Emotiva separates

davidro

davidro

Lunatic Member
Just got Emotiva separates to see what the buzz is all about.

So they do internet direct selling to cut the middle man costs, so that they can spend the money on the quality? I can see they're supremely built with attention to detail. The remote is some work of art.

They're a little too beefy for our gear stand, but it wasn't just their size and built that were beefy, but the sound also was beefy. Very well extended and neutral. The bass is tout and punchy. The mid-range ain't 300B, but it's not hollow either.

Here's another endorsement for value-for-money...!
 
Just replaced the generic spaghetti ICs with cryo-treated, pure solid-silver ISs between the power & pre. Much nicer!

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk 2
 
davidro said:
Just got Emotiva separates to see what the buzz is all about.

So they do internet direct selling to cut the middle man costs, so that they can spend the money on the quality? I can see they're supremely built with attention to detail. The remote is some work of art.

They're a little too beefy for our gear stand, but it wasn't just their size and built that were beefy, but the sound also was beefy. Very well extended and neutral. The bass is tout and punchy. The mid-range ain't 300B, but it's not hollow either.

Here's another endorsement for value-for-money...!
Click to expand...

No. They do internet direct to enjoy both the wholesale mark up and retail markup. The money is not spent on quality, it goes to maximize their bottom line.

They tend to have poor quality control and in the past, I have read, have taken short cuts to bring product to market. In the past, the reports are, they have not always complied with USA electronic safety standards.

Not a bad product at all, not what they'd have you believe they are either.
 
I own the Emotiva DC1 and Emotiva XPS1 phono preamp and while they are good but not great I can't think of products that comes close to these two pieces even at twice the price. Some of the money must of been of spent on quality. Your mileage might vary.
 
Seems to be a polarizing brand.

I've had (and still own) their phono stage, the USP-1 pre-amplifier, and a pair of XPA-100 monoblock amplifiers.

Everything I've bought worked perfectly out of the box and performed flawlessly from day one. No quality issues or complaints here.
 
eljr said:
No. They do internet direct to enjoy both the wholesale mark up and retail markup. The money is not spent on quality, it goes to maximize their bottom line.

They tend to have poor quality control and in the past, I have read, have taken short cuts to bring product to market. In the past, the reports are, they have not always complied with USA electronic safety standards.

Not a bad product at all, not what they'd have you believe they are either.
Click to expand...

This has been my experience as well, 2 out of 3 products of theirs I bought had issues. The OP didn't mention which line he's trying out. I had the XPA 3 amp and it gave sibilance to my speakers that had beryillium tweeters at higher volumes. Decent entry level gear, and if your budget is limited you'll get your money's worth. The XPR amp line may be better, I haven't heard them, but 500 or 600 wpc is just way overkill for most of us.
 
I had two USP-1 mono blocks, a preamp, and I own the XPS-1 phono preamp, their X-series speaker cables, and several interconnects. The only problem I've had was the power supply for the XPS-1 went out and a couple banana plugs on the speaker cable were bad. They always shipped out quickly with no issues or hassles. Emotiva presents the best value for the money.

No matter the product, you will always have the good/bad side. The best advice I can give you is try for yourself. They have a 30 day home trial, which is enough time to determine if you like their product or not.
 
I auditioned the CD player when it came out. It had a nice heft to it as I picked it up out of the box. All buttons had a nice tactile feel. Sound wise I felt it was a little too in your face. Not much separation. My opinion, seems they go for initial impact, pride in owning a nice piece of equipment, but probably short of the kind of sound quality they market.

Personally I look for slightly used high end gear instead.
 
I have their XPA-3 (series 2) for center and surround duty, powerful and hard if not impossible to beat for the price for that duty.

Also have the USS speaker cable and a toslink IC. All well made and sounding good.

I see they are selling Music Hall tables now.
 
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I've been running the XPA-2 Gen2, XSP-1 Gen2, and ERC-3 Gen3 for just over a year with no issues or complaints.
 
I know Emotiva has its fans and god bless but the hype around them was a bit overblown, they made huge mistakes and the sound IMO is bright and forward that requires careful matching or you may not like the results. Its a quality product from China in a attractive package but from my experience late model used gear can give you better sound at same price range. Yes its used so there is that to consider.
Aren't they moving into retail big box stores now....not sure if the public at large will embrace it, time will tell.
 
I'm under no delusions about where the brand stands in the pecking order of mid/hi fi. It is decent, not great gear. I don't use the brand for 2 channel duty but most anybody that does is being well served.

In addition , if we're going to bash a company for looking out for there bottom line we better make room for a bigger queue.:nono:
 
Will get pics done when I get a chance but I really can't blame the examples I have. They ARE great gear as far as I can tell. Not the biggest fan of SS gear but I can tell that much. I wouldn't hesitate to drive some very high end speakers with them. They're quite capable.

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk 2
 
The problems Emotiva had in the past is just that, in the past. As for their products being made in China, I do know that most of their products are made in Franklin Tennessee.

If you're not a fan of Emotiva, then why bother posting? If you feel you must post something, then tell the OP congrats and move on.
 
I have an Emotiva XPA-2 that I have had for about seven years that has worked flawlessly. To my ears it sounds as good as my Mcintosh mc7270, just different. I also have an XPR-5 powering my surround system for about two years which also sounds great. So far seems like good quality equipment.
 
4Play said:
The problems Emotiva had in the past is just that, in the past. As for their products being made in China, I do know that most of their products are made in Franklin Tennessee.

If you're not a fan of Emotiva, then why bother posting? If you feel you must post something, then tell the OP congrats and move on.
Click to expand...

One can post whatever they want as long as its info comes from actual experience, if we are just supposed to be a bunch of fanboys clapping as the parade goes by that's sounds pretty pointless. Noting past misteps is a history lesson and I personally never said it was bad, just not the sound I enjoy but mated with proper speakers many may indeed enjoy them.......is that a problem?
If so, its not mine.
P.S. Info on China was quoted from Sound And Vision review from 2013
"Emotiva and Sherbourn are actually affiliated companies of Jade Design, an original equipment design (OED) firm that creates all the product designs and holds all the intellectual property for the two brands. Neither Jade, Emotiva, nor Sherbourn have any direct in-house manufacturing at this writing. Instead, manufacturing and some engineering tasks are farmed out to various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) working closely under the aegis of Jade. By and large, the manufacturing is done in China, a very common practice today even among some high end audio brands and one that should not in any way imply a lack of quality
Read more at http://www.soundandvision.com/content/emotiva-good-deal-or-real-deal#b4qAqVhg2SGRc0Mv.99
 
Congrats on the new gear and I hope you like it. I would not call myself a big Emotiva fan however I do own two of their DAC/Preamps. Generation 1&2 plus a power cord. For the money I've spent I'm very happy with the performance I'm getting. Money well spent IMO. There is always something better, something flashier, something with better specs. In the end all that matters is whether or not you are happy with your purchase. Hopefully you will be.

cubdog
 
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