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Post by rcheliguy on Mar 4, 2015 21:51:11 GMT -5
With the Hypex NCore seemingly doing very well, do you think Emotiva may consider a light and efficient design?
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Post by Canuck_fr on Mar 4, 2015 21:54:13 GMT -5
I wouldn't be surprised if the replacement for the Ultra serires is class D. I have a hunch on this one.
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Post by MukAudio on Mar 4, 2015 21:55:19 GMT -5
That's a good guess. They did hint at a 1RU form factor coming out soon.
Mark
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Post by thompson12 on Mar 4, 2015 22:13:12 GMT -5
How would a class D stand up to the current EMO amps? performance and price?
Mitch
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Post by yeeeha17 on Mar 4, 2015 22:59:36 GMT -5
I actually want one for future sub builds. It would be nice to have a light and 1RU amp because I'm running out of room
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Post by knucklehead on Mar 4, 2015 23:01:42 GMT -5
I've owned a Rotel RMB-1085 for about six months. It is a 5 channel class D amp - output is 100wpc into 8ohms and 180wpc into 4ohms - it uses Bang & Olefsen modules that are very refined according to the reviews I'd read before buying it. If Emotiva can produce something that sounds as good as this - and I have no reason to think they cannot - then I may be in the market for some new amps. First I have to do is fall out of love with my latest amp acquisition - an Adcom GFA-535. Contrary to reviews and reports from others who've listened to class D amps they are anything but cold and shrill and clinical. What they are is highly transparent. The Rotel weighs but 12 pounds. Light weight is part of the calculation when I shop for amps now as an old back injury from 35 years ago is catching up with me - its gaining fast!
The Rotel isn't my first foray into class D territory - I had a Crown XLS-1500 - of the same line that had Andrew Robinson doing cartwheels - and for good reason. These are very powerful amps and are very light weight that sounds as sweet as a Georgia peach in summer! The Crown 1500 weighed just under 10 pounds. Very diminutive when you consider the power it has - 525w x2 into 4ohms. It drove the ERT's I had at the time to ear-splitting levels without a hint of distortion. The Rotel does the same with the ERM-6.2's. But the Adcom plays at the levels I enjoy listen at with ease and grace and sounds just as good when I crank things up a bit. And I only paid $90 shipped for it. If any of you are looking for a small amp with an equally small price tag check out the Adcom GFA-535. Its a real gem IMO and I'm not alone. Its actually a dual mono block designed by Nelson Pass - it has separate transformers - one for each channel and punches above its weight class. I love it! Its been bench tested into 8ohms at 92w and under 1% distortion levels.
As for Emo's next amp I'd guess its probably class D if its a 1RU height and stereo. Time will tell.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 5, 2015 5:16:48 GMT -5
How would a class D stand up to the current EMO amps? performance and price? Mitch It's hard to tell, but there are some very good class D's out there. Exhibit A, the nCores that I have. Mark
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Post by brubacca on Mar 5, 2015 6:52:47 GMT -5
I agree that a 1RU stereo amp is probably class D. I personally hope that they are hybrid amps with a tube input stage, but that is unlikely. I'd love to see something like he Rogue Medusa/Hydra, but much less that the $3k and $4k price tags.
Dan and company had stated years ago that they didn't like the sound of class D modules, but things change,
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Post by vcautokid on Mar 5, 2015 8:41:15 GMT -5
I am seeing more , and more D class amps. Wyred for sound's Monos are very good. Priced like an XPA-1 though. ouch! Get me an XPA-1! O:
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Post by rcheliguy on Mar 5, 2015 11:23:45 GMT -5
The thing I see is that B&O manufactures all the ICE amplifiers and Hypex is selling their larger NCore amplifiers to OEM's.
If Emotiva decides to sell a Class D amplifier the big question would be whether they design it themselves and have it manufactured in China or if they use an existing amplifier core. Obviously they could price them a lower if they do the design work themselves and mass produce it.
I'm still surprised when I hear someone review a Class D amplifier and talk about a long break in period. The whole concept of a Class D would seem to have much less of any chance to be affected by that. I'm pretty skeptical about many break in periods anyway. I think they break in the listener and give him a chance to get used to the equipment more than anything else.
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Post by Canuck_fr on Mar 5, 2015 11:38:19 GMT -5
Totally agree with you. breakin periods are for ears, not amps.
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Post by deltadube on Mar 5, 2015 13:45:18 GMT -5
Totally agree with you. breakin periods are for ears, not amps. don't want amps, that break my ears..
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Post by Jim on Mar 5, 2015 15:17:14 GMT -5
I don't know about you guys, but I let my computer break in. You know, after it's warmed up, it's faster. That CPU needs to get up to temperature. Same for the hard drive. Once the CPU is properly broken in with enough electrons, it runs much better. You have to burn in the hard drive for a few hours with some heavy IO for maximum throughput. The same goes for everything else in life. A garden hose works MUCH better after you've broken it in with a few thousand gallons. /cough.. cough... BS I'm pretty confident the new amps will be Class D. I don't know how else they'd pack much into a 1U amp. Anyone know of any amps that are 1U but aren't class D? I'm sure there are SOME... but 2U seems to generally be the common minimum height. Smaller than that, it gets harder to cool.
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Post by esquire on Mar 5, 2015 15:22:47 GMT -5
Emotiva had a receiver back in 2007, DMR-1, which had a class D amp. 7x125 watts into 8 ohms.
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Post by Jim on Mar 5, 2015 15:31:25 GMT -5
Emotiva had a receiver back in 2007, DMR-1, which had a class D amp. 7x125 watts into 8 ohms. Interesting, I never knew it was class D.
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Post by brubacca on Mar 5, 2015 15:32:46 GMT -5
A hypex UCD180 is roughly $80 each. Not sure what OEM pricing is, but maybe they get a discount... Say 10%. Of coarse now they need to get it shipped to them, maybe $5-10 per part.
So let's say that they use (2) Ucd180 per amp. That is roughly $150 cost per amp before chassis, binding posts, power supply and assembly. Plus Emotiva includes shipping.... Price point for a upa-200 was $300, but don't forget e-club so call it $270...
Hmmm... $270- $150= $120... For the rest of the amp and some profit? That math doesn't work for me.
If you use the XPA-200 as the basis... You are at a $500 price point...$450 after e-club... $450-150= $300 for profit/ the rest of the amp..... Maybe, if the chassis/PSU/assembly cost less then I think they should...
My point is as exciting as class d sounds I don't know that using commercially available solutions would fit within the price point that Emotiva is probably shooting for.
Please note I have applied knowledge of my industry and came up with this as pure speculation. I have never worked directly in the audio industry so my guess/analysis could be completely wrong and I fully admit this.
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Post by Canuck_fr on Mar 5, 2015 18:31:08 GMT -5
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Post by frisco on Mar 6, 2015 0:27:28 GMT -5
So, I was thinking of purchasing a two channel amp or two monoblocks now and later integratimg them with a system built around the successor to the U line or to the next generation fusion. Assuming the next gen uses d amplifiers, are you at increased risk of sonic mismatches if you are using an a/b for the main channels and ds for the rest?
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emovac
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Post by emovac on Mar 6, 2015 3:49:42 GMT -5
I have a Wyred4Sound class D stereo integrated amp and a W4S seven x250 Multi-channel amp with ICE modules. Have had them three years and have used them a lot. I am extremely happy with them
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Mar 6, 2015 4:43:28 GMT -5
I'm pretty confident the new amps will be Class D. I don't know how else they'd pack much into a 1U amp. Anyone know of any amps that are 1U but aren't class D? I'm sure there are SOME... but 2U seems to generally be the common minimum height. Smaller than that, it gets harder to cool. I'm on the beta test, and they are class A with a unique water cooled approach to allow the small case.. They sound a lot better once the garden hose supply line is broken in, though. I modded mine and circulate the water from my aquarium through it. This has enhanced the sound making it almost fishy to the ear. The Beatles Octopus's Garden never sounded better. Mark
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