Emotiva ER 5.0 Speaker System Review

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admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Emotiva, the maker of affordable amps and processors, has stepped into the speaker world in a big way. With the help of the famous loudspeaker designer Vance Dickason, they have put together a 5.0 package at a price that seems almost too good to be true. These speakers sound great, the dipole surrounds are amazing, and the boundary and tweeter adjustments mean that they'll fit almost any room. The downside? Just look at them…


Discuss "Emotiva ER 5.0 Speaker System Review" here. Read the article.
 
furrycute

furrycute

Banned
How come those 2 fronts look like Ascend speakers?


Thanks for the review BTW.
 
They look nothing like Ascends, except that both companies have ugly plain black speakers that seem to perform well.
 
jnmfox

jnmfox

Audioholic
Good review.

I agree with your assessment of Spiderman 2, too bad Spiderman 3 couldn't keep up.

Now just anxiously waiting for the review of the Emotiva subs.
 
Dan Laufman

Dan Laufman

Audiophyte
Ugly??

Well, that hurt's... but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just ask any parent! :)

Thanks Audioholic's for a great review; we appreciate your taking the time to do such a detailed and technically accurate review.

BTW, Emotiva loudspeakers have no connection to Ascend loudspeakers; other than being small, black, and according to some.... ugly!! ;)
Regards,
Dan
 
GlocksRock

GlocksRock

Audioholic Spartan
Dan is correct, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or beerholder :) I think my glocks are beautiful, while others say they are ugly.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
The Ascend's are smaller overall. They use 4" woofers instead of the 5.25" woofers on the Emotivas. The woofers on the Ascends also appear to be stamped basket, instead of cast. It's likely they both chose the driver arrangement and cabinet design because it's been used before and has been proven to work.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Since the front face is aluminum and the finish has nothing to do with performance, maybe they could offer a variety of colors since aluminum is rather easy to finish in any number of colors in a variety of finish styles. They appear to be anodized, and there would be basically no difference to get them in at least a dozen colors.

My speakers use magnetic grilles and the lip of the drivers actually does the locating.

I agree with Gene, they totally look like the older M&Ks. As soon as I saw them though, I thought "They look like Vance Dickason designs..." Sure enough...lol. He seems to tend towards simple and favors performance over appearance IMO.
 
adk highlander

adk highlander

Sith Lord
Thanks for the review Tom. I'm glad these perform as well as they do. Once again Emotiva is making quality products at reasonable prices.

Now when do we see those subs?!!:D
 
Tom Andry

Tom Andry

Speaker of the House
I have a feeling after my "ugly" comments, I'll be the last one "seeing" those subs :D

I agree with J - a little variety in the faceplate (or driver material for that matter) would go a long way to making these more aesthetically pleasing.
 
zhimbo

zhimbo

Audioholic General
Ah, heck, I like the way they look. For a dedicated home theater, they're perfect.

These seem like a fantastic bargain. The comparison with the QS8's is interesting. They seem to be the most consistently praised speakers in the Axiom line-up, and you didn't hesitate giving the nod to the (considerably cheaper!) Emotivas.
 
L

Lonnie

Enthusiast
I have a feeling after my "ugly" comments, I'll be the last one "seeing" those subs :D

Hey Tom,

I understand your comments, personally I think they do exactly what they were designed to do and that is disapear in the theatre. Just my 0.02 :D

That aside, I highly respect your review and comments (always have) and will tell you that if you want to test the subs (when I finish them), you will be the first to get them. :D
 
A

Alexhunter27

Audioholic Intern
My question is when you say any size room what exactly do you mean? I was considering buying the Axiom 60-500 ht set up but if the ERM and ERD package will perform as well when coupled with a sub I might be better off with them.
The room that they would be going in is 20ft X 14ft
 
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Alexhunter27

Audioholic Intern
Tom

Just wanted to say I appreciate your reviews. And I love the podcast.
 
Davemcc

Davemcc

Audioholic Spartan
Thanks for the review. I have to admit, I really liked the way these speakers sounded when I heard them, but it's nice to see a professional reviewer describe them with adjectives and descriptions that I couldn't think of to describe them. They do offer an incredible value for performance, even if they aren't the cheapest.

P.S. I wouldn't call them ugly at all. I liked the finish on the set I saw and heard.
 
J

Jottle

Audioholic Intern
The comparison with the QS8's is interesting. They seem to be the most consistently praised speakers in the Axiom line-up, and you didn't hesitate giving the nod to the (considerably cheaper!) Emotivas.
Same interest here. I was about to jump on the qs8's because they are so highly regarded. I'm skeptical that the erd's have better bass response (single vs. dual woofers on the qs8), but I'm persuaded that the driver combo and crossover of the erd's make them a more revealing and capable surround speaker. This is one of the first comparisons I've heard which concludes that the qs8 is the weaker speaker in an ID company comparison. The "consensus" is that the qs8's are handily better than the av123 rs300's and quite a dramatic improvement over their little brothers the qs4's. The part I like best, however, is the fact that the erd's are $350 and the qs8's are $540 :)
 
Dan Laufman

Dan Laufman

Audiophyte
I'm listening... and learning

I have a feeling after my "ugly" comments, I'll be the last one "seeing" those subs :D

I agree with J - a little variety in the faceplate (or driver material for that matter) would go a long way to making these more aesthetically pleasing.
Tom, please know that you will be my first choice for the review of our new subs! Your review was accurate, detailed, and fair. I truly appreciate the professional job you did on this review. As far as the finish is concerned, you are absolutely within your rights as the reviewer to offer you opinion in this regard.

Having heard your feedback, I am thinking about how we might be able to offer some cosmetic options to "dress up" our speakers for those who want a different, more distinctive look.

Stay tuned I might just surprise all of you.... :cool:
 
MapleSyrup

MapleSyrup

Audioholic
Eying it

I had my eye on Ascends but as of late that may have canged. I like Emotiva and was pleasently surprised when they did announce a speaker line not too long ago. I'm very pleased to see their quality and value are doing their ther products justice.

I really don't care how they look. I like sound. The wife might disagree but she leaves the HT stuff primarily in my hands. Sucks doesn't it?;)
 

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