|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Dec 4, 2008 15:34:48 GMT -5
Howdy all, I was lucky enough to purchase the RPA-1 this past summer, i say lucky because i believe only 2 have been posted for sale here...ever... lol I know of 3 on av123 forum that have been sold... point is you just dont find many RPA-1's for sale. Why you may ask yourself? well because dammnit!!!! It's a fantastic amplifier!!!! The RPA-1 is truely a reference quality amp IMO. It breathes new life into my speakers like you would not believe. It allows me to be engulfed in the music, it allows me to be pulled in by the music, it allows me to ENJOY my music. The ability of this amp to bring finesse and clarity to my speakers is just truly amazing. for all of you waiting for the RPA-2 (which is the same only with cosmetic differences) well dont worry my friends its totally worth the wait  This is one of Emotivas Class H designed amps. They are known to run very cool...in fact i have never felt it warm.. IMHO this is not a rock concert like amp (although it will rock if need be  ) It really comes to life in intimate listening sessions. If you really dont like to necessarily crank your music, but you like it to float around you effortlessly this amp will definately make you smile  it will in fact raise the hair on the back of your neck and give you those warm happy feelings. Again this IS a reference amp. My Mozart Grands have sounded so sweet to my ears. Now my XPA-3 rocks them thats for sure and the sound is absolutely awesom, but the RPA-1 takes that flirtation with perfection, and goes forth with it. Honestly i just dont know how the Mozart Grands could sound any better. With over 300 watts into 4ohms this amp IS a beast. So if your into being apart of your music, i suggest an intimate amp like this for you. You will love it more and more every time you power it up. The blue glow of the Vu meters is a sight to behold. It does to some volume to get the meters to dance, but i have no doubt some of you will be happy to test it out. I do wish the meters were slightly larger though, that way you could see the meters from a distance, but in the end does it really matter? Its the sound that really makes this amp beautiful. The RPA-2 will be here soon and i forsee some VERY happy people -Steve |
|
|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Dec 4, 2008 15:39:42 GMT -5
how many plan to get the RPA-2?
|
|
|
|
Post by UT-Driven on Dec 4, 2008 16:00:59 GMT -5
I'm getting one!
The other Doug
|
|
|
|
Post by doobie on Dec 4, 2008 19:45:45 GMT -5
I've been waiting for the RPA-2 and the UMC for what seems like a very long time.
I'm tempted to get an XPA-2 ....must hold out....detail over power.....don't need power...must hold out...
|
|
RPA-1 man
Emo VIPs 
Phutureprimitive "Kinetic" 2011
Posts: 2,109
|
Post by RPA-1 man on Dec 4, 2008 20:01:10 GMT -5
I can't speak for the XPA-2 but can say that I agree with bigred about the fine detailed sound of the RPA-1. It is definite music to my ears.
I'm not one for making the meters dance above 1/4 of the way because it is way loud in my listening space. So I get great satisfaction in the fact that this amp provides extreme finesse. A shear pleasure to listen to.
|
|
arctikdeth
Emo VIPs
Metal Thrashing Mad
Posts: 308
|
Post by arctikdeth on Dec 4, 2008 22:45:26 GMT -5
Im definately getting one- for the audio dungeon. I like the meters,..only reason for purchase, the quality and sound are just a bonus......
|
|
|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Dec 5, 2008 2:19:55 GMT -5
I can't speak for the XPA-2 but can say that I agree with bigred about the fine detailed sound of the RPA-1. It is definite music to my ears. I'm not one for making the meters dance above 1/4 of the way because it is way loud in my listening space. So I get great satisfaction in the fact that this amp provides extreme finesse. A shear pleasure to listen to. yeah its hard to get them to dance above 1/4 without my ears bleeding lol. +1 to this amp being shear pleasure to listen too |
|
a2058
Emo VIPs
Posts: 260
|
Post by a2058 on Jan 11, 2009 7:32:34 GMT -5
I've been waiting for the RPA-2 and the UMC for what seems like a very long time. I'm tempted to get an XPA-2 ....must hold out....detail over power.....don't need power...must hold out... For me also detail/separation over power is most important. I am hopefully getting the RPA-2 to power my L/R mains. I have spent a lot of time playing with bi-amping my 7.1 using 2 LPA-1s and I can say depending on how I connect them, I get either better detail and sepration or better low-end punch at the cost of improved detail/separation. Needless to say, I chose the detail/separation configuration because I listen mostly to jazz and classical music (HT is secondary to me, surround sound is mostly for SACD multi-channel use). I think using RPA series amp to power the front L/R and then only using 5 channels of the LPA-1s bi-amped in separated configuration for the C/LS/RS/LSB/RSB would produce a kick ass detail/separation in my system. I run Tannoy Mercury series all around. These are 92dB sensitivity units at 8Ohm impedance so they are easy to drive speakers. Based on my bi-amping experiments, I think I can squeeze out a bit more out of them by going the RPA approach... can't wait for the tax refunds! Oh yeah... those VU meters are kind of cool... |
|
|
|
Post by retro152 on Feb 2, 2009 12:45:17 GMT -5
Hey Bigred, Ive read a lot your posts here and at the polk forum have gotton some great info from you, particularly your knowledge on Emo gear. I have a Yamaha 663, paired with a Xpa-3, not real happy with 663 for music, i-pod, cd's. Would the Rsp-2 be a good fit for my setup? and sorry for my ignorance, I would hookup all 3 components together, letting the 663 process and decode, The Rsp-2 for music, and the Xpa-3 providing the power boost to both units? I have Polk rti-a7's for my fronts, and csi-a6 for center. Thanks for any help, just kind of lost on this part of home audio.
Pat.
|
|
|
|
Post by razel on Feb 2, 2009 14:48:44 GMT -5
I have a Yamaha 663, paired with a Xpa-3, not real happy with 663 for music, i-pod, cd's. Would the Rsp-2 be a good fit for my setup? You already have the 663's left, center, right RCAS connected to an XPA3 and aren't happy with 663's duty as a pre-pro the music or are unhappy with the XPA3's amplication of your music or both? When playing music, I assume the 663 is in straight or pure direct mode with surround sound processing off. Essentially it's just the front 2 speakers playing and perhaps your sub. Also ensure that the speaker A is switched off since it's not running mains anymore. If so your v663 + XPA3 powering just 2 speakers should sound great. I'm running the previous year version of the v663, the HTR-6060 (AKA. v661) to a RPA-1 in a 4.1 setup and LOVE it. The mid-level Yamahas we both own are very good pre-pros. |
|
|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Feb 2, 2009 15:24:52 GMT -5
Hey Bigred, Ive read a lot your posts here and at the polk forum have gotton some great info from you, particularly your knowledge on Emo gear. I have a Yamaha 663, paired with a Xpa-3, not real happy with 663 for music, i-pod, cd's. Would the Rsp-2 be a good fit for my setup? and sorry for my ignorance, I would hookup all 3 components together, letting the 663 process and decode, The Rsp-2 for music, and the Xpa-3 providing the power boost to both units? I have Polk rti-a7's for my fronts, and csi-a6 for center. Thanks for any help, just kind of lost on this part of home audio. Pat. Hey Pat thanks for the compliment! In response to your question about the RSP-2, i would like to know a few more things that makes you unhappy. What about the sound is "not good" to you? I see you use an ipod for a source, and if you use a 3.5 to stereo cable to hook it up it will definately sound like crap. What kind of music do you listen too? And for CD playback what are you using as a CD player? I ask all this because it is EXTREMELY important information to know to see if you are a great fit for the RSP-2. The RSP-2/RPA-2 is a reference combo. Just using these two will not necessarily make music sound better. A few factors will come into play here.... 1.) Source material. Are your CD's high quality recordings or garbage? Because if its recorded like crap amplifying it will only make the bad parts worse lol. 2.) Quality CD player. Flat out you need one with this combo. Using the ole DVD player to play a CD wont work in this situation. When using stereo outputs you will be utilzing the internal DAC's of the player. IF the player is cheap, it most likely has crappy DAC's meaning your SQ will suffer. Check out the upcoming Emotiva ERC-1 CD player as it will make the perfect match for the Reference combo. 3.) 2-channel is the finicky part of audio IMO. It takes excellent balance and component synergy for everything to sound the way you want. But this is also the gateway to more expensive equipment. People spend way more on 2-channel equipment than they do on mulitchannel HT setups. So keeping all this in mind should help some. Also FYI the RSP-2 does not have a HT bypass meaning you cant easily integrate it with your HT receiver(its possible, but not worth the inconvenience IMHO). What i did when i had the RSP-1 was i used the balanced connections (XLR's) from the RSP-1 to the RPA-1. Then for the pre-outs on my receiver i used unbalanced connections to the RPA-1. That worked the best for me. The 663 is an excellent receiver but also remember it is within the entry level receiver category. Perhaps going with a better receiver, or the UMC-1 when it comes out would be enough of a boost to fill in the gaps for you. But my guess with the problems you are having is due to bad source reproduction. Meaning your just directly connecting the ipod to the receiver and your cd's are of lower quality. If you have an ipod, i assume you use itunes. Check out something like the AppleTV. I use this and it allows me to stream all my music from itunes to the appleTV and output the audio via hdmi or optical to my receiver. That way instead of using the crappy dac's of the ipod you can use the receivers dac's. Also when you record a CD you own to your computer did you tell itunes to rip it in Apple Lossless? If not you are down-converting the music to 128kbps. Which it low quality. If you dont want to compress the audio signal you must have itunes rip the music into apple lossless. That way if you use appleTV to stream your music it will stream it in an uncompressed format and sound significantly better. IF you just download your music straight from itunes, itunes has recently decided to help the audio world and they now have music in what they refer to as itunes plus. instead of 128kbps the music is in 256kbps which still is much better (but not CD quality). Under the itunes store it will give you an option to convert all your music to itunes plus for a pretty small fee. So in essence this would also help your Source quality thus giving you better audio/sound quality. I kind of blabbed on but you get the point. So let me know how you have your system setup that way we can get you all sorted out an on to better sound quality -Steve |
|
|
|
Post by retro152 on Feb 2, 2009 17:26:44 GMT -5
Thank's steve, I think your right about the i-pod. I sync the i-pod from i-tunes and play it from the dock on the Yamaha. Each song is all over the place as far as clarity, and constant volume adjusting for each song. I have been playing cd's through my Ps3, Bad idea? they sound much better than the i-pod. Just thought a designated receiver or pre-amp might give me more control to refine music, like balance, treble, bass, loudness. Still new at this but open to your advice on best route to take. Also i dont burn any cd's, just been playing from my modest collection of music. Thanks again,
Pat.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Feb 2, 2009 18:02:22 GMT -5
Thank's steve, I think your right about the i-pod. I sync the i-pod from i-tunes and play it from the dock on the Yamaha. Each song is all over the place as far as clarity, and constant volume adjusting for each song. I have been playing cd's through my Ps3, Bad idea? they sound much better than the i-pod. Just thought a designated receiver or pre-amp might give me more control to refine music, like balance, treble, bass, loudness. Still new at this but open to your advice on best route to take. Also i dont burn any cd's, just been playing from my modest collection of music. Thanks again, Pat. But is your music downloaded? and if so what bit rate? Make sure you encode your CD's on your itunes in applelossess because thats very important to maintain great sound quality. The PS3 makes a fine transport for audio CD's, but when paired with the RSP its not a good idea. I tried this and the SQ was not ideal IMO. If your wanting to go the RSP-2 route i highly suggest you invest in a really good CD player, as it will be a key item in the chain of success towards great sound. If thats not the kind of money you want to end up spending then i suggest a new receiver. You may just not like the way the yamaha processes audio for music. |
|
|
|
Post by retro152 on Feb 2, 2009 18:03:14 GMT -5
I have a Yamaha 663, paired with a Xpa-3, not real happy with 663 for music, i-pod, cd's. Would the Rsp-2 be a good fit for my setup? You already have the 663's left, center, right RCAS connected to an XPA3 and aren't happy with 663's duty as a pre-pro the music or are unhappy with the XPA3's amplication of your music or both? When playing music, I assume the 663 is in straight or pure direct mode with surround sound processing off. Essentially it's just the front 2 speakers playing and perhaps your sub. Also ensure that the speaker A is switched off since it's not running mains anymore. If so your v663 + XPA3 powering just 2 speakers should sound great. I'm running the previous year version of the v663, the HTR-6060 (AKA. v661) to a RPA-1 in a 4.1 setup and LOVE it. The mid-level Yamahas we both own are very good pre-pros. Thanks for your response. I think its bad sorces for music rather than equipment. I havent had this setup real long, so i will ask you a dumb question, as far as speaker "A" being switched off, i didnt really understand what you meant . Thanks again. Pat. |
|
|
|
Post by retro152 on Feb 2, 2009 18:10:12 GMT -5
Thank's steve, I think your right about the i-pod. I sync the i-pod from i-tunes and play it from the dock on the Yamaha. Each song is all over the place as far as clarity, and constant volume adjusting for each song. I have been playing cd's through my Ps3, Bad idea? they sound much better than the i-pod. Just thought a designated receiver or pre-amp might give me more control to refine music, like balance, treble, bass, loudness. Still new at this but open to your advice on best route to take. Also i dont burn any cd's, just been playing from my modest collection of music. Thanks again, Pat. But is your music downloaded? and if so what bit rate? Make sure you encode your CD's on your itunes in applelossess because thats very important to maintain great sound quality. The PS3 makes a fine transport for audio CD's, but when paired with the RSP its not a good idea. I tried this and the SQ was not ideal IMO. If your wanting to go the RSP-2 route i highly suggest you invest in a really good CD player, as it will be a key item in the chain of success towards great sound. If thats not the kind of money you want to end up spending then i suggest a new receiver. You may just not like the way the yamaha processes audio for music. I only download to the I-pod, no cd's. Like your suggestion for a better receiver, saw in a thread you recommended the Yamaha rx-1900, might have the model number wrong. |
|
|
|
Post by retro152 on Feb 2, 2009 18:15:11 GMT -5
Sorry steve, im a dumbass. Are you saying music i select on itunes to download to the i-pod, make sure i encode in applelossess?
|
|
|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Feb 2, 2009 18:59:18 GMT -5
But is your music downloaded? and if so what bit rate? Make sure you encode your CD's on your itunes in applelossess because thats very important to maintain great sound quality. The PS3 makes a fine transport for audio CD's, but when paired with the RSP its not a good idea. I tried this and the SQ was not ideal IMO. If your wanting to go the RSP-2 route i highly suggest you invest in a really good CD player, as it will be a key item in the chain of success towards great sound. If thats not the kind of money you want to end up spending then i suggest a new receiver. You may just not like the way the yamaha processes audio for music. I only download to the I-pod, no cd's. Like your suggestion for a better receiver, saw in a thread you recommended the Yamaha rx-1900, might have the model number wrong. It was the RX-V3900 |
|
|
|
Post by bigred7078 on Feb 2, 2009 19:17:04 GMT -5
Sorry steve, im a dumbass. Are you saying music i select on itunes to download to the i-pod, make sure i encode in applelossess? Well in that explaination i meant two things. 1. If you were not already aware Apple has recently upgraded sound quality on like 75% of songs available on itunes. Its called itunes plus. Instead of the music being 128kpbs its 256kbps which is closer to CD quality. Also its DRM free which means you dont have limits on how many computers/devices you can store the music on. So when you go the the itunes store on the right hand side there is a link for itunes plus. If you click it, it will tell you which of your music is available to upgrade to the higher bitrate...its a small fee, but definately worth it, as i've tested it out after doing the updgrade. But no downloaded music is available in appelossless 2. If you have put your CD's you own into itunes, did you download them as applelossless? To check just right click on one of the songs and press get info. Then press the info button and at the bottom it will say the bit-rate. If its 128kbps its no in applelossless. If it is it will say like 24mb's or ya know around that area of size. If you want to re-download your music in applelossless go to itunes and click on the edit button at the top. Under the drop down choose "preferences" which is the last option. A small screen will pop up, and under that first general section choose import settings. Then choose Apple Lossless encoder. Now you set it to encode your CD's into apple lossless whenever you put them on itunes. If you have a smaller storage ipod be careful though because the apple lossless songs take up alot more space. |
|
|
|
Post by razel on Feb 2, 2009 19:43:24 GMT -5
I have been playing cd's through my Ps3, Bad idea? Not a bad idea at all. That's how I listen to CDs. However connect it using optical or HDMI and ensure that 2 channel 88k/176k are checked. Then in the music settings, have 44/88/176k chosen and bitmapping set to type 3. Out of the box, the default setting is 48k, not 44k. Even with 88k and 176k checked, it'll still output 48k until it's changed in the music settings. Your Yamaha should now receive a 176k 2 channel or multichannel signal with your PS3 doing the upsampling with some 'propretiary' (sp?) bitmapping. It should sound great. Bitmapping type 3 seems to smooth the digital edgeiness. I find it helps reveal some air and ambience. It's more evidient at louder volumes. You can also mess around with the bitmapping to see which you prefer. Turn bitmapping off and uncheck 2 channel 88k/176k to make the PS3 a pure CD transport. It will output 2 channel 44k. MP3s on the PS3 however, still output at 48k. I have not found a way to have it output at it's original bitrate rate (usually 44k) yet. |
|
|
|
Post by retro152 on Feb 2, 2009 20:15:24 GMT -5
Sorry steve, im a dumbass. Are you saying music i select on itunes to download to the i-pod, make sure i encode in applelossess? Well in that explaination i meant two things. 1. If you were not already aware Apple has recently upgraded sound quality on like 75% of songs available on itunes. Its called itunes plus. Instead of the music being 128kpbs its 256kbps which is closer to CD quality. Also its DRM free which means you dont have limits on how many computers/devices you can store the music on. So when you go the the itunes store on the right hand side there is a link for itunes plus. If you click it, it will tell you which of your music is available to upgrade to the higher bitrate...its a small fee, but definately worth it, as i've tested it out after doing the updgrade. But no downloaded music is available in appelossless 2. If you have put your CD's you own into itunes, did you download them as applelossless? To check just right click on one of the songs and press get info. Then press the info button and at the bottom it will say the bit-rate. If its 128kbps its no in applelossless. If it is it will say like 24mb's or ya know around that area of size. If you want to re-download your music in applelossless go to itunes and click on the edit button at the top. Under the drop down choose "preferences" which is the last option. A small screen will pop up, and under that first general section choose import settings. Then choose Apple Lossless encoder. Now you set it to encode your CD's into apple lossless whenever you put them on itunes. If you have a smaller storage ipod be careful though because the apple lossless songs take up alot more space. Steve, you have cleared up alot of things for me. I was using Lime Wire to download music, then dragging it to itunes for my library, and then would sync to the i-pod. A friend set it up for me this way, probably why im getting crappy sound. Im new at this so, i will heed your advice on the downloading, thanks for all the help, hope i wasnt aggravating. Pat. |
|
) It really comes to life in intimate listening sessions. If you really dont like to necessarily crank your music, but you like it to float around you effortlessly this amp will definately make you smile 
it will in fact raise the hair on the back of your neck and give you those warm happy feelings. Again this IS a reference amp. My Mozart Grands have sounded so sweet to my ears. Now my XPA-3 rocks them thats for sure and the sound is absolutely awesom, but the RPA-1 takes that flirtation with perfection, and goes forth with it. Honestly i just dont know how the Mozart Grands could sound any better. With over 300 watts into 4ohms this amp IS a beast. 
