Emotiva vs. Rotel vs. Anthem

[darien87]

I didn't think UL listing was the only certification a company could submit product for. What about CE and CSA?

I know my Crown's have those listed.

You're right, there are TONS of certification companies out there. I'm sure it would cost a pretty penny and be a logistical nightmare to be listed with all of them. I know that my XPA-5 does indeed have a CE symbol on the back.

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I also want to say I have never heard a difference in amp sound.

I recall back in the early days when I was a fresh young audiophile. I read about how amps and cables differ in SQ. I believed it too. But then I compared them for myself (volume match closely). And I said "WTF are they talking about! I can't hear any difference with any amps, AVR, pre-pro in direct mode!"

The only difference I heard was the volume. Some had higher gain and that made the volume louder. But when I level matched and the volume was equal, there was no difference in SQ.

I thought I was the only one who could not hear the difference. Then I read The Audio Critic and they had Electrical Engineers and PhDs and other established audiophiles who thought the same and double-blinded studies to prove that we just can't statistically hear the difference.

Now, okay, some amps are more "bad a$$" and built like tanks than others. ATI make amps that don't even have speaker hiss noise when you place your ears on the tweeter. Emotiva, Crown, Acurus, and all amps I've heard had hiss noise (noise floor). But from 6" - 12" away, as long as can't hear the hissing, so what?

But, most likely you won't need any amps.

Another thing is the gain level. Some preamp & amp (AVR) may have the gain level too low and it may prevent the amp from full capacity power.

So try this experiment. Increase the speaker channel levels in your AVR like from 0.0 to + 3.0 (Max is usually +12.0) and see if you can hear the difference.

A lot of people use room correction EQ like Audyssey, ARC, EzQ, etc, which may decrease the channel levels to like -3.0.

DenPureSound's Denon 4311 set his speakers level to like -5.0. So he complained he could not get the volume high enough. So I told him to manually increase the channel levels. He is 100% happy now.

[fuzz092888]

I also want to say I have never heard a difference in amp sound.

What a crock, everyone knows that amps sound completely different You old fraud you

[jcunwired]

I don't have an Anthem AVR, just the MCA20 power amp for my HT system's front L/R channels. For some reason I thought it would do better than the Marantz 8003 for Stereo and the occasional concert BR but I really haven't heard any obvious difference so far.

While I don't have the ability to conduct an instantaneous A/B comparison, I agree. I have an Onkyo TX-8050 2-channel receiver and an Anthem MCA20. While the Onkyo supports 4 ohm speakers I was a bit concerned with overtaxing it, since the speakers (Polk LSi9) are in my living room and while working in the yard I turn it up rather high. I have heard no difference in sound quality with and without the Anthem in place. My mind may be playing tricks on me thinking there are more dynamics at high volume, but I don't really believe it.

[fuzz092888]

The only thing I'd worry about with the Onkyo and 4 ohm speakers is the heat. Then again, if, once you come in from the yard and the onkyo isn't excessively hot then I doubt if it's a big deal.

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What a crock, everyone knows that amps sound completely different You old fraud you

Well, duh.......hello? Of course the Phil3 sound better with the ATI amps than with cheapo Emo or....... Crown or .......you know.....

[Gordonj]

Well, duh.......hello? Of course the Phil3 sound better with the ATI amps than with cheapo Emo or....... Crown or .......you know.....

Wahooowaa... what a minute! You just contradicted yourself
So, let me get this straight, amps do have a sound quaility impact on speakers?

I could not resist

Please forgive me.

Gordon

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Wahooowaa... what a minute! You just contradicted yourself
So, let me get this straight, amps do have a sound quaility impact on speakers?

I could not resist

Please forgive me.

Gordon

Not just any amps, mind you!

Only my amps!

Everyone else's amps all sound the same.

[cpp]

I do know for a facto that my old tube amps sound different than my SS amps.

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I do know for a facto that my old tube amps sound different than my SS amps.

That's why the tubes get the big bucks.

Those people didn't spend all that money to sound accurate and "all the same"!

They want something that sounds different and inaccurate. It makes them feel special.