NAD vs Emotiva vs Outlaw

[Affejunge]

This was dicussed about a year ago, but there was no clear answer.. So am I am asking again...


So, with the B-stock sale on Outlaw and the surplus stock sales on NAD (AudioAdvisor and Spearit Sound) the Emotiva XPA-5, NAD T-955, and Outlaw 7125 are all about the same price (DANG IT!! Just check, the 7125 sold!!)

Okay, so now we are talking the Emovitva or NAD.

I am currently running Axiom M22s and Axiom VP150 center channel. Since it is in a medium room, almost any amp will have enough power to drive them. But I do want something future-proof. I plan on going back to Full size speaker when my kids are old enough not to push them down for fun!

I don't want to have to get a new amp then.

I am leaning heavily toward the NAD as I have heard the 975 coupled with Totem Hawks and it sounded amazing (of course that could be just the speakers the NAIM source.)

But I like the extra power of the Emotiva and the option of XLR inputs. Though at its 200wpc the THD is .1...at 100wpc the THD is about .03, same as the NAD.

My feeling is if they are sonically about the same, I will get the Emotiva. If the NAD is even slightly better, I will go with NAD.

So, thoughts? I know there are many loyal Emotiva fans here. Are there any NAD fans?

 

[Jasio]

I cannot speak for Emotiva; I have never heard them played. However, I have heard NAD 955's with Totem Rainmakers, and Hawks and I absolutely adored them. I am not sure if it was the combination of the NAD and the Totem's but I just love the Totem's when it comes to music -- there's just something different about them vs. my Dali's. I'm no fanboy of either product, but I can openly say that I would have no reservations with a NAD + Totem combination anyday. However, Emotiva has peaked my interest and I need to track down a source that offers Totem + Emotiva's for demo.

 

[Swerd]

This was dicussed about a year ago, but there was no clear answer.. So am I am asking again...

So, with the B-stock sale on Outlaw and the surplus stock sales on NAD (AudioAdvisor and Spearit Sound) the Emotiva XPA-5, NAD T-955, and Outlaw 7125 are all about the same price (DANG IT!! Just check, the 7125 sold!!)

Okay, so now we are talking the Emovitva or NAD.

To repeat your own words, "there was no clear answer". You should take that as your answer. You'll hear no difference among those amps.

If one amp has THD rated at 0.1% and the other 0.03%, you won't hear that difference, especially when many good speakers have distortion numbers in the 1 to 10% range.

To choose an amp, I'd be concerned with continuous or RMS power (rated at 8 ohms impedance over the full audio range), price, and the manufacturer's reputation for build quality and customer service.

NAD has long had a good reputation. Emotiva is newer, but has earned a reputation for selling inexpensive but good amps. The word seems to be if an Emotiva amps fails, it does it very soon out of the box. With one notable exception here, Emotiva seems to have good customer service for those failures.

I wouldn't worry about or spend extra money on XLR inputs.

200 watts/channel should future proof you for just about any speaker.

How much power do you now have available for your speakers? If you double that power, the chances are good that you may not notice the difference. If you triple it or greater, you'll likely notice some subtle improvements.

 

[Affejunge]

To repeat your own words, "there was no clear answer". You should take that as your answer. You'll hear no difference among those amps.

If one amp has THD rated at 0.1% and the other 0.03%, you won't hear that difference, especially when many good speakers have distortion numbers in the 1 to 10% range.

Good point. Plus, if you read the detailed specs, at 100wpc the Emotiva was also .03 THD, so basically the same with more headroom.

I wouldn't worry about or spend extra money on XLR inputs.

200 watts/channel should future proof you for just about any speaker.

They cost the same, so XLR might be nice for future upgrades. (That said I have never had ground-loop problems or anything like that)

How much power do you now have available for your speakers? If you double that power, the chances are good that you may not notice the difference. If you triple it or greater, you'll likely notice some subtle improvements.

I currently have 60wpc off an Adcom amp. My wife blew up my 3-channel amp my driving the vacuum cleaner into it. Huge pop, then no more audio. That's okay, it was used, about 20 years old and had an audible hum/hiss. She did me a favor.

 

[bhodge]

I currently have 60wpc off an Adcom amp. My wife blew up my 3-channel amp my driving the vacuum cleaner into it. Huge pop, then no more audio. That's okay, it was used, about 20 years old and had an audible hum/hiss. She did me a favor.

You better have gotten a favor from her

 

[Affejunge]

You better have gotten a favor from her

Yes, it was the authorization to buy a new amp

 

[Swerd]

They cost the same, so XLR might be nice for future upgrades. (That said I have never had ground-loop problems or anything like that)

Balanced connections are commonly used for microphones with long cables (30 feet or more) which can can pick up noise induced by electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI). Microphones generate low voltage signals in the 1 to 3 mV range (0.001 to 0.003 V). Balanced connections along with the differential circuits required on the gear on either end of the cable can cancel out this noise.

It seems that balanced connections are now fashionable for preamp to amp connections, and many higher priced examples feature these as a sought-after feature. The voltage output levels of preamps are typically much higher than for microphones, roughly in the range of 0.1 to 5.0 V. So it is likely that interconnects at this level are much less prone to EMI induced noise, especially if they are less than 30 feet long. I think that standard RCA interconnects between a preamp and amp are fine, unless you have an unusually noisy environment with high levels of EMI.

Please forgive the rant… this is a minor pet peeve of mine .

I currently have 60wpc off an Adcom amp. My wife blew up my 3-channel amp my driving the vacuum cleaner into it. Huge pop, then no more audio. That's okay, it was used, about 20 years old and had an audible hum/hiss. She did me a favor.

Going from 60 to 200 watts should make an easily noticeable difference. It should be "cleaner sounding" even when you are playing it loud. You might also notice better sounding bass, but this can vary with what speakers you use.

When I said an amp with 200 watts should future proof things, please note that I said nothing about vacuum cleaner-proof .

 

[jostenmeat]

So, with the B-stock sale on Outlaw and the surplus stock sales on NAD (AudioAdvisor and Spearit Sound) the Emotiva XPA-5, NAD T-955, and Outlaw 7125 are all about the same price (DANG IT!! Just check, the 7125 sold!!)

Okay, so now we are talking the Emovitva or NAD.

I am currently running Axiom M22s and Axiom VP150 center channel. Since it is in a medium room, almost any amp will have enough power to drive them. But I do want something future-proof. I plan on going back to Full size speaker when my kids are old enough not to push them down for fun!

I don't want to have to get a new amp then.

I am leaning heavily toward the NAD as I have heard the 975 coupled with Totem Hawks and it sounded amazing (of course that could be just the speakers the NAIM source.)

Hi. I vote for simply getting the biggest and baddest you can. I have a NAD T973, and it works great, but I like Outlaw in general. 5yr warranty, transferable, excellent resale value, and easy to sell to boot.

The reasons I vote for biggest are because the amp might be the most future-proof high-ticket purchase you will ever make (no firmware required, no hdcp handshake required, no hdmi 1.4 required, etc), and (with absolutely no scientific data to provide you right now), the amps you are looking at might not be that much of an increase of power compared to a higher end receiver. If you're going to do it, do it right?

Not that you will need the extra power that I'm voting for ever, but then again you never know.

So, to clarify my opinion, I would save up some more money, a year, whatever, to get the next step up, such as the Model 7500. OTOH, if you can afford the XPA5 right now, that will be significant enough of a boost in power to make spending the money worthwhile.

So, between these three models, I vote for the XPA5. OTOH, I do find Outlaw to be more desirable of a brand, and if money spent on anything with AV is for the long haul, the amps are probably it.

If I did it all over again, I might have multiple pro amps.

 

[Knucklehead90]

I've owned an Emotiva UPA-7 for a year + with no problems with it - someone said earlier they either fail early or live a long life. Probably true. I've driven large tower 3 way 4ohm and 8ohm speakers - 2 way 4 ohm bookshelf speakers all the way around - and currently have tower 8ohm fronts with a 3 way 8ohm center and 4 ohm surrounds in a 5.3 setup - and use the other 2 channels to drive zone 2 speakers - often driving them all at the same time. The UPA-7 delivers lots of power with 2 - 5 - and 7 channels driven at the same time.

My front mains are Infinity Interlude IL40s - in two channel mode I get 185wpc - more than enough to make your ears ring for a couple of days - and there is no distortion.

I doubt most users will ever need more than the UPA-7 is capable of delivering unless they have very difficult low impedance dipping speakers such as electrostatics.

Just my ohtwocents worth.

 

[Josuah]

I currently own an Emotiva amp, owned an Outlaw amp, and have heard NAD amps. IMO they're decent and definitely great deals for the money but they're not my choice for the best quality sound. I do think the three sound very similar though; I'm not sure I could differentiate between the three the same way I can between one of them and some other brands.

Disclaimer: I haven't heard any of the newer Emotiva amps.

 

[Affejunge]

I currently own an Emotiva amp, owned an Outlaw amp, and have heard NAD amps. IMO they're decent and definitely great deals for the money but they're not my choice for the best quality sound. I do think the three sound very similar though; I'm not sure I could differentiate between the three the same way I can between one of them and some other brands.

Disclaimer: I haven't heard any of the newer Emotiva amps.

Josh, I would love to hear your opinion...do they just sound "different", or did one sound better than another? And if they sound better, was it with music or home theater...

I find home theater apps less demanding so I would be surprised if you heard a difference there (but VERY interested to know if you did). Our ears are VERY good at picking out and understanding things in the 1khz-3khz range and a loud explosion is, well, loud!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would definitely pick NAD over Outlaw & Emotiva.

I would also pick Parasound & Sunfire over Outlaw & Emotiva.

It's pure personal preference, and that's what I pick.

 

[Josuah]

Josh, I would love to hear your opinion...do they just sound "different", or did one sound better than another? And if they sound better, was it with music or home theater...

I only pay close attention with music because movies involve this crazy light show that distracts my brain.

I have owned the Outlaw 7100 and currently own the Emotiva MPS-1 and heard a NAD amp of some relatively recent make at a friend's house. So I have less experience with the NAD.

I think the sound character I put all three of these in is sometimes referred to by other people as veiled or something like that. I don't really know how to describe it correctly. They sound a bit like Halcro or Lexicon? I'm not sure I could easily differentiate between the three brands. And so I wouldn't say one is better than the other. But their sound isn't my first choice for music.

 

[Affejunge]

But their sound isn't my first choice for music.

Sorry, which 'their'?

 

[Josuah]

Sorry, which 'their'?

Sorry. None of Emotiva, Outlaw, or NAD are my first choice for music. (Neither is Halcro or Lexicon.) Keep in mind I have not heard Emotiva's newest amplifier line.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Sorry. None of Emotiva, Outlaw, or NAD are my first choice for music. (Neither is Halcro or Lexicon.) Keep in mind I have not heard Emotiva's newest amplifier line.

Are you saying you can actually HEAR the difference in the sound quality of all these amps when all of the Sound Levels are Matched?

 

[Josuah]

Can I hear differences between Outlaw, NAD, and Emotiva? No, I'm not sure I can. I thought I made this clear in my post up above.

However can I hear differences between, say the Emotiva MPS-1 and Parasound Halo A23? Yes.

 

[Affejunge]

Okay, so I am buying Tues/Wed...

NAD T955: great reputation, good deal, 100wpc is more than enough for my Axiom M22

Emotive XPA-5: More Power, cheaper than NAD with military discount, not as established...


Oh, what to do?! I am now leaning toward Emotiva.... Musicality is my primary concern. Will I be happy with Emotiva on that front?

 

[Josuah]

Emotiva has a 30-day money back guarantee, IIRC. Not NAD though, but maybe you can work something out with a local NAD dealer? Or bring the Emotiva in to the dealer and compare?

 

[highfigh]

I currently have 60wpc off an Adcom amp. My wife blew up my 3-channel amp my driving the vacuum cleaner into it. Huge pop, then no more audio. That's okay, it was used, about 20 years old and had an audible hum/hiss. She did me a favor.

What was the old amp and what was your wife shouting as she repeatedly rammed the vacuum cleaner into it?