefferson quotation. Where did you find it?

[quote=Clem272;16080039]Do you believe in magic? QUOTE]

Yes I do believe in magic...........

I also believe you should buy an amp that sounds good to you in your system, price has nothing to do with it. Even Emo makes different amps at different price ranges, all the way up to their $1000 mono block but I guess that's just a ripoff. Do a search on Emo's XPA amps that are for sale, if these amps all sounded as good as a $10k amp I don't think they would be up for sale. I do agree there is a lot of marketing BS in this industry, hype and downright sinful profit margins, but you can't lump all the high cost gear together, there are some peices worth a lot more than the main stream junk that many companies put out.

here is my rig (all but the PS3 was bought used):
Meridian 565 Z3
PS3 run as a BluRay player
VMPS RM40's Front
VMPS LRC Center
VMPS RM2's Surounds
Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5
DIY Sono sub with 15" Blue Print driver / Crown CE2000 in mono



Taken from one of the links in TPnBobcats post

"Richard Clark is very careful to say that amps usually do not sound the same in the real world"

Emo must be having some problems on their website, I can't get there either. You can take a look at this PDF file from the Emotiva Lounge. It has some of the specs in it. Not sure how up to date they are.

The Jefferson quote is one I've known for a very long time and I don't remember the first time I heard that one. It seems fitting for these times to remember his words on this subject.

For more Jefferson quotes try here. If Jefferson had lived today he'd no doubt be the most quoted person living. He had something to say about just about everything. What he didn't cover Benjamin Franklin did.

Actually they are not the same. The first thing I look at is the power supply, it should be large enough to double the output when you go from 8 ohms to 4, the xpa-2 is the only one of the three that can do that. I think the xpa-5 has way to small of a power supply for a 5 channel amp, it's tha same size used in the xpa-3.

[quote=TedO;16082412]

Hey now, I own a UPA-7 and know all about the different amps made by Emotiva but I guess you missed the whole point of my posting. You see not all the amps made by Emotiva are the same. What I said about amps of the same power and specs being the same sounding with the same gear but if your not going to read the whole posting why respond to it.

I find it funny you attack me but fail to say anything about the double blind tests after all this is why you believe in magic right. Well I know you have some links and posts proving me and the others who mentioned magical amps wrong somewhere right?

Sorry if you felt I offended you or your mojo in someway but magic amps just do not exists when they are the same power and spec being listened to on the same gear with the same media source regardless of price. If you think your up to the challenge you can take that one guys offer and loose 10K.

I'm sorry was I supposed to be impressed by your used gear? Is it magical in some sense that I am not aware of? You really shouldn't attack people without directly mentioning what was stated before hand.

I thought he mentioned he didn't have a lot of room for more components?

If so I'd say get the XPA-5 or one of the two seven channel amps (MPS-2 or UPA-7) so his bases are all covered down the road.

I should have quoted this when I posted the last comment

Also would be good if he goes to a pre/pro later since he wouldn't have the receiver to power surrounds then. Buy one amp and keep it forever should be the goal right? OK maybe not all that realistic with the upgrade bug but really power is power so if you get a good amp with enough channels it should last quite a while.

I said "similar", not "the same." Big difference. Plus, this is what audioholics measured for power. I trust Audioholics.

My point is this: these amps (xpa-2, 3, and 5) are so similar (not the same, but similar) that I can, with almost complete certainty, assure anyone here that they will not be able to discern a difference between the three for HT. That is pretty much it.

But for those that do not believe me, go ahead and spend $1400 for the xpa-2 and xpa-3 combo and enjoy

-T

I had the XPA-3 and XPA-5 in my home at the same time. I could not tell a difference what so ever between the two amps. Even having my rears hooked up to the XPA-5 made no difference compared to having my rears hooked up to my Pio Elite and using the XPA-3.

I stuck with the XPA-3, I couldn't see spending the extra $300 (got my XPA-3 on sale) for the XPA-5 since it made no difference.

Just my opinion of course.

Hey Metal, since you've had Emo, I'l ask.

With the sharp price drop in the Elites, I am steering more towards a SC-07 rather than the UPA-7 and UMC-1 combo. Plus the wait for the UMC-1 is killer.

What do you think?

[quote=Clem272;16082774]
I didn't mean to sound like an attack, just stating my opinion. I posted my gear to show that I was not into 10k amps, nothing more. and no magic. But, I do believe some higher cost equipment does sound better, is that magic, if so I believe. I did look at some of the links in TPnBobcats post and even quoted a piece of one. You didn't comment on the statement I posted from the link that even the author said most amps DO NOT sound the same in the real world. He also doesn’t state the system they test on. I believe that the higher the quality (remember I already stated price does not necessarily equate to sound quality) the system, the more difference you will here between any two components. I also don’t think you will find any Emo amp that matches specs with a 10K amp. You will be hard pressed to find any two amps (from different manufactures) in different price ranges that have the same specs. In one of those blind tests, they limited the amps just below clipping, so was he comparing the overall performance of the amps or just the sound quality from a limited set of parameters? I realize there are diminishing returns as you move up in equipment but there is a quality difference also. Is it worth the extra money, only you can decide that. From what I have seen, the majority (not all) of the first time Emo customers are coming from AVRs and are blown away by the sound quality, and they should be. But is it because of the Emo gear or just that they are stepping up the ladder in quality components? Hell, I thought my Infinity SM150 sounded good until I heard my VMPS’s, same thing when I went form Carver amps the Earthquake. Comparisons are tricky mostly because when someone buys a new piece, it an upgrade from their old one so it will sound better. Most people at our end of the audio ladder don’t audition multiple pieces in the same system to get a true comparison.

i was wondering if balanced cables would quiet a hum and buzz im hering from my xpa5. i disconnected the amp to send back for repair and when i hooked up the old mm9000,hum and buzz there to not as bad thow. also the amp itself doesnot hum like xpa5.i was also wondering if b- cables woud tone down the sound a bit. cause it seems like im not listening to some music cause its to bright .or fatugeing or something .dont get me wrong the xpa5s imaging,soundstaging,and shear dinamics are amazing not to metion head room. my speakers are paradigm studio 60s -v1. i was thinking about a getting a rpa-2 may it RIP for the front R&L. any help would be much appreciated.

I don't know yet to be honest.
I'm getting my SC-07 on Monday, and I do plan on comparing it with the XPA-3. I'm curious to see how the ICE amps stand up to a dedicated amp. I'll surely let you know my impressions after I have done some comparing.

I made my save vs illusion to disbelieve.

I have a green magic marker by the way that will dramatically improve the sound of your DVDs and CDs.


Even if amps all sound the same this does not mean that there is no reason for amps at different price points.

Not all speakers are equally easy to drive or require the same amount of power. A pair of bookshelf speakers don't need the same kind of amp as something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Swan-2.3F+-Refer...QQcmdZViewItem

Besides as long as there are people who believe in magic, is there a reason they shouldn't make products to sell to people who do?


Or perhaps they just believe in magic and failed their saving throw vs enchantment when exposed to the new hotness.


I think that doesn't mean what you think that means. What he's saying that in the real world, conditions aren't controlled and adjusted so that you can do an apples to apples condition.

Is your shift key broken?

It sounds like you have a ground loop problem. Do a search on that for some possible solutions. Unfortunately, it might involve expensive electrical work to your residence.

Balanced cables help with induced noise in the connection cables. This is not generally an issue though unless you have very, very long cable runs between the amp and pre/pro > 10'-15'. They should do nothing to help with this problem.


Well, do you believe in magic?

I would look into room treatments for that sort of things. If you are finding things to be "bright" or harsh, you may wish to do something to the room to dampen high frequencies.

good point but i dont feel this way with the marantz.

Hey Metal83,

What kinda speakers do you have again?

I have Polk RTi A series speakers, and I love them.

Fronts - RTi A7
Center - CSi A6
Surrounds - RTi A3

If anything Emotiva Amps on the used market are a testimony to how they sound. Most of the equipment turns over in a few days and the asking prices are pretty close to where they are new.

I could resell my LPA for almost what I paid for it. There isn't another electronics company that I know of that offers a resale like that. I am a big fan of buying used too, but if the difference is only 10-15% might as well buy new.

As far as whether they compare to a 10k amp, probably not, but that is way beyond the point of diminishing returns

I just wonder why people are selling them because there seems to be a lot of them for sale for a fairly new product (the XPA series).

I am considering a XMC if they ever come out, so I am not anti Emo, just like to be realistic. I know the SQ won't be a Theta or Meridian, but I am not expecting that for this price point.

Yea I don't know about rivaling some of the very high end. The new monoblocks look sweet though, I would like to see how they compare against the McIntosh mono's that are similar.

I'm not seeing where there are many for sale? The XPA-5 is sold out and there is only one on audiogon. Most of the Emo products have sold within a week, even some of the less popular offerings. Being an avid used buyer, I'm pretty amazed by how fast the used products sell.

The link works now. They look pretty impressive. I have Rocket 850s, and there is an interesting thread comparing the two on the Emo forum.

I have a Yamaha RX-V1800, but I've been eyeing the Emo separates for a few months now. I wonder how much improvement I'd hear with a dmc-1 and upa-7...

I had a slight buzz originating from my AVR that I noticed after hooking up my RPA-2. I bought this Hum-X thing after reading about it on this forum. Had to put it between my surge strip and wall outlet. It totally killed the buzz. It's gone. This thing is rated as safe. Does not eliminate the ground path.

http://www.amazon.com/Ebtech-Hum-X-V.../dp/B0002E4YI8

I purchased and installed the Hum-X device too after someone recommended it in this thread. It eliminated the hum from my system. They are a bit pricey but well worth it imo.

I have a friend who recently purchased a Pioneer SC07 with the Ice Amps. I loaned him my LPA-1 to try out with the Pioneer. After two weeks of critical listening, with and without tha LPA-1- he preferred the Pioneer's internal amp section. He noted that he could not tell the difference in headroom between the LPA-1 and the SC07's internal amps, basically calling it a draw. But he definitely preferred the sound of the SC07, when using it's internal amps.

I'm not sure that proves anything.

I'm not saying your friend is in this category, but many people that buy something then get the opportunity to compare it with something else, end up preferring what they already bought.

It justifies the purchase. Typical human nature in operation.

[quote=TedO;16082412]
OK, I looked at two places for Emotiva products for sale: Ebay(0), Audiogon (4). I looked at Audiogon for Krell and Mcintosh, there was at very least 50 each. So explain that point again please.

I am exactly the opposite. After I spend my hard earned dollar for something, I become much more critical of it's functions. The grass is always greener on the other side. I totally disagree with you.

The pioneer amps are pretty good but the preamp section isn't as strong as what you would find with a dedicated preamp which would give the LPA a disadvantage in that situation. Especially if you are using headroom as your main critera.

Also the results would vary greatly with the source material not to mention how difficult the speakers are to drive.

What speakers and source material was he using?
w