Are you a former Emotiva owner

[SounderMN]

I'm interested in hearing from those who owned Emotiva amps and traded them for something else. I have an IPS-1, which is a 7-channel 150 wpc Class H amp. I think it sounds pretty good, and I've been happy with it for many years. But, I've thought about selling it and getting something else. I can't afford a bryston or something of that caliber. But, I could get something mid-priced, like a $2k used 7 channel amp.

What kind of improvement do you think I'd hear... if any?

 

[ejman]

The Emotiva equipment I've heard and own (USP 1 preamp and UPA 1 monoblocks) have a distinctive "house sound" which is slightly brighter and highly detailed as compared to some other brands that tend to have a warmer presentation such as the Marantz and Conrad Johnson amps I also own. I'm not familiar with the IPS-1 but assuming it shares on my description of the sound I think you would probably hear a somewhat different sound from other brands. As to whether this would be an improvement or not - you'll have to decide. Emotiva generally gives you a lot of power for little $ so comparable power may cost you significant change.

 

[a_retent]

Yep, I had an XPA-2 Gen1 that suffered from a low level 120-125Hz hum that remained constant at any setting of the line stage preamp gain, and nope it wasn't a ground loop issue. It didn't show itself until a quiet passage in the music or that dead spot between songs and then there it was.
I can go along with the description "house sound" but in my case it wasn't necessarily bright it was more like flat imaging. What I guess I mean by that is the lack of depth and space around the instruments, although the soundstage did have fairly adequate width it was just odd the lack of depth I was getting from a pair of Magnepans.
I made no changes to the equipment other than swap amps with an ARC D400 MKII and the difference was night and day just as it should be when comparing a $700.00 amplifier to a $6000.00 unit. With the D400 the side walls seamed to have spread farther apart, the depth was pushed into the room on the other side of the front wall, you could really sense the space between the placement of instruments.
My Emotiva no doubt had horsepower and would rock if called upon to do so, it easily powered a pair of Magnepans but IMHO just seemed to lack the spacial detail and finesse to play classical or jazz. What I was expecting to hear and what I required for the system it was to be a part of was not being met. I finally used my Emotiva in a deal to get a pair of ARC VM-220 monoblocks.

 

[SounderMN]

Thanks for the comments! Great points.

I did have a USP1 with UPA1 monoblocks, and even tried a UPA2 in a bi-amp configuration. It sounded good, but for my taste, also a bit bright and analytical. I had them for about a year, and ended up selling them. It just didn't work with my B&W speakers, and didn't work for my ears. But, I also recognize that this was their more "affordable" series, so I don't know if that's truly the "house sound", or just the UPA line.

Those XPA amps are known for the hum issue, aren't they? I've enjoyed the IPS1, but I do get the point about the size and depth of the sound stage. Using it in an HT setup, I haven't noticed this as much. But, it could be exactly what I'm noticing that makes me feel as if something is missing. I may have to listen to some music more critically to figure this out. I definitely do hear a difference in sound stage and "airiness" on the IPS as compared to my Primaluna integrated in the stereo room. But, that's a whole different animal.

I don't think I'll move up to a $6k amp, but maybe somewhere in between.

 

[cartop]

I am no audiophile but I have been running my Yamaha NS-1000m's with a B+K ST-2140 amp. The B+K sounded great with a nice warm sound and great separation. I recently got an Emotiva XPA-200 for a good price and even though it sounded very nice it was definitely more on the brighter side than the B+K. Obviously it matters what speakers you run with your amps but for me the B+K will stay with the Yammies.

 

[a_retent]

Those XPA amps are known for the hum issue, aren't they? I've enjoyed the IPS1, but I do get the point about the size and depth of the sound stage. Using it in an HT setup, I haven't noticed this as much. But, it could be exactly what I'm noticing that makes me feel as if something is missing. I may have to listen to some music more critically to figure this out. I definitely do hear a difference in sound stage and "airiness" on the IPS as compared to my Primaluna integrated in the stereo room. But, that's a whole different animal.

I don't think I'll move up to a $6k amp, but maybe somewhere in between.

I believe it was more prevalent in the 1st generation units vs. the 2nd generation. I noticed the noise when the unit first arrived and I hooked it up in my shop to my Carver gear and smaller Advents. Didn't think much about it...shop, right? But didn't hear the noise from the Carver gear?! Took the Emotiva in the house and it set until I could get the scratch for the rest of that system. Finally got the gear together, all hooked up then sat down to listen and was disappointed to hear the noise in the house too. Started to do some research and it seems a few people voiced their displeasure about that very same noise. Even though Emotiva has a 5 year warranty shipping is like $75-$80 one way for repairs which would negate the money I saved buying the unit on sale, thought maybe use it as a sub amp bridged but found the bass not as nice and tight sounding as the ARC so a sell/trade was next option. I still think at it's price point you get a good quality product with a difficult to beat warranty it just didn't fit into what my plans for the living room system would be.
I did buy that ARC D400, however, I only paid about a quarter of that $6k MSRP on the used market so to me it was a good/fair deal but I still wanted tubes in the living room so I kept looking until the VM-220s became available.

 

[Uncle Paul]

I have an XPA-5 Gen 2, no hum/noise, and it compares favorably to my Yamaha M-2 that has been recapped, etc.. Emotiva does have a return policy that would allow you to compare their amp to your current amp and send it back if you don't want it. You would have to pay return shipping, but otherwise 100% refund.

 

[SounderMN]

I wish I could get that return policy with other companies! But, I don't have the bankroll to buy a new high-dollar amp. So, I'd be buying used and hope that if I don't like it, I could sell for close to what I paid. Does that ever actually happen?

 

[Hawkeye83]

I'm a current Emotiva owner. USP-1 and UPA-200. Paired with Kef 107's. Sounds good to me, not too bright, fine spatial detail. HOWEVER...I am curious to hear if I'm missing anything because I've never heard these speakers, other than on these amps...other than when I bought them...had some really nice gear feeding them then (McIntosh and Juicy Blueberry). Been thinking about a Class A SS amp of some sort, or a tube amp and/or tube pre. But the 107's do like power so the tube amp might not do what I want. I'm probably slightly underpowering all my Kef speakers right now...they're all so damn power hungry! Lol.

We'll see. I'm satisfied with the sound now, but like I said, always thinking about the next step. I know the Kef's are worthy of upgrading the other gear around them.

Also thought about trying a DBX dynamic expander unit, just for kicks.

 

[ejman]

This thread motivated me to put my Emotiva UPA 1's back into my usual main system ( Mapletree preamp, Conrad Johnson MF 2300A/Jolida 502p power amp, Magneplanar 1.7's Lenco L75/ Rega P3) for a listen. Well, I'm liking the change! A considerably more forward sound stage ( everything is right there! More detailed sound, more precise location on sounds - everything in technicolor) Probably more hyper detailed reality than real but it's really exciting and fun to listen to.

 

[Hawkeye83]

This thread motivated me to put my Emotiva UPA 1's back into my usual main system ( Mapletree preamp, Conrad Johnson MF 2300A/Jolida 502p power amp, Magneplanar 1.7's Lenco L75/ Rega P3) for a listen. Well, I'm liking the change! A considerably more forward sound stage ( everything is right there! More detailed sound, more precise location on sounds - everything in technicolor) Probably more hyper detailed reality than real but it's really exciting and fun to listen to.

So you substituted the Emotiva mono-blocks for the Jolida 502p? Never heard any Jolida gear. I guess I would expect the Emotiva stuff to rock out a little more with Maggies than the Jolida tube amp. Always fun swapping stuff in and out, especially with really resolving speakers...you can hear a clear difference! Right now I don't have much gear to swap in/out other than one of those little Chinese tube preamp/buffers that I need to build here soon. Should be fun trying that. Might provide a little "tube warmth" to my office and basement systems, both of which are powered by Emotiva gear.

 

[ejman]

So you substituted the Emotiva mono-blocks for the Jolida 502p? Never heard any Jolida gear. I guess I would expect the Emotiva stuff to rock out a little more with Maggies than the Jolida tube amp. Always fun swapping stuff in and out, especially with really resolving speakers...you can hear a clear difference! Right now I don't have much gear to swap in/out other than one of those little Chinese tube preamp/buffers that I need to build here soon. Should be fun trying that. Might provide a little "tube warmth" to my office and basement systems, both of which are powered by Emotiva gear.

Yes, I can definitely recommend tubes if you enjoy a warmer presentation. The Jolida 502p is my usual main amp and with the type of music I mostly listen to (Jazz, folk, soft rock, classical) it has plenty of power and a warmth I really like as well as a deep layered solid 3 D soundstage.

The change with the Emotiva's has been a great contrast but the amps will be going back to their main duty in our HT room where they work brilliantly along with my USP-1 preamp. The main difference in presentation is that the UPA-1's move the soundstage forward to the plane of the Magneplanars and it's brighter and more detailed in an exciting hi-fi fashion that makes it kind of fun to rock out once in a while...

 

[62sunbeam]

Do you need seven you can live with five try a B&K. Lots of MOSFET sweetness.

Good luck

Eric

 

[Hawkeye83]

Yes, I can definitely recommend tubes if you enjoy a warmer presentation. The Jolida 502p is my usual main amp and with the type of music I mostly listen to (Jazz, folk, soft rock, classical) it has plenty of power and a warmth I really like as well as a deep layered solid 3 D soundstage.

The change with the Emotiva's has been a great contrast but the amps will be going back to their main duty in our HT room where they work brilliantly along with my USP-1 preamp. The main difference in presentation is that the UPA-1's move the soundstage forward to the plane of the Magneplanars and it's brighter and more detailed in an exciting hi-fi fashion that makes it kind of fun to rock out once in a while...

Yes, always wanted to try tubes, especially ever since I got my first tube guitar amp (1960's era Fender Pro, brownface). One reason I've stuck with Emotiva or at least SS so long in my "main" rig is that it's also my HT rig. The Kef 107's with the 12" sub (sub not really needed) are quite capable at HT, and I want to be sure to feed them some watts! I just don't know if the 107's are the right speakers for tubes. I'm sure they'd sound fine, maybe even better, I'm just worried about under-powering them, especially for HT use...I'm sure they'd be fine running on tubes for music. I have LS50's upstairs in the main living room and I've heard they can sound quite good with tubes. I have a Peachtree Decco 2 powering them now, and it has MOSFET's (I hear they sound "tube like"?) and also sort of a tube buffer so it already sounds quite smooth in the mid's but I'd like to hear them with a "true" tube system.

 

[SounderMN]

You may be surprised at tube power. I have 803N B&Ws, which are also supposed to be very power hungry. I ran them with a Primaluna Dialogue One with 38wpc and they sounded great! Now I have a Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP, which doubles the power. They still sound great, but with just a bit more control in the bass and better clarity. I think even the 38wpc was plenty of power. It's all in the transformers.

 

[ejman]

Yes, always wanted to try tubes, especially ever since I got my first tube guitar amp (1960's era Fender Pro, brownface). One reason I've stuck with Emotiva or at least SS so long in my "main" rig is that it's also my HT rig. The Kef 107's with the 12" sub (sub not really needed) are quite capable at HT, and I want to be sure to feed them some watts! I just don't know if the 107's are the right speakers for tubes. I'm sure they'd sound fine, maybe even better, I'm just worried about under-powering them, especially for HT use...I'm sure they'd be fine running on tubes for music. I have LS50's upstairs in the main living room and I've heard they can sound quite good with tubes. I have a Peachtree Decco 2 powering them now, and it has MOSFET's (I hear they sound "tube like"?) and also sort of a tube buffer so it already sounds quite smooth in the mid's but I'd like to hear them with a "true" tube system.

I have two MOSFET amps, a Conrad Johnson MF 2300A and a Creek 4330. (The CJ was my main amp until the Jolida came along) It is true that MOSFET amps (at least the two I have) tend to have a mellower sound and in that sense they have more of a tube like sound than bipolar transistor amps but they are not quite as "solid 3D" as the tube amp.

Once in a while when doing this experiment with the UPA 1's there would be a "hot" recording and a somewhat piercing high note would sneak thru with a startling "turn the volume down effect". That never happens with the MOSFET amps (or the tube amp)

One other thing to keep in mind is that because tube amps clip very gradually when over driven and have primarily 2nd order harmonic distortion when doing so they appear to be much more powerful than equivalent SS watts. Thus tube amps may work just fine in applications where a similarly powered SS would simply not work. Although we all like to think we can detect minute amounts of distortion in fact multiple experiments show that even high levels of 2nd order distortion simply make the music sound "fuller".

A tube amp might work just fine for your KEF's particularly if you use a SS powered subwoofer for the low portion (only one way to find out though . Although I personally prefer to run my Maggies full signal I do use a Sub as lower end fill in.