KennyC Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I agree with you on the cables, Xki. I read about people who purchase extremely high-priced power cables for their home audio/video components with the belief that these cables actually make their equipment run more efficiently and creates a cleaner and more "pure" audio/video signal. There is never any mention about them changing the electric cables all through their house or getting the power company to install these high-end cables underground or overhead to their houses. That one or two-foot very high-priced power cable is only a minor fraction of the entire electric cable run that gets the electric to each person's home. It is totally insignificant. As you pointed-out with speaker wires, human ears could not tell the difference between a power cable that costs hundreds of dollars and the original power cord that came with the equipment. If lab instruments can measure a difference, well...that's great -- that's in a lab. I guess that's what the cable manufacturers use in their ads to sell these cables. In the real world, however, there is quite a bit of noise on the power lines. This is what's feeding into those very expensive "pure" power cables. You know the old saying: "Garbage in-garbage out". Part of my full-time job is to analyze the power quality for our local power company. I know what I'm talking about. Anyone who purchases these outrageously-expensive cables has much more money than knowledge on this topic. I have compared inexpensive thick-guaged speaker wire to expensive Monster cable and could not tell the difference with my ears. And let's keep in mind that, while listening to music with our friends and family, we're not swapping back-and-forth between cables to have them compare the difference. You're just listening to the music for pleasure. I highly doubt that any of our guests would ever feel compelled to say, "You must be using cheap Radio-Shack speaker wire, because Monster cables wouldn't sound that bad!" Thanks for the useful and highly-practical advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatz Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I have a couple random/novice questions. I'm interested in adding an amplifier to my system, but before doing so I would like to know what you all think about adding a UPA-7 to my integra 6.9. What is the purpose of an additional amp? Would both the integra and the Emotiva be pushing my speakers or would the Integra simply be used for pre amp? I have RF-62s,RC-62,RS-52s, and RS-41ii's. Would I notice a difference if I added the UPA-7? How would I go about adding the UPA -7 to my current system? Hopefuly this will keep this thread going. Thanks...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted March 21, 2011 Blatz, an external amp typically provides better separation, added bass response (especially at low volume), headroom and relieves the receiver of the amplification duties so it can process more efficiently. Simply connect RCA from the Preouts on your receiver to the RCA inputs for each channel on the external amp. I have no experience with Emotiva so I'll let others comment on whether you would hear a difference or not with your setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xki Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I agree with you on the cables, Xki. I read about people who purchase extremely high-priced power cables for their home audio/video components with the belief that these cables actually make their equipment run more efficiently and creates a cleaner and more "pure" audio/video signal. There is never any mention about them changing the electric cables all through their house or getting the power company to install these high-end cables underground or overhead to their houses. ..........You're just listening to the music for pleasure. I highly doubt that any of our guests would ever feel compelled to say, "You must be using cheap Radio-Shack speaker wire, because Monster cables wouldn't sound that bad!" Thanks for the useful and highly-practical advice! True, and true. It's the same as a person who runs Cat6 cable throughout their house and hooks it all up to a 2Mbps cheapo Uverse internet connection. It's only as good as the weakest link. In most audio setups, the weakest link in not the speaker cable.... It's what is on the ends of the cable that makes all the differnce and is usually the weakest link. Power cables included. Been there, done that. The power feed where I live is really quite good. There are time where I hear a slight buzz or click in an otherwse clean signal. Maybe my neighbor fired up his wire feed welder again? [] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xki Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I have a couple random/novice questions. I'm interested in adding an amplifier to my system, but before doing so I would like to know what you all think about adding a UPA-7 to my integra 6.9. What is the purpose of an additional amp? Would both the integra and the Emotiva be pushing my speakers or would the Integra simply be used for pre amp? I have RF-62s,RC-62,RS-52s, and RS-41ii's. Would I notice a difference if I added the UPA-7? How would I go about adding the UPA -7 to my current system? Hopefuly this will keep this thread going. Thanks...... Youthman summed it up quite well. You will hear a marked improvement in sound quality separation and overall clarity. Just for comparison sake, the UPA-7 weighs in at ~67 lbs. That's just the amp. Very few receivers come close to the weight. I know what your thinking...... whay does weight have anything to do with it? That's a researchable topic but trust me, the toriodal transformer of the UPA-7 kicks the crap out of a lot of amp sections in a all-in-one receiver. At low to moderatey low listening levels you may think that the sound quality is about the same. As you get above that level, the difference is startleing. With your current Klipsch loudspeakers, you will hear the difference immediatly. I can tell you that the Emotiva line of amplifiers is top notch. Thats from a price vs performance standpoint. Once I received the UPA-7, hooked it up, and started re-listening to all the source I have, I couldn't be more pleased. Sure there are plenty of other amps out there that are super. For me, the price was a big factor.... along with the reviews of this particular amp from various sites. (See Emotiva.com for the reviews.) I hate to tell you this but, the UPA-7 is no longer available. I got mine in one of the the last waves of availabilty. However, EMO offers many other amplifiers that are as good as the UPA-7 for value. They are more expensive and a 7 channel is no longer available but, that's the way it goes. I'll never need more that 125 watts per channel so I'm set for quite a while. Ya never know.... A UPA-7 could come up for sale and it would be a real steal to be the one who gets to it first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderCollie Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 All- Xki and I got our UPA-7's around the same time frame, so I would say about ~1 month. I've used it everyday that I have been home. I couldn't be more pleased.... I feel like I got a really great set-up for the money that I have spent. I still would like to buy a few more speakers to round out my system, but for now, I am very happy. I'm sure that you will see a used UPA-7 go up for sale in the near future. One of the best places to check out for used EMO gear is their Forum. Items usually don't last long over there. I've noticed that Xki is a regular over there, so he may know better than I. On the subject of cables, I didn't buy from blue-jeans, but I'm pretty sure that the company is using all Canare Cable. If you plan on re-wiring an entire system, it may be worth your while to purchase the canare crimper and make your own cables. I bought all of my cables, and a few months down the road my buddy was looking to rewire his system and spent about 1/2 the money I did and did much longer runs, in all different colors, etc, you get the picture. Best of luck. -BC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xki Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 All- Xki and I got our UPA-7's around the same time frame, so I would say about ~1 month. I've used it everyday that I have been home. I couldn't be more pleased.... I feel like I got a really great set-up for the money that I have spent. I still would like to buy a few more speakers to round out my system, but for now, I am very happy. I'm sure that you will see a used UPA-7 go up for sale in the near future. One of the best places to check out for used EMO gear is their Forum. Items usually don't last long over there. I've noticed that Xki is a regular over there, so he may know better than I. -BC Wow - It seems a lot longer than ~1 month! There was a UPA-7 for sale a while ago and it sold in about 3 hours. I expect to see more for sale. There are a few people who are constantly trying/changing gear and will part with just about anything to help pay for their latest passion. BorderCollie is right.... things don't last very long. One other nice thing about the UPA-7 is it runs very cool. Mine gets about 5 hours a day usage average and even when I blast away, it remains about the same temperature as Chinese take out food once you get it home. Maybe 100-105 degrees? Add on top of that that this amp is dead quiet. No hiss or hum whatsoever. And that's with LaScalas! Emo makes some really good amps so whatever you decide upon, if it's Emo, you'll be happy with your purchase. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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