Post by Porscheguy on Jul 21, 2012 9:17:54 GMT -5
I've always liked my Snell speakers but I thought the center (CC-1) was kinda of small so I thought I'd try something new - I settled on the Emotiva X-Ref 6.2.
I posted some pictures of the two so you might get a sense of how much bigger the Emotiva is than the Snell. The CC-1 (circa 1994 $650.00) is a sealed box with 2- 5"angled drivers and a titanium tweeter (all Seas). It's pretty heavy for it's size, but nowhere near the 35 lbs that the 6.2 is.
A word about the X-Ref speaker's quality. Pretty impressive. Heavy, inert box with a nice satin finish that exudes quality. While I prefer veneer, this is perfect for a center channel and at $250 - a bargain.
As you might expect, at the end of the day the Emotiva won out over the Snell, but it wasn't a blowout by any means. The Emo plays louder and goes much deeper (i have it crossed over at 60hz). It gives voices (especially male) a deeper, "chesty" tone to my ears (although I found it a bit unnatural sounding at times but not objectionable) , and it more completely melts together the soundstage across the front. - I think it does a better job revealing music and other information that the Snell does not. It is more dynamic as well I'm sure due to its ported design. Sibilance is very good, but not better than the Snell and the tweeters are similar their timbre, perhaps I like the Emo silk dome just a bit more.
Imaging goes to the Snell though. Perhaps its the angled design of the box, not sure. I think the CC-1 was designed just for dialog where as the 6.2 is a more complete loudspeaker... Don't know. But it gets lost in the center - the Emo does not. Not a bad thing just a comment. Maybe I'm just more used to the Snell. The Emo is much more "out in front" because of its size and frequency response....
The 6.2 does a better job with music as it more closely resembles a complete speaker that has decent bass response. Great clarity and front to back depth as well. I could easily see 3 of these across the front.
So the 6.2 is a winner in my book - especially for the price. I did come away really impressed with my 18 year old Snell though. It can still hang with newer, bigger center designs. Well there you have it, More good stuff from Emotiva!! :-)
I posted some pictures of the two so you might get a sense of how much bigger the Emotiva is than the Snell. The CC-1 (circa 1994 $650.00) is a sealed box with 2- 5"angled drivers and a titanium tweeter (all Seas). It's pretty heavy for it's size, but nowhere near the 35 lbs that the 6.2 is.
A word about the X-Ref speaker's quality. Pretty impressive. Heavy, inert box with a nice satin finish that exudes quality. While I prefer veneer, this is perfect for a center channel and at $250 - a bargain.
As you might expect, at the end of the day the Emotiva won out over the Snell, but it wasn't a blowout by any means. The Emo plays louder and goes much deeper (i have it crossed over at 60hz). It gives voices (especially male) a deeper, "chesty" tone to my ears (although I found it a bit unnatural sounding at times but not objectionable) , and it more completely melts together the soundstage across the front. - I think it does a better job revealing music and other information that the Snell does not. It is more dynamic as well I'm sure due to its ported design. Sibilance is very good, but not better than the Snell and the tweeters are similar their timbre, perhaps I like the Emo silk dome just a bit more.
Imaging goes to the Snell though. Perhaps its the angled design of the box, not sure. I think the CC-1 was designed just for dialog where as the 6.2 is a more complete loudspeaker... Don't know. But it gets lost in the center - the Emo does not. Not a bad thing just a comment. Maybe I'm just more used to the Snell. The Emo is much more "out in front" because of its size and frequency response....
The 6.2 does a better job with music as it more closely resembles a complete speaker that has decent bass response. Great clarity and front to back depth as well. I could easily see 3 of these across the front.
So the 6.2 is a winner in my book - especially for the price. I did come away really impressed with my 18 year old Snell though. It can still hang with newer, bigger center designs. Well there you have it, More good stuff from Emotiva!! :-)
