Is Klipsch Takeover of Onkyo's US Distribution a Sign of Trouble?

[TLS Guy]

It was actually a 7-channel amp that I was looking for, and there were recent, steep price increases on Outlaw & ATI.

I would personally avoid 5 and 7 channel amps, that is a lousy idea. I would purchase four rack mounted Crown or QSC amps. You will be far better off. The amps won't be stealing power from each other and the rig will be much more reliable. I only use two channel amps in my rig, 9 of them. I think with complex major systems you have to have a real weather eye on reliability. As you build up ever more complex systems the need for reliability goes up exponentially. A bunch of amps in one box does not cut it.

Absolutely stay far away from Emotiva. I understand they will not repair their gear at all out of warranty. They would not repair an amp of Gene's. As well as that being against the law, it is awful customer service. The sooner they are gone form the scene the better.

 

[PhilCohen]

Maybe, ultimately, Emotiva (for one reason or another) won't be able to build an amplifier for me, and then it won't be an issue....except to get a refund. On an earlier attempt to buy an amp from them (Jan.2019), they ran into problems with customs and had four shipments of Chinese parts and OEM CD players impounded. With uncertainty over whether they could resume manufacturing , I cancelled that order.

 

[PhilCohen]

You really are a glutton for punishment, aren't you? Now you want to add an Emotiva amp to your junk pile.

Maybe you're right, and the equipment that I'm accumulating(as a spare or future system) IS junk (or at least the Emotiva amplifier is). I thought that the other items in my spare system (By Klipsch, Oppo & Integra) were reasonable quality equipment, but, obviously not by the standards of wealthy collectors of "High End" equipment.

 

[PhilCohen]

Emotiva (claims) to have now shipped the amplifier to me. Maybe, when I receive it, I won't open the carton, and I'll either sell it off or give it away. By not opening the carton, it will be "New".

 

[PhilCohen]

By the way, undoubtedly, some of you have large, acoustically treated home theater rooms with beautifully designed interiors, projectors, screens, all set up by professional home theater installers. I can dig it. I'm not envious or trying to "Keep Up with The Joneses" but my environment is more modest: not a true home theater, but rather the equipment of a home theater crammed into a 14" x 14" bedroom, with another 14" x 14" room to hold my computers, exercise bike, CD-R (and home-burned DVD-Audio) collection and all of my "Museum Grade" spare audio & video equipment. I do the best that I can in that limited space.
We all have different priorities in selecting equipment, and what qualities we look for in that equipment. Do you prefer stereo-only or do you also enjoy surround sound? What type of music do you listen to? Do you value a speaker's ability to play loud with deep bass, or do you look for the ability to reproduce acoustic & classical music instrumentation with concert hall realism? There is no one right system for everyone.
If I ever set up and play my spare set of equipment, if the Emotiva amplifier is unreliable, hum-plagued junk, then I can use my reliable Adcom GFA-7700 5-channel amplifier, and simply not use the 6th & 7th speakers from my Klipsches(they're RP-502S "surround" speakers). My collection of Blu-Ray discs is mostly music-related and I have only 6 discs in my collection that have 7.1 sound.
I knew about some of the shortcomings of Emotiva (the company) and their equipment from the outset. I knew that some users encountered hum & buzz and that the company wouldn't repair discontinued models. Thanks to your forum, I have become aware (albeit too late) of other controversies surrounding Emotiva: their unwillingness to sell service manuals or schematics (so that independant repair shops can't repair the equipment that Emotiva refuses to work on), and the fact that Emotiva's 5-year warranty may become unuseable if the model is discontinued during those 5-years, and that the company is in violation of a federal law requiring a manufacturer to keep a supply of repair parts for 7 years after the date of purchase (or after the date of product introduction.) Alright, my piece of junk arrives tomorrow. I may never unbox it. Live and learn.
Update: I took the Emotiva amp out of its carton, but left the unit sealed in the cloth bag. Space limitations meant that I couldn't store the carton inside my house (i put the carton in my garage) Of course, I wouldn't store the amplifier itself in the garage, where tropical summer heat would have ruined it.
My attempts to complete my "Museum Grade" spare system are on hold, at least until Sony brings out their next generation televisions (at some point in the next 2 years). I'm somewhat burned out by shopping and facing space limitation issues in storing all this stuff. Anyhow, as one YouTube T.V. reviewer has said, "The best Television is the one you already have that works"