If you want to hear an amplifier that will blow both of them away, get a Vincent SP-331 or a Musical Fidelity M6PRX.

They are serious high-fidelity amplifiers, not a cheap 2nd-rate amp like the Emotiva amps you are talking about.

Once you hear either of those, you will want to flog the Emotiva amps on E-Bay to someone who doesn't know any better and buy something good.

commsysman wrote:

If you want to hear an amplifier that will blow both of them away, get a Vincent SP-331 or a Musical Fidelity M6PRX.

They are serious high-fidelity amplifiers, not a cheap 2nd-rate amp like the Emotiva amps you are talking about

.

Once you hear either of those, you will want to flog the Emotiva amps on E-Bay to someone who doesn't know any better and buy something good.

Commsysman,
A little off topic..

How does the Vincent 331 compare to the Vincent 331 mk 2? Is it worth the extra $

hcsunshine wrote:

commsysman wrote:

If you want to hear an amplifier that will blow both of them away, get a Vincent SP-331 or a Musical Fidelity M6PRX.

They are serious high-fidelity amplifiers, not a cheap 2nd-rate amp like the Emotiva amps you are talking about.

Once you hear either of those, you will want to flog the Emotiva amps on E-Bay to someone who doesn't know any better and buy something good.

this musical fidelity m6prx amp looks real nice...do you know how much it goes for?

The M6PRX is $3500 from Audio Advisor.

I use it with a Audio Research LS26 preamp and Vandersteen Treo speakers, and the sound is to die for.

The M6PRX was recommended to me by John Atkinson in an e-mail, and it is one of the few amplifiers in its price range that gets a Class A recommendation in Recommended Components (a lot of the ones in Class A cost 5 to 10 times as much).

It replaced a Bryston amplifier which cost a bit more, and sounds much better. The Bryston wasn't bad, but this one is just amazingly nice-sounding.

The Vincent amplifier is $1399, and I don't know of anything that sounds as good for under $2000; it is nice.

hcsunshine wrote:

the musical fidelity M6PRX goes for 3,000 euros or about $3,300 according to one dealer. IF this is true, that is a tad bit more than the $300 a piece emotiva UPA-1. anyway, it's not beneficial to criticize or discredit someone elses product instead of hyping your own. if you said,"i like this product and why" I'd be cool with that.

I just thought that it was kind of silly to be discussing the relative "fine points" of two amplifiers when neither is what I would consider a high-fidelity product.

I was not "hyping" anything.

One should look at Class A and Class B in Recommended Components for a long list of very good amplifiers.

I don't think you will find any Emotiva products there.

The original poster did the community a service by providing a decent review comparing two products that are no doubt popular in this community and he deserves a pat on the back; not derision. Further, we are comparing Apples to Oranges as stated with products that cost upwards of 5 times. Do they sound 5 times better? May background in science tells me that would be impossible.

As for recommendations to the OP, I would take a look at the NAD C 275BEE Amp. It has similar power, and can be bridged to mono block. It costs about the same as the two emotiva mono blocks, and can be used in stereo mode until budget permits the purchase of a second one for true dual mono block power. I have auditioned NAD products and find them truly in the "middle" of performance as well; making for maybe a good compromise for your listening and they in general have strong Bass. NAD also comes up in Stereophile Class A or B ratings with various pieces as well. Note: the NAD can output over 400 Watts in mono mode; which if you need the power, the Vincent Amp, while a compelling recommendation, and actually close to the price of two Emotiva mono blocks, does not have that kind of power and again is NOT a mono block amp. So we are again comparing Apples with Oranges; hence my NAD recommendation above any other equipment mentioned here: it meets or exceeds your power needs as well as can be bridged to mono block mode, ands falls in your budget if you are able to be satisfied temporarily with one in stereo mode. In closing, there are many many products to choose from in the $500-$1200 price range it is dizzying. Just providing my recommendation as a starting point.

After thinking on my reply more, what speakers are you driving? That would make a huge impact in my recommendation, actually. For example, if you are using Maggies, then definitely stick with the POWER of my NAD recommendation. However, depending on the load your speakers have, and to give the earlier poster credit, I would seriously consider the Vincent... it does have excellent specs and positive reviews; at decent power and again near the price of two Emotiva mono blocks.

I'm not sure why commsysman even posted that non-sense. The Vincent might have been at least a valid comparison. But I can assure you the MF isn't really significantly better than the Emotiva. I've heard some MF, it's not bad, but it doesn't really impress, either. The Vincent IS more reasonable in cost for a middle-high end amp and actually SOUNDS like a high-end amp. Until you have a little more scratch, keep on with your Emotiva gear. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Comm's can sometimes just be a bit of an ass.

It would be interesting to hear how those Emotivas sound compare to Outlaws mono blocks , Marantz's MM7025, Parasounds classic line, etc... All sub $1000 hi-fi gear. Even Adcom would be an interesting point of comparison. Comparing to Musical Fidelity M1 PWR would be interesting as well. We should be discussing the fine points of this gear. For folks who want or need separates at a reasonable price point, this is a hugely helpful conversation.

This would be anyone who needs more than 60 or 70 watts and has a budget below $1000.

bierfeldt's comment about Adcom got me thinking:

Have you considered going Vintage? I myself nearly took the offer for $600 for a pair of 1990's era Adcom GFA-555 series II. I unfortunately did not audition them, but I did recently purchase a '90's era NAD 7140 Receiver for my bedroom and it sounds outstanding with serious headroom. I compared it to my 2014 Denon X4000 (no slouch AVR) and the Vintage Nad sounded significantly better. Due to that fact, I actually returned the Denon and went with a Creek Integrated; which does sound better than the NAD..but I had to go to a $1200 integrated amp to do so! Just for kicks, here are the specs for the Adcom's:

Rated Power Output

200 watts per channel into 8 Ω from 20 - 20,000 Hz at less than 0.04% THD, both channels driven.

325 watts per channel into 4 Ω from 20 - 20,000 Hz at less than 0.04% THD, both channels driven (requires fan option to do this for any length of time).

600 watts into 8 Ω from 20 - 20,000 Hz at less than 0.04% THD, bridged mono (requires fan option to do this for any length of time).

850 watts into 4 Ω from 20 - 20,000 Hz at less than 0.09% THD, bridged mono (requires fan option to do this for any length of time).

Dynamic Headroom

2.5 dB at 4 Ω.

850 Watts into 4 Ohm Bridged? Thats 1,700 Watts @4 Ohm of power for $600-$800 for the *pair*. Those prices are typical for eBay (plus shipping) and craigslist and other sources.

Rotel, in addition to NAD and Adcom, was another brand I was looking at vintage.
Just something to think about; I'm aware going Vintage isn't everyone's cup of tea, but for the budget range mono-block power, my opinion can't hurt the situation.

bierfeldt wrote:

It would be interesting to hear how those Emotivas sound compare to Outlaws mono blocks , Marantz's MM7025, Parasounds classic line, etc... All sub $1000 hi-fi gear. Even Adcom would be an interesting point of comparison. Comparing to Musical Fidelity M1 PWR would be interesting as well. We should be discussing the fine points of this gear. For folks who want or need separates at a reasonable price point, this is a hugely helpful conversation.

This would be anyone who needs more than 60 or 70 watts and has a budget below $1000.

I own both the Outlaw Audio M2200 mono block amps and the Emotiva UPA-1 mono block amps. The Outlaws sound pretty defined for vocals but the Emotiva amps literally blow the Outlaws away. Not even in the same ballpark. The bottom end is much more pronounced with the Emo amps and the power output itself is better with the Emos.

Not sure why people post in these forums with nothing positive to contribute. To throw a Vincent amp into the discussion is silly. Number one, glad to hear you enjoy the Vincent, you probably should for the price. Secondly, have you ever hear the Emotiva amps or are you one of the naysayers who just believe substandard prices equate to substandard sound quality? I see so many that dismiss Emotiva for poor quality without giving it a chance. My buddy has a Bryston 4B and it is marginally better if any than my Emotiva XPA-2. Since I can buy 5 Emotiva amps for the price of one Bryston I say that is a good deal.

I have an Emotiva RSP-2 preamp in my main stereo which has served me well for 6 years now. I put together a desktop system consisting of AudioEngine P4 speakers, a Dayton subwoofer. At the heart of it is the little Emotiva A-100 MiniX, and it is one sweet sounding little amp! Dead silent, this little amp is extremely neutral sounding with tight solid lower mid bass, silky smooth highs, and plenty of solid power. I picked it up while on sale for $197.00, and there is nothing that can touch it for twice the price! As far as reliability we'll have to see, but it sure seem like a very solid build!