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Emotiva vs. some bigger boys

I have just ordered a Emotiva 3 channel amp after testing it against a few better known models. Here's the short story...

My recent gear....Manley Stingray II, Def Tech BP7004 speakers for theater, Magnepan 1.6, Odyssey Stratos, Rogue Metis pre, Rotel 1090, MJ Acoustics Sub, SVS sub...and so on! I typically spend 7-10K on a system and I like to call that the low end of high end....

My buddy bought my latest set of Magnepans 1.6's which were modded with better stands (I'm waiting for my new Merlin TSM-XMr's to mate with my new Stingray II) and he also has the Odyssey/Rogue combo, which he bought after he heard mine. Other speakers in the room: Revel M20's and an old pair of Proac floor standers-not sure of the model.

The amps were the XPA-3 and the XPA-2. Most of the listening was done with the Metis by Rogue.

I'll cut right to it. Both Emotiva amps had less than 100 hours on them and both sounded better than the Rotel 1090 for dynamics, detail and soundstage. Bass was stronger on the Emotiva, but we also thought the Rotel's bass was a bit more true and quick. Space around single instruments was superior on the Emotiva XP3, open and very lifelike. But on some recordings the Emotiva was a tad too bright and in those cases I may have chosen the Rotel for extended listening. Still, with a fine recording, such Lyle Lovett Pontiac, we both agreed the Emotiva was superior to the Rotel.
Next up was the Odyssey, which matches beautifully with the Rogue pre. This was a MUCH closer contest. The Odyssey is well broken in and has a dry accurate bass response that is very hard to beat, better than on some FAR more expensive amps in fact. The Emotiva had a slight edge in the upper midrange, but the Odyssey seemed to offer a smidge more resolution/detail. It was very close. On the Proacs we couldn't even hear much of a difference, but the Magnepans exposed the character of both amps more.
Just to be "complete" we tried my new Manley Stingray II, which is not broken in at under 60 hours. The Stingray could not control dynamics as well as the big amps, but vocals and single instruments were far more "real" and "in the room" sounding. We still felt that the Emotiva would not make music lovers unhappy, especially if mated with a nice tube preamp.
Pitting the 3 channel XP3 against it's more powerful 2 channel sister, we noted very little difference. The 2 channel version MIGHT have created a deeper soundstage, but we were getting sleepy and running out of ear power!

Summary:
I was seeking a used amp in the 2000 dollar range to run my theater, but I have ordered a XPA-3 instead. I will most probably add the 2 channel or monoblocks from Emotiva next. For home theater these are VERY serious amps that give up nothing or very little against pricier stuff. The bonus is that they can be quite musical. With their higher power they even will eclipse some gear that costs more. For example, I've listened to a lot of Bryston gear and I think the Emotiva amps are more musical...and that was with a very low cost Rogue preamp.

So that's my review and opinion. I will post a follow up review when I have the Merlins. I'm very curious to see how the Emotiva will sound on them vs. the far more expensive Stingray. I don't expect the Emotiva to ever be as sweet sounding, but I suspect it will be more dynamic and fun for certain recordings.

Cheers,

Rob
robbob
robbob OP
273 posts
 
I'm still shaking my head at you replacing 1.6s with TSMs......>>>>

The Maggies were great, but they were a drag to move around, plus I was facing too many mods with them. The Merlins are every bit as good or better right out of the box and they are easy to move around. Believe it or not the Merlins disapear every bit as well, sound smoother and have an upper midrange clarity that eluded me with the Maggies.
Still, I probably would ave kept them except that I wanted a speaker I could move around a couple of times per week. The Maggies with Mye stands were a bit much. Great speakers and I'll own another pair down the road because I did like the sense of proper scale they gave on some recordings.

Rob
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
I don't care what speaker you own, once you get it dialed in correctly, there should be no more "moving around" involved. I had 1.6s and 3.5s and both were easier to move around than any pair of monitors + stands I have ever owned. But, to each his own I say.....

Shakey
face
516 posts
 
I've also heard both and I find the Wyred too bright for my tastes. I heard the Emotiva with the Rogue pre and felt that it was a nicely balanced combo.
It must not have been broken in. Fully broken in, they're anything but bright.
robbob OP
273 posts
 
Regarding "moving around" it's a way of life in my theater room. They HAD to be moved out of the way whenever we used the screen and with the filled Mye stands they were VERY heavy and tough to move...bulky as well with the stands.

Without the Mye stands it was a lot easier, but that's giving up a ton of performance without the stands.

Not only can I move the Merlins and stands easily, I can even bring them upstairs into my smaller listening room if I want. That was a project with the Maggies.

Rob
robbob OP
273 posts
 
I've heard more than one of the Wyred amps, none were brand new. The Wyred is a nice enough amp, but I don't hear a major (or even minor) sonic advantages over Rotel, Emotiva or Outlaw. They are all good, but flawed in varying ways. The only amp in that price group I felt took it to a somewhat higher level was my Odyssey.

This evening we tried the Emotiva out using a Denon receiver as a processor. The movie was the Blu-ray of Avatar. The sound quality was HUGE, powerful and extremely detailed/articulate. I doubt I could tell it apart from a Rotel 1095 in the front channels.

Next we left it hooked up to the receiver and used a Verve CD of Billy Holliday as a test disc. Though these recordings are old, they image beautifully with good gear. I've really been enjoying the amazing image created by the Manley Stingray II even with my theater speakers, which are Def Tech BP7004s. The Emotiva brought out the same detail as the Stingray, but failed utterly to come close to the imaging. Using a Rogue Metis pre helped, but still fell short of the Stingray. To be fair the Stingray cost 5 times more and the Emotiva has only had 10 hours of break-in.

It was bought for HT usage and I'm already VERY impressed. I'll post a followup when it's broken in, tested with another pre-amp and run with the Merlin TSM-XMrs. My initial impression is that the Emotiva is a terrific HT amp. For music I'd probably go for something better, but amps from Wyred, Rotel and a few others, if they are better all, are simply still to low in the food chain for serious musical reproduction...at least for my tastes in the low end of high end!

Now there's a snobby statement! I've become quite the elitist with my Stingray tubes aglow....

Cheers,

Rob
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