Is the Emotiva UPA-7 a good amp to purchase?

[Danzilla31]

Hey guys I have the oppurtunity to purchase a Emotiva UPA-7 for $400. It's the one that's RMS 125watts × 7. It looks to be in great shape and I've read the review on audioholics which spoke well about it. My question is if it's still in good condition is it a good buy at this price? It would be perfect for what I'd like to use it for. Thanks for your time.

 

[lovinthehd]

This one? https://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/emotiva-upa-7

I saw completed listings on ebay two above, one below. Question is more do you need 7ch of amplification of this level? Seems like a decent deal considering what else is available for such at this time....with the caveat that the older the gear is the sooner it may have an issue

If it's local pickup where you can test it that would count for a lot more than buying untested and then shipped by carrier....

 

[Danzilla31]

This one? https://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/emotiva-upa-7

I saw completed listings on ebay two above, one below. Question is more do you need 7ch of amplification of this level? Seems like a decent deal considering what else is available for such at this time....with the caveat that the older the gear is the sooner it may have an issue

If it's local pickup where you can test it that would count for a lot more than buying untested and then shipped by carrier....

Yeah it's local pickup I can drive down there tommorow to look at it. I can already tell with my open floor plan that to get to where I want to eventually go I'm gonna need amps a 7 channel amp like this it will be for the surrounds and in ceilings I'll have. I figure with the reviews it's had if it's in good shape buy this and also the monoprice 5 channel and for under 2 grand I'll have all the power and channels I'll need. Then mate them with a good avr flagship model from like a year or two ago etc run it like a prepro or like the marantz prepro from last year which is dropping fast and I'll really save some coin. I'm just picking up stuff as I go along stocking up and building the system peice by peice. Wasn't planning on picking anything up but man if it's still in good shape I figure this will be hard to pass up. Hopefully since amps can run good for so long if they are well kept its worth the gamble just want to run it by you guys get your perspectives.

 

[Danzilla31]

This one? https://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/emotiva-upa-7

I saw completed listings on ebay two above, one below. Question is more do you need 7ch of amplification of this level? Seems like a decent deal considering what else is available for such at this time....with the caveat that the older the gear is the sooner it may have an issue

If it's local pickup where you can test it that would count for a lot more than buying untested and then shipped by carrier....

Yeppers that would be the one

 

[Danzilla31]

This one? https://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/emotiva-upa-7

I saw completed listings on ebay two above, one below. Question is more do you need 7ch of amplification of this level? Seems like a decent deal considering what else is available for such at this time....with the caveat that the older the gear is the sooner it may have an issue

If it's local pickup where you can test it that would count for a lot more than buying untested and then shipped by carrier....

Uggghhh I told him I changed my mind and he dropped the PRICE down to 350 plus I get to look at it I don't think I'm going to be able to turn that price down for $350 it's worth a shot at least to take a look

 

[lovinthehd]

Uggghhh I told him I changed my mind and he dropped the PRICE down to 350 plus I get to look at it I don't think I'm going to be able to turn that price down for $350 it's worth a shot at least to take a look

As you said, at least it's local, wouldn't hurt to check it out...with cash in pocket, maybe would get one more discount!

 

[Danzilla31]

As you said, at least it's local, wouldn't hurt to check it out...with cash in pocket, maybe would get one more discount!

I was thinking the same thing thanks for the feedback!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I guess it's a good if you really need it. Otherwise, it's just another 125 WPC amp.

Are you using an AVR or Pre-pro? Which one?

Which speakers? How far you sit from speakers?

 

[PENG]

I was thinking the same thing thanks for the feedback!

Do you really need 7 channels? If not, wait for the Outlaw Audio 5000 that had been on sale for %599. with a 5 year transferable warranty. The UPA-7 does not give you more (may be a little, 1 dB or less..)power than a mid range AVR.

 

[Danzilla31]

I guess it's a good if you really need it. Otherwise, it's just another 125 WPC amp.

Are you using an AVR or Pre-pro? Which one?

Which speakers? How far you sit from speakers?

It w

I was thinking the same thing thanks for the feedback!

Well I've always been lucky on Craigslist this fella nice as hell let me come in and check it out. Not only is it working this fella kept it in immaculate condition. It looks brand new. Never ran it at reference 2 of the 3 channels have never even been used. Hell he even had all the original packaging which was a plus on taking it home. For 350 I thought it was worth a shot I couldnt talk him down lower and the condition he kept it in I can't blame him. So it's in my truck right now stopped off to eat then I'm heading home

 

[Danzilla31]

I guess it's a good if you really need it. Otherwise, it's just another 125 WPC amp.

Are you using an AVR or Pre-pro? Which one?

Which speakers? How far you sit from speakers?

I'm using an AVR onkyo 809 I really plan on using this for the surrounds and in ceilings down the road when I upgrade. Right now I just think I'll have some fun with it just using it for the front 3 channels I'll let the AVR handle the rest for now. When I upgrade I'll get a more powerful amp for the fronts and surrounds since I'll be going to all towers and let this one drive the rest. I always planned on getting more channels then I need so if I want to run more zones in other areas I've got plenty of room to spare. So I'll get a beafier 7 channel amp plus this one that'll take a bit of time but down the road it'll happen.

 

[Danzilla31]

I guess it's a good if you really need it. Otherwise, it's just another 125 WPC amp.

Are you using an AVR or Pre-pro? Which one?

Which speakers? How far you sit from speakers?

The room is huge 8500 cubic feet the front speakers are 12 feet away the surrounds six feet above pointed down back surrounds five feet away both side surrounds about 13 feet away. The surrounds and back surrounds could use some help down the road. They are Elan Theaterpoint THP650LS. A nice speaker sealed tho with a roll of around 90hz and only about 85db efficient at 6ohms nominal so I figurine they could use some help either from extra juice from the AVR or extra juice from the amp.

 

[Danzilla31]

Do you really need 7 channels? If not, wait for the Outlaw Audio 5000 that had been on sale for %599. with a 5 year transferable warranty. The UPA-7 does not give you more (may be a little, 1 dB or less..)power than a mid range AVR.

With someof the posts above I'm well aware
that with that room I'm not going to see a huge increase in loudness etc even with a 7 channel 200 watt amp I'm looking more for help with dynamics headroom and better quality when I either run the AVR as a prepro or separates when I upgrade.

 

[Danzilla31]

Do you really need 7 channels? If not, wait for the Outlaw Audio 5000 that had been on sale for %599. with a 5 year transferable warranty. The UPA-7 does not give you more (may be a little, 1 dB or less..)power than a mid range AVR.

Any feeling of huge improvements in loudness etc would probably be more in my head. But this thing is in perfect condition never used heavy and for $350 for 7 channels? Rather learn about amps with a bargain like that before I step up and spend more down the road on what I really want

 

[Danzilla31]

Also I'm a noob at this level so I figured I'd spend 350 and learn from you guys how to start using this type of equipment rather then blow thousands on high quality stuff and not learn from you guys how best to use it. I'm gonna spend money as I learn my lessons going down the rabbit hole of rather spend at least as possible on the educational steps

 

[Danzilla31]

Do you really need 7 channels? If not, wait for the Outlaw Audio 5000 that had been on sale for %599. with a 5 year transferable warranty. The UPA-7 does not give you more (may be a little, 1 dB or less..)power than a mid range AVR.

Hey Peng was it the Denon X4400H that had thr reassignable amp channels that you can use to go up to 11 channels? if it is they have it on sale for $800 here at Bjorns that's tempting if that's the one.

 

[TechHDS]

Any feeling of huge improvements in loudness etc would probably be more in my head. But this thing is in perfect condition never used heavy and for $350 for 7 channels? Rather learn about amps with a bargain like that before I step up and spend more down the road on what I really want

Think, Dynamics! having a added power amp takes a huge load off of your AVR, EMOTIVA amps are good. So 350 isn’t a lot of coin, plus Emotiva will do warranty transfer to another owner.


Mike

 

[Danzilla31]

Think, Dynamics! having a added power amp takes a huge load off of your AVR, EMOTIVA amps are good. So 350 isn’t a lot of coin, plus Emotiva will do warranty transfer to another owner.


Mike

Hey thanks so much for the response that's exactly what I was looking for was improving the dynamics which would help a lot in that room. Appreciate the heads up!

 

[PENG]

Hey Peng was it the Denon X4400H that had thr reassignable amp channels that you can use to go up to 11 channels? if it is they have it on sale for $800 here at Bjorns that's tempting if that's the one.

It really has nothing to do with the amp assign feature. The X4400H has 9 internal amp channels, so to use 11 channels for the main zone, you simply add a 2 channel amp, and use the height 2 pre-outs to drive it.

The re-assign feature is there so that if you are running 5.1 or 7.1, the unused amps can be re-assigned for other purposes such as bi-amp, zone2 and/or zone3. It gets complicated, so before you do any of those, refer to the table on page 44 of the owner's manual.

Not all the internal amp channels are re-assignable, for the models below the flag ship model, you cannot re-assign the height channels, again refer to 44 where the speaker configuration and amp assign settings are tabulated.

The AVR-X8500H is the only models (also the older flag ship models, the AVR-4520 and AVR-X7200WA) that allow you to re-assign any of the internal amp channels except the front left, center and front right channels. Even the top Marantz SR8012 does not have this feature.

 

[Danzilla31]

It really has nothing to do with the amp assign feature. The X4400H has 9 internal amp channels, so to use 11 channels for the main zone, you simply add a 2 channel amp, and use the height 2 pre-outs to drive it.

The re-assign feature is there so that if you are running 5.1 or 7.1, the unused amps can be re-assigned for other purposes such as bi-amp, zone2 and/or zone3. It gets complicated, so before you do any of those, refer to the table on page 44 of the owner's manual.

Not all the internal amp channels are re-assignable, for the models below the flag ship model, you cannot re-assign the height channels, again refer to 44 where the speaker configuration and amp assign settings are tabulated.

The AVR-X8500H is the only models (also the older flag ship models, the AVR-4520 and AVR-X7200WA) that allow you to re-assign any of the internal amp channels except the front left, center and front right channels. Even the top Marantz SR8012 does not have this feature.

Okay thanks good to know!