Emotiva amps
- Thread starter bmwuk
- Start date
I have never owned one of their amps, but I know several people who have in the past or use them now. When they work, they seem to work extremely well. However, they sometimes release lemon products which drive buyers insane. From what I've seen, though, they do take care of their customers when they mess up so the only complaint from buyers of lemons is the pain and frustration of realizing the issue and getting it remedied. I should also point out, all of my knowledge of their quality issues is at least a year old or older, so maybe they have changed their ways. This is my historical perspective which makes me doubt them.
Personally, I am not a huge fan of Emotiva as I feel they often cut corners in important technical or quality areas in order to maintain cosmetic attributes which are pretty much pointless for someone like me. That said, they seem to be a fairly good value overall.
If I were buying an amp for my main stereo speakers today, I'd look a Monolith, Parasound, or Marantz - in that order.
bmwuk
Well-Known Member
Monolith has trouble keeping stuff in stock a bit it seems. With such a large chassis, I wouldn't want to go 2 channel because eventually I'd like to drive 5, definitely 3. Also didn't the hum issue come up with one of our members. Was this fixed or is this an ongoing issue? Thanks
bmwuk
Well-Known Member
Ouch. Well just curious.
MakeMineVinyl
Well-Known Member
Although I've not had direct experience with their amps, looking at the internals in pictures on their website reveals pretty generic mass produced (probably in China) amp channel modules. This can either be a good thing (because if they make a lot of them, they have likely worked out the bugs), or a bad thing (potential for general cheapness in component quality which can compromise reliability). Solid state power amplifiers have become pretty uniform in their sound quality from manufacturer to manufacturer, assuming they have at least a moderate level of design quality.
In the end, as Flint mentioned, you should weigh the relative reliability of the brands you are looking at. I've heard bad things about Emotiva in reliability, but I've never owned one or torn one apart.
As far as power transformers buzzing, most all of them will do that if there is enough asymmetrical distortion on the power line. Some transformers are potted in epoxy which doesn't cure this problem, but rather masks the buzzing so you don't hear it. Sometimes a transformer isn't wound up to spec, and that can make it more susceptible to power line distortion. Winding transformers is mostly a manual operation and like all manual operations can be influenced by worker skills, quality control among other things.
In the end, as Flint mentioned, you should weigh the relative reliability of the brands you are looking at. I've heard bad things about Emotiva in reliability, but I've never owned one or torn one apart.
As far as power transformers buzzing, most all of them will do that if there is enough asymmetrical distortion on the power line. Some transformers are potted in epoxy which doesn't cure this problem, but rather masks the buzzing so you don't hear it. Sometimes a transformer isn't wound up to spec, and that can make it more susceptible to power line distortion. Winding transformers is mostly a manual operation and like all manual operations can be influenced by worker skills, quality control among other things.
Razz
Well-Known Member
I had a thread about hum coming from my amp a while back, but it ended up being from the power coming into my house. Too much DC. The problem was solved with an Emotiva CMX-2.
My amp is an ATI, a coulple of us here have an ATI amps in our set ups. You can choose just how many channels you want when you order it. Solid, powerful, quiet amps. Check them out.
http://www.ati-amp.com/home.php
My amp is an ATI, a coulple of us here have an ATI amps in our set ups. You can choose just how many channels you want when you order it. Solid, powerful, quiet amps. Check them out.
http://www.ati-amp.com/home.php
MakeMineVinyl
Well-Known Member
Asymmetrical distortion is the "cause" of DC on a power line. For example, a wave might go in the positive direction more than it goes in the negative direction; the extent which it goes farther in one direction is technically a net DC shift. If over time it consistently does this, the result is a steady DC on the AC line, which transformers hate since their impedance at DC is the raw resistance of the wire of the core. Asymmetrical waveforms are not necessarily "distortion"; many naturally occurring sounds are like this, such as some brass instruments. Asymmetrical distortion consists of mainly even-order harmonics, while symmetrical distortion consists of mainly odd-order harmonics. A symmetrical waveform would for instance go the same "distance" positive and "negative" so there is no net shift around the zero axis over time. Clarinets generate roughly a square wave, which is the poster child of a symmetrical odd-order rich waveform.
This all is of course hugely simplified....
This all is of course hugely simplified....
IMHO... That’s a tad harsh but not entirely inaccurate.
Unlike AV123, I do believe the Emotiva team is trying to do a good job delivering exceptional values to customers. They just don't always test enough, prove the manufacturing process or supply chain, or wait until they are certain they can deliver before taking orders on a new product.
Like I said above, it seems that most Emotiva products which work well when received and for the first year will continue to work well as long as you'd expect.
Like I said above, it seems that most Emotiva products which work well when received and for the first year will continue to work well as long as you'd expect.
team_tsp
Active Member
I was another member who had the toroidal hum issue with the 2-channel version of the Monolith amp. I also tried the Emotiva CMX-2, and while it worked for @Razz, it unfortunately didn't work for me. I'm still not sure if it's my electrical system or if I just got a rare dud. It was a great amp otherwise though, it seemed like it had unlimited power and sounded great. But due to the hum I chose to return it, Monoprice was great about accepting the return, and so I would still recommend trying it out.
I decided to buy an amp locally so I could audition it first to make sure there weren't any issues with it. I went with the Parasound A23, and am also pleased with it. It also has a slight toroidal hum, but much less so, and I can't hear it from more than a couple inches away.
Stereophile reviewed/measured one of Emotiva's amps:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/emotiva-xpa-gen3-two-channel-power-amplifier-measurements
Seems like it measures ok, but could be better considering how mature amp technology is, and the price of it, etc.
MakeMineVinyl
Well-Known Member
In the Stereophile measurements, the rapid rise in distortion at high frequencies regardless of output level is not good. In a home theater context it likely wouldn't matter, but for serious music only listening, I would stay away from that amp.
Very likely, the way they made the amp cheaper is by skimping on the number of amplifier stages, thus not having enough loop gain to keep distortion low at the high frequencies. All amps do less well in the high frequency extremes, but not this bad.
Very likely, the way they made the amp cheaper is by skimping on the number of amplifier stages, thus not having enough loop gain to keep distortion low at the high frequencies. All amps do less well in the high frequency extremes, but not this bad.
bmwuk
Well-Known Member
They sure do like their pricing (expensive). I would love to but man some are crazy highSupport NAFTA , buy Canadian!! Bryston, Classe, Simaudio, Anthem, take your pick!!!
You can check out some of the Parasound B stock here:
http://www.safeandsoundhq.com/products/Power-Amplifiers?scri=22&filter
http://www.safeandsoundhq.com/products/Power-Amplifiers?scri=22&filter
Yeah, I just saw a good price on a Parasound Halo A23 on Audiogon. You can also find pretty good deals on Craigslist and Facebook Market for locals selling older gear. I saw a nice Mark Levinson No. 27 for $300 yesterday on Facebook. If I needed an amp, I would have tested that one and bought it if it worked.
Dentman
Well-Known Member
Yes but with every amp purchase you get a free Mullet.
I bought a Rotel 5 channel amp about 15 years ago, that hasn't given me a bit of trouble.(Knocks on wood)