Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Emotiva ...who has em and what are your thoughts

I am going to be hunting for a AMP soon and want to know who has Emotiva specifically MPS-1 and what do you think about it.

I will be using a Denon 3803 as a pre/pro for a while, but will upgrade that in three years from now.
Drums are # 2 on the list

axiom_man,

I can't help but wonder, why not use the amp inside your Denon? It is rather robust.

Especially for rear and center channels, they don't require much power. The mains are what take the most juice.

Are you considering purchasing a strong 2 channel amp for your mains, and using the built in amp from the Denon? If the Denon is not powering your mains, it will have tons of power supply left for the center and rears.

My imediate plan is to run the Mains and centre channel off the Emotiva. As you mentioned above I would keep the rears on the Denon for now. I then would have the option to buy more modules for the rears and back channel.
I am even thinking of trying a dual VP150 for the Centre channel. The Emotiva will hold 8 modules so the would give me two fro the centre.

To start, I have their LPA-1 amp and I love it. No problems driving bi-amped M80's, a VP150, and a pair of M22 surrounds. It's great. Whether it's because my Pioneer Elite AVR can't handle 4-ohm speakers, or because a dedicated amp really does makes a difference, my M80's most certainly sound better (more punch to the bass, much smoother highs, much cleaner at higher volumes) when powered by the LPA. I wouldn't go back to just the AVR powering my system.

Their LMC-1 prepro has some problems, even with the recent software update. It does what it says it will do, but has some (IMHO) fairly serious software quirks that limit the true functionality. From my personal experience, these quirks primarily revolve around decoding Dolby Digital or DTS sources. Their other preprocessors are supposedly quirk-free and sound great.

Sirquack had a some pretty serious shutodwn problems with his MPS-1 driving M80's. There are a few others around here that report no problems at all. He might chime in here, or you can do a search for MPS-1.

In my experience, Emotiva's customer support is easy to reach and pleasant enough to talk to. All of their staff, but especially Lonnie, seem genuinely concerned about their customers' problems and complaints. They talk a good game. But I've yet to see any real results from these concerns.

So my honest advice would be to definitely take a look at their gear. Order it. Put it through its paces and make sure it works exactly the way you expect. If it does, congrats. If it doesn't, don't hesitate to return it under their 30-day return policy. They are very good about that.

yes, I read all of sirquacks post, but I will not get close to that loudness. Also, there is always a lemon and maybe he got one. How many others have them and not have the problem, but how many others test it to that level.

That is like M. Shumacher getting pissed off at Ferrari cause his F-1 Ferrari starts to break down just below the red line on his tach.

Also if I got to spend $3000 on a 5 channel amp I may as well get a used Krell on ebay

gotta go watch Ottawa play catch up ,looks like Lord Stanley is staying in the US again

What's wrong with your 3803?

nothing really but I just want seperates.
a little more power, and also that way I just neet to upgrade the pre/pro

The Emotiva will give you about twice as much power as your Denon which will give you a whopping 3dB increase. If you try hard enough, you can convince yourself that you can hear a 3dB increase at louder SPLs (~80dB). Remember that a 10dB increase sounds twice as loud to your ears...a long way off from 3dB .

Of course as JohnK will tell you, the toroidal transformers in the Emotiva amps will result in a wider, deeper, taller soundstage, enhanced imaging and clarity beyond your wildest imagination .

Yeah Troy, "a little more power" won't do you any good if you're not using all of what your 3803 can supply now.

So you guys can tell me that If I got an MPS and ran the Left/Right mains and the centre channel off it and I ran the rears from the Denon I will not notice and improvement?

This hotly debated. Maybe not so hotly debated here, but it is throughout the rest of the AV world. Some folks will tell you that there should be absolutely no sound difference, so long as each amplifier (seperate vs. internal 3803) is running within its specifications. Others will tell you that different amps can make a difference in the sound quality; the idea that (different parts) + (different construction) + (human pride on expensive equipment) = different sound.

I would say to listen to neither camp and make your own decision based on your own thoughts and experiences. Purchase an amp that fits your budget and needs from somewhere that has a full money-back guarantee and try it for yourself in your home on your system.

All I really know in the debate is that my LPA-1 drives my M80's significantly better than my AVR does. Again, this may be into the realm of physical specifications, as my AVR is only rated down to 6ohm speakers. I've done back-to-back testing where the differences are quite real. Sibilance, bass impact & longevity, and perceived distortion do sound different to me between AVR and LPA, with the LPA offering smoother highs and cleaner, less 'fuzzy' bass. But again, just my opinion.

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So you guys can tell me that If I got an MPS and ran the Left/Right mains and the centre channel off it and I ran the rears from the Denon I will not notice and improvement?

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Read this. My family couldn't tell the difference between my Denon and my wife's dinky Sony. Note that I was playing the Sony well within its specifications.

I am very happy with my Denon 3608 and I know I'm not using all the power it dishes out. But yet, some part of me craves separate amps. When I analyze my reasons it apprears to come down to the fact that they would look REALLLLLY cool on my shelf with the other gear.

I have no idea if I would get better sound or not, I wouldn't even try to fake enough knowledge to make a guess, but there is something to be said for the placebo effect.

Freakin Human Nature! Thinks it's so smart!!