Which Emotiva amp for my Pioneer elite 94 ?

[TheFactor]

Well I decided to go with Emotiva after some research it seems to be a lot of bang for the buck that fits nicely into my budget. The question is im probably only going to bi-amp my fronts and center but was wondering if I should still get the 5 channel or 7 channel amp just to have in case I decide to bi-amp my other speakers. Also opinions on the Emotiva are more than welcome. I really like my Passive bi-amp setup but thought i'd do it wright and run separates also that way I can go back to my 7.1 setup too .Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Adam]

Here's something to consider about getting an amp with more channels than you'll use. If you have the amp either on or set to turn on with a trigger from the receiver, then all of the amp channels will turn on - not just the ones that you are using. If you have it set to turn on with a signal input, the individual signals will need to be high enough to trigger each amp module (assuming that what you get would be like my IPS-1). So, you might need to turn the volume up temporarily to get the amps to turn on (and do it occasionally lest the amps turn back off) - that was an issue with mine until I decided to just have all seven channels on, even though I only use three.

Might not even remotely be an issue for you, but thought I'd mention it. It was something that I hadn't really thought about when I was going through the same decision process as you.

 

[TheFactor]

Thanks that something I never even considered nor thought of , with that in mind I'll probably just go with the 3 channel or the 5 but i'll decide before if i'll use it for my rear speakers before I get it it. I know I probably will never bi-amp my rear back surround speakers and another thought is I can always run the 3 channel and if I decide I want to bi-amp my rears I can get another 2 channel amp .

 

[bandphan]

Are you considering multi zone audio in the furtue?

 

[TheFactor]

No I dont think i'll be doing any other zones in the near future, i've got my hands full just dialing in the zone im in and no its not the twilight zone

 

[TheFactor]

I think im leaning towards the 3 channel amp and I can always add a 2 channel later so I guess another question I have would be is should I connect the emotiva to lower posts being the lows or the highs the upper posts or doesn't it make a difference. BTW I just put a pre-order in on the XPA-3 That I beleive will be available around the beginning of july for shipping She sure is purty http://emotiva.com/xpa3.html

 

[Adam]

She is pretty, indeed! That's one deep amp at 19". Just be sure it'll fit!

 

[TheFactor]

Wonder how I managed to double post, anyway thats a good question and I just measured my rack and its 17 inches deep, this could be a problem unless I use the bottom shelf thats basicaly the floor. You can see what I mean in this pic

 

[TheFactor]

Another option would be to put it were my cigar humidor is wright above were I use to have my sub and clean off that shelf, I measured it and its exactly 19 inches but thats cutting it close

 

[Adam]

You may want to call or write them and ask if the 19" is the total depth. I have this recollection that the depth quoted on their site for one or both of the amps that I bought didn't include the binding posts - I could be misremembering, but that's what I recall. Plus (and sorry for stating the obvious, but that's how I am), if you're using banana plugs, those will add to the required depth of your shelf.

 

[TheFactor]

Thanks those again are very good points, i'll probably just use straight wires on the amp but your wright the banana connectors on the back of the amp im willing to bet aren't included in the depth and your wright im definitely going to call and find out the exact dimensions. Thanks again

 

[itschris]

That's the one thing I always forget... the distance needed for the wires. That easily add another 3 inches, maybe four depending on your wire and how flexible it is.

 

[TheFactor]

That's the one thing I always forget... the distance needed for the wires. That easily add another 3 inches, maybe four depending on your wire and how flexible it is.

So true thats exactly my problem to, I got lucky and my pioneer 94 is a little over 18 inches but I managed to squeeze it on my 17 inch rack but what helped is its partially open in the back just enough to clear my fronts and center banana plugs

 

[Davemcc]

I'm not really trying to be a buzz-kill, but I am curious what you hope to gain adding an amp like this. For starters, the VSX-94TXH seems to be quite a competent receiver with plenty of power on tap. The Studio 60's aren't really that hard to drive and are reasonably efficient, certainly nothing the Pioneer shouldn't be able to handle. From your photo, it looks as it you're not running the system in a very large room. I'm not sure how you stand to benefit from adding an external amp.

 

[itschris]

I'm not really trying to be a buzz-kill, but I am curious what you hope to gain adding an amp like this. For starters, the VSX-94TXH seems to be quite a competent receiver with plenty of power on tap. The Studio 60's aren't really that hard to drive and are reasonably efficient, certainly nothing the Pioneer shouldn't be able to handle. From your photo, it looks as it you're not running the system in a very large room. I'm not sure how you stand to benefit from adding an external amp.

Good point. I run my Sunfire Cinema Grand because I already had the amp and love it. I was going to mate that with the Emotiva UMC, but that's another story. If I didn't have the Sunfire already, I'd certainly be using the very capable amp section of the Pioneer.

Factor - what are your impressions of your system powered straight up with the Pioneer? Are there specific reasons or setup issues that are pointing you in the seperate amp direction?

 

[TheFactor]

I'm not really trying to be a buzz-kill, but I am curious what you hope to gain adding an amp like this. For starters, the VSX-94TXH seems to be quite a competent receiver with plenty of power on tap. The Studio 60's aren't really that hard to drive and are reasonably efficient, certainly nothing the Pioneer shouldn't be able to handle. From your photo, it looks as it you're not running the system in a very large room. I'm not sure how you stand to benefit from adding an external amp.

Its cool and I appreciate your input Well im doing the Passive bi-amp now that I know is highly speculative as far as benefits but I like it. So from what I've read and been told if im going to bi-amp and Im really going to prosper I should just run a separate amp. Im really not doing it just for more power because your wright my pioneer really puts out more than enough power although the dealer were I bought my studio 60's told me that my speakers will shine even more with more power and they like it . I originally was just bi-wired so I thought why not add more power and kill 2 birds with one stone sorta speak, so there's my logic I guess.

 

[TheFactor]

Good point. I run my Sunfire Cinema Grand because I already had the amp and love it. I was going to mate that with the Emotiva UMC, but that's another story. If I didn't have the Sunfire already, I'd certainly be using the very capable amp section of the Pioneer.

Factor - what are your impressions of your system powered straight up with the Pioneer? Are there specific reasons or setup issues that are pointing you in the seperate amp direction?

The Main reason is just to be able to bi-wire and I figure why not add more power. Also I've been told that passive bi-amping really isn't the way to go and if im going to do it I should just run a separate amp and this way I can go back to 7.1 vs 5.1 and still be bi-wired with more power . Actualy im very happy with my pioneer with its power and sound quality but I guess as usual I always want more

 

[itschris]

The Main reason is just to be able to bi-wire and I figure why not add more power. Also I've been told that passive bi-amping really isn't the way to go and if im going to do it I should just run a separate amp and this way I can go back to 7.1 vs 5.1 and still be bi-wired with more power . Actualy im very happy with my pioneer with its power and sound quality but I guess as usual I always want more

Understood. I agree that I'm not 100% sold on the benefits of bi/tri wiring, but it sure does look cool! Sometimes that's all the reason you need.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

At loud volume he will benefit from the added amp. My little Studio 40's love the extra power.

I'm not really trying to be a buzz-kill, but I am curious what you hope to gain adding an amp like this. For starters, the VSX-94TXH seems to be quite a competent receiver with plenty of power on tap. The Studio 60's aren't really that hard to drive and are reasonably efficient, certainly nothing the Pioneer shouldn't be able to handle. From your photo, it looks as it you're not running the system in a very large room. I'm not sure how you stand to benefit from adding an external amp.

 

[bandphan]

At loud volume he will benefit from the added amp. My little Studio 40's love the extra power.

agreed, i just didnt see the listening room as that large, i could be wrong. The 94 has good power and if i was going to go for seperates i would be looking in the 250-300w range for the mains