OK, gents & ladies, finally got my new audio gear...

[johnastockman]

I've been talking about saving up for my new 2-channel stuff far too often...over 2 years. Originally, I was going to go with some Cambridge separates: integrated amp, CD and tuner. I never used the surround portion of my Yamaha HTR receiver, always in stereo mode. I changed my mind after some research and talking to others. Reliability is big for me...a deal-breaker on that feature alone. Soooo, I decided to get the 5-year warrantied Emotiva UPA-2 amp, USP-1 pre-amp and ERC-1 CD player. First time I've spent that much on something I haven't heard or seen in person. I've talked to Shawn A. at length and other guys that actually have the Emotiva gear, so Emotiva it was. Got everything last Friday. Extremely well packed. Started taking apart my old set-up Saturday about noon and had the Emo up & running by 5PM. Hey, I'm crippled, it took me a while! The power amp is heavy for a scrawny sort like myself, had to make a new, deeper, stonger shelf for the amp in the old rack I am using. I'll put up some pix when my erection has subsided and I wipe away all the drool. Going from the Yammie to this is like the Voyager space probe compared to the starship Enterprise. Holy c-r-a-p. I can only use subjective and over-used terms; I knew it would be a step up in SQ, but wasn't expecting this. Very well-built, solid and nice-looking. This is the SQ I've been dreaming about since my place of employment, The Stereo Shoppe, went out of business and I became unemployed. I think I made a good choice over the Cambridge. The Emo doesn't have a matching tuner, though, so I need to get one...any recommendations? Been eyeing a Music Hall 25.2 tuner, but I'm open to suggestions. I seriously thought about that Marantz integrated amp that Mike Jennings got & recommended, but since I'm such a slave-to-fashion...J/K! Thanks everyone for their suggestions and to those that pointed me to the Emotiva gear. Man, the imaging & soundfield (!)...even with my modest but excellent Azurites and my 10" SDVC sub.

John A.

[johnnyrichards]

Another glowing review for what I have long suspected to be the best deal around. Let us know how it goes long term John, I am going to start saving for a 5.1 setup from those guys this winter.

[gc1]

Did ya pop the top, and give it a gander??
What would you compare them to from the "good old days", in sound quality??
Congrates on the new gear.
:D

[bolland83]

The Cambridge gear does sound nice, had a 5 channel receiver from them, it was sweet sounding, but alas, it went kaput on me after 2 years. Currently I'm running a Pioneer Elite 7 channel receiver, it's nice, but it doesn't sound nearly as good as the Cambridge did. It's accurate for sure, but it's just kinda sterile, it lacks warmth. I'm glad to hear that the Emotiva gear is no joke, that's the exact setup I plan on going with when I can afford to upgrade. Surround sound has it's place but it's just more of a pain than it's worth sometimes, I too find myself running things in stereo more and more. Congrats on the new gear, it must feel like Christmas!:D Here's some tuners to check out, from budget to bank breaking. (http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=16)

[howard]

John,
I have a vintage Pioneer TX9500II tuner that has less than 20 hours on it. Let me know if you have any interest.

Howard

[john trials]

Another glowing review for what I have long suspected to be the best deal around. Let us know how it goes long term John, I am going to start saving for a 5.1 setup from those guys this winter.

Emotiva has had nice discounts each December...that's the time to buy if you can save up enough money by then.

[johnastockman]

John,
I have a vintage Pioneer TX9500II tuner that has less than 20 hours on it. Let me know if you have any interest.

Howard

Vintage, huh? I love vintage gear, especially the analog tuners. One thing I still like about my 1977 Yamaha CR-420 receiver, the analog tuner. It's much better than the FM section of my HTR-5240 Yamaha receiver. Got some photos? Send me an e-mail. I'm more concerned about having a good tuner than I am about the equipment matching, looks-wise. As long as it's in nice shape cosmetically, I'd consider something like that over a $300+ tuner. Save a few bucks and all that. Besides, those old dial tuners look cool. All the indicator/dial lights work?

John A.

[williamrschneider]

I have a Yamaha T-1 tuner that I need to sell, but I'd be doing you a disservice by selling it to you.

There's nothing wrong with it, but the reception of my little Sony XDRF1HD HD Radio Tuner (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-XDRF1HD-HD-Radio-Tuner/dp/B00168Q248) just blows it away.

Physically, there's nothing to love about the Sony. It's small and plastic. It requires its remote to do much.

But it receives like nothing else I've had before. I have one hooked up to my rotated yagi, and another Sony in another room connected to my Fanfare whip.

Modders have made it possible to defeat the HD (Hybrid Digital, not "Hi-Def") using a switch. Check Brian Beezley's page (http://www.ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm) about this tuner for modding information and measurements.

But if you want the Yamaha T-1, I'm willing to sell it.

[Ludo]

Love the sound of my Denon TU-1500RD purchased about 4 years ago. Also have the Parasound tuner and its pretty noisy and hissy sounding by comparison.

Heard a lot of good things about that low cost Sony; they're doing some special things in their DSP to extend the output SNR for weak inputs.

[johnastockman]

Did ya pop the top, and give it a gander??
What would you compare them to from the "good old days", in sound quality??
Congrates on the new gear.
:D


I didn't remove any screws, not yet anyway. It was hard to fight the temptation, though, but I probably chickened out because it's difficult to remove them w/o it looking like you did. The insides that I saw looking through the generous ventilation slots look just like the pix on-line. Well-built and organized...after working with the same electronics tech for 20 years, I've found out how difficult some manufacturers make it to service their products and what a hugh PIA it can be to trouble-shoot and repair. Plenty of room to do diagnostic work in this gear. I would say, if you're talking about back-in-the-day stuff, maybe early Carver and definitely Tandberg come to mind. Also the higher-end Kenwood and Yamaha separates. That was a different era for companies like that, not like what they offer now. Of course, the time I spent at the audio store was from late 70's to late 90's. Those Kenwood amps & pre-amps from the 70's and early 80's performed better on the bench and in the listening rooms than their more expensive counterparts. Same with the Yamaha separates. But the Tandberg was exceptional for the price. I think this Emo set-up I got exceeds the price-to-performance ratio, compared to its competition. Maybe I should let it "burn in" for a while before making claims about the SQ, though :D


The Cambridge gear does sound nice, had a 5 channel receiver from them, it was sweet sounding, but alas, it went kaput on me after 2 years. Currently I'm running a Pioneer Elite 7 channel receiver, it's nice, but it doesn't sound nearly as good as the Cambridge did. It's accurate for sure, but it's just kinda sterile, it lacks warmth. I'm glad to hear that the Emotiva gear is no joke, that's the exact setup I plan on going with when I can afford to upgrade. Surround sound has it's place but it's just more of a pain than it's worth sometimes, I too find myself running things in stereo more and more. Congrats on the new gear, it must feel like Christmas!:D Here's some tuners to check out, from budget to bank breaking. (http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=16)

I heard the Cambridge at an audio store in Seattle, that's why I had originally decided on that gear. But yours going TU after only 2 years, not cool. Especially at that price-point. I also know that every manufacturer can have isolated problems. Our service dept. proved that...even from those with legendary reliability. But with the Cambridge, more than "isolated" problems with reliability. I can't speak for that at this point in the Emotiva ownership experience, but I have more faith in its reliability than my other choice. 5 year warranty, good customer service and it was double-boxed & very well packed. Not a scratch. John Trials mentioned that they have discounts during December, so maybe next year for you? If you need any specifics before you buy, shoot me an e-mail. Oh, and I thought I was going to long for the familiar bass/treble/balance controls, but so far, I'm not missing them. I'm similar about the 2-channel thing...the last movie I watched was when Heavy Metal came out on DVD! Music most of the time here. I'm going through my CD and vinyl collection and it's like the feeling I had when I got my Yamaha CR-420 receiver/YP-211 turntable, and those Speakerlab S2's hooked up for the first time back in '77. I'll never forget that; first album I played was Van Halen's first release. First song played on the Emo gear was Rush - Working Man. Special song to me, having to do with an epiphinous experience I had when I first heard that song on some Speakerlabs back when they released that album. "Who's Rush?" I said. He (a local prog-rock FM station DJ I was friends with) said "This new band from Canada, this is the promo-copy, be prepared to have the sh*t knocked outta you." And it did. The same goose-bumps and watering eyes happened when I listened to it with the Emotiva pieces. Got butterflies in my stomach flashing back to that moment when I heard Rush on those speakers back then. Thanks much for that link!

John A.

[marvin]

Emotiva has had nice discounts each December...that's the time to buy if you can save up enough money by then.

They also have some discounts around most holidays, but the Christmas and July 4 specials are likely the best as long as I have been watching.

When they do run sales, you better jump on them. They usually limit the sale to units in stock, and they often run out.

I purchased mine last July.

Marv

[rtkelly]

John,

I think you will like your Emotiva equipment. I have 3 pieces (UMC1 and 2 UPA7s). I can't tell you what they sound like, too much industrial hearing loss, however, they are built like a tank. Too, I've been down to their place of business on several occasions and have met the whole staff. They are all dedicated to producing great equipment and providing the best customer satisfaction.

I was at EMOFEST this year where they unveiled some of the new products to be released within the next 12 mos. You maybe sorry you bought so soon!!

IF I ever need additional equipment, it will be Emotiva.

Enjoy,
Rollie

[john trials]

I was at EMOFEST this year where they unveiled some of the new products to be released within the next 12 mos.

Tell us what you saw!!!

[superspeeder]

Lurking...

[greywarden]

Wow their stuff is affordable AND sexy... nice setup!

[6thplanet]

Does the pre amp have a remote control? No listing on thier site, so...?

[greywarden]

Does the pre amp have a remote control? No listing on thier site, so...?

Yeah it's in the pics

[johnastockman]

John,

I think you will like your Emotiva equipment. I have 3 pieces (UMC1 and 2 UPA7s). I can't tell you what they sound like, too much industrial hearing loss, however, they are built like a tank. Too, I've been down to their place of business on several occasions and have met the whole staff. They are all dedicated to producing great equipment and providing the best customer satisfaction.

I was at EMOFEST this year where they unveiled some of the new products to be released within the next 12 mos. You maybe sorry you bought so soon!!

IF I ever need additional equipment, it will be Emotiva.

Enjoy,
Rollie


Thanks, Rollie. The same thing happens with me and motorcycles...I make a purchase after much research and talking to owners, then the manufacturer comes out with a bunch of upgrades (or a completely new one) the following year with the same model. Very cool you got to go down and see those folks. Hearing that, I know I made an excellent choice.

John A.

[johnastockman]

Does the pre amp have a remote control? No listing on thier site, so...?

Yes it comes with a remote. Pretty simple, just source selection, modes (mono, mute, etc.) and volume. One thing though, the pre-amp remote isn't "matching" regarding the CD remote. Not a big deal for me, but that CD remote is a solid piece of kit...aluminum body with brushed end-caps, where the pre-amp remote is small and lightweight plastic.

John A.

[Face]

Just a heads up, their processor can be buggy.