UPA-2 - Reviews

[psuchit]

Hello to everyone on this forum. I am so excited to report back with my review on UPA-2.I ordered my UPA-2 on Tuesday morning and I had my amp today in the afternoon. It is quite a sight I took some pictures while unpacking and I could not or more of was not going to wait for it to get to room temp. I took it downstairs to my basement HT and started to hook it up. I have not played around with my level control since I figured that this is only going to be running my rear surrounds. My current setup is as follows.

XPA-5 running my Klipsch RF-62/RC-62 & RS-52
UPA-2 running my rear surrounds Polk Tc610i in ceiling speakers.

When I got my XPA-5 running I always blamed my rear surround as being cheap (I paid $250 for pair) / poor response due to in ceiling (drop ceiling)/ no enclosure speakers. I had them running off my Onkyo thinking that since there is no other load it would be providing enough juice for my rears. But let me tell you that do not underestimate UPA-2… it made a night and day of a difference in my surround sound channels. I started off with cars and whoa I could feel the flow of sound engulfing evenly between the fronts, sides and rear with the same intensity… I also played Blu Ray matrix revolution and this setup now completely blows my mind away… I feel that I made quite a wise choice in buying the UPA-2 for my rear channels… For anyone out there who is looking for an amp just for the rear channels this would definitely give you all that you want. I was going to buy XPA-3 for my fronts for $499 + $25 shipping but gave a long thought about UPA-2, I was going to return my UPA in exchange for XPA if I felt that I could not tell the difference …but this baby is not going anywhere…

For Rear Channel amplification in your HT look no further and do not spend your money if you don’t have to because the solution is here and that is UPA-2….IF it is not a BEAST it sure is a SOB (Son Of a Beast) …


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[hemster]

psuchit, thanks for the report.

I currently own the XPA-5 and I've been wondering about a solution for the rears. Currently I'm using my Outlaw receiver for the rears. Going forward, my choices are:

1. RPA-2 for the fronts and XPA-5 for center/surround duty.
2. UPA-2 for the rear surround (as you have done).
3. Continue using my Outlaw receiver for rears.

I was leaning toward the UPAs but wasn't sure how they'd perform. Sounds like from your report, they'll do just fine. Better start saving up I suppose! :-)

[loungelizard]

Popped in my UPA-2 this morning. But before I comment on it let me provide some quick background. I have a 5.1 theater set up in the great room (26 X 14 feet). Running a Samsung 50" plasma, PS3, a Yamaha V663 driving a pair of Ohm Walsh 2's, a recently purchased Def Tech Center speaker, Radio Shack Minimus 7's for the rear and the Acoustech H100 powered sub woofer. I know the speakers are a mish mash collected over the years that shows my true colors; I am cheap or better yet I am a bang for buck kind of guy when it comes to my theater hobby.

What started my upgrade quest was the fact that while watching movies I was not happy with the clarity of voices. Since the majority of voices come from the center channel I figured my best bet was to replace the Cambridge Soundworks Center. Hence the Definitive Technology 2000 that is known for its clarity. It was a definite improvement but it broke up the sound stage as it did not match the timbre of the Ohm Walsh 2 (or so I thought). So I was still not happy, I felt the clarity could still be better and the huge enveloping sound that the Walsh driver provides was reduced.

Next step, I trolled the audio forums for ideas and kept going back to the amp topics. I recalled I was surprised at the change in sound when I dropped in the Yamaha V663 receiver. I did not think a receiver could make that big a difference in sound quality coming from the same speakers. The Ohm Walsh speakers are 4 ohm therefore I had to set the Yamaha output impedance to 6 ohm. Reading the forums I discovered that the 6 ohm setting reduced the power output to prevent over current of the amp section. Ok, time to take advantage of the pre-outs on the Yamaha V663 and get an external amp to drive my power hungry, 4 ohm Walshes.

As all you emotites know the web forums consistently state that the Emotive amps have fantastic quality and customer service and are on the cheap. A company after my own heart! It was a no-brainer to grab an Emotive UPA-2. The wife factor did not allow me to go for the XPA-2, I will just have to continue to fantasize about it. Fast forward to today, hooked up the 185 watt (into 4 ohms) amp and set the test tone output level using my trusty Radio Shack sound level meter. Ok, the first test, I popped the Rush - Snakes and Arrows Blu-Ray DVD into the PS3 and sat down in my favorite Lazy Boy listening position and let her rip with Dolby DTS goodness. Woa, hold on, I have my huge soundstage back and dang, check out the clarity of the individual instruments they just jump out right in front. Hey, I am beginning to enjoy this ride. The clarity and crispness just grabs you. Ok, time to crank this sweetness, 98 decibels and it's still comfortable (note my wife was out). Neil Pearts drum solo is a fave of mine and I was hearing sounds that were not there before. Unbelievably $269 made me happy with the set up now. Obviously the low efficiency Ohm Walsh 2's needed this amp to make them sing again. Highly recommend Emotive for anyone with 4 ohm speakers. Thanks for sticking with me and reading this, just had to share my enjoyment of this new mini-beast of an amp. ;D

[RPA-1 man]

Curiosity question here:

What is the actual output into 4 ohms for the UPA-2? The website says 185 but the manual says 225.

[Delaney]

Feb 15, 2009 13:23:11 GMT -5 RPA-1 man said:

Curiosity question here:

What is the actual output into 4 ohms for the UPA-2? The website says 185 but the manual says 225.

I noticed the same, when I got mine. I e-mailed Loonie and he told me that 185 W is the correct number.

[Lonnie]

Feb 16, 2009 2:02:04 GMT -5 Delaney said:

Feb 15, 2009 13:23:11 GMT -5 RPA-1 man said:

Curiosity question here:

What is the actual output into 4 ohms for the UPA-2? The website says 185 but the manual says 225.

I noticed the same, when I got mine. I e-mailed Loonie and he told me that 185 W is the correct number.

We double checked a few weeks ago, and 185 is correct.
We should have all manual errors corrected soon, and will be editing them in house instead of at the factory.

[loungelizard]

It seems to me after trolling this forum and others that the UPA-2 is the red-headed step child of the Emotiva family. There is very little talk or buzz related to this "little guy". It has made a surprising difference in the sound from my speakers and for less than $300 where can you find an external amp that beats it? Is the passion only for the big power 200 watt plus amps and the little guy doesn't make a difference for most audio buffs, or does the UPA-2 not sell as many compared to the XPA-2 and RPA-2 of the world? Maybe it is because it is less than 7 channels. Just a personal observation that I find interesting. Heck, even Emotiva treats is as the step child as the UPA-2 does not even rate for it's own sub-board under amplifier reviews. What am I missing?

[Lonnie]

Feb 20, 2009 7:36:29 GMT -5 loungelizard said:

It seems to me after trolling this forum and others that the UPA-2 is the red-headed step child of the Emotiva family. There is very little talk or buzz related to this "little guy". It has made a surprising difference in the sound from my speakers and for less than $300 where can you find an external amp that beats it? Is the passion only for the big power 200 watt plus amps and the little guy doesn't make a difference for most audio buffs, or does the UPA-2 not sell as many compared to the XPA-2 and RPA-2 of the world? Maybe it is because it is less than 7 channels. Just a personal observation that I find interesting. Heck, even Emotiva treats is as the step child as the UPA-2 does not even rate for it's own sub-board under amplifier reviews. What am I missing?

It's only been out a couple of months, that's all. I haven't thought to add it to the review section...thanks for pointing that out.

We've actually got one out for review right now, and I think we'll be hearing a lot more about that amp soon.

[loungelizard]

Thanks Danng and congrats on the move to the new digs. I think you make a good point, some will not jump on the bandwagon until a "professional" says it's great. My own ears tell me all I need to know! Only two months on the market? Ok that put's this into perspective also.

[Lonnie]

Feb 20, 2009 8:07:48 GMT -5 loungelizard said:

Thanks Danng and congrats on the move to the new diggs. I think you make a good point, some will not jump on the bandwagon until a "professional" says it's great. Only two months on the market? Ok that put's this into perspective also.

It's a great amp, and an incredible deal. I'll post links to a reveiw/story coming up on it when it's available.

[Lonnie]

Feb 20, 2009 8:07:48 GMT -5 loungelizard said:

Thanks Danng and congrats on the move to the new diggs. I think you make a good point, some will not jump on the bandwagon until a "professional" says it's great. Only two months on the market? Ok that put's this into perspective also.

Put the category up, review away!