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Emotiva T1 Towers - Audiophile Quality or Just Home Theatre Towers?

I don't have an Emotiva dealer near me but the few reviews out there are pretty positive of these Emotiva T1 towers. Have the AMT ribbon tweeter like Golden Ears but a faction of the cost at $700/pr.  Has anyone demoed these? Heard them side-by-side against more expensive speakers? Are they just punchy rock speakers or for home theatre, or are they transparent enough for classical, jazz?  

Thanks for any comments 
kansas400
213runnin
914 posts
 
For under 5000, so would about 15 pairs of speakers made by loudspeaker only-manufacturers.  Buy whatever floats the boat, but to support the idea that Emotiva has something unique seems like a stretch.
jra_samba's avatar
jra_samba
15 posts
 
The T2s weren't out when I bought my T1's (the whole 5 channel system was on offer for around $1100 so I didn't think I could go wrong, and I wasn't dissapointed). Yes the GoldenEar Triton Ones are better, I have them in a HT setup in the family room, but are they five times better ?

IMHO, no, not 5x better. I was running both the GoldenEar Triton Ones and the Emotiva T1's from Emotiva XMC-1s (I've standardized on them as my surround sound processor of choice, they really are that good). Is the extra 20% of performance worth another $4k ?

Depends on your budget. But I will say my neighbor went out and bought an identical Emotiva T1 5 channel setup after hearing both my GoldenEar Triton Ones and the Emotiva T1's and he is still happy with his decision.

mzkmxcv
777 posts
 
Emotiva makes studio monitors, they know how to make good speakers.

The T1’s are good, but I would get the T2’s if you can afford it.

They image well and have a decent soundstage, and they are fairly accurate. Direct comparisons were made with their B1 bookshelves against the KEF Q100, and the B1 had better midrange and treble, but the KEF edged it out in imaging (as expected).

The T1 is my usually go-to recommendation for the cheapest good tower speaker. 
craigl59
307 posts
 
mzkmxcv:
Have been using the Emotive Stealth 8 and Stealth 6 monitors for years in studio settings and they are superb. Sadly, the 6 is no longer available. Their Heil-type drivers are different, BTW, from the ones in the T1s and I much prefer the monitor tweeters.
jra_samba:
Compare the T1s ($700) and the Double Impacts ($3350) and, like you, think the Double Impacts are better but not 5 times better. For me, the advantage to the DIs is that they are full range speakers and do not require a subwoofer. This improves low frequency soundstage.
In the high-end audio world, however, you pay a lot more for the last 5 or 10%.
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