[Trinfast10]

I'm upgrading my entire home theater set-up and I have an Integra DTC 9.8 pre-amp on the way, but Im looking at amps now and Ive heard alot about how cheap eMotiva is. It seems a little curious to me since every other comparable amp is about twice the price. Are these amps really as good as they say or are they cheap pos?

[Welwynnick]

Hi Trinfast, this is for most part a british forum, so few people are at all familiar with eMotiva.

From the reviews I've read, they seem to sell on value rather than quality, and the positive feedback seems to come from receiver owners who are moving up.

BR, Nick

[Russell.Williams]

With no particular experience of these amps; Where a mature technology is involved, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Russell

[JimmytheSaint]

I purchased 2 XPA-5 amps on my last trip to the states and am using them in bi-amp mode with my Lex and to be totally honest, they are exceptionally good sounding amps with clean headroom and very low distortion. It is very comparable to the ATI and I would have been happy to pay twice the asking price.
The amps come balanced/unbalanced and have an automatic 110/220v switching power supply. Amazingly the hype is true, these are amazing bargains and I would highly recommend them to anyone, even those with difficult to run 4ohm speakers. Add to this very good support and service from Emotiva and you can't go wrong!

Rgds
Yas

[kfalls]

Agreed. I've had my Emotiva XPA-5 for only a couple of weeks and love it. Some of the features include:

5 separate amp modules (amp modules sold separately on web-site, so home repair is possible)
1.2KVA transformer
60,000mfd supplemental storage
glass epoxy PCBs
balanced and unbalanced inputs
dual power switches (front and back) not sure of the significance
Triple Toshiba output transistors
200W 8ohms/350W 4ohms (Depending on which documentation you see) the owner's manual sent with the unit quotes 250W 8ohms, 440W 4ohms.

The unit was $799USD and they only charged me $25 to ship the 88lb box.

Value in spades. Highly recommended for sound and build quality. Very highly recommended for value.

[IWC Dopplel]

They certainly appear to be good value. Watts per £ is pretty high !

[-Ad-]

Will be trying out their UMC-1 processor when it comes out in the next month.

Was planning on contacting you IWC to see if you wanted to do a comparison with your AV8, as I'm not too far away from you. Are you game ?

[Baggy]

Have you a quote on the postage?

[-Ad-]

Originally Posted by Baggy

Have you a quote on the postage?

They said a quote could be supplied when the units arrive. Have asked on their forum if any foreigners had another processor/amp shipped and the costs incurred.

Might e-mail them again on Monday to ask for a qoute on one of their amps as a rough guide.

[Baggy]

Originally Posted by -Ad-

They said a quote could be supplied when the units arrive. Have asked on their forum if any foreigners had another processor/amp shipped and the costs incurred.

Might e-mail them again on Monday to ask for a qoute on one of their amps as a rough guide.

Let us know when you find out.
I'm more interested in the XMC-1 myself but it'll give me a good indication of the costs involved.

[Welwynnick]

Its difficult to get a handle on emotiva amps. I read this review at ultimateav.com a while ago, and it really dambed with faint praise, so I was put off.

UltimateAVmag.com: Emotiva DMC-1 Preamp/Processor and MPS-1 Multichannel Power Amplifier

There are always enthusiastic user reviews, but its difficult t qualify the reviewer - they may only have a £500 receiver to compare. However hometheaterhifi came up with these reviews of the XPA-2 and XPA-1 more recently, and they could hardly have been more enthusiastic. Interestingly, the XPA-1 had much lower distortion measurements than the XPA-2, despite the website specs stating the opposite. Not that I put ANY store in distortion specs....

Emotiva XPA-1 Monoblock Power Amplifier Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

Emotiva XPA-2 Stereo Power Amplifier Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

I'm not sure that I trust Secrets reviews of audio gear as much as I do with video gear, but if someone as discriminating as Jimmythesaint comes out in their favour, I think it raises the confidence level a lot. Perhaps its about time I bought one....

Nick

[-Ad-]

ShopUSA, shop online in USA, receiving address, forwarding parcels and packages worldwideA

Some guys on the forums at Emotiva recommended shopUSA. Never heard of them before, but this is how it works:

1. Buy your item from Emotiva.
2. Get it shipped to shopUSA.
3. ShopUSA sort out the delivery to your door (inc VAT, tolls, delivery etc).

For example, on the $699 UMC-1 they seem to want £140 for all the costs, which seems very reasonable as the VAT @ 15% alone would be £64 (£428 x 0.15).

Total cost would be about £570, which still makes it an absolute bargain !

[mconn]

Hi,

New to power amps but is there a big difference between the xpa-5 and the upa-7.I would then need a umc-1 processor as well?

Thanks,
mconn

[Welwynnick]

Originally Posted by -Ad-

ShopUSA, shop online in USA, receiving address, forwarding parcels and packages worldwideA

Some guys on the forums at Emotiva recommended shopUSA. Never heard of them before, but this is how it works:

1. Buy your item from Emotiva.
2. Get it shipped to shopUSA.
3. ShopUSA sort out the delivery to your door (inc VAT, tolls, delivery etc).

For example, on the $699 UMC-1 they seem to want £140 for all the costs, which seems very reasonable as the VAT @ 15% alone would be £64 (£428 x 0.15).

Total cost would be about £570, which still makes it an absolute bargain !

Is there any reason not to buy it from Emotiva, and get it delivered directly from them? I think they are set-up for international orders, it just might take a phone call to handle shipping and payment.

Nick

[-Ad-]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

Is there any reason not to buy it from Emotiva, and get it delivered directly from them? I think they are set-up for international orders, it just might take a phone call to handle shipping and payment.

Nick

Got this advice from some guys on their forum, one from Ireland, one from Denmark. It seems that Emotiva use Fedex who apparently charge silly prices for equipment that weighs a fair amount. Then adding on the additional VAT an other costs, it may just cost too much to make it worthwhile.

Something I'l be researching though, but Emotiva said they will provide a shipping quote once the units are in (The UMC-1 in my case), so no idea yet.

Will report back when I get more info.

[Mr_Orange]

Originally Posted by mconn

Hi,

New to power amps but is there a big difference between the xpa-5 and the upa-7.I would then need a umc-1 processor as well?

Thanks,
mconn

I'm interested to understand the difference between the XPA-5 and UPA7 too. I noticed the balanced inputs on the XPA, but wasn't sure what else differed.

[Paul Mela]

Both look very good value

[IWC Dopplel]

Originally Posted by -Ad-

Will be trying out their UMC-1 processor when it comes out in the next month.

Was planning on contacting you IWC to see if you wanted to do a comparison with your AV8, as I'm not too far away from you. Are you game ?

Very happy to put them back to back Also interested how the P7 might compare to the power amp

Drop me a note and I can arrange

[-Ad-]

Originally Posted by IWC Dopplel

Very happy to put them back to back Also interested how the P7 might compare to the power amp

Drop me a note and I can arrange

Excellent, won't be getting the power amp though as I have enough amps to power my current speakers, and I wouldn't dream of breaking the lyngdorf/ATC combo.

Hmm, but could be tempted to get an XPA-5 and see if I can hear a difference between it and the Lyngdorf when powering the ATCs

Will let you know when I have acquired one or both

[IWC Dopplel]

okay great

[mconn]

Hi,

Is there a big difference between the xpa-5 and the upa-7.I would then need a umc-1 processor as well?

Thanks,
mconn

[Welwynnick]

Here's the latest news on the UMC-1 today; another delay.

Emotiva Audio :: Audiophile Quality Home Electronics at Factory Direct Prices; Multi Channel Amplifiers, Sound Processors, and Award Winning Speaker Systems: Latest News

June 29th, 2009

To all of our good friends,

I know all of you have been patiently and anxiously awaiting the release of the UMC-1. We are sure you have noticed that June is quickly passing into the history books with little news regarding the release. Fear not. We have been burning the midnight oil to meet the projected release date. Unfortunately we just ran out of time.

In an ongoing effort to keep you informed, we want to give you the latest update on where we are. During our final testing of the video engine, we discovered a minor issue with the DCP on the HDMI. This is really a simple fix that only requires some minor board re-work. That particular board is being re-worked as you read this and we will be back on track very soon.

More news to follow………….

Your friends at Emotiva

A minor change to a board?! What about all those units that have been in production for some time now?

Disappointing stuff.

Nick

[IWC Dopplel]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

Here's the latest news on the UMC-1 today; another delay.

Emotiva Audio :: Audiophile Quality Home Electronics at Factory Direct Prices; Multi Channel Amplifiers, Sound Processors, and Award Winning Speaker Systems: Latest News


A minor change to a board?! What about all those units that have been in production for some time now?

Disappointing stuff.

Nick

No different to the rest though to be fair

[-Ad-]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

Here's the latest news on the UMC-1 today; another delay.

Emotiva Audio :: Audiophile Quality Home Electronics at Factory Direct Prices; Multi Channel Amplifiers, Sound Processors, and Award Winning Speaker Systems: Latest News


A minor change to a board?! What about all those units that have been in production for some time now?

Disappointing stuff.

Nick

Exactly what I thought. Maybe they are changing the boards by hand on the first batch. Anyway, that is pretty rubbish news and I really don't know how much longer to wait, but on the other hand there is nothing else with the features and price in this area of the market for me.

[bazonix]

no probs.... its always a waiting game and one that i can certainly wait for

[Welwynnick]

If anyone is interested in getting an Emotiva, now might be the time to buy.

Emotiva Audio :: Audiophile Quality Audio Electronics and loudspeakers for home theater and music at Factory Direct Prices; Multi Channel Amplifiers, Sound Processors, and Award Winning Speaker Systems

They are having a 4th of July sale. Gee, those Yanks....

Nick

[Strocky]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

Here's the latest news on the UMC-1 today; another delay.

Emotiva Audio :: Audiophile Quality Home Electronics at Factory Direct Prices; Multi Channel Amplifiers, Sound Processors, and Award Winning Speaker Systems: Latest News


A minor change to a board?! What about all those units that have been in production for some time now?

Disappointing stuff.

Nick

It's a motherboard re-work, not a re-make

[nhpm510]

From one of the most informative US audio web sites-they review a couple of Emo amps and other gear. Stunning value

Emotiva XPA-2 Two Channel Amplifier Review — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Even Cnet reviewed them (XPA-5). Emotiva Audio :: Reviews

I've owned the LPA-1, BPA-1, XPA-2, UPA-2

Very nice stuff and more power than most will ever need.

Anyone ever in Frankfurt?

Another great bene is that their gear works on 220. No transformer or conversion issues. :-)

They are also the OEM for Bob Carver's Sunfire and others (but they can't admit it)

[nhpm510]

Originally Posted by mconn

Hi,

Is there a big difference between the xpa-5 and the upa-7.I would then need a umc-1 processor as well?

Thanks,
mconn

Yes, you'd need umc-1 and an amp.

I'd characterize the XPA as a little thicker sounding and more powerful than UPA series.

[MI55ION]

Friend lost the plot and bought 3 XPA-1s, yes 3!

I helped him set it all up and have a non-critical listen, initial impressions were wow! His Spendors never had it so good. Also took a few pics that I might post later if anbody's interested.