Emotiva Audio RPA-1 Stereo Amplifier Review

[Adam]

Sorry to hear about your experience. It's never fun to get something new and then run into those issues. I've had this unexplainable feeling that they're going to ship me a B-Stock replacement. Hopefully not, but your story makes me nervous. If so, I'll be doing the same thing that you did.

 

[gene]

got the rsp1/rpa1, it was delivered on time without documentation but hey, I'm a big boy and can download the manuals without hassle. The pair sounded good even with basic cd input but the volume control on the rsp1 would not work with the remote.

Emotiva sent a replacement rsp1 without delay but it showed up with no protective plastic and it had smudges on the silver face plates that could not be easily cleaned so I gave up. During this shuffling it became obvious that replacement unit was lighter than the original unit and a bathroom scale showed a 4+ pound discrepancy in weight.

By this time I was convinced that I was sent a rebuilt/used/pleasecheckother unit to replace a defective unit in service less than a week. I advised Emotiva that I will be sending all 3 pieces back under the RMA provided (#BP1001) and they accepted my decision with grace.

Upshot? I don't have time for this, no explanation was offered for the used piece nor the weight discrepancy. I feel like a guinea pig for a chinese import firm and will continue my pursuit of a decent 2.0 listening system...

I just checked with Emotiva and they informed me of the following:

This customer was sent a new unit that had been opened by us to remove the sides and accessories which explains the 4-5lbs weight difference between the two units. The unit looked perfect, I’m sure of this. We did not send a used unit to him. We treated him well and refunded his money per our policy.

As you can see there is more than meets the eye to this story.

 

[Adam]

I just checked with Emotiva and they informed me of the following:

This customer was sent a new unit that had been opened by us to remove the sides and accessories which explains the 4-5lbs weight difference between the two units. The unit looked perfect, I’m sure of this. We did not send a used unit to him. We treated him well and refunded his money per our policy.

As you can see there is more than meets the eye to this story.

Gene, the two stories seem to agree in my opinion...they are just different perspectives on the same thing. Snapper got an impression that the unit was used because the normal packaging was absent and there were handling marks (smudges) on the face plates. Emotiva says that they did open the box and removed some things, which could easily have led to this. BTW, I'm not saying that smudges are damage - just that they are both easily caused and can easily indicate that a unit has been handled. Emotiva admits a weight difference, which Snapper (without their explanation) seemed to interpret as an internal hardware difference. Both parties agree that Snapper was treated well and refunded his money.

What may have led to Snapper's impression, and this is only based on my personal experience with Emotiva over the past week and a half, is that Emotiva may not have communicated the situation to Snapper. Their products get good reviews, and they have been very friendly to me. However, I have found their communication to be lacking, especially when I have tried to contact them through the e-mail link on their website. I say that not with an intent of attacking them, but rather I believe that they have an opportunity for improvement and want to communicate that. I do it here because, honestly, a member of their company read one of my posts here, and I'm not sure if they get my e-mails.

 

[snapper62]

Gene-

perhaps I was not clear- the preamp itself was dramatically lighter, without packaging. Just lifting the "new" unit out of the box and placing the "old" unit in the box it was quite clear that there was a difference. I weighed both units on the same scale several times, without accesories or packaging and found the difference.

 

[gene]

perhaps I was not clear- the preamp itself was dramatically lighter, without packaging. Just lifting the "new" unit out of the box and placing the "old" unit in the box it was quite clear that there was a difference. I weighed both units on the same scale several times, without accesories or packaging and found the difference.

That is b/c one unit likely had the side panels installed while the other unit did not as indicated in my last post.

 

[snapper62]

Gene-

I had not shipped the boxes back yet so I opened them back up this evening and saw that indeed the side panels had been removed from the replacement unit, explaining the weight difference. Nobody at Emotiva told me this, and I am curious as to their purpose. I hate to impose upon you but you seem to have access to the oracle: what do the rather heavy side panels do?

As I posted earlier, I liked the sound and aesthetics of the units and I want to be fair to the manufacturer but I will pass along one thing I learned running businesses of all sizes: communications is among the hardest and most important skill necessary

 

[gene]

I had not shipped the boxes back yet so I opened them back up this evening and saw that indeed the side panels had been removed from the replacement unit, explaining the weight difference. Nobody at Emotiva told me this, and I am curious as to their purpose. I hate to impose upon you but you seem to have access to the oracle: what do the rather heavy side panels do?

The panels were there for aesthetic purposes. They make the unit look nice and give it a touch of class. They probably figured you would swap the 2 units, take the panels off the first 1 and put on the new one. I don't speak for them so i can't answer.

I will tell you that their 2CH amp is smoking good for $700. I won't be sending my unit back anytime soon

 

[Audioholics]

However, I have found their communication to be lacking, especially when I have tried to contact them through the e-mail link on their website. I say that not with an intent of attacking them, but rather I believe that they have an opportunity for improvement and want to communicate that. I do it here because, honestly, a member of their company read one of my posts here, and I'm not sure if they get my e-mails.

Now they will read it TWICE... lol. This is great feedback and we'll be point it out to them whenever we next converse.

 

[snapper62]

Transferred the side plates, ignored the smudges and damned if it doesn't still sound great. Unfortunately the volume does not respond to the remote nor does the RPA1 for power on/off; waiting for a response from Beth to find out what I am doing wrong...

 

[Nick250]

Your experience would be a red flag for me if I was in the market for a receiver/amp. It seems like you are beta testing for them and they don't have their act together. The low price does not make for all the hassle of shipping and re- shipping etc. If it were me I would send it all back and purchase something else. Not to mention that one properly designed amp sounds like an other properly designed amp. There are plenty of other choices out there that have an established track record.

Nick

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Well; crap... I was going to order the Emotiva Audio RPA-1 this week but now I am afraid to...

Great review but now it looks like there may be a lot of trouble to deal with. What's a guy to do?

 

[Matt34]

Thanks for the info, Jottle. I appreciate it. I've gotten used to it, but I was just suprised given the other materials used on the enclosure.

Well, my RPA-1 died on Monday (three days after I got it), but I'm hoping to hear back from Emotiva soon on my options. I really liked it while it was working, so I plan on just exchanging it...that depends on how they want to handle the shipping costs.

Adam,

Once you get everything worked out I would like to take a listen to that RPA-1 if possible. I'm looking at getting a LPA-1 for my theater and would like to see and hear a Emotiva product beforehand.

 

[Adam]

Adam,

Once you get everything worked out I would like to take a listen to that RPA-1 if possible. I'm looking at getting a LPA-1 for my theater and would like to see and hear a Emotiva product beforehand.

Matt, sure, let's talk after I get it worked out.

 

[Phaze]

Own RSP-1 & RPA-1

I purchased the RSP-1 & RPA-1 equipment a couple of weeks ago. Been very please with the product and the Emotiva customer service. The RSP-1 did arrive without a manual for some reason (manual bag and rack screws were there) and the RPA-1 did have a finish defect in one of the black wood side pieces. Called Emotiva and they shipped both the same day.

Very pleased with the sound quality of these items with my Paradigm Studio 100 speakers.

I'd recommend Emotiva based on my experience so far.

 

[Adam]

Well; crap... I was going to order the Emotiva Audio RPA-1 this week but now I am afraid to...

Great review but now it looks like there may be a lot of trouble to deal with. What's a guy to do?

Greg, I can understand your hesitation based on the posts in this thread. However, I think that you'll do fine giving them a chance.

The first unit that I received had some sort of problem with it. The folks at Emotiva were all very nice, and they sent me a replacement unit along with a return shipping label for my original unit. There was no request for me to send mine back first, and there was no hesitation in their offer to send out a replacement. My only snag with them really boiled down to an issue with their e-mail system/response in that it cost a few days in getting this resolved. Talking to them on the phone was easy (but wasn't always possible because of my job and the time difference). They did initially forget to ship me out the unit after saying that they would, but like I said in my other post, forgetting something can happen to anyone.

My new unit arrived and was a brand-new, factory-sealed unit. They didn't open it up before hand to do anything that I can tell. Both of the units that I received had the exact same items in each box. The new one appears to be in perfect condition (honestly, better condition than the first - although the first one was completely acceptable), and it isn't exhibiting the issue that first made me think something might be wrong with my other unit - namely, that the standby power draw was several Watts. Of course, I'll be using this new one and will find out if anything is wrong with it, but I'm completely confident that Emotiva will make it right if I do have any problems.

Again, if you're really interested in it, I'd say give it a chance.

 

[yshostak]

Thank you for this great review. How would RPA-1's amplifier stage compare with Marantz PM-11S1's amplifier stage? Although these are two different beasts, amp. vs. integrated amp. and 200W vs 100W output, I wonder if anyone could comment on sonic quality differences of these two.

 

[mattburk]

any more updates on the rpa1?

 

[snapper62]

RSP! update

Lonnie at Emotiva and I have exchanged emails trying to sort out the problem with the volume and we tracked it down to an aggressively tightened clamp on the volume stem itself; the little things will get you every time. Problem solved, backup unit returned, and yes, it still sounds great.

A note about working with Emotiva: when we connected, we worked very well together and it is a rare manufacturer that will not freak out when you mention cracking the case; indeed I solved the issue with their support and a screwdriver....

 

[etpfonehome]

what happened to the upply of RPA 1's

Right when I get the OK from the wife to buy the RPA 1 noticed it was out of stock and now it does not even show up when you click on the "buy" link.
Any one have one to sell?

 

[stanley77]

Specs

Hi.

Hi Phaze,

Can I know the specifications of RSP-1 & RPA-1?? And all the details of it ex. price etc.