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December 16, 2009 - 8:52am
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emu-0202 as a preamp
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Since the Emotiva products have a 30 day return policy I would get my speakers on board and then get the Emotiva in house for a trial.
Not that something else might drive it better, I don't think you will be dissapointed driving it with the Emu.
Assuming the proper impedance, the EMU-202 should work OK for a premap driving the Emotiva as it will output up to two-thirds what an ordinary preamp will. I think.
IIRC, any input to the thing is digitized, but don't quote me on that. Maybe not though, as it will turn on and pass-thru with no PC hook-up.
All of this -means that: one must read the spec sheet and hardware info sheets very carefully before jumping.
This is going to come off pretty cynical but has any of the Emotiva stuff been reviewed in a reputable print magazine? Internet magazines don't count because 100% of their revenue comes from advertisers. Take a wild guess at some of their biggest advertisers. At least with print media part of their income is from subscribers so that keeps them accountable to a certain extent. A bunch of random, faceless "customers" raving about their products on the internet also don't count because there is every possibility that they might just be shills for the company in question.
On of the biggest selling points of factory direct manufactures is the "cut out the middle man" argument. Well if a company doesn't have dealers they have to increase their staff (plus buy them computers, desks, benefits, etc. etc.) to talk to customers AND if they offer a 30 day return policy someone has to pay for the units returned (or at least the money lost on those units.) In both cases that's the person who keeps the products. The "savings" of a factory direct operation are probably mostly an illusion.
A well known factory direct cable company is sending me emails every couple of days about "sales." Basically their products are always on "sale" for approximately 30-50% off retail. If that's the case their retail price isn't even real. It's just something that they set artificially high to make people feel like they are getting a deal.
My father once told me every scam has at it's core one component, make the mark feel like they are the one doing the scamming. Now I'm not saying that every factory direct company is a scam but the value for money isn't as high as it first appears. Take a look at the re-sale values in the blue book and really becomes obvious. It's all just my opinion mind you, but it's some stuff to think about.
http://www.ultimateavmag.com/surroundsoundpreampprocessors/805emo/
Isn't this Stereophile's Home Theater site?
Just an FYI: Ultimate AV and Stereophile have the same owner, but that's all. To say that Ultimate AV is our home theater site would be like saying that Snowboarder is Stereophile's winter sport site.
ROFLMAO
1- On another note, I haven't found the output impedance of EMU-0202 for the line output channel, but the max line out level is 6dbu; so 2.12 volts peak, so 4.12 volts peak-peak, which is a bit above the standard for line level in pro-audio (3.3V) and way about the standard for consumer electronics (0.88 volts). My concern isn't really that the source isn't powerful enought as that it doesn't add any preamp coloration.
If I did the math correctly:
The input inpedance of the power amp is around 47k ohm, which means at line level it drains about 45uwatts. If the headphones output of the emu-0202 is 16mwatt, my guess is that it should be able to sustain 45 uwatt in the line out channel.
However, coming from a musician background, I would expect a preamp to add a coloration (desirable or not). I wonder if it is going to sound ok without this coloration.
2-Emotiva products probably never got reviewed in stereophile because to get a review, stereophile ask that the product is distributed by at least 10 stores in the usa. Emotiva has none and does it's own distribution. I wouldn't count it as an argument against them.
Note my point about checking if the signal is digitized at output, or not. If SQ ids your thing, then said possibility of digitization is a big deal and will hamper pass-thru sound quality in very noticeable way.
As for the thing about 10 dealers (It used to be 5, maybe they changed that), that may not be a big deal for Stereophile, the other way past is that they must exist and be stable for at least a year and if they have internet distribution only, then that can stand in for a dealer network.