XPR-1 Review for EMO fans

F1nut

When was the last time Rotel, Parasound, et all had the cash (ahem the sales) to gobble up a few other companies and bag (whether you love or hate him) an industry Icon (self promoter)?

You can't seriously think that Emotiva paid Carver anywhere near what it would cost to buy a company like Rotel or Parasound. Why would Rotel or Parasound want to buy Carver to begin with, they don't need his skills or need to improve their image.

They are very much changing the industry.

How so? There are other companies that were doing direct sales long before at reduced prices, some successful, some not. I seem to recall a company called AV123 that had the same business model with the same type of customer base and they all thought the same thing of their leader. We all know how that story ended.

Loud & Clear

Just read the review again. Wow. Simply stunning. It really is amazing how they've single-handedly demystified home audio amplification. The veil has been lifted. The emperor has no clothes and we're finally free to acknowledge it. Down goes Carver - soon we'll all be able to buy his products directly from Emotiva, at a tenth of their previous prices. It's so exciting to think about which one is next. Krell? Bryston? Classe? This is one of the most exciting times in audio history, and we owe it all to Emotiva and Big Dan.

F1nut

Congrats L&C, you just made my BOZO list.

eclypse

I don't see what the big deal is.. Whats wrong with the common man being able to buy great audio equipment at prices they can afford?

Loud & Clear

Better late than never.

leroyjr1

eclypse wrote: »

I don't see what the big deal is.. Whats wrong with the common man being able to buy great audio equipment at prices they can afford?

Nothing at all. Some people just can't grasp the idea that everyone's taste and budget isn't the same. The same people that call out Emotiva owners as fanboys are the same folks that do the same thing to SDA's and other equipment they own. There's no difference.

Loud & Clear

Imagine if 5 or 6 of the same people squatted on every Dared thread, or every NAD thread, and chirped on incessantly about how inferior those products were to others. It's just bizarre. They're so threatened by the idea that some people like less expensive equipment as much or more than their big ticket items. Like we're going to go to their homes and replace their amps with Emotiva amps. Frankly it's odd that they even read these threads. They don't own Emotiva and don't want to own Emotiva. Why are they even here? There isn't an audio product in the world that would drive me to attack it, repeatedly, on a messageboard. In fact the more I think about it the more genuinely odd I find it.

eclypse

Sounds like fear to me.. If Emotiva isn't apart of there world as in there house or there friends house.. then why care so much to go out of your way to **** on a brand so much.

erniejade

nooshinjohn wrote: »

And to most of us, Mcintosh builds some of the classiest gear around. To me Emo is painfully ugly, kind of like looking at Phyllis Diller naked.

And with that note, I am going to need years of therapy getting the picture of Phyllis Diller naked out of my head. Noshinjohn, the bill is in the mail for that one!

Toolfan66

Loud & Clear wrote: »

Imagine if 5 or 6 of the same people squatted on every Dared thread, or every NAD thread, and chirped on incessantly about how inferior those products were to others. It's just bizarre. They're so threatened by the idea that some people like less expensive equipment as much or more than their big ticket items. Like we're going to go to their homes and replace their amps with Emotiva amps. Frankly it's odd that they even read these threads. They don't own Emotiva and don't want to own Emotiva. Why are they even here? There isn't an audio product in the world that would drive me to attack it, repeatedly, on a messageboard. In fact the more I think about it the more genuinely odd I find it.

I own Emotiva Gear, I also own Polk Gear, W4S, Adcom, Jolida, Dared, ect, ect. And I find the fanboyism of Emotiva odd. I am a Polk fan, and I don't get all defensive when someone knocks their product, "why"? because I don't care, and also I don't like everything Polk has put out. they have their fair share of what I wouldn't own. I find some Dared products to be overrated, does it suck? no, but it has it's place, and they can be fun. Emotiva has it's place but they are not a game changer..

heiney9

DSkip wrote: »

I personally have no issues with Emotiva. I just get tired of their gear constantly being represented as the holy grail of audio. "Why spend more? you've already got Emotiva!"



I'm tired of ignorance.

Yep, hammer...nail...head.

H9

heiney9

Also Emotiva is far...far from the first company to do this. Far...far from it. Perhaps some should learn a little about audio history before singing the praises of Emotiva being the holy grail, poor man's affordable, game changer. Not even close, really, being the first on the block to do this. Some companies are still with us and some aren't. Some became legends and some fell into oblivion. It's funny as I have talked to some casual audio guys and some just starting out. Not one has ever heard of Emotiva.

Soild, well priced gear for entry level audio enthusiasts to START with after they finally realize an AVR receiver is no longer the holy grail it once was.

H9

ZLTFUL

Loud & Clear wrote: »

Imagine if 5 or 6 of the same people squatted on every Dared thread, or every NAD thread, and chirped on incessantly about how inferior those products were to others. It's just bizarre. They're so threatened by the idea that some people like less expensive equipment as much or more than their big ticket items. Like we're going to go to their homes and replace their amps with Emotiva amps. Frankly it's odd that they even read these threads. They don't own Emotiva and don't want to own Emotiva. Why are they even here? There isn't an audio product in the world that would drive me to attack it, repeatedly, on a messageboard. In fact the more I think about it the more genuinely odd I find it.

Dared and NAD threads don't illicit the type of rabid responses on BOTH sides of the fence because owners of those particular brands don't use their threads as sounding boards for how their equipment is the best thing to come along and destroy the "big boys". Emotiva threads tend to start off with posts that sound like "See...I told you how great Emo is but you wouldn't believe me."

I am not defending either side as I have owned several Emotiva amps. I no longer do and there is a good reason that I don't. But the reasons are my own and are opinion driven.

And Heiney is right. There are MANY companies doing direct to the consumer internet sales. One HUGE name that comes to mind is Bose. The business model is nothing new or special at all.
Emo also isn't bringing any kind of game changing technology to the playing field.
Granted, they bring less expensive versions of those technologies but just because something costs less, doesn't mean it is necessarily better.

The reason that Emo threads get so...well emo is because of the "HAHAHAHA YOU'RE A SUCKER FOR BUYING INTO THE $XXXXX AMP SELLERS WHEN MY EMO COST $**** AND SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER!!" type of rhetoric that Emo fonboys spew.
I have listened to my former UPA-5 and UPA-2 back to back with products from Audio Research, Krell, Pass Labs, McIntosh, etc and while they sounded fine, they definitely weren't in the same league of sound quality. That is where a lot of the "They are fine for HT but not for 2 channel" comments come from.
It also provided a great example of synergy for me. Pairing my UPA-2 with a pair of Klipsch KG 3.2s showed me that the borderline too bright Klipsch horn tweeters could be made to sound harsh. It was not a good combination. But it sounded fine with a pair of ProAc Tablette Anniversaries I was demoing. Not great but there definitely wasn't the harshness there that was there with the Klipschs.

Anyway, that's the biggest reason these Emo threads garner so much hate. It is because the Emo fans tend to be far more openly rabid and tauntingly so than most other when it comes to defending their gear.

(Larry's post sums it up nicely)

Loud & Clear

Toolfan66 wrote: »

I own Emotiva Gear, I also own Polk Gear, W4S, Adcom, Jolida, Dared, ect, ect. And I find the fanboyism of Emotiva odd. I am a Polk fan, and I don't get all defensive when someone knocks their product, "why"? because I don't care, and also I don't like everything Polk has put out. they have their fair share of what I wouldn't own. I find some Dared products to be overrated, does it suck? no, but it has it's place, and they can be fun. Emotiva has it's place but they are not a game changer..

I don't think anyone squats threads on other companies here like they do Emotiva, solely for the purpose to attack it. Perhaps Bose? It's very, very strange. I own plenty of pieces of gear, too. Some relatively inexpensive, some more expensive. I end up with the pieces that work best for me in my situation. I feel no impulse to tell heiney that his equipment is ok for what it is. But for some reason he feels he needs to qualify mine. He has no idea, whatsoever, how my Emotiva amp sounds to me or anyone else. Yet he feels very proud to tell everyone just where the entire line of Emotiva amps stacks up ... to them. How bizarre. I'm sure he thinks his vintage polks are the best speakers for him. That's fine. I don't stick my chest out and add a qualifier to every reference of them he makes - you know, there's something better than those, right? - ad infinitum. Why would I give it a second thought? He likes them. That's great. Enjoy. I don't squat every thread he writes about some tube he found from 1938, so that I can tell him I think he's wasting his time and money. Enjoy it, I think to myself. And I move on to some other thread ... where, surprise, once again I don't chime in to tell someone what they're hearing and what they should hear. That's not within my purview. I have no idea what they're hearing. It's the only decent conclusion, once hubris is taken out of the decision making process. And I realize heiney knows a great deal from his many audio travels and travails. But perhaps he should allow Emotiva owners the opportunity to enjoy their products in peace. We don't need to be told that he doesn't think they sound good to our ears. It's absurd.

Jhayman

to quote H9
"Soild, well priced gear for entry level audio enthusiasts to START with "after they finally realize an AVR receiver is no longer the holy grail it once was.

Just like your Dared some would say, lol

kuntasensei

ZLTFUL wrote: »

The reason that Emo threads get so...well emo is because of the "HAHAHAHA YOU'RE A SUCKER FOR BUYING INTO THE $XXXXX AMP SELLERS WHEN MY EMO COST $**** AND SOUNDS SO MUCH BETTER!!" type of rhetoric that Emo fonboys spew.

See, people say that... but pretty much every thread I've seen get shut down over this didn't have ANY of that attitude from the people who are happy with their Emotiva gear. The attacks seem to come in advance, as if the anti-Emo people just expect that to be the inevitable result, so we can never have a civil thread where this one particular brand is concerned. I really don't see people evangelize Emotiva here much. I do, however, see people have to endure the same nonsense from people who don't seem happy unless they're keeping Emotiva owners in check somehow.

I've said it before... The anti-Emotiva attitude here is what steered me away from them and toward used amps. That didn't work out well for me, and when I ultimately caved and bought an Emo XPA-3, I was happier with the sound it gave me than I was with the Parasound or Adcom I had before. That's not me putting Emotiva on a pedestal or downing those other brands... Just giving my personal experience with my particular gear. I think most Emotiva owners here tend to have a pretty realistic attitude about their gear. And by that, I mean they don't particularly need the same group of people downing them every time they discuss it here.

Seriously... We get it already. Move along. Nothing to see here.

cstmar01

Jhayman wrote: »

I think you are in denial if you think Emotiva is not changing the game..
I'm sure your colleague's will agree, if for no other reason of bringing quality Amps to the Masses cheaper than ever before..

And people wonder why Emo gets the rep it does. As other state "no one says Emo is the holy grail" yet I guess they are the only ones to ever do this type of product.

A few names come to my mind, Outlaw, Wyred, Exposure, etc all have very low cost some even built in the USA products. Exposure is a great little company, made in the UK and performs well. Also the prices are great. They must be revolutionary in their approach no?

Or how about ATI? American made, and used as an OEM product by others, yet I don't see the whole industry changing because of them. Interesting how just this one company is going to be the best of them all.

Just because a company takes over another doesn't mean squat to me. There is things that happen behind the curtains of business to get money, doesn't mean they have the cash on hand. Heard of a HLT? I'm sure you probably haven't, yet doesn't mean that a bank won't give someone money to aquire someone, just have to make a proposal and hope it is accepted. Different forms of risk, relationship, etc etc.

Also many audio brands have been bought, I can think of several that have been the last couple years.

Habanero Monk

pitdogg2 wrote: »

2. umm John Curl is also an industry Icon

I never said he wasn't. Read what I posted again.

polkfarmboy

This thread needs to lighten up a bit, so I took this pic

Jhayman

What is that?,Chessy might want one for his Coconut site..

eclypse

Looks like someone stuck a IC in a banana post?

nooshinjohn

That looks like an Emo binding post that has not been PFB certified....

Drenis

Is that the broken binding post from your old emo amp PFB?

Do I win a prize for guessing correctly? :razz:

Edit: F U John... I wanted the glory!

headrott

Loud & Clear wrote: »

Just read the review again. Wow. Simply stunning. It really is amazing how they've single-handedly demystified home audio amplification. The veil has been lifted. The emperor has no clothes and we're finally free to acknowledge it. Down goes Carver - soon we'll all be able to buy his products directly from Emotiva, at a tenth of their previous prices. It's so exciting to think about which one is next. Krell? Bryston? Classe? This is one of the most exciting times in audio history, and we owe it all to Emotiva and Big Dan.

No, I was right the first time. Loud & Clear is trying to get us riled up.

headrott

Loud & Clear wrote: »

Imagine if 5 or 6 of the same people squatted on every Dared thread, or every NAD thread, and chirped on incessantly about how inferior those products were to others. It's just bizarre. They're so threatened by the idea that some people like less expensive equipment as much or more than their big ticket items. Like we're going to go to their homes and replace their amps with Emotiva amps. Frankly it's odd that they even read these threads. They don't own Emotiva and don't want to own Emotiva. Why are they even here? There isn't an audio product in the world that would drive me to attack it, repeatedly, on a messageboard. In fact the more I think about it the more genuinely odd I find it.

There are a number of people on the forum that own Carver equipment. I cannot speak for them that that is why they are interested, but it's logical.

polkfarmboy

Drenis wrote: »

Is that the broken binding post from your old emo amp PFB?

Do I win a prize for guessing correctly? :razz:

Edit: F U John... I wanted the glory!

Sometimes I take it to the mall and people come gather round taking turns of trying to pry it free from the MIT banana plug. One day we will find out who is the audio king is but until then I wait with baited breath

nooshinjohn

Loud & Clear wrote: »

There isn't an audio product in the world that would drive me to attack it, repeatedly, on a messageboard. In fact the more I think about it the more genuinely odd I find it.

If you read the negative replies more carefully, you will find that we are not attacking a product or brand. What happens is that the Emoette cannot possibly understand that someone could possibly like something else and god forbid that something else is perceived to be better. This thread did not start off even discussing Emo. Rather it was saying that AH was not a source worthy of reading for reviews. The Emoette feels compelled to attack if anything even peripherally associated to Emo is dismissed.

I have nothing against the product, or those that like them, but I will never own one because I don't like the blind, zombie-like devotion to a brand that the Emoette exhibits.

pearsall001

Still no one is challanging the Audioholics very positive review of the new Polk LSiM 703's???? I for one am not the least bit interested in getting my ears on them after such s bogus review from those dim wits over there. I wonder if the new Emo amp would make them sound any better? Just food for thought.

Systems

nooshinjohn wrote: »

If you read the negative replies more carefully, you will find that we are not attacking a product or brand. What happens is that the Emoette cannot possibly understand that someone could possibly like something else and god forbid that something else is perceived to be better. This thread did not start off even discussing Emo. Rather it was saying that AH was not a source worthy of reading for reviews. The Emoette feels compelled to attack if anything even peripherally associated to Emo is dismissed.

I have nothing against the product, or those that like them, but I will never own one because I don't like the blind, zombie-like devotion to a brand that the Emoette exhibits.

We all grew up with "Cornbread and Chicken".
If your tastes have evolved that is a personal issue.

I still like the combination myself.:cheesygrin:

Jhayman

Opps spelling mistake, Cheezy might buy that cable if the price is right, lol