Emotiva XPR-5 Five-Channel Reference Power Amplifier Preview

[walter duque]

Or buy a used amp for less from Bryston, Anthem, Parasound, Sunfire, ATI, Lexicon, Cinepro, etc.

[/QUOTE]

I would say these amps mentioned above last at least 15-20+ years, would the Emotiva last this long?

 

[gene]

I would say these amps mentioned above last at least 15-20+ years, would the Emotiva last this long?[/QUOTE]

Let's see, I have had my Emotiva MPS-1 for over 10 years with no issues. People are forgetting that Jade has manufacturers amps for more brands than Emotiva, some very high end brands I might add.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I bought my ATI AT3005 for $1800.

That was a very good buy, but CAP's current B-stock price is $3K for an AT3005.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have had my Emotiva MPS-1 for over 10 years with no issues.

I bought a new MPS-2 once. That thing did not have a low noise floor because I heard hissing noise from every speaker hooked up to that Emotiva.

 

[walter duque]

I would say these amps mentioned above last at least 15-20+ years, would the Emotiva last this long?

Let's see, I have had my Emotiva MPS-1 for over 10 years with no issues. People are forgetting that Jade has manufacturers amps for more brands than Emotiva, some very high end brands I might add.

[/QUOTE]

How hard do you drive that amp and for how long at a clip? Would you play it 24/7 at max power lets say for a week?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

That was a very good buy, but CAP's current B-stock price is $3K for an AT3005.

Costs seem to be going up everywhere.

Yeah, timing is everything.

I bought 4 ATI amps from CAP; each one was 50% off minus another $100 or $200.

Emotiva amps seem to have that hissing speaker noise (higher noise floor), whereas ATI amps (also Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Cary Audio, Theta Digital) are dead silent (lower noise floor).

So if you think having a lower dead silent noise floor improves sound quality on your high-end speakers, better stay away from Emotiva.

 

[gene]

=walter duque;894000]Let's see, I have had my Emotiva MPS-1 for over 10 years with no issues. People are forgetting that Jade has manufacturers amps for more brands than Emotiva, some very high end brands I might add.
How hard do you drive that amp and for how long at a clip?

I drive 6 channels simultaneously when having party's around my home. at least 4 of the channels have two 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel so each module is seeing a 4 ohm load impedance. I am driving 10 pairs of speakers off of 6 channels. The volume depends on how liquored up we are

My Uncle has the same amp driving a pair of RBH T3's in a full 7.1 speaker configuration in a 50ft basement. He hosts party's for 200-300 people at a time. He beats the snot out of the amp and after a few hours he does manage to shut it down, but it always comes back for more after cooling. I measured 110dB sustained SPL's at his place with my ear plugs installed of course He is definitely a candidate for a pair of the new XPR-5 amps!

 

[Irvrobinson]

I've wondered about the Emotiva amps, especially when I was amp shopping recently. I use their ERC-2 as a CD transport to feed a PCM signal to my DAC/pre-amp, and while the parts cost to product price ratio at the $369 price I paid appears to be extraordinary (I even wrote Emotiva to compliment them on that), the ERC-2 has numerous usability issues that keep me looking around for a replacement.

Amps don't have the same user interface requirements as a CD player, but it certainly makes me wonder about whether or not the behavior of the Emotiva will be as flawless as the ATI I ended up buying. For example, my ATI has never made even the slightest pop or unwanted sound through my speakers, even when the power failed while I was actively listening to the system. Would the Emotiva be similarly perfect? I admit to wondering about that when I was amp shopping, since something as simple as function buttons on the CD player often take more than one push to get the desired action. When you're talking about amps that can pump enough current to blow up speakers you wonder about things like that.

B-stock is hit or miss, the used market is very hit or miss too.

Whatever. If someone has only $2K to spend and they insist on five channels of big power, is there really a better alternative than the Emotiva? I can't think of one, other than getting more realistic about the power you probably need.

 

[scott911]

As if your accusation is any benefit to anyone.

Instead of accusing someone of making an ill-informed statement, why don't you well-inform us and tell us which speakers would sound so much better with 400wpc vs 200wpc?

And also keep in mind that folks who buy Emotiva don't exactly own Revel Salon2, KEF 207/2, or B&W 800D. [/QUOTE}

na...

btw - Emotiva and THIEL make a very good pairing. I don't have 400 WPC presently, but that's a case where the extra power would likely not be wasted if you had a 5.0 system comprised of Thiel's 3.8's

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Emotiva and THIEL make a very good pairing.

Is there a "synergy" pairing between Emotiva and primitive 1st order crossovers that I don't know about?

Is there any synergy with Emotiva and more advanced up-to-date 4th order crossovers in the Salon2, KEF 207/2, Linkwitz Orion, and Soundscape12?

BTW, when I get 3 more Salon2, the Emotiva is right up there at the top of my list since it has such a low noise floor and I like that hissing noise coming out of my Salon2.

 

[scott911]

20 amp...

Should cost just a couple bucks more than a standard 15 amp circuitry addition. Breaker costs almost the same, and you just step up the romex to a heavier gauge. With electricians buying cable in 250 foot bundles, the cost is literally $10 more for an average size run.

An electrician may hear '20 amp for a stereo' and think you're a prime candidate for rip off. Or maybe they are thinking you're asking for a hottub type set up, which is a separate class of install with remote breaker boxes, much, much heavier wire, etc...

 

[scott911]

Is there a "synergy" pairing between Emotiva and primitive 1st order crossovers that I don't know about?

Is there any synergy with Emotiva and more advanced up-to-date 4th order crossovers in the Salon2, KEF 207/2, Linkwitz Orion, and Soundscape12?

BTW, when I get 3 more Salon2, the Emotiva is right up there at the top of my list since it has such a low noise floor and I like that hissing noise coming out of my Salon2.

buy whatever you want buddy.

 

[ratso]

"The amp, despite its huge size, runs cool and quiet, with a signal to noise ratio that you'd expect from a Halcro or Krell, at a quarter (or less) of the price"

Emotiva MPS-2 review at home theater review

Multi-Channel Amplifier Reviews: Emotiva MPS-2 Seven-Channel Amplifier Reviewed

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

"The amp, despite its huge size, runs cool and quiet, with a signal to noise ratio that you'd expect from a Halcro or Krell, at a quarter (or less) of the price"

Emotiva MPS-2 review at home theater review

Multi-Channel Amplifier Reviews: Emotiva MPS-2 Seven-Channel Amplifier Reviewed

Well, all I know is, that MPS-2 ain't silent. There is speaker hiss if you listen to it. At least as loud as the noise floor of the Crown XLS2500. Now, does this noise floor adversely affect the sound quality?

If you think amps sound differently and 400wpc amp sound better, than you might as well believe this speaker hiss noise floor adversely affect sound quality.

 

[slipperybidness]

Well, all I know is, that MPS-2 ain't silent. There is speaker hiss if you listen to it. At least as loud as the noise floor of the Crown XLS2500. Now, does this noise floor adversely affect the sound quality?

If you think amps sound differently and 400wpc amp sound better, than you might as well believe this speaker hiss noise floor adversely affect sound quality.

What did Emotiva say about that issue?

 

[mike c]

i guess emotiva would read this thread.

PLEASE. make an amp with ANALOG VU meters.

 

[PENG]

why does it weigh 95 pounds for five 400W channels? Is that just for marketing?

Great point, my guess is, yes. Hopefully they use cast iron plate, not lead..

By the way, I would still prefer the XPA-2 that offers 600VA per channel, making the 300W per channel more believable than the XPA-5's 240VA that supposedly yields 200W per channel. Having said that, given a fixed $ budget, I prefer manufacturers who invest more on the amps so as to maximize the two channel power rating for stereo music enjoyment. I have absolutely no use for a 5X400W amp if that amp outputs only slightly more WPC for stereo. I know I may be contracdicting myself but not really.

 

[PENG]

not sure why this company always evokes either blatant fanboy-ism or "it's a chinese HT company so they must be crap" reactions.


anyhoo, i think that emotiva might have shot themselves in the foot a bit with this whole dedicated "20amp" thing here. (they are NOT recommending you use an adapter, although you, of course, could. but then you may not be getting the full capability of the amp so what's the point of getting one in the first place?). one guy on emotiva's forum reported that he got 2 quotes for 20 amp service in his house - one was for $600 and one was for i believe over $2000??? also someone reported that even if you run it on 15amps or use an adapter that you might run into problems if your insurance company finds out? off the top of my head i don't recall other amps that the company recommended a dedicated 20amp circuit although i'm probably wrong. seems like a huge headache and hassle to me and not something that i think the average buyer is even aware of - it's not exactly spelled out clearly on the web site.

I hope they mean 2X20A 115V, or 1X20A 230V circuits otherwise they should have call for a 30A dedicated circuit. One 20A, 115V circuit will be rated for only 115X20=2300VA, definitely not enough to take full advantage of the claimed 3300VA toroidal transformer.

 

[PENG]

While Class D amps are very light. Transformers and power supplies capable of handling this load are not. It's not marketing it's simply required to handle the load.

Class D amps are light mainly because their power supplies are lighter, i.e. smaller PS transformer. Okay the heat sinks should be lighter too.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What did Emotiva say about that issue?

Answer:
it's perfectly normal as long as you can't hear the hiss from where you sit.

Personally I can't hear any detrimental effects. But then again, I can't tell the difference between one 200wpc amp vs another 200wpc amp, or a 200wpc amp vs a 400wpc amp vs 1000wpc amp.

Maybe it's because I don't listen louder than 93dB from 3 meters away.

Maybe my speakers aren't revealing enough.