Dartvidar Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Hi, I looking for an amplifier for a Klipsch RF-7 II Home cinema system. I know Parasound Halo A51 is a good match, but how will the RF-7 II sound with Emotiva XPR-5? Can the XPR-5 match the A51 when it comes to sound quality? The price is doubble for the A51, so I can use the extra money for a good sub if it sounds as good as the A51. It's nice to get some feed back from RF-7 II owners who have experience with the Emotiva XPR-5 and Parasound Halo A51. Thanks for all good answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Welcome to the forum. The xpr-5 is pretty new so not much info on it yet. I would think that it would work great if you don't have any static or hiss issues (i have owned two emo amps and both had them bad). i was able to get the static out of the xpa-5 but not the other one so returned. If you google emotiva hiss static problems you will find hours and hours of reading on the topic (so its definitely not just user error) . I have the xpa-5 hooked up to the the rf-7ii and it sounds really good so I'm sure the xpr-5 would be even better. My guess the a51 would sound better on your speakers but it should for the price. Emotiva told me and others their amps are not a good match to high sensitive speakers like you have. If your budget was 800 Then i would recommend emo for sure. But if you have 2k or more to spend i would do more research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 A lot of people will swear by them but i have bought two amps and both had problems in my set up. There is a reason they are priced so cheap.They market the most power for the least amount of money and there is definitely nothing wrong with that as long as buyers understand that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 A lot of people will swear by them but i have bought two amps and both had problems in my set up. There is a reason they are priced so cheap.They market the most power for the least amount of money and there is definitely nothing wrong with that as long as buyers understand that. The reason they are less expensive is because they do something no other manufacturer does. When you buy a Parasound amp, it is made in China. The same goes for the bulk of amps out there. The difference is, the Parasound then goes thru the normal distribution chains that all add their profit onto the amp and by the time you get it, it costs $1500-$2000 more than it would if you bought it right off the boat. Emotiva owns their own factory in China. They sell their product themselves online so they cut out all those middle men and bring you the same quality product as 90% of the amps out there at a much better price. I have three Emotiva amps, two XPA-5's and one XPA-2. They have been hooked up to RF-7's, Forte's, Forte ll's and Chorus ll's and I've never had any hiss or hum that was audible more than a few feet from the speaker. You can't hear anything at any seating position that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 My guess the a51 would sound better on your speakers but it should for the price. Emotiva told me and others their amps are not a good match to high sensitive speakers like you have.That's called the placebo effect. It's been proven time and time again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 I have had three Emotiva amps XPA-2, XPA-3 and XPA-5 all three were very silent with no unwanted sound coming from the amps and so little speaker hiss you need to place your ear to the horn of my RF-5's to hear it, very quiet. I still have the XPA-2 and XPA-5 and love them very much, I sold the XPA-3 when I bought the XPA-2. Emotiva makes great amps the quality is very good and they sound great. They work well with Klipsch Reference speakers but I think some of the other Klipsch lines don't really want that much power and work better with a lower powered amp or tube amp. OK that said I think you would probably be better off with an Emotiva XPA-5 which has the same power as the Parasound and this will save you a lot more money over both the Parasound and the XPR-5. Your RF-7 ll's will perform very well with the XPA-5 and the XPR-5 is more power than you really need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 google "emotiva amp hiss and static noise" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 When ever i buy something on amazon i always read the bad reviews on products (like the 1 or 2 ratings). Gives you a good idea what flaws the product has and how it might work for what you are going to use it for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Congrats on the 7's. I've owned several Emotiva amps,'used them with 7's. I stayed away from the higher power amps, just didn't need em' in my experience. I had many higher power amps before, Adcom, BK, Rotel etc... 200 watts or better. I like Emotiva, great products and value. I had a Parasound,'very nice, very nice, and it was just an average Parasound 1205a class A, A/B. That was maybe the best amp I had since the 7O's, after 20 minutes it just opened up and made everyone smile. I would tell people just listen and you'll hear it, then sure enough it would get sweet and super hot. I would take the Parasound if cost didn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 I can't speak about the Parasound or Emo amp since I have not own them. But, there are a lot of amps on the used market that will work wonders with the RF 7's. I use Yamaha M 70/80 amps with the RF 7's and the sound floor is pitch black with excellent SQ. I do belive that some amps sound different: which is why the hiss problem is being discussed. But, the Preamp, EQ and other setup factors determine a lot of what you hear at the end of the audio chain. See, I was of no help, lol.[:#] The one thing I am sure of, the 7's do not need more than 200 watts to shine or reach ear bleeding levels, some of the smaller Reference line may benefit more from the addition of an external amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 But, the Preamp, EQ and othe setup factors determine a lot of what you hear at the end of the audio chain Exactly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelandKlipsch Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Straight up parasound 100% you will keep iy in your setup a lonnng time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Straight up parasound 100% you will keep iy in your setup a lonnng time. Same can be said for the Emotiva XPA-5 but at about 1/5 th the price. I doubt you will have much difference in sound between the XPA-5 and the A51. But the XPA-5 is a much better value and will retain its value better as well, I bought my XPA-3 new during an Emotiva sale I used it for 2 years and sold it for more than I paid for it. The XPA-3 was my first amp and my first move into separates, I don't think I will ever sell my XPA-2 XPA-5 combo they are perfect for 2 channel music with the XPA-2 alone and 7.1 channel HT with both amps together and make for an excellent combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 A lot of people will swear by them but i have bought two amps and both had problems in my set up. There is a reason they are priced so cheap.They market the most power for the least amount of money and there is definitely nothing wrong with that as long as buyers understand that. The reason they are less expensive is because they do something no other manufacturer does. When you buy a Parasound amp, it is made in China. The same goes for the bulk of amps out there. The difference is, the Parasound then goes thru the normal distribution chains that all add their profit onto the amp and by the time you get it, it costs $1500-$2000 more than it would if you bought it right off the boat. Emotiva owns their own factory in China. They sell their product themselves online so they cut out all those middle men and bring you the same quality product as 90% of the amps out there at a much better price. I have three Emotiva amps, two XPA-5's and one XPA-2. They have been hooked up to RF-7's, Forte's, Forte ll's and Chorus ll's and I've never had any hiss or hum that was audible more than a few feet from the speaker. You can't hear anything at any seating position that's for sure. The term factory direct has been used in marketing long before the internet. Even the white van guy has a good story. Vital you have read many many posts here and in other forums I'm sure about emo amps with hiss and static (i know other amps have problems too but come on). I bought an xbox360 and it lasted me years and never got the red ring of death (tell a few months ago sadly). But we all know that the fail rate on that machine was really high. I don't think even xbox would say its a nice reliable machine with a straight face. Would it make sense for me to say that its reliable because mine didn't break yet even though i know so many have? I own an emo amp and the rf-7ii and its a good match if you don't have static. I get what they are doing and it works but lets not get sucked into the factory direct marketing to much and think we have something we don't. Keep in mind are very own beloved klipsch speakers are playing the same game as parasound is right? I have bought two amps from emo and both had static and hiss I'm glad yours didn't but i think most people just live with it because its not that bad and you can barley hear it. Plus the amp does sound way better than the avr it replaced. The emo tech told me when i called about the static that my speakers are not a good match for that amp because of the high floor noise. So thats right from emotiva. They do sell a lot of power for cheap so that is cool for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 I have excellent hearing and I hear static or hiss most people cannot hear. Again all three of my Emotiva amps were dead silent any static heard was in the recording itself if the recording was good my ear had to be in the horn to hear any speaker static, from one foot away 100% dead quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Straight up parasound 100% you will keep iy in your setup a lonnng time. Same can be said for the Emotiva XPA-5 but at about 1/5 th the price. I doubt you will have much difference in sound between the XPA-5 and the A51. But the XPA-5 is a much better value and will retain its value better as well, I bought my XPA-3 new during an Emotiva sale I used it for 2 years and sold it for more than I paid for it. The XPA-3 was my first amp and my first move into separates, I don't think I will ever sell my XPA-2 XPA-5 combo they are perfect for 2 channel music with the XPA-2 alone and 7.1 channel HT with both amps together and make for an excellent combo. I do agree its a better value to me for sure but not everyone is a value spender. Plus 3k is different to everyone. Probably to much for me to spend on an amp if i can get one close for 3x less. But if it was only a few hundred more than i would get the better one. So if 100 to me is the same as 1000 to him then to him he's only spending a few hundred more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 I have excellent hearing and I hear static or hiss most people cannot hear. Again all three of my Emotiva amps were dead silent any static heard was in the recording itself if the recording was good my ear had to be in the horn to hear any speaker static, from one foot away 100% dead quiet. So you got a good xbox360 in terms of my point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 rich guy have you read a lot of posts about emo amps with hiss and static? or is this new news to you? Cause i have read a ton not to mention i have owned two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 How many posts would be fair amount of people reporting bad hiss or static from their new emo amp for it to be considered a real issue? I know on this forum alone theres a lot. Blu ray.com there is probably a good hundred, and emo lounge probably hundreds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
young1 Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 The Emotiva's have a 30 day trial period give that a try, if they hiss/hum send back and get the parasound @$4000+. At least this way you won't have to be wondering down the road if you could have saved 2 grand. Im running a pair of emos on my RF7iis and I have to put my ear right up to my horn to hear any hiss, it is very minimal. They replaced another very good amp but, the emos blew that amp out of the water, I even removed a Klipsch 15" sub due to the bass the emos added to my RF7s. The XPA series isn't in the same category as the XPR series Re: Emotiva XPR-5 or Parasound A51 for RF-7 II home cinema system? Happy hunting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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