Emotiva "Ultra Theater" LMC-1/LPA-1 combo - First impressions

[tenzip]

Well, I finally got everything situated, and I have hooked up the LMC-1/LPA-1 combo. I have Chorus II mains, Academy center, and Quartet surrounds.

WOW! [][][H][Y]

I never knew what I was missing. Unbelievable. I can't really understand where all the music was hiding before. Soundstage, punch, imaging, everything's better. Definitely more headroom. Dynamic passages are sooo much better.

Very easy to set up, except for lifting the amp, but sacrifices must be made. (Not as bad as the MPS-1, I'm sure, but still a beast to pick up and sling around. Getting it out of the box by myself was kind of interesting. [] )

I had a chance to open it up some t'other day, while the wife and kids were at the Shrine Circus. I had no idea that my Chorus IIs were capable of that! Holy effin' crap, Batman!

BUT. (And this is a big but, and no, I don't like big buts.)

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

The complaint I have, is that the Quartets that I'm using for surround are ~6' from my ears when sitting in the center of the seating area, and I definitely hear hissing. It's in all channels, but really only noticeable in the surrounds because of their proximity to the seating area. It's plainly audible during quiet passages in music or in pauses in the action or soft dialogue on the tube.

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

Called Emotiva and talked to Lonnie, he had me separate each component in the chain, and the hiss is definitely from the LMC-1 pre/pro. He said that there really isn't anything to be done about it, as it is the op-amp's base operating noise, and our beloved mucho-efficient Klipsch horns exacerbate the problem. The LPA-1 is silent as the grave with nothing hooked up to it, but when the LMC-1 is connected, the snake festival begins. Pressing the mute button stops it, but as soon as the Vol ^ button is pressed, it comes back, and it's level is constant regardless of master volume setting. I suspect that it would not be noticeable if the Quartets were at least 8-10' away.

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

My bottom-of-the-line Onkyo TX-SR504 has about that level of noise when turned up to ~65 or 70 (scale 0 to 80) with no input. I may bring out the SPL meter to try to quantify it. Probably have to hold it right up to the tweeter to get a reading.

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

I'm going to try it for a few more days, and see what is what. I'd like to get the Quartets up higher, and farther away from my ears, where they will eventually be mounted, so maybe it won't be as noticeable. I certainly don't want to go back to my wimpy little Onkyo now that I have "heard the light".

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

Called Lonnie back and told him that when listening in "Bypass" (2ch) mode, there is still the hissing from the center and surrounds. I suggested that their next version should include muting of all other channels when listening in 2ch. He thought that was a great suggestion, and made a note to talk to the programmers about it. He said that they never noticed the hiss in their testing, because they don't use Klipsch, or other horn speakers, more's the pity.

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

Lonnie told me to try it for a few more days, and I'm going to figure a way to get the Quartets up to their planned position near the ceiling/wall junction temporarily to see if it's acceptable. Otherwise, I may have to return it. Unfortunately, that "sounds" like what will happen. []

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

Anyone else with Emotiva equipment got snakes in their speakers? I know JetJockey has the MPS-1 amp, and I think he was ordering the pre/pro that matched? Any other Emotiva pre/pro owners out there with experience? Anyone else got suggestions?

EDIT: Don't Use Crappy Cables And Expect Better Than Crappy Results.

[Speedball]

Thanks for the feedback regarding your equipment. Mmmmmmm, Good Luck.

[tenzip]

OK. I'm embarrassed to say I jumped the gun in posting. I'll be
editing my OP to reflect this, and I just want to say "I'm sorry" to
Emotiva.

The problem was mine, not theirs, and I'll be calling Lonnie to tell him.

Two words. Crappy cables.

My new interconnects from monoprice.com had not arrived when I hooked the system up, and I used what I had handy.

The new RCA interconnects arrived today, and I thought, "What the hell, it can't hurt to try."

Silence. Damn near perfect, just a very faint hum from the middle horn when you put your ear right over the opening to the horn.

Forgive me, cable snobs, for I have sinned.

[Rsoxfan]

Glad to hear that the problem is resolved...If I didn't need to put a roof on my house that setup would be mine...Guess it will have to wait..for now

[Fish]

Congrats and.......the lmc1 does have a little hiss,just like Rotel,B&K and several other prepros I've had.You should not hear it unless you get within a foot or so even on Klipsch,and it's not audible on polks etc..There is no better set made that can compete for sound and value,period,and it can shame many at twice the price.The Ultra set will not be touched by anything new close to it's price and with 40% off a new prepro just cause you're an owner the competition is scratching their heads.

[Speedball]

Thanks for the edit.....[]

Oh, I hear your supposed to use good cables too.....[]

[JetJockey]

OK. I'm embarrassed to say I jumped the gun in posting. I'll be editing my OP to reflect this, and I just want to say "I'm sorry" to Emotiva.

The problem was mine, not theirs, and I'll be calling Lonnie to tell him.

Two words. Crappy cables.

My new interconnects from monoprice.com had not arrived when I hooked the system up, and I used what I had handy.

The new RCA interconnects arrived today, and I thought, "What the hell, it can't hurt to try."

Silence. Damn near perfect, just a very faint hum from the middle horn when you put your ear right over the opening to the horn.

Forgive me, cable snobs, for I have sinned.

Hey tenzip, congrats on the upgrade! I am VERY happy to hear you cleaned up your snake problems. If you were using standard crappy RCA' cables I am not surprised you had noise. I have very slight hiss from one rear surround and thats with the Yammy as pre/pro with "Audioquest" interconnects but I think the power cord is near that speaker cable. I hook up the other "Big Dog" DMC1 this afternoon and have bought pretty good XLR balanced leads for the interconnects, I also have installed a 15amp circuit just for the MPS1 as recommended by EMO, this thing must like juice hey?

Will start a fresh post for my initial thoughts on the "Big Dogs" working together as it should be with the "Big Dogs" of the Ref IV lineup.

Gotta drive to pick it up now, wish me luck

Chris

[tenzip]

JetJockey

Good luck, hope everything goes smoother for you than it did for me. I was really sweating it for a while, thinking I was going to have to go back to the empty, lifeless shell of sound that limped out of my Onkyo. (Not really, I'm still impressed with what I got for $139 from the Onkyo online store, but there really is no comparison with the sound now.)

My parents will get good use out of the Onkyo, or if they have trouble running it, I'll probably use it in my new office when we move.

I'll be watching for your posts, expecting lots of []!

[westcott]

OK. I'm embarrassed to say I jumped the gun in posting. I'll be editing my OP to reflect this, and I just want to say "I'm sorry" to Emotiva.

The problem was mine, not theirs, and I'll be calling Lonnie to tell him.

Two words. Crappy cables.

Forgive me, cable snobs, for I have sinned.

I was trying to come up with an appropriate punishment for this infraction but I decided that parole was the proper judgement as you came forward and admitted your transgression, to the benefit of us all considering Emotiva.

By the way, I am not a cable snob[] but I do believe in quality cables without all the "snake oil' marketing to justify absurd prices of some manufacturers. I am very happy with plain old Belkin cable and Canare connectors.

Glad you came forward and clarified. Hope you have years of enjoyment from your new equipment.

[tenzip]

OK. I'm embarrassed to say I jumped the gun in posting. I'll be editing my OP to reflect this, and I just want to say "I'm sorry" to Emotiva.

The problem was mine, not theirs, and I'll be calling Lonnie to tell him.

Two words. Crappy cables.

Forgive me, cable snobs, for I have sinned.

I was trying to come up with an appropriate punishment for this infraction but I decided that parole was the proper judgement as you came forward and admitted your transgression, to the benefit of us all considering Emotiva.

By the way, I am not a cable snob[] but I do believe in quality cables without all the "snake oil' marketing to justify absurd prices of some manufacturers. I am very happy with plain old Belkin cable and Canare connectors.

Glad you came forward and clarified. Hope you have years of enjoyment from your new equipment.

I think I punished myself enough in thinking I might have to go back to my Onkyo. (Again, not that it's a bad AVR, just not in the same league as the Emotiva combo.)

Thank you for not treating me too harshly, and I look forward to enjoying for quite some time, although I'm sure the upgraditis bug will bite me sooner or later. []

I did call Lonnie and let him know what the situation was, he was relieved that it was cables, and not their equipment.

Was home listening to Jeff Beck's "There & Back" at lunch today. Pure bliss!

[Vladi]

tenzip, what was your previous gear before the upgrade to Emotiva? I am currently looking at upgrading to either an HK 645 [have it at home] or Emotiva LMC/LPA and cannot decide.

[Fish]

I owned several 6xx HK units,all very nice with Klipsch,solid power and good features.The Ultra set is a whole different critter,big time power and great music.The features of the Ultra are not gonna beat the HK by a long shot but the sound and power will.

[tenzip]

tenzip, what was your previous gear before the upgrade to Emotiva? I am currently looking at upgrading to either an HK 645 [have it at home] or Emotiva LMC/LPA and cannot decide.

I had an Onkyo TX-SR504, which is near the bottom of the line for Onkyo. Before that, I had a 2ch Pioneer SX-40. (The Pioneer was the SS, not the tube SX-40.) The Pioneer died about a 2 years ago, but I hadn't been using it much at that point, so I waited to replace it.

I started to get interested in DIY front projectors, and decided to put together a HT, and bought the Onkyo refurb and some satellites from the PMU from ebay for surround duty with the Chorus IIs. Quite the mismatch. I then got a pair of Quartets for surrounds, and an Academy for center. Seems like the price went up for each set of speakers, I paid $225 for the Chorus IIs, $320 for the Quartets, and $425 for the Academy. (I guess I didn't know about the inverse $ to size ratio.)

Then I realized that the Onkyo just wasn't cutting the mustard, and here I am, loving it. I found a beat-up KSW-10 for $75, and I'll be putting it in service soon, but I also happened across a fascinating site, "Cult of the Infinitely Baffled". Watch for holes appearing in my HT room's walls in the future. Speaking of which, DrWho, if you read this, feel free to sell the pieces/parts of the sonotube sub to someone else. I think I'm going to drink the kool-aid.