Proposed System

[tmassey]

The UPA-500 would be a good bet. If in the future you feel you aren't doing your 82's justice, you can always get an XPA-2 (2 Channel Amp w/ 300 watts per channel) for them and the UPA-500 would be plenty for the center, surrounds, and rear surrounds. The XPA-2 would also give you much more headroom on your fronts as well than an XPA-5 would. The beauty of amps is they come in lots of different varieties and because they last a long time, they hold their value quite well also. This makes it easier financially to integrate them into your system a little at a time as you can afford it.

[Sundevil]

The UPA-500 would be a good bet. If in the future you feel you aren't doing your 82's justice, you can always get an XPA-2 (2 Channel Amp w/ 300 watts per channel) for them and the UPA-500 would be plenty for the center, surrounds, and rear surrounds. The XPA-2 would also give you much more headroom on your fronts as well than an XPA-5 would. The beauty of amps is they come in lots of different varieties and because they last a long time, they hold their value quite well also. This makes it easier financially to integrate them into your system a little at a time as you can afford it.

I really like your point about using the UPA-500 for now and then if the 82's need more power I can go to the XPA-2 and use the UPA-500 for everything else.

It really does help out my budget a little bit because I'll be able to get a good solid foundation without having to spend what it costs to get a bigger amplifier.

Is the only place to find these on the Emotiva website? I started searching around and I couldnt find any other retailer for them.

Thanks,

Sundevil

[Sundevil]

Some people have issues with their XPA-5's while others have ones that are dead silent. Its either an anomoly with some models, some people don't hear it or something else. I have ruled out my other equipment since i have zero issues now.

The UPA-500 in my opinion is better than a receivers amp section because it has 4 ohm stability and is designed to be a standalone power amp. That amp at 8ohms should be producing on average more than what receivers typically output. If you look at benchmark reviews of receivers youw ill find that the 120watt X 5 rating is a load of crap and you are only getting 120 watts X 1 or 2 channels if lucky. All channels driven you get about 50-70% of the stated rated wattage (kind of sad but thats marketing for you, the poor consumer gets screwed). Some companies more accurately reflect their power capabilities than others like Harman Kardon has typically done in the past but as a rule of thumb, expect a decent power loss with all channels driven.

A solid 80 watts X 5 channels is equivalent to a good quality receiver upwards of $1000 bucks (for the most part although a lot of money doesnt always mean a good product) really and has the perk of the 4ohm stability which most receivers don't carry (some are 6ohm stable most arent 4ohm stable). Power amps are pieces of equipment that if built well can last for 20 years. There are some on here that buy 10 year old amps used that are rock solid and are still kicking! Don't short change yourself when buying a power amp as it can last for a long time!

Financial restraints suck but as i have said before (and i dont always obey my own motto but i try my hardest) but wait and save so you can get what you want. its expensive to upgrade over and over again but if you dont mind some financial loss along the way, thats okay then!

I was just in az 3 weeks ago since my sister graduated from there too! it was some great weather out there. I am probably moving back out towards the years end around jan-feb most likely!

First off, as always THANKS SO MUCH for the wealth of knowledge you are providing me.

Weather was beautiful during graduation! It was a really great time. I'm sad that it's come to an end, but I'm sure I'll get oppertunities to go back and visit ASU from time to time through recruiting undergraduates for my work.

Like Tmassey suggested, I think I'm going to go with the UPA-500 for now and then if I feel I need to get something bigger to power the 82's I can always go with an XPA-2 or another brand to power the towers.

While I've stated that I'd like to stay between $2500-$3000, I do have the capability if needed to spend more to get exactly what I want. My only problem with that is I'm eventually going to want to upgrade from an LCD to an LED tv and I'm trying to start saving a little bit of money for that. But I will agree, budgets do suck.

I'm most interested in seeing what type of deal I'm able to get from a retailer on the actual cost for the speakers. From my research it doesn't look like I can buy Emotiva anywhere else so I'm guessing I'm stuck with their pricing on their website for the amp and receiver. The price I'm able to get may dictate if I'm willing to stretch the budget a little bit or not.

Thanks again,

Sundevil

[tmassey]

Emotiva doesn't have any resellers, probably to cut out the middle man and keep prices low. You might have some luck if you call them to see if they have any b-stock/refurbs available. Chances are there won't be any UPA-500s because it is a brand new item, but it never hurts to ask. Who knows, they might have a pretty cheap xpa-5 for you. Other than that, the only way to find one is ebay/audiogon/garage sale thread here. You might even have some luck posting a wanted ad in the garage sale thread here.

[SuBXeRo]

Emotiva is an online only brand and their equipment is only available through them directly. Emotiva is the best value equipment that i have found for HT and has certainly fulfilled a niche in the market. Its a great place to start for you.

Many of us have used Emotiva and a lot of us have applied the law of diminishing returns to our purchases. For some its worth that extra thousand to get a rotel or parasound and for others, the quality is to a point that they feel there will be nothing more beneficial to be gained or its just plainly out of reach financially. Most of us can justify it being a great value because it puts receivers to shame most of the time for similar cost and in some cases its cheaper!

[Sundevil]

Emotiva doesn't have any resellers, probably to cut out the middle man and keep prices low. You might have some luck if you call them to see if they have any b-stock/refurbs available. Chances are there won't be any UPA-500s because it is a brand new item, but it never hurts to ask. Who knows, they might have a pretty cheap xpa-5 for you. Other than that, the only way to find one is ebay/audiogon/garage sale thread here. You might even have some luck posting a wanted ad in the garage sale thread here.

Thanks for the advice on that. I'm gonna start looking out for some deals on the UMC-1 and the UPA-500. However, I'm comfortable within my budget to buy them new if I don't end up finding a good deal. There's a "mint" UMC-1 on Ebay right now for $350, however buying it new and selling my upgrade card brings me to about the same cost and in that case I'd prefer to just buy new from the manufacturer.

Emotiva is an online only brand and their equipment is only available through them directly. Emotiva is the best value equipment that i have found for HT and has certainly fulfilled a niche in the market. Its a great place to start for you.

Many of us have used Emotiva and a lot of us have applied the law of diminishing returns to our purchases. For some its worth that extra thousand to get a rotel or parasound and for others, the quality is to a point that they feel there will be nothing more beneficial to be gained or its just plainly out of reach financially. Most of us can justify it being a great value because it puts receivers to shame most of the time for similar cost and in some cases its cheaper!

I'm really happy with everything I've read on the Emotiva stuff. I guess one of my final questions before I start pieceing this all together is what do I need in terms of connection cables.

I'm only framiliar with standard speaker wire that comes in the HTIB kits. I have friends that are into home audio and they've already pointed me in the direction of banana plugs.

Outside of HDMI cords, what other connections do I need? I was looking at the amplifier and noticed it would do fine with standard banana plugs but what goes from the amplifier to the receiver? Is there a specific gauge that I should be using for my speaker wire? Are all brands fairly similar?

I know a lot about the whole HDMI myth and that as long as it's gold plated it essentially does the same thing, but if I'm investing this amount of money into a speaker system I want to make sure they are hooked up with the proper cords to ensure I'm getting the most out of my speakers.

Thanks,

Sundevil

[ivanhurd]

^^^from pre/pro to amp, you can just use RCAs. As far as speaker wire, go with 12awg, so no matter how long your runs are, you will be good to go. If you plan on running the wires thru the walls, get CL2 rated wire, monoprice has all the cables you will ever need. You can even find them on amazon, not sure if shipping is faster this way or not, but I got my monoprice speaker cables off of amazon.

[SuBXeRo]

www.monoprice.com will be your friend for all things wires

I use these from emotiva http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/interconnects/products/xrca as my connection between the amp and the processor. I am very happy with them and would buy them again. I have monoprice shielded rcas as well (digital coax which is always shielded) but i find the emotiva ones to be much higher quality and have a better sound.

I use emotiva banana plugs which i dont think they are selling anymore and i love them, excellent quality.

Get 12 gauge wire if you can too for your speaker wire.

Monoprice has great HDMI cables
these look awesome and are new, never saw them before but will definitly be trying them:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1025501&p_id=9168&seq=1&format=2

I have however used these with great success:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3993&seq=1&format=2

Try not to get really heavy thick gauge hdmi cords as they tend to put a lot of strain on the HDMI ports as you snake the cords and what not. I ruined an HDMI port on my UMC-1 and had to send it in for repair. Those redmere HDMI cables look like a fantastic option. I would buy both and test!

here is the speaker wire:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2789&seq=1&format=2

This is a kool rca-3.5mm for ipod listening
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021817&p_id=9300&seq=1&format=2

[ivanhurd]

^^^ ah yes 12awg, that's what I meant. I edited my previous post. Here is what I bought for in the wall routing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QO0ZQY/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00

[Sundevil]

www.monoprice.com will be your friend for all things wires

I use these from emotiva http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/interconnects/products/xrca as my connection between the amp and the processor. I am very happy with them and would buy them again. I have monoprice shielded rcas as well (digital coax which is always shielded) but i find the emotiva ones to be much higher quality and have a better sound.

I use emotiva banana plugs which i dont think they are selling anymore and i love them, excellent quality.

Get 12 gauge wire if you can too for your speaker wire.

Monoprice has great HDMI cables

these look awesome and are new, never saw them before but will definitly be trying them:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1025501&p_id=9168&seq=1&format=2

I have however used these with great success:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3993&seq=1&format=2

Try not to get really heavy thick gauge hdmi cords as they tend to put a lot of strain on the HDMI ports as you snake the cords and what not. I ruined an HDMI port on my UMC-1 and had to send it in for repair. Those redmere HDMI cables look like a fantastic option. I would buy both and test!

here is the speaker wire:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2789&seq=1&format=2

This is a kool rca-3.5mm for ipod listening

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021817&p_id=9300&seq=1&format=2

Thanks! I'll be sure to search around Monoprice for my cords. I really like that RCA cord, it will look fantastic!

Once again, thanks for the really insightful and lengthy response explaining everything. I'm going to slowly piece this all together over the next month or so while I'm in transition between moving my things from Arizona to Ohio. However, I figure with things like cords and the Emotiva products I can go ahead and place my orders sooner because of the inflexibility in the pricing for the most part.

Going to shop around on quotes for speakers at different places and see what type of deal I can get.

As the system is priced right now, cords excluded, it's $2841 if I was going to buy the speakers directly from the Klipsch website (which I wont), the UMC-1 and UPA-500 from Emotiva online, and the Monster Power Supply off of Amazon (which is a suprisingly good deal in my opinion at $193).

I'm hoping to be able to get that down around $2600-2650 by getting some deals on the RF-82's and the RC-62, if possibly even lower than that. I suppose it just depends on what type of deals I can find.

Thanks Again,

Sundevil

^^^ ah yes 12awg, that's what I meant. I edited my previous post. Here is what I bought for in the wall routing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QO0ZQY/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00

I'm still trying to decide about in-wall routing of my wires. I've got a rental agreement on a townhouse for the next 2 years and I'd like to avoid having to patch the walls at a later date if at all possible. They don't have any touch up paint or color code for it at the leasing office for some reason so anything I patch is going to be a trial and error experiment.

[SuBXeRo]

I bought some of this Ethreal wire and at this price, its not a bad value. I like it better than themonoprice because its less rigid and a lighter weight wire (either that or im losing my mind). Just wanted to point this out! you can also get different size spools, go and check out some of the other stuff on their site!

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ETHSW122100/ETHEREAL-SW122-12-AWG-Frosted-Speaker-Wire-100ft/1.html

[Sundevil]

I bought some of this Ethreal wire and at this price, its not a bad value. I like it better than themonoprice because its less rigid and a lighter weight wire (either that or im losing my mind). Just wanted to point this out! you can also get different size spools, go and check out some of the other stuff on their site!

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ETHSW122100/ETHEREAL-SW122-12-AWG-Frosted-Speaker-Wire-100ft/1.html

I apologize for my delayed response. I've been out of town the past week or so and I've just gotten around to replying to things.

I'll be sure to check out different options for my speaker wire and HDMI cords. I really like the Monoprice HDMI's that release on 7/30.

Do you have any suggestions on sound proofing? I just checked out my townhouse for the first time this past week and I'm a bit concerned that I may be "that neighbor" with my proposed setup. Are the low's in the 82's going to bother my neighbors? I don't know exactly what type of blocking they have between the walls but I never heard anything other than people going up and down steps when I was there.

Thanks again!

[ivanhurd]

I've got a sub, so I've never really tried to push my 82s. The specs on them go decently low tho, so I would say that they can get pretty loud and bassy if you really want to use them like that.

[Sundevil]

I've got a sub, so I've never really tried to push my 82s. The specs on them go decently low tho, so I would say that they can get pretty loud and bassy if you really want to use them like that.

Alright, I'm assuming that's just all based on how you set them up?

[ivanhurd]

Pretty much. I would think that they could really thump if you crank them, but I also think that listening at normal levels they will just sound good and not disturb your neighbors.

[derrickdj1]

Your speaker can get loud but, the sub may bother the neighbors more because the low bass and sub bass sound waves travel greater distances. And, you can feel them in the walls!

[Sundevil]

so guys...I'm having a couple of issues.

I went to my local authorized retailer today and worked with a guy that was incredibly knowledgeable about the products.

I listened to the 52's, 62's, and 82's and decided that the best option for me is the 62's. I just couldnt notice much of a major difference between the 62's and 82's to justify the price increase and honestly only when I was further away from the speakers (well beyond my distance from couch to speakers) I could tolerate them.

However, this is where the problem starts. These speakers sound FANTASTIC at anything under -26 or so. However, at what I deem a reasonable listening level, something over -30 the mid's and low's are completely gone. It honestly sounded like a HTIB system, even the sales guy was shocked because he said he really only demo'd them for people at their higher volume. With my current living situation, playing it at -26 or lower really just isnt an option for me on a regular basis.

On another note, I was wondering if the speakers were just losing the mid's and low's because they wern't getting enough power to them. They had recently sold their floor model Marantz receiver and they were powering these using an entry level Harmon Kardon receiver (I think he said they were pushing 50W to the towers). Is this why I'm not getting any mid's and low's at what I deem a reasonable listening level?

Only when I added a sub to the system in the store did I gain back some of the mid's and low's at the -30 level, however I could hear the rattle and I know that's not something I can have in my current living situation (next 2+ years).

I was really impressed with the product, I'm just a bit concerned that I'm buying large paperweights if I can't get any mid's and low's at a reasonable listening level.

Thanks as always!

Sundevil

[tmassey]

What you aren't able to tolerate is unfortunately what Klipsch is known for to some people. After hearing your thoughts, I am thinking that Klipsch may not be the right brand for you. There are a lot of other people who feel the exact same way as yourself. As far as them losing their mids and lows, there could be lots of reasons, but because the guy said it was a different receiver, they may not have yet got it hooked up correctly. It could have been under powered or some wacky crossover settings, or any other combination of things. Even if the mids and lows were there though, I still have a feeling you would still not be able to tolerate it at a higher volume.

[Sundevil]

What you aren't able to tolerate is unfortunately what Klipsch is known for to some people. After hearing your thoughts, I am thinking that Klipsch may not be the right brand for you. There are a lot of other people who feel the exact same way as yourself. As far as them losing their mids and lows, there could be lots of reasons, but because the guy said it was a different receiver, they may not have yet got it hooked up correctly. It could have been under powered or some wacky crossover settings, or any other combination of things. Even if the mids and lows were there though, I still have a feeling you would still not be able to tolerate it at a higher volume.

Alright, I appreciate the feedback.

It's hard to pinpoint and explain exactly what was bothering me about the sound. At a reasonable TV watching audible level or even movies late at night, I completly lost any mid's and low's in the sound (I'd say this was around -32 to -34 volume) but the second it crossed over to -24ish volume it completely came alive. It's not that I can't tolerate the speakers being that loud because trust me I've had 2 12" ported subwoofers in my car for years now and I like listening to things louder than the average person.

I'm more concerned with others not being able to tolerate the loud sound, whether that be my neighbors or even my guests. When I was at a reasonable level for the high's I had ZERO mid's and low's in the sound. The sound was completely flat and like I mentioned it reminded me of my HTIB Panasonic system that I used throughout college. I even compared it in the store to it sounding like the speakers were just pissed off that they wern't louder. You could almost hear that they were begging for a higher volume.

I guess this really comes back to finding out if it was purely the setup in the store that was causing the loss of mid's and low's or if that's just what Klipsch is going to give me at what I deem a reasonable listening level.

[tmassey]

Oh sorry, I misunderstood and assumed by intolerable, you meant the sound was coming off as harsh or bright sounding. That makes a lot more sense. That is odd that they are not coming alive until you turn it up quite a bit. I have a few suggestions you could try. Looking at performance charts for the RF-62s, there is a severe dropoff of db's right around the 65 hz range. It is dependent on the room, but would give you a good place to start so I would set the crossover frequency around 70 for the fronts. On the subwoofer itself, I would turn the crossover all the way up till it says LFE Off. This makes it so that your UMC-1 controls it. Then on the UMC-1 settings, I would probably turn the sub crossover up high enough to be above the lowest crossover you have for any of your speakers. After this, on the UMC-1 remote, turn just the sub volume up to make sure it's not set really low. EmoQ set mine at -20 which didn't make any sense because it's a pretty low powered sub compared to the rest of my system.

I haven't had a chance to listen to these speakers, but most reviews are claiming these speakers to have pretty boomy bass. If you got the UPA-500, it should be getting enough power. It just isn't making a lot of sense to me why it's only coming alive once you reach a certain volume. I hope others here can chime in that have had this problem.