No output signal on my Emotiva XPA-3

[Ras777]

I turned on my system the other day, and my left and right tower speakers were not working for no apparent reason. I checked all connections three times and all looked normal. I decided to disconnect the speaker wires from the Emotiva and hooked them to my Denon AVR and my towers came back to life. I then unplugged the Emotiva for a few minutes and hooked my speaker wires to it. I then fired everything back up. My Emotiva amp seemed to boot up normally and I got the signature three blue lights but unfortunately no sound once again from my towers. My center channel is working fine. Am I missing something here? I figured I would run it by a few of you before I call Emotiva. I hope it's something simple.

So this issue has raised another concern for me. When I hooked up my LCR to my Denon x6400h I was very surprised that I really could not determine much of a difference in sound. I played both music and movies and I expected to experience the AVR to strain with all 11 channels working. I rarely listen at reference but I do listen quite loudly. Movies around -20db to -15db and music as loud as -10db. If my amp is in fact fried I am now debating if I really need to replace it. I have a dedicated theater room which is 18x20 with 8ft ceilings running a 7.2.4 system. When I originally built the system I thought that I would need that extra power, now I am not so sure. What do you think? Would love to hear your opinions. Thank you in advance.

 

[Verdinut]

I turned on my system the other day, and my left and right tower speakers were not working for no apparent reason. I checked all connections three times and all looked normal. I decided to disconnect the speaker wires from the Emotiva and hooked them to my Denon AVR and my towers came back to life. I then unplugged the Emotiva for a few minutes and hooked my speaker wires to it. I then fired everything back up. My Emotiva amp seemed to boot up normally and I got the signature three blue lights but unfortunately no sound once again from my towers. My center channel is working fine. Am I missing something here? I figured I would run it by a few of you before I call Emotiva. I hope it's something simple.

So this issue has raised another concern for me. When I hooked up my LCR to my Denon x6400h I was very surprised that I really could not determine much of a difference in sound. I played both music and movies and I expected to experience the AVR to strain with all 11 channels working. I rarely listen at reference but I do listen quite loudly. Movies around -20db to -15db and music as loud as -10db. If my amp is in fact fried I am now debating if I really need to replace it. I have a dedicated theater room which is 18x20 with 8ft ceilings running a 7.2.4 system. When I originally built the system I thought that I would need that extra power, now I am not so sure. What do you think? Would love to hear your opinions. Thank you in advance.

If you are listening to your system with the speakers driven with the AVR inboard amps, and you don't hear any hint of distortion and don't have any feeling that some amps are struggling to bring you clean sound, then you don't need external amplification.

By the way, I don't recommend that you waste money to get that Emotiva product repaired. Should you ever need to have external amplification, I woud suggest that you look for reliable products such as Monoprice Monolith power amps, or the newer Class D VTV Purifi amplifiers.

 

[lovinthehd]

No reason the Emotiva would sound better particularly, it's not that different from the avr's amps and if you're not exceeding their limits (I'd be more concerned at reference levels), then sounds like you may not need an external amp. What speakers are they and how far from them is your seating?

As to the Emotiva, does sound like the amp has fried something....might check for a blown fuse? That wouldn't fix it, but....

 

[Ras777]

Thanks. Appreciate the advice. Verdinut I get the feeling you’re not a huge fan of Emotiva. For what it’s worth it’s a Gen 2.

 

[Verdinut]

Thanks. Appreciate the advice. Verdinut I get the feeling you’re not a huge fan of Emotiva. For what it’s worth it’s a Gen 2.

Some members here including Gene have had bad experience with Emotiva. One of my friends bought two preamp-processors over the years from that manufacturer, and he had problems with the two. I am not the only audioholic to avoid their products. Actually, you can get more reliable products from a couple of other brands for even less and with as good if not better performance.

 

[TLS Guy]

I turned on my system the other day, and my left and right tower speakers were not working for no apparent reason. I checked all connections three times and all looked normal. I decided to disconnect the speaker wires from the Emotiva and hooked them to my Denon AVR and my towers came back to life. I then unplugged the Emotiva for a few minutes and hooked my speaker wires to it. I then fired everything back up. My Emotiva amp seemed to boot up normally and I got the signature three blue lights but unfortunately no sound once again from my towers. My center channel is working fine. Am I missing something here? I figured I would run it by a few of you before I call Emotiva. I hope it's something simple.

So this issue has raised another concern for me. When I hooked up my LCR to my Denon x6400h I was very surprised that I really could not determine much of a difference in sound. I played both music and movies and I expected to experience the AVR to strain with all 11 channels working. I rarely listen at reference but I do listen quite loudly. Movies around -20db to -15db and music as loud as -10db. If my amp is in fact fried I am now debating if I really need to replace it. I have a dedicated theater room which is 18x20 with 8ft ceilings running a 7.2.4 system. When I originally built the system I thought that I would need that extra power, now I am not so sure. What do you think? Would love to hear your opinions. Thank you in advance.

Take that Emotiva to the recycling center where it belonged the day it was new.

 

[Ras777]

Wow! That bad? Considering I’m not missing it at this point I’m not going to waste my time in having it repaired. My only concern at this point is overtaxing my AVR. I do have two fans on top of it but running all 11 amplifiers gives me a little anxiety, especially when listening around -15 to -10db.

 

[lovinthehd]

Wow! That bad? Considering I’m not missing it at this point I’m not going to waste my time in having it repaired. My only concern at this point is overtaxing my AVR. I do have two fans on top of it but running all 11 amplifiers gives me a little anxiety, especially when listening around -15 to -10db.

I've read some less than encouraging stories even about just amps and their repairability over time (let alone the famously buggy pre-pros). Never really tempted to buy Emotiva myself in any case (and Gene's experience with a very expensive amp certainly wasn't any help). If you have dual fans on the avr you're probably doing well enough.

 

[mono-bloc]

Emotiva are cheaply designed over priced junk. We had them here in OZ for a while but constant breakdowns and faulty models soon put a stop to people buying them. In the end Emotiva shut down, and simply packed up and went back from whence they came The old saying "Good riddance to bad rubbish " comes to mind . In short you really do get what you pay for... Pay Peanuts, get monkey's

 

[mono-bloc]

Their website is still up

But no one's home.

Emotiva Pulls Plug on Global Distribution Partners Without Warning

Emotiva, a brand that built itself on value-for-money audio-video products, has notified its distribution partners that will it no longer supply products to them.

www.stereonet.com

 

[lovinthehd]

FWIW Emotiva still has several international distributors listed....not in Australia, tho.

 

[lovinthehd]

Quoted: Originally posted by: @mono-bloc
Emotiva are cheaply designed over priced junk. We had them here in OZ for a while but constant breakdowns and faulty models soon put a stop to people buying them. In the end Emotiva shut down, and simply packed up and went back from whence they came The old saying "Good riddance to bad rubbish " comes to mind.

What's your thoughts on a comment as such?

Quote: "One man's junk is another man's treasure". Selling, junk to gain wealth is nothing new,

I commented on Australia to clarify blockhead's post (OZ is Australia slang). I'm no particular fan of Emotiva but lots of audio things are not available or simply overpriced down under otoh....and blockhead is impressed by price when it isn't particularly important and I just generally keep him on "ignore".

 

[lovinthehd]

Didn't realize OZ was slang for Australia. Australia being stuck way at the bottom of the world on the east side of the planet. Shipping cost alone, plus any tariffs that's tacked on top. Then tax at the point of sale. Slang huh? Like NYC Gotham.

I was under the impression it was called "The land down under" What are they under. Lower hemisphere. Or because they wanted to be different from New Zealand.
And if so, then the tag OZ makes since then. Magical.

Warranty issues alone with just a 30-return window no Questions asked must have eaten a hole in Emotive's bottom line. Can't even Imagine what shipping costs, would cost consumers in OZ to ship out much less in its original factory box. EMO, CTA on their end.
.

I doubt Emotiva's US policies were in place in Australia. US is one of the few places where no reason returns even exist.

 

[mono-bloc]

Can't even Imagine what shipping costs would cost consumers in Australia .

Shipping costs are expensive when you also consider that Emotiva also require you to pay the freight both ways, Too and from the factory.

At the present time with the low exchange rates Aus dollars only worth 65 cents US. Importing from the US is a non-event, It's far cheaper shopping in the Asian market, or the Middle East. For people in Western Australia it's cheaper to fly to Hong Kong, then it is to fly to Sydney. And really compared to the Asian market the American market is both small and limited. Just look at the Munich Audio show for proof of that.. Your choice of high end audio outlets is very limited. Really the only one worth bothering with is Suncoast Audio in Florida.

 

[mono-bloc]

Your correct in your assumption that buying via the Internet can be a minefield, if you don't or haven't used the same seller before.. The old saying applies If it sounds to good to be true, it is. Really if your buying via the Internet, take your time to read there feedback, contact other sellers and ask if there purchase came up to there expectations. Don't use Credit cards, Debit cards, Direct Bank transfers. Really while Pay-Pal can be expensive they do have safe guards. On a large purchase they will hold your money until you have received your purchase. Years ago I used to trade with AudiogoN, They are now expensive, and the place is loaded with scammers. If you can't personally collect your purchase, or your buying from a licensed dealer, forget it..

 

[Verdinut]

What I stated is fact, on a Company's policy here in US. Can't say on international I haven't researched it.
There isn't any Law that states, Law Enforcement can make a company refund your money for any reason other than tell you to take it up in court, civil matter. Here in the US. Lawyers are very expensive over here.

I'm in the Market for a new 65 inch OLED but it won't be purchased online unless I can buy it from a Very reputable brick and mortar store, like Walmart or Best Buy they have the best return exchange refund policies. Hopefully I can buy it through Walmart because they're local where I live and if I have an issue I can file a civil suit against them in the 16th judicial district without crossing any lines, that's where it really becomes a serious nightmare financially.

Walmart's are everywhere here. One thing that could become an issue is if it's a 3rd party that WalMart lets them use/sell on their website for the Purchase and it's only shipped to their store for pickup. Then they can push it Legally on to the third party. Walmart use to have a 90-day return window on TVs, now its 30 days only, no questions ask for full refund.

How about Amazon or Costco?

 

[lovinthehd]

I forgot about Costco there is one in the city next to where I live. Not Amazon, had a issue with them with my last 4K 65 Tv. On a return and a full refund, took way over 30 days close to 40 days to get a full refund and funds back in my bank account

. Tv Develop the Dirty screen issue, returned it within the 30-day window I got lucky I was like three or four days before the 30-day return window expired. UPS pick it up one day before the 30-days was up. 4 days later tracking said, at an Amazon dock facility in Arizona. Waited, waited some more after 5 days had passed no refund in account. Called into Amazon, the return call that you can use and a service person calls you back with minutes If not seconds, first one was seconds.

Was told after she stated, it had to be checked, then full refund would be credited back my account. I than stated that the return was within the 30-day window and that tracking showed Arrived at an Amazon dock in Arizona 4 days after UPS picked it up.

Give her the tracking number she put me on hold. Came back with, I put in a Package investigation and that could take up to 30 days after the 30-day investigation I would get the credit. That's when I stated BS! Hung up the phone jumped on the Internet, I emailed jeffbezos@amazon.com.
That email goes to an Executive assistant for Jeff. She Responded back in less than 24 hours she stated within five days, she would resolve the issue and she did. I want to say 3 or 4 days after receiving the 2nb email I received, full refund she stated that the package was improperly scanned at the dock and she was sincerely sorry and credited my Amazon account 50 bucks.

Was that an LCD set?

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes it was, I didn't notice the issue at first, more than two weeks had passed. I say Dirty screen issue, may have been something else pixels. Many of that model of that brand were returned, dirty screen panel lottery is real.

Yeah that was when buying one at Best Buy came in handy, I hated it and return/exchange for a plasma was easy

 

[lovinthehd]

Best Buy and Amazon pretty much run neck and neck in prices on all their TV 's just about.
So, if one's going to drop 2K or more on an online purchase due diligence is in order. I had become Complacent ordering from online companies never really had an issue until the last big one with Amazon the tv. I say big around 700 bucks.

Just whichever makes return easiest....