Emotiva RSP-1 Review

Tripqzon

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Build Quality:

Let me start out by saying this preamp is a real pleasure to listen to. I have it matched up to the Emotiva RPA-1 power amplifier I purchased in October 2007.

I want to talk briefly about the remote control.
It is an all aluminum chassis with the brushed aluminum finish. I weighed it on a postage scale and it weighs in at an amazing 7oz. I know you're thinking about how the batteries are influencing the weight. It's absolutely not influencing it at all. This remote uses a single CR2032 coin cell battery. I'm not sure exactly how much one of those weighs, but I'm comfortable saying that it weighs no more than 1oz. It measures it at approximately 5 1/8" x 2 7/16" x 5/8". It feels absolutely solid in your hand. If I knew how to grunt like Tim Allen that is how I would describe it. When you press a button on the remote there is a solid clicking sound. Very impressive imo. Not like those cheap plastic remotes you get with most equipment.

The preamp itself weighs in at 35.1 lbs according to the manual. It is solidly built just like the power amp. In fact the preamp and amp use the same chassis. There is no flex to the chassis at all. Has beautiful black piano finish side panels. The front panel is 3/8" solid aluminum with brushed finish. The aluminum pieces on each side of the face are 1/8" and solid as well.

All knobs and buttons are "Milled from a solid billet slug. Each one is CNC milled and then line grained and finished off with a little hand polishing." That is a quote from engineer Lonnie at Emotiva. Only the power button is plastic, I assume because it has the "E" in the center that glows blue. I personally have no problem with this as I will rarely use the power button on the front panel anyway. For that matter I will rarely touch the face at all unless it is absolutely necessary.

The rear panel is impressive at well. You can see closeup pictures of all around this preamp at the link provided at the end of this post. All high quality parts and the choice of balanced or unbalanced outputs.

I rate this unit a 9.9 for build quality. An absolute piece of craftsmanship. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because of the power button cap being plastic. But as I stated, It takes nothing away from the build quality as far as I'm concerned.

Internally, it utilizes glass epoxy boards, 1% resistors and Burr Browns best op amp available at the time. All relays are sealed gas charged with silver contacts.

Now the sound:

I had been listening to the RPA-1 power amp with the Carver C-1 pre since mid October 2007 and thought I was near heaven. The amp alone was a really nice improvement over the NAD. Turns out I wasn't as close as I thought though. The RSP-1 absolutely filled in and opened up the sound to a degree I truly was not expecting. I remember saying to my brother that I wasn't really expecting too much difference.

The first recording I listened to was "The Nightfly" by Donald Fagen. I could tell right away that the sound was more open. I was busy doing other things so didn't really get to do a sit down listening. It was also getting late so the system had to be shut down for the evening.

Since then I've listened to "Subconscious" by Phutureprimitive. I was absolutely floored when this recording started. The sound was so full and extremely open. The instruments jump right out of the speakers into the room. The bass extension is also much better. Incredible is how I would describe it. It really reaches down low while the highs remain extremely crisp and clean. It makes the C-1 sound thin by comparison. The HPM-100's sound like different speakers with this new combo. There is authority to the sound now that just wasn't there before.

I've also listened to Diana Krall "Live In Paris", Patricia Barber "Cafe Blue", Bela Fleck and The Flecktones "Flight of The Cosmic Hippo" and Albert King "Funky London". The results have been the same, amazing in comparison to what I've been used to hearing.

I've yet to try the Phono stage but plan to do so this weekend. I've read good stuff about it also.

I can definitely say that this preamp along with the power amp have been the best investments I've ever made in my musical enjoyment. It is an extreme pleasure to listen to and can really drive the HPM's with authority.

I highly recommend that if you were considering trying one of these preamps in your system that you take the plunge. I can't imagine you being disappointed. You have 30 days to try it in your home so you can't lose.

As promised, link to photos. Take the time to view the images full size. You can really see and appreciate the attention to detail that went into this preamp.

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/audiobucket/RSP-1/

Hope you enjoyed this review. If you feel I missed something important let me know.

Paul
 
Unfortunately I don't plan on removing it from the rack anytime soon. I posted a nudie from the Emotiva website in my photobucket so if you click on the link in my review the 2nd to the last pic is the nudie. I've also added a pic of my system rack as of Jan. 26, 2008.

Paul
 
Nice review. Sounds like good stuff. Just one question. When you said " the instruments jump right out of the speakers into the room" it made me curious what these speakers are doing with your good signal.
Curious about the presentation.
 
I guess I should reword by saying that instruments have there place in space and that place in space is easily identifiable on an individual instrument basis. The sound also seems to fill the room more than it did by virtue of the fact that it does not sound as thin in the lower to mid bass region as my previous preamp. I'm am mainly making comparisons to what I was hearing prior to the RSP-1 preamplifier.

My room is by far not perfect and the sweet spot is actual further back from the speakers than my current room/system configuration allows. But I can positively state that my ears perceive a night and day difference in overall presentation of music.

The control of the woofers is a lot better also. For example: when listening to Phutureprimitive and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones there are parts where the bass notes are extended or linger and normally the HPM woofers may sound loose or flabby, but with the RSP/RPA combination the bass notes don't sound loose or flabby or out of control. When the bass note(s) stop, so do the woofers. When there is bass slam there is much more authority to the slam as well.

Patricia Barber "Modern Cool" has never sounded so good to me. The recording itself is very good to start with but I believe that with my current speakers and cd player that it will not get any better than this for me without making changes to my room or spending 3 to 4 more times the money on Pre/amp setup. That ain't gonna happen due to WAF.

I realize your results may vary due to the fact that everyone hears slightly differently but I can say without a doubt that these 2 Emotiva pieces work extremely well for me and I truly believe would surprise others by the sound quality.

I would also like to say that I could have others come over my home to listen but I believe that a component cannot be truly appreciated unless you can hear the difference it can make in you own system with your own speakers etc in you own listening room. It may sound wonderful to me but if someone doesn't like the sound of the HPM-100's they won't like what there hearing no matter what preamp or amp the'ere being powered by. Understand?

Paul
 
Absolutely. I agree with your last point. I'm up for new juice in the next year or so, so i am looking a little closer at everything.
Congrats and enjoy!
 
Back
Top Bottom