wuzzzer Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 If anyone reading has ever even had the slightest inkling of buying an Emotiva product I have some advice you should heed: BUY IT NOW!! I just received an UPA-2 amp from forum member jhoak. This amp is Emotiva's least expensive, least powerful amp. 125 watts x 2 into 8 ohms. A paltry 15 watts per channel more than my Marantz receiver's rated output. I got everything hooked up tonight. My Marantz has a 12v trigger output and the Emotiva included the trigger cord. I know its not a huge deal but the convenience of not having to manually turn the amp on and off is very nice. The first and only disc I have listened to so far is Pink Floyd's Echoes disc. I've listened to this disc dozens and dozens of times. I set the Marantz to Pure Direct, running only my Forte IIs full-range without a subwoofer. Immediately, immediately I could tell a huge difference in sound. Stereo separation is noticeably better, almost to the point of being a surround-sound type effect even though only my front speakers are working. Everything sounded smoother, from bass to treble. A few of the songs on the disc used to have sibilance at high volumes, not anymore. I haven't balanced the amp with my other speakers yet, I have the gain control set to 1/2 of maximum for now just to test it out. I'll have to re-run Audyssey to get the speaker levels matched. Unfortunately I'm working so much that Sunday will probably be the soonest that I'll be able to really test it out. Emotiva has a sale on everything that goes until the end of December. As I said before, if anyone has contemplated getting anything from them, do it. You will not regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylomer12 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Sweet!! I'm happy for you. Any chance you can take a pic or two of the back of both units? I'm curious how your running the wires. So basically, your marantz 7001 is now your pre-amp? Are you just running cables from your marantz pre-out's to the inputs on the UPA? What cables are you using? I'm thinking about getting the same amp. Thanks for the recommendation.. I feel better about buying one now[Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 The Marantz now only powers my surround speakers. I have a pair of older Monster RCA cables (I know, I know) running from the L + R pre-outs of the Marantz to the L + R inputs on the Emotiva. I turned the main speaker outputs off in the Marantz so that it knows there aren't any front main speakers hooked up to it. Right now i have the Emotiva sitting on the floor behind my left Forte, behind my TV stand. I don't have enough room under my TV stand for it unless I completely re-do everything and I don't have the time or energy to do that. I'm too embarassed at the mess of cables to take pictures. What I'd love to get is a component rack so I can organize everything better. Anyone know if there's a proper setting for the UPA-2's gain level? I have it 1/2 way up right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 18, 2009 Moderators Share Posted December 18, 2009 I am really glad it's working out for you, and that's the UPA-2 that's great. I thought there was a problem when I first started to read, you got me. This is good news. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Congrats,I've been sold on Emo for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Congrats. I've only read about Emotiva but all very positive. And I like the design of their lower end preamp-processor of a year or two ago (hard not to pull the trigger when it was on sale) as it looked to have a very high wife acceptance factor. Very clean uncluttered front panel. Maybe a power switch. A volume control knob and a selector knob that one could also get into setup using center display / tv. But once set up. Turn on. Select source. Recognize type of disc if DVD player and adjust accordingly even 2 channel for CD, 5.1 / 7.1 for DVD etc. Maybe even had some 2.1 bass management? But very simple and friendly looking. Geek that I am even thought I like this simple uncluttered lower end unit better than the bunch of knobs etc of the higher end from an aesthetics standpoint though a bunch of knobs are fun to twiddle and adjust. But sometimes the pretty much straight wire with gain minimalist controls is kind of appealing ya know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 [Y] Yes Emotiva is great, very nice products, good prices and great friendly customer service. I have had my XPA-3 for almost a year now and have been very happy with it. Emotiva also has a very friendly forum which is a lot like the Klipsch forum here. You can find my complete review of the XPA-3 posted here on the Klipsch forum and also on the Emotiva's XPA-3 ad page reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Anyone know if there's a proper setting for the UPA-2's gain level? I have it 1/2 way up right now. That's easy. ALL THE WAY UP!!! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted December 18, 2009 Moderators Share Posted December 18, 2009 I believe jhoak is correct. Check out this thread. When I hooked up a QSC (265 watts/ch) to my speakers, I was hesitant to turn up the gain on the amp in fear of frying my speakers. I started out at 1/4 gain on the amp but what I found was that I was not getting any sound with the amp at 1/4 gain. Michael Hurd helped explain why this was happening. From what they suggested, turn the gain all the way up on the amp and then adjust volume on your receiver. It's not the same as turning your receiver wide open (which you do not want to do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I just received their 2 channel pre-amp but haven't had a chance to try it yet. Yesterday I ordered a CD player from them. BTW, the sale prices end 12/31/09 per their sales dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I bought the same two pieces. They're hooked to a newly acquired Bob Latino VTA ST-120 (built by Bob) which is driving a pair of La Scalas. I think you'll be very happy with your Emotiva equipment. I know I sure am!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollar bill Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Happy with my now outdated MMC-1 Pre/Pro, other than the calibration tone for the Sub, it is a absolute monster freq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I just received their 2 channel pre-amp but haven't had a chance to try it yet. Yesterday I ordered a CD player from them. BTW, the sale prices end 12/31/09 per their sales dept. replacing the carver gear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 replacing the carver gear? Never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyOtherSoundEquipment Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Another glowing review... this is just getting too tempting. But my TV needs upgraded so badly! What a conundrum.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Wuzzzer, Great to hear you are pleased with your purchase. Based on all consumer and professional reviews, it appears you can't go wrong with Emotiva. The things your Marantz does well, now just got better with the Emo.. The price you paid is pretty sweet also. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peshewah Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Wuzzer, I"m glad you like your amp. I really like mine too. People ask me, "what is that big black box you got." I tell them its the back bone of my HT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 Why I had to get this amp on the week that I work the most hours (70+) is killing me. My wife went to bed about 5 minutes after I got home from work tonight. No chance to crank it up really loud yet. I guess I'll have to wait until Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninshine Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I hope you enjoy it, and please let us know how it goes. I just might buy something from them just based on your post. Plus, they have great looking stuff. I would love to hook up something for my Marantz SR5003. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 I was able to listen to the Hotel California disc early this morning before my 8am workday. My wife went to work at 7am so I had a little alone time. This amp is absolutely incredible. I will eventually upgrade to an all Emotiva-based system. I want to get their new pre-amp so bad it isn't even funny. But, if I did that I'd need to get at least a UPA-5 amp to run my surrounds. Oh well, its only money, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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