The Official Emotiva Q&A thread

[Animo]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

Had A rough one last night did we ! I saw the sub ~ work in progress last night . That sub is going to be massive & I must say if you built that in you're friends garage than he has A hell of A mill setup in his garage !

The sub is a pre cut kit from eD.
They did all the CNC work for me.
All we have to do is screw, glue, paint,
wire and mount the amp and drivers.

If you are referring to all the wood and MDF, that's just scrap
left over from previous projects of all sorts, from speakers to
cabinetry to shelving.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by d_m1010

I own an upscale boutique shop where all we play is jazz, so obviously I love jazz - John Coltrane, Diana Krall, Matt Dusk ( a Canadian Crooner who is excellent), Sinatra, Sonny Rollins, Erroll Garner, Oscar peterson, etc.

My modern musical interests include Progressive house, breakbeat and trance, Depeche Mode (obviously), NIN, Alice in Chains, Matthew Good, Goldfrapp, David Gilmour and Pink Floyd, Recoil, Echo and the Bunnymen, Ministry, and Depeche Mode (lol) for a few examples.

Ahh, an Echo and the Bunnymen fan! I listened to a lot of their 80s stuff, my favs being Porcupine and Ocean Rain. Heh, I even whip out my guitar and play Killing Moon from time to time when the wife requests 80s.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Animo

The sub is a pre cut kit from eD.
They did all the CNC work for me.
All we have to do is screw, glue, paint,
wire and mount the amp and drivers.

If you are referring to all the wood and MDF, that's just scrap
left over from previous projects of all sorts, from speakers to
cabinetry to shelving.

That's cool that it was all pre-fab. for you ! I do want to see it when it is done !

[MAL01]

For all you guys with an sc-05, did anyone you get a USP-1? I have an ERC-1 and listen to cd`s through analog direct. Would the USP-1 be a significant improvement or a waste of $, any thoughts?

Thanks

[red_5ive]

Sold my old Yammy RX-V1800... have cash in hand and waiting for the UMC!

[D_M]

Hey everyone. Just bought an SVS PB-12 plus and it's coming on Friday! Woo Hooo!!!

[D_M]

I'm selling the 4 NHT subs and replacing them with one KICK ASS sub. Man, I'm excited!

[okbarshabazz]

this may sound like an odd question, but do any of you owners notice a significant gain over an A/V Receiver even at lower volumes??

I know that amplification is most deserved at higher volumes and in larger rooms, but I do most of my listening well below reference level as I live in an apartment

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by okbarshabazz

this may sound like an odd question, but do any of you owners notice a significant gain over an A/V Receiver at lower volumes??

Absolutely. The overall SQ is improved/cleaner for me, even at lower volume levels. In fact, things like kick-drums coming through my towers (powered by my XPA-2) are still punchy even at low volume when I listen at night, and I'm talking around the -40 range on the dial.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by okbarshabazz

this may sound like an odd question, but do any of you owners notice a significant gain over an A/V Receiver even at lower volumes??

I know that amplification is most deserved at higher volumes and in larger rooms, but I do most of my listening well below reference level as I live in an apartment

No question, yes I do. My Onkyo has a feature in it so that when it's turned off and turned back on it will come on at a "start-up" volume level i determine and set in the setup. Before I got my XPA-5 i always had it set at a certain level. After getting my Emo, I remember getting on my family (i'm protective of my gear) asking who had been messing around with the settings and they said no one. i said that someone raised the start up volume and now it's loud when it initially turns on. I checked the setup menu and realized that no one had touched the startup volume level. I was just getting that much juice from my new Emo relative to what i use to get from my Onkyo.

[okbarshabazz]

wow... thanks guys. I've been thinking about the whole separates thing for awhile now, but because it is completely foreign territory, I have just doubted just how significant the sonic differences are.

but I know that when I make the decision Emotiva is definitely the way to go for me!

[D_M]

Originally Posted by okbarshabazz

wow... thanks guys. I've been thinking about the whole separates thing for awhile now, but because it is completely foreign territory, I have just doubted just how significant the sonic differences are.

but I know that when I make the decision Emotiva is definitely the way to go for me!

Dude, it's freakin' incredible the difference.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

No question, yes I do. My Onkyo has a feature in it so that when it's turned off and turned back on it will come on at a "start-up" volume level i determine and set in the setup. Before I got my XPA-5 i always had it set at a certain level. After getting my Emo, I remember getting on my family (i'm protective of my gear) asking who had been messing around with the settings and they said no one. i said that someone raised the start up volume and now it's loud when it initially turns on. I checked the setup menu and realized that no one had touched the startup volume level. I was just getting that much juice from my new Emo relative to what i use to get from my Onkyo.

Where Emo amps are concerned, this would probably more characteristic of the XPA series as they have a 3db gain structure over their LPA/UPA series amps (32db gain for the XPA vs. I believe 29db gain on the LPA/UPA models). I didn't have to make any volume adjustments when I had my LPA-1s, but there was a noticeable difference when I upgraded to the XPA 2/5 and since I also used the startup volume option on my previous Yamaha AVR, I had to adjust it a bit lower when I added the XPAs.

[bigred7078]

Originally Posted by okbarshabazz

wow... thanks guys. I've been thinking about the whole separates thing for awhile now, but because it is completely foreign territory, I have just doubted just how significant the sonic differences are.

but I know that when I make the decision Emotiva is definitely the way to go for me!

Your PSB's would definately benefit from an external amp.

Most people hear a sudden increase in dynamics with the addition of a amp. That means there is more overall impact in sonics at lower and higher volumes. Bass becomes tighter and more defined and midrange becomes more full or pronounced. Highs will really stay the same because they dont require a ton of juice, but they will sound more balanced with the rest of the speaker because of the benefits to the midrange and bass.

Lets just say a good amp will bring out the most in your speakers. Don't expect a night and day difference because there will not be one, but in the world of audio it is additions like this that make this experience so much more pleasureable.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by red_5ive

Where Emo amps are concerned, this would probably more characteristic of the XPA series as they have a 3db gain structure over their LPA/UPA series amps (32db gain for the XPA vs. I believe 29db gain on the LPA/UPA models). I didn't have to make any volume adjustments when I had my LPA-1s, but there was a noticeable difference when I upgraded to the XPA 2/5 and since I also used the startup volume option on my previous Yamaha AVR, I had to adjust it a bit lower when I added the XPAs.

Actually, the UPA 2 has an adjustable 32db gain feature, the XPA is a fixed gain at 32db and the UPA-7 is fixed at 29db. this way if your using the UPA-2 with either another amp or receiver with a lower gain and you are using some of their channels, you won't overpower them (gain wise) and you can match their lower gain.

http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

Actually, the UPA 2 has an adjustable 32db gain feature, the XPA is a fixed gain at 32db and the UPA-7 is fixed at 29db. this way if your using the UPA-2 with either another amp or receiver with a lower gain and you are using some of their channels, you won't overpower them (gain wise) and you can match their lower gain.

http://emotiva.com/upa2.shtm

DOH! I misread the original question from okbarshabazz. I thought the question was overall sound quality, and not just gain, and I had completely forgotten about the gain adjustment on the UPA-2. Thanks.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by red_5ive

DOH! I misread the original question from okbarshabazz. I thought the question was overall sound quality, and not just gain, and I had completely forgotten about the gain adjustment on the UPA-2. Thanks.

no problem, i knew that because once the UMC-1 is released, I'm gonna pick it up as well as the UPA-2 so I can power my surround back 2 channels with the UPA. Know it like the back of my hand!

[PitbullMike]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

no problem, i knew that because once the UMC-1 is released, I'm gonna pick it up as well as the UPA-2 so I can power my surround back 2 channels with the UPA. Know it like the back of my hand!

How well do you know the back of your hand?

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by PitbullMike

How well do you know the back of your hand?

I'm pretty familiar with it and i won't say how!!!

[PitbullMike]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

I'm pretty familiar with it and i won't say how!!!

LOL I dont know how you do it but I must say I know the front of my hand better LOL

So how many of you guyz are getting the UMC-1?Or the XMC-1?Im still debating on what I want.Emotiva or Marantz for me