Emotiva Vs Carver Vs Pioneer Elite

bigaudiofanatic
bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
edited November 2011 in Electronics
To get my mind onto something else. I have a question. I currently have a pioneer elite VSX-56TXi running a Carver A400X. Would I see any benefit upgrading my amp to 2 Emotiva UPA-1 mono blocks AND/OR Emotiva UMC-1?

I currently have one Emotiva UPA-1's and tried it on one of my ML's and I noticed some frequencies were increased.

Also good deal on a UMC-1?

How does emotiva compare to carver?

http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm
HT setup
Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
Denon DBP-1610
Monster HTS 1650
Carver A400X :cool:
MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
Kef 104/2
URC MX-780 Remote
Sonos Play 1

Living Room
63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
Polk Surroundbar 3000
Samsung BD-C7900
Post edited by bigaudiofanatic on
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Comments

  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited November 2011
    There are different views on various Carver models I've learned. The TFM models are quite popular. I run a TFM-42 and it was night and day difference over my Pioneer's sound. No experience with Emo but from what I read, they are a brighter sounding design.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,877
    edited November 2011
    Stick with what you've got. The Carver is an older piece, but it more than holds it's own even today. If you want to spend the coin, get the Carver re-capped and enjoy. That option will be cheaper and the amp will dance all over Emo.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson

    How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it?
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  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited November 2011
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    Stick with what you've got. The Carver is an older piece, but it more than holds it's own even today. If you want to spend the coin, get the Carver re-capped and enjoy. That option will be cheaper and the amp will dance all over Emo.

    What about going pre amp instead of a entire receiver?
    HT setup
    Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
    Denon DBP-1610
    Monster HTS 1650
    Carver A400X :cool:
    MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
    Kef 104/2
    URC MX-780 Remote
    Sonos Play 1

    Living Room
    63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
    Polk Surroundbar 3000
    Samsung BD-C7900
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  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    edited November 2011
    The umc 1 might sound good for HT and if you like the sound of the upa1's then it is a good bet you will like the sound of the umc1 .Onkyo and logans sound fantastic you should check out an integra 9.9 pre for $700 .on the other hand you might like the umc1 matching the rest of your gear for a nice tidy look .
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,877
    edited November 2011
    Stay reciever for now. The cost of a unit that has even close to the feature set you have in the Pioneer would be huge. If you want to upgrade, grab an SC-35/37 Elite with the ICE amps. The Emo unit you cite has had it's share of troubles.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson

    How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it?
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  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited November 2011
    How would the ICE amps help me if I am running dedicated speaker amps threw pre outs?
    HT setup
    Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
    Denon DBP-1610
    Monster HTS 1650
    Carver A400X :cool:
    MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
    Kef 104/2
    URC MX-780 Remote
    Sonos Play 1

    Living Room
    63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
    Polk Surroundbar 3000
    Samsung BD-C7900
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,877
    edited November 2011
    With the ICE power, you may not need the external amp... they are THAT good.I have a Sunfire running in my system now, but after I get my tube amps up and can separate my rigs again, I will sell the Sunfire and run the Elite solo for my HT setup.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson

    How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it?
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited November 2011
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    With the ICE power, you may not need the external amp... they are THAT good.I have a Sunfire running in my system now, but after I get my tube amps up and can separate my rigs again, I will sell the Sunfire and run the Elite solo for my HT setup.

    I call dibs on the Sunfire. :p
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,396
    edited November 2011
    Didn't you already own Emo at one point? Or am I thinking of someone else with "big" in their name? If you did then you know what type of sound to expect.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,687
    edited November 2011
    Drenis them be fighting words lol..... :wink:
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited November 2011
    I have never owned a Emo product until yesterday
    HT setup
    Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
    Denon DBP-1610
    Monster HTS 1650
    Carver A400X :cool:
    MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
    Kef 104/2
    URC MX-780 Remote
    Sonos Play 1

    Living Room
    63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
    Polk Surroundbar 3000
    Samsung BD-C7900
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  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    edited November 2011
    I guess after ten or fifteen years, we will see how well these Emotiva amps have held up. Sure seems like a number of used Emotiva amps are showing up for sale in the classifieds.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,396
    edited November 2011
    Polkie2009 wrote: »
    Sure seems like a number of used Emotiva amps are showing up for sale in the classifieds.

    How can that be...............they stomp the competition! :twisted:

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    edited November 2011
    The emo amps that show up for sale are ususaly only 15 = 25% off full price so they hold their value
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  • Gadabout
    Gadabout Posts: 1,072
    edited November 2011
    Does the current UMC-1 support Category 2 HDMI?

    I assume there is a newer one coming out since the one listed is Clearance priced?

    I'm considering an upgrading my older Onkyo that is just being used as a Pre/Pro. Just for future proofing, I'd like to get one that supports the new high speed HDMI. I took a quick look at the UMC-1 and decided to to wait on the upgrade to see if a newer one comes out and what the specs are. The thinking being that I can spend close to the same $'s on a Pre/Pro and get better processing since I don't need the amp section of the AVR.

    Scott
    Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. ..... Frank Zappa
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