RMC-1

[TheWarrior]

So even if I add external Dirac Live to the CX-A5100, it would still come out on top!! I say this because the only reason I would still prefer the AV8805 or AVR-X8500H is Audyssey vs YPAO. Better yet, I can just add Dirac Live to my little X4400H, but XT32 got the job done nicely even without using the Editor so I am happy enough to leave things alone, for now.. So, who needs such a prepro, and why?? The only reason I can think of is, if someone likes its look, but what's the probability for that?

Is it overkill? You betcha! But I have been incredibly patient for the last decade watching this industry spin, flip and do all sorts of tricks with new features and specs and blah..... when I finally spent money, I bought an XDA1 and went 2.2 because the industry couldn't decide how many channels should be included.

I'll pay for a processor that handles full 4K and is adaptable to new immersive formats. Unfortunately options are still slim so:

The painfully slow input switching Gene detailed in his video steered me away from the new Yamaha. No sale price will ever justify that obnoxiousness every, time, I, use, it.

Time will tell whether I go this route or Marantz as the above mentioned model is friggin stout!

I do appreciate Emo styling, I am certainly not swept away by it but its a far cry from the standard black boxes everyone else has!

As for bugs, I don't use much in the way of built in features beyond manual speaker setup, so I would hope that Emotiva are bringing a product to market that should only need firmware updates, like everything else! Surely the software isn't so corrupt that I can't pay their asking price, plug it in and be satisfied!

 

[TechHDS]

I have had very good luck with EMO’s amps, had one of their DAC’s units was a nice unit no problems at all. At the time prices where unbeatable, now not so much. I’m sure their new prepro is a good one probably sounds great is loaded with features. If I was to need a amp or should I need, Outlaw or monolith are the best value on the market right now. Now if I was Big money Grip like ADTG, Ati all the way for sure!!

Mike

 

[killdozzer]

If I could custom build like a PC, I would get 5.2.2.

What's the middle 2. ? Two centers? Up and down in front of you or one in the middle of the fronts and one in the middle of the rears?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I can't think of one reason why I would spend that much on a prepro, not even if I had a billion, because then I would want to spend more.

When people hear “Emotiva”, I bet they think “cost effective”, not $5,000 AVP or $5,000 AVR.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What's the middle 2. ? Two centers? Up and down in front of you or one in the middle of the fronts and one in the middle of the rears?

I meant 5.1.2, except with dual Sub outputs like most AVR/AVP.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have had very good luck with EMO’s amps, had one of their DAC’s units was a nice unit no problems at all. At the time prices where unbeatable, now no so much. I’m sure their new prepro is a good one probably sounds great is loaded with features. If I was to need a amp or should I need, Outlaw or monolith are the best value on the market right now. Now if I was Big money Grip like ADTG, Ati all the way for sure!!

Mike

Seems like most (except for a few) are increasing prices on their amps and AVP.

RBH is working on a quality cost-effective MCH amp. Hope it pans out.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So even if I add external Dirac Live to the CX-A5100, it would still come out on top!!

Especially now that the 5100 is on dealer clearance since the 5200 is shipping out in October.

I don’t care for any Room EQ, but how much is Dirac (for people who care)?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Better yet, I can just add Dirac Live to my little X4400H, but XT32 got the job done nicely even without using the Editor so I am happy enough to leave things alone, for now.. So, who needs such a prepro, and why??

That Separates vs AVR thought? More than just about SQ.

And I also think Audyssey XT32 is just as good as Dirac or any other Room EQ - for people who care about that stuff (count me and TLS Guy out ).

 

[KEW]

Considering its feature set, its not extravagantly priced. This is all assuming everything works as advertised. That is a hell of a feature set and I would not be surprised if it wasn't working perfectly at launch.

I'm not sure I know of all of them, but has Emotiva ever produced a pre-pro that did not have bugs?
So, will AH get a early model for review to let us know if Emotiva got it right this time?

I'm with TechHDS, they used to have great amps at great prices (especially with their frequent sales); now they sell a decent amp at a reasonable price.
If they can come out with an advanced pre-pro which is bug-free, I would see it as more of a departure from their track record, not a continuation.

 

[TheWarrior]

I'm not sure I know of all of them, but has Emotiva ever produced a pre-pro that did not have bugs?
So, will AH get a early model for review to let us know if Emotiva got it right this time?

I'm with TechHDS, they used to have great amps at great prices (especially with their frequent sales); now they sell a decent amp at a reasonable price.
If they can come out with an advanced pre-pro which is bug-free, I would see it as more of a departure from their track record, not a continuation.

In the interest of understanding public perspective, what causes you to demote Emotiva's amps from Great to Decent, in terms of quality?

I guess I am really curious, is it the slow loss of Class AB and big transformers that has you and @TechHDS down?

There is a fair bit of amplification purchasing coming in my future, so please spare no details!

 

[KEW]

In the interest of understanding public perspective, what causes you to demote Emotiva's amps from Great to Decent, in terms of quality?

I guess I am really curious, is it the slow loss of Class AB and big transformers that has you and @TechHDS down?

There is a fair bit of amplification purchasing coming in my future, so please spare no details!

Certainly the quality is there on their flagship products, but when you look at what you get for your money (in their <$1000 amps),they are now only decent where they used to be great!

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/emotivas-new-a-5175-amp-now-available.107873/#post-1195477

Look at the photos I posted here:
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/any-opinions-on-emotiva-amps.111368/#post-1251392

Last, if you look at Genes chart for power measurements of the UPA-500, you will see that he departed from his normal measurements to totally avoid measuring two channels for CP-FBW. Instead only measuring one channel at a full 1% distortion. That is a pretty low bar! Measuring a separate amp using conditions less rigorous than you would an AVR seems more than a little suspect!
https://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/upa-500-amplifier/upa-500-measurements

I think you are probably interested in more high end amplification. My go-to would be ATI for what I think you are looking for!

If the RMC-1 turns out to be a great pre-pro and you get one and desire matching gear for your amps (which you already have two nice mono-blocks from when they offered high quality for great prices), I certainly would not hesitate to go for Emotiva XPA or better amps. But I would not consider them the best buy in their category (whereas I would have with what Emotiva sold ~5 years ago).

Heck, just look at your monoblocks and see what you have to pay now for equivalent build/performance with Emotiva today!
Then look at the Outlaw mono-blocks (including images of the internals)!

 

[TechHDS]

In the interest of understanding public perspective, what causes you to demote Emotiva's amps from Great to Decent, in terms of quality?

I guess I am really curious, is it the slow loss of Class AB and big transformers that has you and @TechHDS down?

There is a fair bit of amplification purchasing coming in my future, so please spare no details!

I had two of their monoblocks UPA-1’s paid 700 for both 200 @ 8Ohms. Than their XPA-2 paid 799 awesome amp. I have now their XPA-5, paid 899. All 1st gen all new. Wish I never had let go of them monoblocks. Dollar for dollar EMO was hard to beat back 5 or 6 years ago.

Mike

 

[KEW]

I had two of their monoblocks UPA-1’s paid 700 for both 200 @ 8Ohms. Than their XPA-2 paid 799 awesome amp. I have now their XPA-5, paid 899. All 1st gen all new. Wish I never had let go of them monoblocks. Dollar for dollar EMO was hard to beat back 5 or 6 years ago.

Mike

Yeah, TheWarrior has a pair of UPA-1's. They are nice amps!
He probably paid about the same as you. A great deal!

 

[KEW]

Just to be sure to beat a dead horse into the ground, and because I did not state it well before,
here is a 2 channel 75WPC amp made by Niles (I chose this unit because I own it):

And here is a 5 channel 80WPC amp by "new" Emotiva:

Of course, we don't know the values of the capacitors and transformers, but it looks like the 2 channel Niles is roughly equivalent to the 5 channel Emotiva.

 

[M Code]

Just to be sure to beat a dead horse into the ground, and because I did not state it well before,
here is a 2 channel 75WPC amp made by Niles (I chose this unit because I own it):

And here is a 5 channel 80WPC amp by "new" Emotiva:

Of course, we don't know the values of the capacitors and transformers, but it looks like the 2 channel Niles is roughly equivalent to the 5 channel Emotiva.

Pretty obvious..
Check out the heat sink area of the Niles vs.Emotiva, also the Emotiva is using (2) fans..

Just my $0.02...

 

[TheWarrior]

Thank you all, that was good stuff!

The RMC has until probably Spring to prove itself before I get too antsy, so of course no amps will be needed until a Processor is purchased.

I've definitely ogled the ATI amps! As I've ogled Mark Levinson too.... Not too brand loyal nor feeling the need to have anything match. I think the only thing I am decided on are Crown XTi for my DIY subs.

And then I still need to better understand the ideal properties of loudspeakers used for height channels, and likely find a commercial design that could pair with the rest of my system. I'd love to say I'll build those too... but efficiency and I have not been on speaking terms for some time!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've definitely ogled the ATI amps! As I've ogled Mark Levinson too....

Speaking of ogling, have you been also ogling the upcoming ATI ATP16 Pre-pro ?

It's based on the DataSAT (also owned by ATI) Pre-pro which also has Dirac.

We'll probably know more in a couple of weeks about pricing. I'm hoping ATI will keep the price in the $5K range, but that might be wishful thinking.

 

[PENG]

Just to be sure to beat a dead horse into the ground, and because I did not state it well before,
here is a 2 channel 75WPC amp made by Niles (I chose this unit because I own it):

And here is a 5 channel 80WPC amp by "new" Emotiva:

Of course, we don't know the values of the capacitors and transformers, but it looks like the 2 channel Niles is roughly equivalent to the 5 channel Emotiva.

I believe I mentioned this long time ago, that Emotiva's old XPA series power supplies were not that big relative to the weights of the amps, i.e. the VA to lbs ratio weren't great. That's one example I could use to show you can't just go by weight. Onkyo/Integra is puzzling me now with their heavy AVRs fitted with digital amps.

That Nile amp's workmanship does not impress me, though it makes me happy because now I know I actually did better than them. That's another advantage of the mass produced brand names (D&M again, Onkyo, Yamaha, Sony,ATI, Emotiva etc etc...) have, they can afford to use the automated assembly line approach.

 

[TechHDS]

I believe I mentioned this long time ago, that Emotiva's old XPA series power supplies were not that big relative to the weights of the amps, i.e. the VA to lbs ratio weren't great. That's one example I could use to show you can't just go by weight. Onkyo/Integra is puzzling me now with their heavy AVRs fitted with digital amps.

That Nile amp's workmanship does not impress me, though it makes me happy because now I know I actually did better than them. That's another advantage of the mass produced brand names (D&M again, Onkyo, Yamaha, Sony,ATI, Emotiva etc etc...) have, they can afford to use the automated assembly line approach.

PENG, the Emotiva does have a nice build to the 500 amp clean look well spaced components. As for their power supply’s in their XPA amps (older amps) where some what undersized. Good point PENG! Top of the morning to ya!

Mike

 

[PENG]

PENG, the Emotiva does have a nice build to the 500 amp clean look well spaced components. As for their power supply’s in their XPA amps (older amps) where some what undersized. Good point PENG!

Mike

That was my point, Emo's build quality looks much better, most likely because they too, can afford to use the highly automated assembly line approach (easily to control/maintain) because they have the volume. I was critical of their approach to make things so heavy, and I don't want to speculate their rationale, but you can probably read between the lines.. That's in the past, now they are into very different design.