Emotiva LPA-1, 7 channel amplifier

[Rich-n-Texas]

Rich, I have two words for you, MASTERCARD, I guess that's actually one word isn't it, oh well, two syllables

I HATE THIS WEBSITE!!! I hate it I hate it I hate it!!!

[kexodusc]

Rich, I have two words for you, MASTERCARD, I guess that's actually one word isn't it, oh well, two syllables

Heh heh...I financed a speaker purchase once back in college putting it on a Mastercard that I got on a 6 month no interest promo - then switched it to a competing Visa for no interest for a few months, then back to a Mastercard for a low intererest rate (zero was gone by then, they must have clued in). Got a few free T-shirts to boot!
I think by the end of it they paid me.
Then I did my very first credit score check and couldn't figure out why I most picnic tables had better Equifax scores than I did.

[L.J.]

Why not get the Emotiva first? Maybe your gonna loose out on that $499 price. PS3 is still a month away and it's not like it's gonna disappear. But the price for the Emotiva will

[f0rge]

Why not get the Emotiva first? Maybe your gonna loose out on that $499 price. PS3 is still a month away and it's not like it's gonna disappear. But the price for the Emotiva will

if anything, the PS3 may drop in price by the summer...

[kexodusc]

Why not get the Emotiva first? Maybe your gonna loose out on that $499 price. PS3 is still a month away and it's not like it's gonna disappear. But the price for the Emotiva will

The man makes some sense here, Rich. This is pretty much what I did. Pay $499 now or $699 later. Could even take advantage of the 30-day in home trial offer. Yeah, you have to pay shipping, but for that price you'll put to rest the nagging question of whether you need more power and higher quality amplification. Fed Ex ground to Texas I think is under $40. I've paid higher restocking fees on speakers. At least you'd know and could move on with life and the PS3 if you weren't happy.

[GMichael]

[Rich-n-Texas]

What he said!!!

Nevertheless. I just called my credit card Co. and tried to get them to lower my APR; they didn't so I'm going to pull the trigger right now, then bounce my CC balance to the next CC that offers me 0% APR.

I swear L.J., I don't even know what you look like and I'm constantly taking your advice. WTF is it about you?!?!?!

[Rich-n-Texas]

Done!

You people are going to drive me to the poor house!!!

[L.J.]

Done!

You people are going to drive me to the poor house!!!

Dang that was quick

Congrats.....I hope to be next in line.


Now let's talk about that BFD for a second....JK

[GMichael]

[kexodusc]

What he said!!!

Nevertheless. I just called my credit card Co. and tried to get them to lower my APR; they didn't so I'm going to pull the trigger right now, then bounce my CC balance to the next CC that offers me 0% APR.

I swear L.J., I don't even know what you look like and I'm constantly taking your advice. WTF is it about you?!?!?!

As a former broke college student who had all the scams figured out...a word of advice - read the fine print on 0% offers. Some of them charge you if you pay the balance off too fast! Go figure.

I think you're gonna like it. Word of advice - be careful - this thing can play loud.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I hope I don't hurt my back bringing it in the door.

It ships via FedEx which (knock wood) is a big relief.

SO, Kex, let's talk IC's. I know Monster's out, but a store I was in when trying to audition receivers has Tributaries. Subjective I agree, but how about some down-to-earth recs? And would this be a good time to look into power conditioners?

(Sorry all if I'm hijacking this thread. Not my intention to make it all about me).

P.S. Loud? Not a problem. It's what I want. I have some neighbors with noisy little lap dogs that I've been meaning to get even with.

[kexodusc]

I hope I don't hurt my back bringing it in the door.

It ships via FedEx which (knock wood) is a big relief.

SO, Kex, let's talk IC's. I know Monster's out, but a store I was in when trying to audition receivers has Tributaries. Subjective I agree, but how about some down-to-earth recs? And would this be a good time to look into power conditioners?

(Sorry all if I'm hijacking this thread. Not my intention to make it all about me).

P.S. Loud? Not a problem. It's what I want. I have some neighbors with noisy little lap dogs that I've been meaning to get even with.

IC's? I have never been able to hear a noticeable difference with IC's unless the connector ends were seriously corroded or there was some nasty interference from EMF or whatever. I've fought with some friends that sware there was a big difference.
I've used expensive IC's and cheap ones. I like BlueJeans Cables, etc. As long as it's of reasonable quality. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I wouldn't recommend spending too much on them. Getting them the shortest length you need is beneficial.

Emotiva recommends the amp be plugged directly into the wall and not through any power conditioners. I've never needed a power conditioner and can't speak to the benefits of one. I would try without one. The amps works fine. You might experience a faint buzzing or ground loop hum though, which would suggest other problems in your home. Maybe not. We'll see what happens.

What do you use for speaker cable termination? Bare wire, spade, banana plus?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Bananas. The terminals on back of the Emo look from the pictures to have smaller holes than normal. I hope that's not the case because I just upgraded the Dayton Audio plugs that I didn't really like to these:



I absolutely love these plugs and I put them together to have double grip onto the wire.

[kexodusc]

Bananas. The terminals on back of the Emo look from the pictures to have smaller holes than normal. I hope that's not the case because I just upgraded the Dayton Audio plugs that I didn't really like to these:



I absolutely love these plugs and I put them together to have double grip onto the wire.

I use bananas with mine, no problem. Should be fine.

[Rich-n-Texas]

It shipped about three hours ago... should have it Monday.

I wonder what Cathy and Jennifer look like.

[bobsticks]

What he said!!!


I swear L.J., I don't even know what you look like and I'm constantly taking your advice. WTF is it about you?!?!?!

It's because L.J. is, as they say, "the man". What's BFD, I mean I think that means something different where I'm from.

Congrats on the purchase Rich. I'm 100% positive that giving those bad boys some juice will open them up in ways that are sure to please.

[L.J.]

Funny Sticks.....Very funny

[Rich-n-Texas]

Thanks sticks. I think it's just what the doctor ordered. Sometimes I wonder, if I had bought the Integra would this even be necessary but then I realize this amp and my receiver will end up costing the same as the Integra would've anyway, only now I KNOW I'll have a very capable power supply.

Sorry L.J., this time Kex gets the cookies.

It's because L.J. is, as they say, "the man". What's BFD, I mean I think that means something differenrt where I'm from.

I don't get that but BFD means Big Frickin' Deal, IIRC, everywhere but here, where it means Beringer Feedback Destroyer.

[kexodusc]

Thanks sticks. I think it's just what the doctor ordered. Sometimes I wonder, if I had bought the Integra would this even be necessary but then I realize this amp and my receiver will end up costing the same as the Integra would've anyway, only now I KNOW I'll have a very capable power supply.

LOL. Rich, with this hobby you can second guess your purchases into bankruptcy in a hurry - don't fall into that habbit.
If it makes you feel any better, those big Integra's are damn nice receivers, but even they don't have a power supply as big as the LPA-1's, and in all honesty, I doubt will sound any better than what you're pairing together. I have an HT mag here with some measurements for the DTR-8.8, its amp section isn't quite up to par with the LPA-1's on paper. Though I suppose there could be subjective sound differences in favor of either, but I've always found Integras warmer than Yamaha so they might have similar presentations at least.

If nothing else, the nice thing about the LPA-1 is that you'll be able to upgrade your receiver to a processor a few years down the road if you want and keep the amp. Hard to do that with a receiver. This will afford you more money for a dedicated pre-amp/processor, which in turn should yield better sound quality over a receiver. The beauty of separates. I bet an Outlaw, Emotiva or even Integra processor would be a pretty good combo with it.

Then again the 3800 is a pretty solid processor in its own right. My Yammie surprised me with how decent it sounded. Way better than my old RX-V795a ever did as a pre-amp. So no need to upgrade their any time soon. You're going to find your audio quality improvements from electronics upgrades will get smaller and smaller while costing an arm and a leg more.

The DTR-8.8 is about $2200 or so. Pretty sure the 3800 and LPA-1 are at the very least an equivalent performing combo for a bit less money, with more flexibility. No regrets.

We're gonna have to open a pool on what month you end up with a BFD.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Good stuff Kex. Very reassuring. I'm fairly confident when I say this is the last significant audio upgrade from a financial standpoint for me for some time to come... that BFD is very reasonably priced.

Can I get in on that pool? Never mind, L.J. will win it anyway.

[kexodusc]

Good stuff Kex. Very reassuring. I'm fairly confident when I say this is the last significant audio upgrade from a financial standpoint for me for some time to come... that BFD is very reasonably priced.

Can I get in on that pool? Never mind, L.J. will win it anyway.

We're going to have to hire one of those hypnotists to convince you to get a BFD...or talk to your wife or something. To be honest I can't think of a bigger bang for the buck in my system besides my speakers maybe. It does so much for so little.

I think LJ has a BFD. GM, I'm not so sure he's got one...yet.
For my part, I have 3 more purchases to make in 2008. I need a HDTV projector, a BluRay player/PS3, and a new receiver/processor.

Narrowed it down to a few projectors. The PS3 is a runaway favorite at this stage of the game. Not sure what I'm going to do for processing though. Anything from a RX-V663 to an Anthem.

2009...that's the year of the infinite baffle, wife permitting.

[Mr Peabody]

Rich, I've only used one Tributaries video cable which I'm happy with, their rep seems to be a high quality performing cable for less than some of the other name brands. My HDMI cable cost either $60. or $80, less than a Monster and looked better than theirs costing $150.00. So if this holds true for the audio side they would be a good option.

Kex, so far the Integra RTC-9.8 and a Onkyo Pro model whose number escapes me are the only processors I've found so far that are fully up to date. The Marantz AV8003 will be as well when it hits in a month or so. I haven't seen a updated version of Anthem yet, nice preamp though. Is Anthem, or other Canadian hifi, cheaper up there than in the U.S.?

[audio amateur]

2009...that's the year of the infinite baffle, wife permitting.

Does the house allow? The new adire audio replacements by exodus audio look pretty nice. Reasonably priced too. I'd wait for a Brahma replacement though

[kexodusc]

Rich, I've only used one Tributaries video cable which I'm happy with, their rep seems to be a high quality performing cable for less than some of the other name brands. My HDMI cable cost either $60. or $80, less than a Monster and looked better than theirs costing $150.00. So if this holds true for the audio side they would be a good option.

Kex, so far the Integra RTC-9.8 and a Onkyo Pro model whose number escapes me are the only processors I've found so far that are fully up to date. The Marantz AV8003 will be as well when it hits in a month or so. I haven't seen a updated version of Anthem yet, nice preamp though. Is Anthem, or other Canadian hifi, cheaper up there than in the U.S.?

To be honest, I'm not sure anymore. When I demoed Anthem gear a few years ago, I remember they were cheaper in Canada by a few hundred bucks - actually priced the same, but I didn't have to convert currency. With the Canadian dollar appreciating so much in recent years I suspect that advantage is gone. Most speaker companies still have a 1-2% price advantage, but nothing like before.

I'm not necessarily looking for a fully up to date processor. Good enough, is good enough, my player will decode DTS HD MA and the like, and as long as it has a few HDMI inputs I'll be good. I'm more interested in sound quality. I'm thinking of selling my integrated and merging my stereo and home theater setups into 1 room.

I'm hoping by the end of the summer when my house is finished that the new wave of units will be out. A lot of receivers/processors are waiting on the much delayed Cirrus logic chips. I'll probably wait for them.

Guess all I can really do is compare a few models to my existing receiver and go with that. The Integra is the only processor I've seen, unfortunately the dealers in my are won't let me do an in-home demo without charging me a re-stocking fee.
Can't really fault them for it - I wouldn't want to pay full, new price for an open boxed item as a customer. Could make this exercise difficult.