Post by Leon on May 8, 2012 16:36:38 GMT -5
My amps arrived Yesterday ;D
I followed the FedEx online tracking service to see the amps had arrived.I picked them up and was surprised at the weight and size of the packaging.
I opted for a pair of UPA-1's after reading extensive user reviews and finding out as much info as I possibly could.
The reason for going the monobloc path was I always wanted dedicated amplifiers for each speaker. The Martin Logan Source Hybrid Electrostats are rated at 200w continuous. The speakers are rated at 5 ohms and dip lower at 20khz. They are not a difficult load by any means.
Initial impressions:
After unpacking both amplifiers, I did a visual check for any damage that could have occurred in their long trip to Australia. The packaging is very utilitarian. Hard foam and wrapped in plastic with silica gel to absorb moisture. An A4 bound user manual is supplied. The packaging is simple, strong and secure. I discarded the power cord as it is a different outlet plug and our voltage over here is 220v.
Connectivity:
I did use both trigger cables and connected one from the USP-1, and one to the trigger output of the first UPA-1, to the second one.
I tested the trigger outputs and they work instantaneously. All 3 power on and off without a hitch. I have had these features on other amplifiers but never used them before. Very handy.
Next I connected the USP-1 to the UPA-1's via Monoprice 50cm RCA Stereo Interconnects. I was happy that when the preamp was stacked onto both monoblocs, the 50cm cable was perfect in length. I always prefer short cables where practicable. The only exception is the 75ohm Canare RCA Coax that needs to be 1.5M. The manufacturer of the cable states better signal transmission and other effects that I won't get into here
I then connected the speaker cables to each corresponding monobloc. Top one was for right speaker and bottom one for right. The spade connections went on with a slight click in and I screwed the terminals in for a tight, secure connection. It is the first time I have used spades. I like them.
Listening:
The following CD's were used for quality reference:
Sarah Blasko - What the sea will want, the sea will have
Sarah Blasko - As day follows night
Regina Spektor - Begin to hope
Regina Spektor - Far
Kate Miller Heidke - Little eve
The best of Joe Sample
Acoustic Alchemy - This way
America - The definitive collection
The Beauty Room - The beauty room
The CD's I chose contain some very organic, real sounding instruments.
Drums, bass guitars, pianos and various almost world type percussion to them. There is also a touch of synthesizer in some of the electronic tracks.
The voices of the artists all have a specific signature to them.
Sarah Blasko has a very laid back, almost husky type soft voice that she matches well with her skilful piano skills. Kate is known for being quirky, along with Regina. Female voices are amongst the hardest to recreate faithfully. These are my vocal reference tracks.
Joe is a well renowned pianist and some of his recordings are recorded very well. Sustain, energy and realism are words that come to mind when I think of his better work. This is my piano reference track.
Acoustic Alchemy is a very good selection of multi layered guitar along with some complex bass lines and drum beats that really bring out the best and worst of systems.
I have heard some tracks get mushed into one, almost unlistenable 4 minute section of noise. These are my layer and multi track tests
The beauty room contains some good material that has been recorded with valve equipment. The warmth of the cd has a great sense of depth and listenability. The ability to play these tracks back accurately portray a large and expansive soundstage. These are my soundstage tests.
Ok - Lets get started
The first thing that caught my attention was the large soundstage. I have owned mid-fi components before and only the best of them had the ability to throw the image of sound to the left, or right of the speakers. The placing of instruments can almost be pinpointed.
Along with left and right, the UPS-1 & UPA-1's have the ability to place the instruments above and below also, This might sound a bit weird at first. Think of it this way. A well recorded drum track should contain multiple tracks of the different microphones and their placement. Mics are placed above, below, left, right and directly at the kit. I know this because I play the drums myself.
Drum tracks are played with a sense of scale, authority and depth that adds the the realism. Cymbals are very hard to reproduce accurately because of their dynamics and decay. A cymbal should sound powerful and attack the music while decaying and sizzling into the background. The amplifiers had great control of the upper-mid and high frequencies. The snare drums have a whippy snap to them that also contains the body of the drum. Drum tracks - PASS
The female vocalists I chose all have their own type of sound. It is obvious in their recordings that they all have a great amount of input in what their music should sound like. It's great to find some acoustic type music that isn't so highly compressed for playback via MP3 or other lossy formats.
I believe female vocals, along with string instruments, violin etc are the hardest to reproduce faithfully. The voices came through the amplifier accurate and true. No sense of exaggerated mids/highs. Many systems I have heard posses a mid-band hump that makes female voices "honky"‚'and "in your face". Female vocal - PASS
The piano tracks were played back with a sense of realism. There is no other way to describe them. The notes were authoritve, delicate and nimble. I love hearing a piano being played by such skilled and gifted musicians. Piano track - PASS
The complex multi-track songs of Acoustic Alchemy were reproduced in a way that shows how well this pre/amp combo performs, Excellently. There are certain tracks that contain bass that is recorded in and out of phase. The control these amplifiers have over the 8inch woofers is very accurate. The bass never sounds ‚"wolly" or "one noted". Its always tight, without being so tight that it actually restrains the notes. The lows go low, very low. The horns contained in these tracks are recorded with a magnitude of sheer volume and quality. Their dynamics are incredible and accurate. Multi instrument tracks - PASS
You will notice in my observations that I have not referenced any other gear that has been directly compared with the Emotiva. The reviews I have read all say they compare to amplifier "X" at two times the cost, or Its not as good as amplifier "Y", but "Y" costs 10 times as much and is expected? I am not here to do that.
What I will say - Emotiva has put together a very high performing Pre/Amp combination that I am proud to call my own - No price point reference needs to be given here.
Associated Equipment:
Panasonic BD-MP35
Musical Fidelity M1DAC
Emotiva USP-1
Emotiva UPA-1
Emotiva UPA-1
Martin Logan Source Hybrid Electrostatic Loudspeakers
A little background :
I have been playing with electronics and hi-fi since 1992 (ten years old) and it has been a passion/obsession of mine. I have a very good understanding of components, sound, loudspeaker technologies and designs. I have also built speakers and subwoofer systems for friends of mine. I have also done some sound capturing and recording and enjoy recording our live music with a friend of mine.
Thanks for reading
Leon
Edited for text conversion problems.
I followed the FedEx online tracking service to see the amps had arrived.I picked them up and was surprised at the weight and size of the packaging.
I opted for a pair of UPA-1's after reading extensive user reviews and finding out as much info as I possibly could.
The reason for going the monobloc path was I always wanted dedicated amplifiers for each speaker. The Martin Logan Source Hybrid Electrostats are rated at 200w continuous. The speakers are rated at 5 ohms and dip lower at 20khz. They are not a difficult load by any means.
Initial impressions:
After unpacking both amplifiers, I did a visual check for any damage that could have occurred in their long trip to Australia. The packaging is very utilitarian. Hard foam and wrapped in plastic with silica gel to absorb moisture. An A4 bound user manual is supplied. The packaging is simple, strong and secure. I discarded the power cord as it is a different outlet plug and our voltage over here is 220v.
Connectivity:
I did use both trigger cables and connected one from the USP-1, and one to the trigger output of the first UPA-1, to the second one.
I tested the trigger outputs and they work instantaneously. All 3 power on and off without a hitch. I have had these features on other amplifiers but never used them before. Very handy.
Next I connected the USP-1 to the UPA-1's via Monoprice 50cm RCA Stereo Interconnects. I was happy that when the preamp was stacked onto both monoblocs, the 50cm cable was perfect in length. I always prefer short cables where practicable. The only exception is the 75ohm Canare RCA Coax that needs to be 1.5M. The manufacturer of the cable states better signal transmission and other effects that I won't get into here
I then connected the speaker cables to each corresponding monobloc. Top one was for right speaker and bottom one for right. The spade connections went on with a slight click in and I screwed the terminals in for a tight, secure connection. It is the first time I have used spades. I like them.
Listening:
The following CD's were used for quality reference:
Sarah Blasko - What the sea will want, the sea will have
Sarah Blasko - As day follows night
Regina Spektor - Begin to hope
Regina Spektor - Far
Kate Miller Heidke - Little eve
The best of Joe Sample
Acoustic Alchemy - This way
America - The definitive collection
The Beauty Room - The beauty room
The CD's I chose contain some very organic, real sounding instruments.
Drums, bass guitars, pianos and various almost world type percussion to them. There is also a touch of synthesizer in some of the electronic tracks.
The voices of the artists all have a specific signature to them.
Sarah Blasko has a very laid back, almost husky type soft voice that she matches well with her skilful piano skills. Kate is known for being quirky, along with Regina. Female voices are amongst the hardest to recreate faithfully. These are my vocal reference tracks.
Joe is a well renowned pianist and some of his recordings are recorded very well. Sustain, energy and realism are words that come to mind when I think of his better work. This is my piano reference track.
Acoustic Alchemy is a very good selection of multi layered guitar along with some complex bass lines and drum beats that really bring out the best and worst of systems.
I have heard some tracks get mushed into one, almost unlistenable 4 minute section of noise. These are my layer and multi track tests
The beauty room contains some good material that has been recorded with valve equipment. The warmth of the cd has a great sense of depth and listenability. The ability to play these tracks back accurately portray a large and expansive soundstage. These are my soundstage tests.
Ok - Lets get started
The first thing that caught my attention was the large soundstage. I have owned mid-fi components before and only the best of them had the ability to throw the image of sound to the left, or right of the speakers. The placing of instruments can almost be pinpointed.
Along with left and right, the UPS-1 & UPA-1's have the ability to place the instruments above and below also, This might sound a bit weird at first. Think of it this way. A well recorded drum track should contain multiple tracks of the different microphones and their placement. Mics are placed above, below, left, right and directly at the kit. I know this because I play the drums myself.
Drum tracks are played with a sense of scale, authority and depth that adds the the realism. Cymbals are very hard to reproduce accurately because of their dynamics and decay. A cymbal should sound powerful and attack the music while decaying and sizzling into the background. The amplifiers had great control of the upper-mid and high frequencies. The snare drums have a whippy snap to them that also contains the body of the drum. Drum tracks - PASS
The female vocalists I chose all have their own type of sound. It is obvious in their recordings that they all have a great amount of input in what their music should sound like. It's great to find some acoustic type music that isn't so highly compressed for playback via MP3 or other lossy formats.
I believe female vocals, along with string instruments, violin etc are the hardest to reproduce faithfully. The voices came through the amplifier accurate and true. No sense of exaggerated mids/highs. Many systems I have heard posses a mid-band hump that makes female voices "honky"‚'and "in your face". Female vocal - PASS
The piano tracks were played back with a sense of realism. There is no other way to describe them. The notes were authoritve, delicate and nimble. I love hearing a piano being played by such skilled and gifted musicians. Piano track - PASS
The complex multi-track songs of Acoustic Alchemy were reproduced in a way that shows how well this pre/amp combo performs, Excellently. There are certain tracks that contain bass that is recorded in and out of phase. The control these amplifiers have over the 8inch woofers is very accurate. The bass never sounds ‚"wolly" or "one noted". Its always tight, without being so tight that it actually restrains the notes. The lows go low, very low. The horns contained in these tracks are recorded with a magnitude of sheer volume and quality. Their dynamics are incredible and accurate. Multi instrument tracks - PASS
You will notice in my observations that I have not referenced any other gear that has been directly compared with the Emotiva. The reviews I have read all say they compare to amplifier "X" at two times the cost, or Its not as good as amplifier "Y", but "Y" costs 10 times as much and is expected? I am not here to do that.
What I will say - Emotiva has put together a very high performing Pre/Amp combination that I am proud to call my own - No price point reference needs to be given here.
Associated Equipment:
Panasonic BD-MP35
Musical Fidelity M1DAC
Emotiva USP-1
Emotiva UPA-1
Emotiva UPA-1
Martin Logan Source Hybrid Electrostatic Loudspeakers
A little background :
I have been playing with electronics and hi-fi since 1992 (ten years old) and it has been a passion/obsession of mine. I have a very good understanding of components, sound, loudspeaker technologies and designs. I have also built speakers and subwoofer systems for friends of mine. I have also done some sound capturing and recording and enjoy recording our live music with a friend of mine.
Thanks for reading
Leon
Edited for text conversion problems.
