First amp - Emotiva or Monolith

[markcus58]

Hi All,
First post and looking for amp advice. I have a 5.2 ht set up. The avr is a pioneer elite sc27. Fronts are BW cm10 s2, center is the BW cm2s2. Surrounds are older Infinity overtures, subs are Infinity interlude 12x500 watts and an infinity reference 12x300. Material use is 90% movies, 10% audio. But I have a large rock concert DVD collection.
So, with the concerts I like to run the volume up to near replicate live concert sound levels and feel a high power amp is in order. My thoughts are a 3 channel unit to drive the front three and going with the Emotiva xpa3 gen 3 or the Monolith 3 channel for new amps. Been looking at a used Krell kav250a/3 as an option too. That are all in the same price group, 1.2k.
Advice ?

 

[PENG]

Hi All,
First post and looking for amp advice. I have a 5.2 ht set up. The avr is a pioneer elite sc27. Fronts are BW cm10 s2, center is the BW cm2s2. Surrounds are older Infinity overtures, subs are Infinity interlude 12x500 watts and an infinity reference 12x300. Material use is 90% movies, 10% audio. But I have a large rock concert DVD collection.
So, with the concerts I like to run the volume up to near replicate live concert sound levels and feel a high power amp is in order. My thoughts are a 3 channel unit to drive the front three and going with the Emotiva xpa3 gen 3 or the Monolith 3 channel for new amps. Been looking at a used Krell kav250a/3 as an option too. That are all in the same price group, 1.2k.
Advice ?

The Emotiva is much better in terms of power output to weight ratio because of the switch power supply. it also has balanced output. It's a tough call, the Monolith is probably more of a known quantity so I would give it a slight preference for the CM10 S2, unless you really need balanced input and the lighter weight.

 

[markcus58]

Weight is not an issue since I will not carry it once placed and hooked up.

 

[speakerman39]

Weight is not an issue since I will not carry it once placed and hooked up.

What about (3) mono-blocks from Outlaw:

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html


200 watts RMS @ 8 ohm
300 watts RMS @ 4 ohms

Should easily get you to concert levels. They have a deal/bundle where you can purchase (3) mono-blocks for only $979 shipped!

https://www.outlawaudio.com/mofcart/combos.html


Just thought that I would mention this as another viable option for the OP! Best wishes


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Pogre]

I love my Monolith 7. Gobs of good clean power.

 

[markcus58]

The Monolith seems to be getting the nod so far. Thanks all for chiming in
I contacted them today cuz they have a 20% off Columbus day special but alas the power amps are excluded. Drag.

 

[lovinthehd]

Might also consider Crown XLS amps, model 1502 and up (better specs than the 1002).

 

[PENG]

Might also consider Crown XLS amps, model 1502 and up (better specs than the 1002).

I was thinking along that line too, the 1502 would seem like a better alternative to Emo's class AB amp with class H PS. As I mentioned before, if he does not need balanced input and see no advantage of lighter weight (that also implied much lower power consumption), then I would give the edge to the Monolith.

 

[lovinthehd]

I was thinking along that line too, the 1502 would seem like a better alternative to Emo's class AB amp with class H PS. As I mentioned before, if he does not need balanced output and see no advantage of lighter weight (that also implied much lower power consumption), then I would give the edge to the Monolith.

Could get six channels of amp for about 1.2K or less instead of just three (or just two for $800 for the mains). I don't really care what the weight is as I don't move amps around all that much (but it is nice to have a lighter unit when you do have to). What is balanced output on an amp or did you mean balanced input? If I did get the Monolith I'd just get the 7channel version as the cost isn't that much more over the 3 or 5 ch versions....

 

[PENG]

Could get six channels of amp for about 1.2K or less instead of just three (or just two for $800 for the mains). I don't really care what the weight is as I don't move amps around all that much (but it is nice to have a lighter unit when you do have to). What is balanced output on an amp or did you mean balanced input? If I did get the Monolith I'd just get the 7channel version as the cost isn't that much more over the 3 or 5 ch versions....

I meant input, thanks, fixed now.

 

[2channel lover]

Hi All,
First post and looking for amp advice. I have a 5.2 ht set up. The avr is a pioneer elite sc27. Fronts are BW cm10 s2, center is the BW cm2s2. Surrounds are older Infinity overtures, subs are Infinity interlude 12x500 watts and an infinity reference 12x300. Material use is 90% movies, 10% audio. But I have a large rock concert DVD collection.
So, with the concerts I like to run the volume up to near replicate live concert sound levels and feel a high power amp is in order. My thoughts are a 3 channel unit to drive the front three and going with the Emotiva xpa3 gen 3 or the Monolith 3 channel for new amps. Been looking at a used Krell kav250a/3 as an option too. That are all in the same price group, 1.2k.
Advice ?

I saw where the Outlaw monoblocks were suggested...I have 3 powering the LCR in my 5.2.4 system...they would make easy work of powering the B&Ws. I don't often playback at volumes above 85-90 dB, but on the times I do...these things are barely warm to the touch even after playing at that volume for a couple of hours.

That said, the Monolith is a beast, the better value is in the 7 channel amp though.

 

[markcus58]

Help me to understand why a 5 or 7 channel amp should be considered? My thought is drive the front 3 with a separate amp where the bulk of audio output is and let the capable pioneer sc27 power the surrounds.
Less channels should equal less money too, right?

 

[lovinthehd]

Help me to understand why a 5 or 7 channel amp should be considered? My thought is drive the front 3 with a separate amp where the bulk of audio output is and let the capable pioneer sc27 power the surrounds.
Less channels should equal less money too, right?

The price spread between the various number of amp channels provided in the Monolith line would simply have me buy the most amp per $, the 7 channel version. For your stated purposes I'd just buy two Crown XLS1502s. A 7ch amp may not be useful to you now (or ever), but may be worth more used as another consideration. Not a big market for 3ch amps in any case....kinda depends if you want a single box for the amp or not, too.

 

[KEW]

Help me to understand why a 5 or 7 channel amp should be considered? My thought is drive the front 3 with a separate amp where the bulk of audio output is and let the capable pioneer sc27 power the surrounds.
Less channels should equal less money too, right?

The pricing of the monolith starts at $1000 for 2 channels then every additional channel after that is an additional $100.
At $100/channel, it is hard not to get 5 or 7 channels in order to future proof your system.

 

[2channel lover]

Help me to understand why a 5 or 7 channel amp should be considered? My thought is drive the front 3 with a separate amp where the bulk of audio output is and let the capable pioneer sc27 power the surrounds.
Less channels should equal less money too, right?

I think the emo is $1200, and the monolith 7 is $300 more so the quick math has the 7 at about $215 pc and the emo about $400 pc...I got my 3 Outlaw monos for less than the emo. So in terms of price, the 3 ch amp is not that competitive...considering the performance is also going to be similar...the overall value tilts to the 7 ch imo.

Considering you like to play it pretty loud, and you want a separate amp anyway, why not put the amps in a separate box and use the avr to control the system...it should run cooler and over the long haul that might get your system a little longer shelf life.

 

[PENG]

The 5 channel one is the best deal even if you plan on using only 3, just to get the second transformer. Assuming the published specs are accurate, the 5 channel version has the best VA per channel.

2 channel - 400 VA
3 channel - 341.67 VA
5 channel - 563.75 VA
7 channel - 322.14 VA

The SC-27 can drive your remaining 2 channels with absolutely no trouble.

 

[Audiosaur]

Monoprice has a monolith 7, B-stock, available now for $1,300...

 

[markcus58]

Ok, so I need to expand my horizon. 5 or 7. Hmmmmm

 

[Pogre]

Ok, so I need to expand my horizon. 5 or 7. Hmmmmm

We're just saying the extra channels wouldn't be much more (better value) and you're leaving it open for possible future upgrades. You could do just about anything with that monolith and $1300 is a steal for what you get. It has a remote trigger too, which is a very nice feature. One that's not as common as it should be.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I love my Monolith 7. Gobs of good clean power.

You must put it through a wash cycle after each use then?