Emotiva Gen Less Bright than UPA-7?

[bjornb17]

Hey guys, I am building a new house and home theater soon and am looking to get some new amplifier equipment for 7.2.4 setup. Currently I have an Emotiva UPA-7 that has served me well for almost 11 years and I will relocate to a secondary system (looks just like new with the black face plates I recently got!). It is a great amp and no complaints, but my speakers are a little bright and could benefit from a slightly warmer amp. I will likely get an XPA-DR3 for the fronts and an XPA-8(4.2S) for the rest. I've heard it said that the newer Emotiva stuff is a bit warmer than the original stuff. Thanks for your input.

[garbulky]

It's not.
Background: I have used/jeard
UPa-2, UPA-1, UPA-500, UPA-200, XPA-1,2,3,5 gen 1 and 2. XPA-2 gen 3 (not DR). They all sound very similar in tone except for the gen 3 which sounds a little more unnatural in the treble.
If you are looking for a warm amp try a Bob latino tube amp which I feel sounds warm with a slightly rolled off treble. Also if you use a harrison labs RCA attenuator at say 24 db attenuation I find it slightly rolls off the treble.
But the real solution is to use different speakers or if it is your room doing it to use room treatment.

[LCSeminole]

All of the Emotiva power amplifiers(from the IPS/MPS models to the current Gen 3)I’ve heard have a neutral sound signature. Meaning no coloration to the signal of the incoming source. I do however hear differences once you push their power amplifiers past normal listening volumes. Headroom and channel separation make a difference especially at reference volume levels.

[vcautokid]

I would agree, your room treatment may help out. None of the Emotiva amplifiers are what I would call warm per se. Neutral? Yeah. Some tubes ahead of your UPA-7 may help. You have some tuning and experimenting ahead I see. Best part, it really isn't that expensive most of the time to get the room right.

[bjornb17]

Thanks guys! I definitely think everything sounded great (although a little bright) in my old house. The new house should work a lot better - room has much better proportions that doesn't open up to the rest of the house and I will have the opportunity to have good treatments in it. Ultimately I may upgrade speakers but it is a worthwhile endeavor still. Good to know what to expect with the new amps.

[tropicallutefisk]

I have the DR1s and can offer comparisons to the XPA 1L and a McIntosh 152. First, the 1L and DR1s are very similar. I’d say the DR1s are a tad smoother and better refined. However that XPA 1L is no slouch. It’s a great amp. The Mc 152 was what I would call mushy and warmish. It was a terrible match for my Magnepan 3.7i speakers. That Mc sound with my Maggie’s produced a weak but easy sound. Highs were relaxed and pleasant, mids were mellow and the bass was terribly weak. When I went from the Mc to the DR1s the sound was more revealing. There was much more detail and bass. I’d reiterate what others have said and say Emo amps are very neutral. Overall I love the pairing of my DR1s and 3.7is. To really round out the sound I added a tube preamp that added a bit of sparkle. If you’re finding some brightness, I’d recommend a tube pre and some room treatment as others have mentioned and don’t worry too much about the amp you choose. My two cents anyway...

[bjornb17]

Any recommendations for tube pre-amps? That could be fun to play with, maybe just for the front 3 speakers. I would be using XLR connections, so do I connect the pre-amp in like with the receiver and amps?

[bjornb17]

I just went into the parametric eq and added a gentle decreasing slope and it sounds great now.

[garbulky]

Sept 22, 2019 17:18:23 GMT -5 bjornb17 said:

I just went into the parametric eq and added a gentle decreasing slope and it sounds great now.

Personally I have not found tube amps to sound superior to (good) solid state. But that may be mmy preference. I stress the importance of an dynamics, airy treble, lots of detail including in the bass and the tube amps I have heard have trouble in these categories. Though there is one tube amp I heard in particular that does sound outstanding which delivered near the best sound I have ever heard. It only did about 7 watts per channel I think

[simpleman68]

I wouldn't screw with tube amps for a home theater. On a 2 channel rig, absolutely check them out if they also sound warm/natural to you.

Back to the theater; what speakers are you running? Planning to change anything about them or will they fit the new room?

Having the opportunity to custom build a theater with optimal dimensions opens up the whole world to you.

I would be sure your speakers fit the new room and not vice versa. Get your speakers and then you can amp shop.

Scott

[pedrocols]

I do not know about you but I have never had a conversation with a person and think that his or her voice is "neutral" or "bright" or whatever. All those characteristics are artifacts of the amps. It bugs me every time folks describe solid state amps as such.

[bjornb17]

I ended up adding a slight decay in the EQ of my pre-amp and it solved all my issues!