EMOTIVA Catalog
Comments
-
I think it's time for Steve to break out his Hello Kitty cdp and do a head to head with a Jolida, Raysonic, MF.
Hmmm, someone brought up the idea of brand envy as a reason we snobby ****'s hear stuff. If that was true, wouldn't the opposite also be true ? Wouldn't the fact that you paid less for something and got the same perceived performance as more expensive gear give you that same envy ? Works both ways huh ? I want to say that both sides of that coin does have a small element of truth for some folks, but not for the majority of either side.
Lets try and lay this baby to rest once and for all. We can all agree that audio is enjoyed on different levels....yes ? If so, then one must also admit different companies with different lines of gear market their products specifically for different levels....Yes ? The rest is speculation combined with experience. For myself, having heard one Emo amp, and only one mind you, I thought for HT, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from other well known brands. On music, it left some room to be improved. That said, if someone comes in here looking for an amp thats mostly going to be used for music, what am I going to say based on my experience ?
No different than I would advise anyone looking at a 3g pre amp for some TSI100's. We all have different experiences with all sorts of gear so opinions will vary obviously. It doesn't mean Emo stuff is garbage no more than it means a Cary tube amp is garbage because someone didn't like how it sounded in their system.
What I find funny in this thread is the assumptions, brand envy blah blah blah. I'd be willing to lay steep odds that if Cary, Conrad Johnson, Belles, Bat, Dodd, Musical fidelity, Vac, Joule, all lower their price to that of the Emotiva line up, how many would still pick the Emotiva ? I'll bet none....your brain would be saying " Can't pass up a Pass Labs amp for a nickel"......AND WHY IS THAT ? Because you know the Pass Labs is light years ahead of Emo in every measure, even though you may never have heard one. Also your brain is wired to associate price with quality. You think your getting a steal, a Pass amp for a nickel.
Quality gear costs more, true, but that isn't always a be all end all for sound quality. Chances are higher though, given the better quality parts, you'll receive better performance with a Pass amp, right ? Thats why none of you would still take an Emo under those circumstances. Brand envy ?? Only by those who can't afford it, myself included. Just because I can't afford something doesn't mean I don't know what SQ is available by way of higher end gear. Emo owners tend to be satisfied, and thats cool too, but once you hit another level in this hobby the word Emotiva leaves your vocabulary.
I like many of you like to get my ears on as much as I can. I've heard one Emo amp, one pre amp, and one dac. Neither of which made me turn my head and go "gotta have it". Now, maybe that would be different if the only thing I had prior was a Hello Kitty cdp and receiver. Not the case however, I've had many luxuries in my time, alot with friends systems, and hitting higher end joints to listen. That skewed my preferences as to what good sound actually is and once you hear your sound there's no going backwards if you can avoid it. This audio thing is about the enjoyment of music, played out on various levels. At which level you chose to participate is up to you and your wallet. Music can be equally enjoyable to some on a Radio Shack system, or a full blown Cary system, doesn't matter. Just enjoy your sound and screw everyone elses opinions. Rock on brotha's.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Emo owners tend to be satisfied, and thats cool too, but once you hit another level in this hobby the word Emotiva leaves your vocabulary.
I agree. My point was that when someone mentions this gear. They are automatically frowned upon. Like me going out buying a $30,000 Nissan. Hell I know that a Ferrari would outperform it. But for someone to come up to me at random and tell me that....what sense would that make? It's not like I said that Nissan is the shizzlenit of the auto world.--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out. -
Habanero Monk wrote: »Link please.
Try Stereo Review 1987.My point being you shouldn't need to know the label/make/model/manu to determine if something is pleasing to you (or not).
What else other than audio gear do you apply that to in your life?When I make it up to Cleveland for the orchestra I'm not bugging the first chair of the Cello's for what Cello they are using.
You mean you can't tell from looking at it!?!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Habanero Monk wrote: »Link please. My point being you shouldn't need to know the label/make/model/manu to determine if something is pleasing to you (or not). When I make it up to Cleveland for the orchestra I'm not bugging the first chair of the Cello's for what Cello they are using.
Are you saying all Cello's sound the same? -
Maybe not, but ask the Cello player which one sounds the best and he'll tell you. Why ? Because he has experience probably with a variety of Cello's. You on the other hand only heard that one.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
I've been told that jealousy is a sin, so I've resorted to merely hating those with better gear than me. I think that's fair. Unfortunately, that involves most of the planet, but .... fair is fair.
Get what you can with what you have. Enjoy what you have. Don't diminish your enjoyment by being jealous of those with better gear (Okay to hate, though. See previous). And it's all good.
BTW: For those disparaging the Hello Kitty CDP, I think if you do an A/B with a Mattel Close-N-Play, you'll change your opinion very quickly. Meanwhile, I'm getting back to my Sony clock radio. :loneranger:Sal Palooza -
You mean you can't tell from looking at it!?!
The make of Cello from out in the audience. No.Are you saying all Cello's sound the same?
What:question: Where did you infer that?Maybe not, but ask the Cello player which one sounds the best and he'll tell you. Why ? Because he has experience probably with a variety of Cello's. You on the other hand only heard that one.
Tony gets it. Correct I have may have only heard that one on that night but you either enjoy the performance or you don't. Only point I'm trying to make is I didn't need to know anything about the instruments to enjoy myself.
I heard a snippet on NPR where two guys sent a $99 electric guitar around for musicians to record on. Each one had a week with it. Even a subpar instrument in the right hands... But I digress. I like my system for what I have in it. It's better than some, worse than others but right now the best thing I have for me. At least I have a source, DAC, Amp that will let me climb the speaker food chain for a long time before having to swap anything out. -
In all these emo bashing threads I don't think I've ever heard a convincing explanantion for why an amp should cost thousands of dollars..
What is it about amps that warrant such a high cost?
I come from the IT world where hardware gets cheaper, better, faster (in general). From that perspective I have no trouble believing that a $700 amp can sound good.
Would a ten thousand dollar amp sound better? It damn well better, but as a consumer no one has convinced me to drop that kind of coin... -
My first amps were an Emo XPS-5 for HT and an Emo XPS-2 for 2-channel. Within a year I sold both and settled with the current ones: a Parasound Halo A51 and a Wyred 4 Sound ST-1000. Why? Because the Emo amps could not handle the loads at reference volume. Anytime I played a movie or a song to my Polk LSi15 speakers at such high volume, sound output became too bright to the point of screeching my ears. Not with the Parasound or W4S, the warm tone stayed as a constant with the LSi15 or LSiM707 or Usher Dancer Mini 2 Diamond DMD. That's my experience.Gears shared to both living room & bedroom:
Integra DHC-80.3 / Oppo BDP-105 / DirecTV HR24 DVR /APC S15blk PC-UPS
Living room:
LSiM707's / LSiM706c / LSiM702 F/X's / dual JL Audio Fathom F113's / Parasound Halo A51 / Panasonic 65" TC-P65VT50
Bedroom:
Usher Dancer Mini 2 Diamond DMD's / Logitech SB Touch / W4S STP-SE / W4S DAC-2 / W4S ST-1000 / Samsung 52" LN52B750
Other rooms:
Audioengine AP4's / GLOW Audio Sub One / audio-gd NFB-3 DAC / Audioengine N22
audio-gd NFB-10.2 / Denon AH-D7000 -
Would a ten thousand dollar amp sound better? It damn well better, but as a consumer no one has convinced me to drop that kind of coin...
I suggest you go out and hear some better amps with your own ears. That will be all the convincing you'll need.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Habanero Monk wrote: »The make of Cello from out in the audience. No.
You need better seats, my friend.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
In all these emo bashing threads I don't think I've ever heard a convincing explanantion for why an amp should cost thousands of dollars..
What is it about amps that warrant such a high cost?
I come from the IT world where hardware gets cheaper, better, faster (in general). From that perspective I have no trouble believing that a $700 amp can sound good.
Would a ten thousand dollar amp sound better? It damn well better, but as a consumer no one has convinced me to drop that kind of coin...
I don't have trouble either believing a 700 buck amp can sound good. But can a 2000 buck amp sound better ? Probably....lots of real estate inbetween 700 bucks and 10,000. Speakers at 100 bucks can sound good too, but only you can decide if 5g speakers are worth the improvement. As long as your enjoying what you have, rock on, but others enjoy it on a different level is all.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.DKG999
HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED
Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC -
I know man, boring as all hell and it starts again with another Emo thread in a few days.
BTW, a short yawn is better than a long Yawnnnnnnnn.......didn't you know that ?
HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Now back to the catalog question...did you get one. "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
-
^ Ididnt get one,which kinda bugs me,cause I bought an XPA-5 a year ago!^ How do u rank Phil?:mad: :cheesygrin:"Everything I ever did in my life worthwhile I caught hell for"
-
+1..I will keep my XPA-5 for HT,but the monoblocks wil be upgraded too a A21 real soon.I have the UPA-1's are they good?In my book OK at best, DMara said it best about EMO amps the sound stage falls apart at -10bds it was like the EMO amps "monoblocks" sucked the life out of my LSi-15's sorry guys I have EMO amps cause I have three of them but it is what it is Entry Level.Why or how can I say this? I owned Carver amps before and do remember how good the sound really was.Emotiva is an entry separates gear.Would I recommend EMO gear? Yes and No.If you don't want too send a lot of money on audio/video gear buy it.Guys you just can't say EMO amps are on the same level as Krell,Parasound..ect..My first amps were an Emo XPS-5 for HT and an Emo XPS-2 for 2-channel. Within a year I sold both and settled with the current ones: a Parasound Halo A51 and a Wyred 4 Sound ST-1000. Why? Because the Emo amps could not handle the loads at reference volume. Anytime I played a movie or a song to my Polk LSi15 speakers at such high volume, sound output became too bright to the point of screeching my ears. Not with the Parasound or W4S, the warm tone stayed as a constant with the LSi15 or LSiM707 or Usher Dancer Mini 2 Diamond DMD. That's my experience. -
You need better seats, my friend.
In my best Jack Nicholson voice: It's the Cleveland frikkin Orchestra. All the seats are good.
Really there isn't a bad seat in the house at Severance Hall. -
Ofcourse I was being facetious in my previous post but in this hobby sound quality is'nt always commensurate with the price tag..... From that perspective I have no trouble believing that a $700 amp can sound good.
Would a ten thousand dollar amp sound better? It damn well better...... -
Ofcourse I was being facetious in my previous post but in this hobby sound quality is'nt always commensurate with the price tag.
Ahh, but according to Emo lovers (God bless 'em) price does commensurate quality. Even with a "reasonable low price" it apparently always equals high build and sound quality (according to most Emo users).:redface: Inversely speaking, if one has a "high priced, high build and sound quality" amp such as Pass, Parasound, Bryston, etc. then you have been duped into believing that it sounds as good as you think it does. In reality (according to some) it does not and the person buying this amp simply wasted their money and could have bought the same (or better??) quality Emo amp for 1/4 the price.
I have apparently been duped on a number of audio gear items I've bought, simply because I don't own any Emo gear (or similarly low priced, high quality gear). I am such a dupee.:cheesygrin:
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."![:\](https://forum.polkaudio.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee -
Habanero Monk wrote: »In my best Jack Nicholson voice: It's the Cleveland frikkin Orchestra. All the seats are good.
Really there isn't a bad seat in the house at Severance Hall.
Isn't Cleveland Orchestra one of those oxymoron thingys?DKG999
HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED
Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC -
I will probably get flamed for this but I am going to state my opinion in my system which is not entry level. Currently own Bryston, Classe, and trying emo. I have owned B&K reference, adcom, anthem, etc. Changing preamps made the biggest difference in my system than any amp I have changed out. I am not saying all amps sound the same because to me classe has a warmer more fluid feel than any of the amps. I guess I hear people talking about high end and disliking emo and the in their signature nothing they have is anywhere near high end. If anything emo is on par with the current gear they own. Emo makes pretty good gear for the price. Their monos are better than I ever expected. I am not saying emo is end all be all at all and there is better out there but guys lets be real about this. Mark up on audio equipment is insane to say the least. Most is marked up at least 50% and lets not even get to cables. They are marked up at least 80%. Just my opinion, but honestly synergy means everything and amplification is great but bigger gains are had with preamps and speakers in my opinion.
-
In all these emo bashing threads I don't think I've ever heard a convincing explanantion for why an amp should cost thousands of dollars..
What is it about amps that warrant such a high cost?
I come from the IT world where hardware gets cheaper, better, faster (in general). From that perspective I have no trouble believing that a $700 amp can sound good.
Would a ten thousand dollar amp sound better? It damn well better, but as a consumer no one has convinced me to drop that kind of coin...
So, you buy cheaper gear, or Cisco?
I'm betting you buy Cisco."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
Ahh, but according to Emo lovers (God bless 'em) price does commensurate quality. Even with a "reasonable low price" it apparently always equals high build and sound quality (according to most Emo users).:redface: Inversely speaking, if one has a "high priced, high build and sound quality" amp such as Pass, Parasound, Bryston, etc. then you have been duped into believing that it sounds as good as you think it does. In reality (according to some) it does not and the person buying this amp simply wasted their money and could have bought the same (or better??) quality Emo amp for 1/4 the price.
I have apparently been duped on a number of audio gear items I've bought, simply because I don't own any Emo gear (or similarly low priced, high quality gear). I am such a dupee.:cheesygrin:
You're catching on.
"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
What could I have bought for $450 that would sound better than my XPA-5?2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's
Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses
Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's -
falconcry72 wrote: »What could I have bought for $450 that would sound better than my XPA-5?
At one point I was running (3) Adcom GFA-545's, which I thought was an awesome bang for the buck HT solution... but the XPA sounds better. I don't know of any 5-channel solution that would sound better than the XPA-5 for 450 bucks.2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's
Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses
Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's -
sucks2beme wrote: »So, you buy cheaper gear, or Cisco?
I'm betting you buy Cisco.
We buy Cisco for core, cheaper stuff where we can?
My post seems to have drawn some fire, but before I get labeled an ?emo lover? please note I have a thread from a few months back where I ranked my upgrades in terms of bang for buck and the XPA-3 came in dead last. I did not notice any change to my sound after adding it. It?s just another component in my system ? I have no emotional ties to it?.nor do I care what other people buy.
The question I asked in my post was why are amps so expensive? Yes we buy Cisco, IBM, Netapp whatever, but the stuff we buy gets smaller, faster, cheaper and has more features. Amps don?t seem to change that often, but the prices remain constant. I?m used to a natural downward trend in price for my electronics? -
Don't look for that trend in automobiles,food,etc.:sad:
-
-
pearsall001 wrote: »You're catching on.
Which part of my reply are you referring to (that didn't involve sarcasm)?
Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
"I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion."
My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....
"Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson
"Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
