Emotiva combo arrive today...

Early B.

I ordered the Emotiva Ultra Theater Series (LMC-1 pre & LPA-1 amp) yesterday and it arrived today.:D

Hooked it up. So far it sounds pretty good. I haven't calibrated it yet. I'll do that tomorrow when I have more time.

The amp is huge and weighs 63 pounds. It's too big to fit neatly in my rack.

I'll report back...

Here are some pics (disregard the dust):

VR3

I am very interested in your findings here Brad...

The price is right on that stuff, for sure...

And when are you going to dust?

AdamRagland

yea me too..i was just reading a review on the rpa-1 and they raved about it saying you had to go north of 2k for an amp to contend. also, they claimed it "sounded horrid" straight out of the box compared to after it was fairly broken in.
what is your rig your running it on?

sbpolk

Early B. wrote: »

I ordered the Emotiva Ultra Theater Series (LMC-1 pre & LPA-1 amp) yesterday and it arrived today.:D

Hooked it up. So far it sounds pretty good. I haven't calibrated it yet. I'll do that tomorrow when I have more time.

The amp is huge and weighs 63 pounds. It's too big to fit neatly in my rack.

I'll report back...

Here are some pics (disregard the dust):

Congrats, excellent pieces of equipment! You are much more qualified to opine on the sound quality of this pair, since you are much more audiophile-ish than I! I have zero complaints with how mine sounds.

I have mine listed in the FM, really only because I am going batty for lossless from my PS3. I get it from my XA2, but.... so I think I will go with a highend AVR as a pre for now.

Here is mine in my rack...

PADZZ

Looking good, but what's the crap on your TV?

Early B.

PADZZ wrote: »

Looking good, but what's the crap on your TV?

My wife was watching "Dancing with the Stars." She loves that show.:o

Early B.

Listened to some music tonight. I like what I'm hearing.

I experimented with the use of a coaxial digital cable instead of the analog cables. Surprisingly, only subtle differences.

I'll have more to say tomorrow.

AdamRagland

sbpolk wrote: »

I have mine listed in the FM, really only because I am going batty for lossless from my PS3. I get it from my XA2, but.... so I think I will go with a highend AVR as a pre for now.

what does the FM mean? i apologize for my slowness:)

sbpolk

AdamRagland wrote: »

what does the FM mean? i apologize for my slowness:)

FleaMarket!

AdamRagland

if i had the money i would buy it from you in a heartbeat. good luck on the sale though. early, keep me in the loop on how you like the combo!

Ethancf

sbpolk wrote: »

I get it from my XA2, but.... so I think I will go with a highend AVR as a pre for now.

...but what? Won't your XA2 give you all of the new surround formats via analog 5.1? Just curious what you reason for going to an AVR is.

sbpolk

Ethancf wrote: »

...but what? Won't your XA2 give you all of the new surround formats via analog 5.1? Just curious what you reason for going to an AVR is.

My XA2 provides TrueHD, but I don't get the high res formats from my PS3. So I get what HD-DVD has to offer, but not all that BluRay offers in terms of LPCM and TrueHD.

Crap, I have spent the evening A/B'ing the A2 over optical versus the XA2, both optical and analogue. No doubt about TrueHD over analogue is MO' BETTA, but crap, the Emotiva LMC-1 sounds downright AWESOME with either one!

I am pondering backing up, taking a breath again, and sticking with the LMC-1 until the LMC-2 or MMC-2 come out. I am such a dork! And maybe a little schizophrenic!:D

Early B.

I calibrated my system today and sat back to listen. Here are few more thoughts --

The Emotiva Ultra Theater series package (LMC-1 pre and LPA-1 amp) sounds great. It’s a ridiculously incredible value.

I still have the tube CDP, but I'm using a coax cable between the CDP and pre and bypassing the tube circuit. Never thought I'd do that.

I'm pleased so far. It’s also very convenient to have a remote for 2-channel. The biggest difference is that I have more bass than before. My previous 2-channel system was "too clean," so the bass was kinda weak.

I will say, however, that the Pioneer Elite receiver I had was damn good. For HT the Emotiva sounds only slightly better than the PE; there is a litle more detail, stronger bass, and the dialogue is a bit more “theaterish.” But the Emotiva pulls way ahead of the PE with music.

With the Emotiva gear, the music is fuller and much more dynamic than my old 2-channel system. It’s also a bit brighter (sometimes good, sometimes not so good). I’m gonna miss the lush, laid back sound and better tonality, though.

I'd score it 10 out of 10 for value; 8.5/10 for sound quality; 9/10 for build quality; 9/10 for aesthetics; 7/10 for features; 10/10 for customer service; and 8/10 for ease of use.

VR3

I always wondered why on earth Emotiva's line up - the most affordable components looked the best... and looked worse as they cost more

Glad you like em and they sound good

JimBRICK

dude I think you made my mind up for getting one of these outfits too. I've tried alot in the past 3 years and have had this in the back of my mind. For under 1000 shipped why not

cfrizz

Congrats EB, enjoy!

janmike

Congrats. Looks nice.

pearsall001

Looking good Early, sounds like you're really pleased with the new set-up. Congrats & enjoy!!! How does it feel to be off the audio roller-coaster (at least for a while)

MSALLA

I've had my eye on these for sometime now. I'd like to trade up my amps and Yamaha for a pre and one amp. The price had me worried. Could not belive something could be such a good value.

engtaz

Congrats. I am glad it turn out to be a nice upgrade.

engtaz

jakelm

Let me know when you want to sell it.....;)

DollarDave

Anyone know anything about their receiver, the DMR-1? I know, I know, separates... for the family room though a receiver gets the WAF and paves the way for a nice DMC combo for the theater room.

brijenjas

DaveMuell wrote: »

Anyone know anything about their receiver, the DMR-1? I know, I know, separates... for the family room though a receiver gets the WAF and paves the way for a nice DMC combo for the theater room.

Here's some info about the DMR1 from the Emotiva forum,

http://emotivalounge.proboards54.com/index.cgi?board=receivers&action=display&thread=1185402064

http://emotivalounge.proboards54.com/index.cgi?board=receivers

apphd

Early B. wrote: »

I calibrated my system today and sat back to listen. Here are few more thoughts --

The Emotiva Ultra Theater series package (LMC-1 pre and LPA-1 amp) sounds great. It’s a ridiculously incredible value.

I still have the tube CDP, but I'm using a coax cable between the CDP and pre and bypassing the tube circuit. Never thought I'd do that.

I'm pleased so far. It’s also very convenient to have a remote for 2-channel. The biggest difference is that I have more bass than before. My previous 2-channel system was "too clean," so the bass was kinda weak.

I will say, however, that the Pioneer Elite receiver I had was damn good. For HT the Emotiva sounds only slightly better than the PE; there is a litle more detail, stronger bass, and the dialogue is a bit more “theaterish.” But the Emotiva pulls way ahead of the PE with music.

With the Emotiva gear, the music is fuller and much more dynamic than my old 2-channel system. It’s also a bit brighter (sometimes good, sometimes not so good). I’m gonna miss the lush, laid back sound and better tonality, though.

I'd score it 10 out of 10 for value; 8.5/10 for sound quality; 9/10 for build quality; 9/10 for aesthetics; 7/10 for features; 10/10 for customer service; and 8/10 for ease of use.

Early, congrats. Now that you have had another week on your new toys, can you give us an update? My interest in the EMO combo you have has recently peaked to where I am almost ready to order, but have a few concerns on the LMC-1 from alot of the firmware issues I have heard about. Anyone know where they are at now, with the latest shipments? Also am starting to hear about an LMC-2 in the near future, any info on that? I would need to hold off until after the first of the year anyway. Going to China to visit the in-laws and the air fares have really taken a hit with the price of oil, ouch! So the $$ for toys will not be avail. until Feb./March.
Thanks in advance for any comments you can add to your likes/dislikes of the gear.

Early B.

apphd wrote: »

Early, congrats. Now that you have had another week on your new toys, can you give us an update? My interest in the EMO combo you have has recently peaked to where I am almost ready to order, but have a few concerns on the LMC-1 from alot of the firmware issues I have heard about. Anyone know where they are at now, with the latest shipments? Also am starting to hear about an LMC-2 in the near future, any info on that? I would need to hold off until after the first of the year anyway. Going to China to visit the in-laws and the air fares have really taken a hit with the price of oil, ouch! So the $$ for toys will not be avail. until Feb./March.
Thanks in advance for any comments you can add to your likes/dislikes of the gear.

Not much else to say. If you can't pull the trigger on the Emotiva gear until Feb./March, then the LMC-2 will be out by then. There's some info on the LMC-2 on the Emotiva forum. I'm not interested in the LMC-2 right now because my setup is so simple, I'm not concerned about having the most recent HT processor technology. I haven't had any problems with my LMC-1. I still need to learn how to use the damn thing.:p

slush

I have the same set up, actually have had it for a few months now. It's run perfect and sounds great!

Congrats!

apphd

Thanks for the reply Early. I checked out the Emotiva forum and found the info you pointed me to. There understandably still pretty tight lipped on detail, but it looks like early Jan which should work well with my travle times. My only fear is I'm not impressed enough with the -2 and now that it looks the the -1 is stable those will be all gone and I will be forced into the -2 by default. But that would still be cheaper than a divorce!

brijenjas

apphd wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Early. I checked out the Emotiva forum and found the info you pointed me to. There understandably still pretty tight lipped on detail, but it looks like early Jan which should work well with my travle times. My only fear is I'm not impressed enough with the -2 and now that it looks the the -1 is stable those will be all gone and I will be forced into the -2 by default. But that would still be cheaper than a divorce!

You won't be forced into buying the two, there should be a quite a few used LMC1's for sale when the 2 is released.

I plan on buying the LMC2 when it is released for the HDMI connections, so the wife will quit complaining about all the cables, "why so many cables?" she asks me every time I clean behind the rack.;)

apphd

brijenjas wrote: »

You won't be forced into buying the two, there should be a quite a few used LMC1's for sale when the 2 is released.

I plan on buying the LMC2 when it is released for the HDMI connections, so the wife will quit complaining about all the cables, "why so many cables?" she asks me every time I clean behind the rack.;)

Good point. I'm just a little hesitant to by used from an unknown individual regardless of seller ratings. But the more I read these forums the more I feel I somewhat know people without even meeting them. But in all reality I think the -2 will probably still be a deal $/SQ. No matter I will need to wait and see.

Early B.

OK, after having lived with the Emotiva for a couple of weeks now, I thought I'd provide a brief update on its 2-channel audio playback capabilities --

I've gone full circle -- from a "dedicated" 2-channel system and HT system to a combined system with the Emotiva gear serving as the anchor. My thought was to use the Emotiva temporarily as a 2-channel system until I purchased a int. amp sometime next year. But I gotta tell ya, I am extremely impressed with 2-channel playback. In fact, it rivals my previous separate 2-channel system.

However, it took a while to get it to sound good 'cause I had a problem. I was getting some distortion on CD playback that I couldn't get rid of. Then I went onto the Emotiva forum and got my answer -- my CDP was putting out a "hot" signal (greater than 1 volt) and clipping the DACs on strong passages, so I needed to plug the RCA interconnects into the L&R of the 7.1 inputs on the Emotiva pre/pro. By doing so, it passes the signal without processing it. This did the trick.

I'm simply blown away by the sound for gear at this price point. The soundstage is the best I've heard in my room. In fact, on one particular song, you'd swear you were listening to surround sound. Detail in spades, as well. Oh, and the bass -- I love the bass. And damn the purists -- I won't buy another pre without a remote.

The main thing I'll miss with the dedicated 2-channel system I had was the magically intoxicating midrange and tonality. It sounded great, but like anything else, there's a price to be paid for it, not just financially, but sonically, as well.

Does this mean I won't upgrade anytime soon? Well, most of you already know the answer to that question... But I really don't need to. I'm enjoying my music more than ever.

Now that Emotiva has recently reduced its prices even further during the holiday season, it's definitely a no brainer to buy now. Highly recommended. Great customer service, too.

nikolas812

I am kind of in the same boat you are. I purchased the lmc-1 processor about a month ago and it's been nothing but smiles for me since. I am also using it for 2 channel music and movies unitll the release of there xpa-5 amp in january. A 200x5 wpc power house with balanced inputs for 699.99:D I can't wait.:) But untill then its paired with a b&k st-140 2 channel amp and polk rt800i speakers. For the price I don't think it can be beat. I have had some higher end processors before (B&K ref 50, Sunfire TGP 2,) and I have to tell you, in my opinion the emo sounds better than all of them. There might have been operator error on the previous processors but thats what I like about the emo. It's very easy to setup up right out of the box. In fact I didn't even adjust anything for a couple days. It sounded that good right out of the box. Also the customer service was outstanding. I accidently clicked the purchase button twice and they billed me twice. I called them and they had it resolved in a matter of minutes. Not to metion it arrived about 24 hours or less after I made the order.:eek: Not to mention they also have an online forum kind of like this one with someone too answer tech questions just about any time that your on there. A am very happy with them to say the least. As long as they keep doing what there doing, I will always be a customer.:)