Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Emotiva LPA-1 vs Do-all recievers in $$$ class

Just wanted some assurance before purchasing the ever popular amp from emotiva. I currently have a yamaha v2600(130wpc) powering my epic 60-500 7.2 system, will a dedicated amp(with less watts per channel) give me superior sound vs any of these do-all recievers in its price class? If so, what kind of upgrade will I be seeing? Will they just be driven louder? Or will they actually produce better sound quality? Forgive the newbie questions, I have never had a seperate amp before.

Sorry, I couldn't resist! Plus, at 91 posts, you really aren't a newbie.

Day to day, you probably won't hear any difference. They key is when you push them, at what point does each one start to clip, and you hear distortion.

Generally, a separate amp with a robust power supply and higher rated power, will have a higher threshold before it starts to clip. If it were me, I would only buy a separate amp if it was at least double the rated power of your receiver.

What kind of power are you driving into your M60s during everyday listening?

My v2600 is rated at 130wpc x7...I rarely watch movies at more than -6db but even at that point high frequencies are harsh and it quickly becomes fatiguing. I doubt the yammie performs at its rated power, especially considering I bought it refurbished. Generally speaking my system performs well, but I can't help but feel like my systems performance isn't matching the quality that people are describing in some of these topics and in the professional reviews.

I spoke moments ago with a man named J.C. at axiom and he assured me that the Emotiva LPA-1, despite its slightly lower power rating will give me increased performance over my yammie. I assumed it would, but to what extent is what I'm wondering. Perhaps maybe the RPA-1 will be a better purchase? Feed all that power into my mains, take some of the load off of the yammie and let it do the rest. Maybe add a Outlaw monoblock for a center in the future? Any suggestions? Should I just stick with getting the LPA-1 and see how it helps?

Hey Drew,

My Denon 2805 drives my center and 4 qs8's, which I'm sure your Yammy would also do fine in that category. However, I now have my 80's being driven by Odyssey Mono amps, one per speaker. Contrary to what some will say there is a difference to my ears. I have a very large room and have to turn it up louder to fill the space, especially if I'm on the other side of the room shooting a game of pool.

At higher volumes, it was obvious to me the Denon was straining, clipping, or whatever you want to call it. I can tell you now that I have yet to experience this with my Odyssey's, they just keep going and going, with no distress.

I did have a Emotiva MPS-1 for 3 months but had issues with the internal limiter circuitry shutting down the amp prematurely. Keep in mind I was driving 80's, your 60's would have no issues.

The RPA-1 with the old vue meters would look cool and drive those 60's to sonic utopia.

Keep in mind I use my system for movies 90% of the time, the rest of for tv, gaming, music etc...

To put it simply, I'm hoping to achieve a warmer, more dynamic sound with my axioms. Would the LPA-1 help in this regard?

I really think that instead of getting a full 5.1-7.1 dedicated amp, to just get a 2 channel amp to drive your mains, if you are really that worried about it.

Depending on the size of your room, you may or may not even notice a difference...

Good point Hutzal!

You will always wonder about the difference until you try. That's what 30 day trials are for!

my right channel is set at -1.0db my left is set at -0.5db.

Main gain? Range? Please explain...