Emotiva UPA-5 vs UPA-500

[KEW]

I was just wondering what was the difference between these two units (or UPA-2 vs UPA-200, etc).
Thanks!

 

[j_garcia]

I'm guessing most won't know that since these are obviously new models.

 

[KEW]

I knew the XPR-5 was knew but was clueless on the UPA-500. Thanks for the info.

 

[j_garcia]

I noticed the UPA-500 when they first announced the XPR-5, but hadn't seen the UPA-200 until you mentioned it. Would have to look up specs for the UPA-5/2 to compare, so I can't tell off the top of my head what has changed.

 

[sharkman]

The new UPA has cooling fans now.

 

[templemaners]

The UPA-5 was 125 x 5 while the UPA-500 is 80 x 5 (both 8 ohm numbers). Seems to have a smaller case as well. Scaled down price too - the UPA-5 had an MSRP of $549 compared to the UPA-500 for almost $200 less.

It looks like the UPA-2 and UPA-200 are both 125w x 2 for 8 ohm... the UPA-200 has a slightly higher 4 ohm number.

 

[sharkman]

With today's midlevel and above AVRs able to easy hit above 80 wpc with 5 channels driven, I really don't see the point of this new Emotiva amp. But what do I know, maybe it will sell like hotcakes.

 

[KEW]

I just realized that one obvious difference is the old UPA-5 uses a taller case like the XPA series does (the UPA-5 uses the same XPA modules - I think some components are different, but the base module is the same).

With today's midlevel and above AVRs able to easy hit above 80 wpc with 5 channels driven, I really don't see the point of this new Emotiva amp. But what do I know, maybe it will sell like hotcakes.

Well, I could see using your 7.1 receiver as a very capable amp for the front two channels and using the UPA-500 for the other 5. That way the front L&R would have plenty of headroom. But then, maybe HT guys would also want extra headroom on the center?

 

[gene]

I noticed the UPA-500 when they first announced the XPR-5, but hadn't seen the UPA-200 until you mentioned it. Would have to look up specs for the UPA-5/2 to compare, so I can't tell off the top of my head what has changed.

The UPA500 and UPA200 are identical except the UPA500 has 5 channels and the UPA200 has 2 channels. They have the exact same power transformer and capacitor bank. I am currently reviewing the UPA500 and will post the review in a couple of weeks.

 

[rnatalli]

Hopefully EMO comes out with a matching pre/pro which was hinted at in the EMO forums.

 

[KEW]

I got a response from Emotiva today. Here is their take on the two 5 channel amps:

Hello Kurt.

The UPA-500 and the UPA-5 differ in their construct that the UPA-5 used individual amplifier modules per channel as the UPA-500 does not. The UPA-5 has a bit more power and authority over the UPA-500. The UPA-500 really comes into its own on more efficient speaker designs like a Klipsch or B and W speakers for instance. Also the UPA-500 is less expensive then the UPA-5 was. With the UPA-5 it was based on the XPA architecture. The UPA-500 is a whole new design.
Thank you for your support.

Vincent Chen
Technical Support
Emotiva Audio Corporation