Emotiva's Fusion 8100 AVR

[trnqk7]

I'd like to update my AVR in the next 6mths or so, currently I have a Denon 2807, so it's a few (8) years old and a little behind the times. What are the feelings on the Fusion 8100? It looks to me like a set of decent specs that matter and not much extra stuff. Anyone have experience with it? My other consideration at this point might be the UMC-200 and a UPA-500, but if I don't need to spend that much, I'd be happy not to. I currently run Dali Ikon 6's up front, Vokal 2 for the center, and Ikon 1's for the two back surrounds. They are all fairly efficient (91db I believe) speakers. Would appreciate any thoughts on the two aforementioned solutions, but prefer to hear more about the Fusion 8100. Thanks!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Denon X4000

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'd wait until Denon comes out with an AVR with Dolby ATMOS, DTS-UHD, and Auro-3D.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I'd wait until Denon comes out with an AVR with Dolby ATMOS, DTS-UHD, and Auro-3D.

and I will wait for next good sales on last year's model

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

and I will wait for next good sales on last year's model

I'm not buying anything.

My 2 Denon already have everything I need.

 

[j_garcia]

I'm not buying anything.

My 2 Denon already have everything I need.

For 6 months

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For 6 months

Oh no. See, I haven't bought a pre-pro or AVR in 4 years. And now that I'm exclusively using XBMC for my movies and TV shows, most of the time the sound is in 5.1 DTS or DD.

So I have no need for any of that ATMOS stuff or 4K video.

 

[j_garcia]

Oh no. See, I haven't bought a pre-pro or AVR in 4 years. And now that I'm exclusively using XBMC for my movies and TV shows, most of the time the sound is in 5.1 DTS or DD.

So I have no need for any of that ATMOS stuff or 4K video.

My last Marantz lasted me over 10 years

 

[trnqk7]

I've looked at the Denon stuff a bit and I don't have an issue with it per se, heck, mine has lasted me this long. I've always wanted to try Emotiva, I know I'm never going to need more than 5.1 channels in my current setup. If I ever need more, it will be a second setup in another location, not the current one. I'm open to other brands as well, I just thought this looked like the features I think I need and a quality amp. I'm open to other suggestions, Outlaw is another I've considered. Thanks for the input.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My last Marantz lasted me over 10 years

I'm aiming for 20 years.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've looked at the Denon stuff a bit and I don't have an issue with it per se, heck, mine has lasted me this long. I've always wanted to try Emotiva, I know I'm never going to need more than 5.1 channels in my current setup. If I ever need more, it will be a second setup in another location, not the current one. I'm open to other brands as well, I just thought this looked like the features I think I need and a quality amp. I'm open to other suggestions, Outlaw is another I've considered. Thanks for the input.

Emotiva and Outlaw aren't better than Denon.

 

[swspiers]

I've looked at the Denon stuff a bit and I don't have an issue with it per se, heck, mine has lasted me this long. I've always wanted to try Emotiva, I know I'm never going to need more than 5.1 channels in my current setup. If I ever need more, it will be a second setup in another location, not the current one. I'm open to other brands as well, I just thought this looked like the features I think I need and a quality amp. I'm open to other suggestions, Outlaw is another I've considered. Thanks for the input.

What feedback? You asked about Emotiva, and got answers about Denon and Marantz. From guys who like Denon and Marantz.

I have the UMC-200, which I run in a 2.1 set-up. The only reason I have this pre-amp is because of the 11 bands of parametric EQ per channel. It makes it very, very useful in EQ-ing. If that kind of processing power isn't important to you, then stick with a receiver

The Fusion 8100 is fairly interesting for the price, but the features seem limited and the power is just so-so. However, the guys that mentioned Marantz and Denon...

...they're kinda right.

 

[nogaro]

Does the Audyssey XT32 with Dual Sub EQ not allow any manual adjustments? Here are some scenarios that might be of interest to me based on my results with a lesser version of Audyssey:

-Apply Audyssey to all channels, but allow some manual tweaking. If so, what manual tweaking is allowed?
-If not, Apply Audyssey to only EQ the subs and bypass other speakers. Can bypassed speakers be EQed manually? If so, what type of manual EQ is supported?

 

[sharkman]

Isn't the 8100 a clone? I thought I remember another company having a variation, and would this mean that Emotiva had very little to do with its design?

 

[nogaro]

Isn't the 8100 a clone? I thought I remember another company having a variation, and would this mean that Emotiva had very little to do with its design?

Are you referring to the Sherbourn SR-8100? Sherbourn was a sister company of Emotiva's - both under the umbrella of Jade Design. Sherbourn is no longer in existence. If that's who you're thinking of, Emotiva had plenty to do with its design.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm not buying anything.

My 2 Denon already have everything I need.

Give it a year or two.

I have been researching building my own Pre/pro.

I have found out people are doing this now and very pleased with the results. They claim performance far above what is available commercially, including sixteen channels with programable crossovers for active speakers. There is the ability for easy service and you can update them because they are modular.

Actually I'm amazed that what is out there in terms of both hardware and software.

So it looks as if the Denon/Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha could stop production and we would not miss a beat.

When I have done more research on this I will consider starting a thread.

 

[crossedover]

Give it a year or two.

I have been researching building my own Pre/pro.

I have found out people are doing this now and very pleased with the results. They claim performance far above what is available commercially, including sixteen channels with programable crossovers for active speakers. There is the ability for easy service and you can update them because they are modular.

Actually I'm amazed that what is out there in terms of both hardware and software.

So it looks as if the Denon/Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha could stop production and we would not miss a beat.

When I have done more research on this I will consider starting a thread.

With DIRAC online with mini dsp, the thought of building a preprocessor seems very realistic.

 

[TLS Guy]

With DIRAC online with mini dsp, the thought of building a preprocessor seems very realistic.

That's what I think. Two prepros since 2006 and the second one nearing the end of its useful life. There has to be a better way.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Does the Audyssey XT32 with Dual Sub EQ not allow any manual adjustments? Here are some scenarios that might be of interest to me based on my results with a lesser version of Audyssey:

-Apply Audyssey to all channels, but allow some manual tweaking. If so, what manual tweaking is allowed?
-If not, Apply Audyssey to only EQ the subs and bypass other speakers. Can bypassed speakers be EQed manually? If so, what type of manual EQ is supported?

I have been in the manual EQ setup section of the Denon AVP-A1 & AVR-5308. It allows you to copy the Audyssey Auto-EQ curve into the Manual EQ. Then you can manually adjust the frequency curve by increasing or decreasing the level of each frequency like 100Hz, 200Hz, 300Hz, 400Hz, 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, 3-10kHz, ect.

So if you can measure your speaker's in-room response, you could play around with the manual EQ.

But many people don't think you should even mess around with the frequency response beyond 200Hz. That's why I prefer to bypass Audyssey EQ and just use Sub EQ/DEQ to EQ only the bass region.

I don't think you can manual EQ the bypass L/R channel.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I love building PC/HTPC. But it's relatively simple plug-and-screws. I mainly do it to save money. Just my Silverstone Crown PC case alone costs $450 each. I've seen commercial builds using this case for $4K+.

But I just don't see the point of building my own pre-pro if I can get the Denon 4520 for $1K from Best Buy.

And I don't buy for one second about how a custom pre-pro sounds better than something like the Denon 4520. Talk is really cheap.

Good amp is good amp. Good pre-amp is good pre-amp. The salient difference is in the ability to EQ. People can argue forever about how they think one room EQ is better than another. Most of the EQ software I've seen do a good job with the frequency response curve.

I'm sure everyone thinks his own EQ is the best. But I'm not really impressed any room EQ software or manual EQ. The only actual audible improvement I've seen is from Audyssey Dynamic EQ, not from any other EQ even when the resulting frequency response is flat.

So just give me the Denon 4520s for $1K and I'm peachy happy all day long without even lifting a screw driver.