First post! Rally for Airmotiv 6s instead of LEF KS50's

[shaneinhisroom]

Hey guys, great to be a part of the family. I recently just bought two XPA-100's to feed into my hifi system, between a Peachtree DAC-ITx and a pair of Aperion Audio Verus Grand speakers. The amps sound amazing and I want to continue my journey with Emotiva for a bedroom system. This is a midfield system, around 5-6 feet from the speakers.

Originally I was considering going all out with a DC-1, ERC-3, and XPA-200 feeding KEF LS50's. I had NOT heard the KEF's in person, but from all the reviews I was convinced this is the best speaker for the price.

Then I went to Emotiva's Dallas Roadshow and heard the Airmotiv 6S'. Wow. Pair that with the DC-1 like they had it and it was nirvana. I snagged the perfect seat in the house- second row middle. The center popped, and surround was enveloping. I didn't hear a 2x price difference with the Stealths 6's vs the Airmotiv 6S' and the 8's are too big for my bedroom. 

So now I'm considering a simpler system, with just the Airmotiv 6S driven by a DC-1 and ERC-3. 

My question to you guys is this- and for the people who have heard the KEF's and had some sort of relative comparison between the Airmotivs and Stealths. Are the KEF's worth almost 4x the cost?? Or would I get 95% out of what I want with the Airmotiv 6S?


Thanks guys!

[garbulky]

Hi Shane. My living room is small. I have the axiom audio m80 speakers and I REALLY like them. I"ve had them for several years in fact. They cost about $1,500. I heard the airmotiv 4's in my room. They bought 80-95% of the sound of the axioms. Though the axioms were better, if I was back where I was pretty much jumping into decent equipment and already had the airmotiv 4's, I think I may have passed on upgrading to the axioms (even though they were better).


The main thing that airmotiv 4 was missing...and it should as they had only 2 four inch drivers and a tiny cabinet....vs the 12 aluminium cones in my much larger tower....was lower bass extension, lots of volume power, and a solid thickness to the sound and slightly better realism.
So that says a lot for the airmotiv line. In fact, it's tweeter felt a little more holographic than the (four) axiom tweeters.
So take that for what it's worth

[pop]

Did they have a sub to augment the lower frequencies of the airmotiv6?

I would imagine, depending on your room, the low end of the airmotiv6 will not be suitable without a sub.

My room, quite large and open, is just a bit too big for the stealth 6. In a smaller sealed room I would see absolutely no need for a sub with music. Just a thought.

The Kefs are going to put out a much fuller sound than the airmotiv6 assuming you are going for straight 2 channel

[shaneinhisroom]

Thanks! With the 6S I should have a bit more bass extension than the 4S. My bedroom isn't tiny but I have Audioengine A5+'s in there now. It fills the room with sound and has great imaging. I think the 6S would be a great upgrade, especially with the supporting cast.

[shaneinhisroom]

The room is about 10x13 with an alcove that I can seal off with a few absorption panels. It's not super huge. I doubt I will need a sub but I can decide that later. I'm after taut bass rather than extension, definitely. I'm a big jazz/classical guy so no need for dubstep level bass.

[pop]

Oct 30, 2014 11:50:42 GMT -5 shaneinhisroom said:

The room is about 10x13 with an alcove that I can seal off with a few absorption panels. It's not super huge. I doubt I will need a sub but I can decide that later. I'm after taut bass rather than extension, definitely. I'm a big jazz/classical guy so no need for dubstep level bass.

In a 10x13 room the stealth 6 would be amazing on their own. I would imagine the airmotiv6 will provide you with plenty of tight bass.

One of the things that really stands out to me with the stealth 6 is it's very clean tight bass out of the 6" driver. I really look forward to having a pair of them for a smaller room setup. I think the airmotiv6 might just be a better buy than the stealth 6 for the price. I went back and forth between the two but ultimately decided on the stealth as sometimes I do like to "crank it up". I can't say for sure if the airmotiv6 would have stayed true at some of my listening levels, but with your size room I will give a definite recommendation for the airmotiv6.

[Deleted]

fwiw, another great option to consider for this application, minix flex amp and nht classic threes, sealed accoustic suspension design, sexy furniture grade cabinets would look good in bedroom.

[Perpendicular]

Didn't someone from Emotiva Post a few days ago that the Airmotiv 6s and Stealth 6 are not really the same speaker? The Stealth 6 has a tighter low end response. I found the Airmotiv 5s to be loose and flabby in comparison. I can't see how the Airmotiv 6s would be any different.

[shaneinhisroom]

The Stealths are really outside what I want to spend. If I want to reference I can always go downstairs. I just want a good system upstairs for mid volume listening

[audiobill]

Why not skip the ERC3, rip your cds, and stream them using your idevice as a remote?

[shaneinhisroom]

There's just something about grabbing a CD and putting it into the player. I have all my CD's as uncompressed wavs but I just loved it as a child when I grabbed a CD, put it in the home stereo and sat next to my parents listening to a piano concerto, or whatever.

I know I'm spending good money on nostalgia, sue me

[creimes]

+1 on the ERC-3 and Airmotiv 6S, and you could always grab the Balanced version of the Control Freak to adjust the volume between the ERC-3 and Airmotivs. I own the Stealth 6's and if I was looking at putting a second system together I myself would go the Airmotiv 6S as like you said you have your main system to listen to and are just wanting a second setup.

Chad

[Perpendicular]

Oct 30, 2014 14:20:50 GMT -5 shaneinhisroom said:

There's just something about grabbing a CD and putting it into the player. I have all my CD's as uncompressed wavs but I just loved it as a child when I grabbed a CD, put it in the home stereo and sat next to my parents listening to a piano concerto, or whatever.

I know I'm spending good money on nostalgia, sue me

I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same growing up with LPs but that doesn't mean I'll revert back to them anytime soon. Good luck! I'm sure any of the Airmotiv monitors will be more than satisfactory for your needs, wants and desires.

[shaneinhisroom]

Thanks all. Just placed the order for some the 6S, ERC3 and DC1. Can't wait!!

[garbulky]

Oct 30, 2014 15:34:37 GMT -5 shaneinhisroom said:

Thanks all. Just placed the order for some the 6S, ERC3 and DC1. Can't wait!!

Congratulations. If you got the DC-1, just use your old CD/DVD player instead to save money. Unless you just like the look....

[oppman99]

I haven't heard the Kefs and Airmotives in the same room with the same gear, so take this with a grain of salt. I own a pair of am5s and am running them off a W4S DAC2. While they sound good, they are not giant killers in resolution and as someone else mentioned, the bass could be cleaner. I have heard the LS 50 run on Cambridge and Naim gear if I remember correctly. I walked away after hearing the Kefs thinking they offered quite a bit if detail and cohesiveness for the asking price. No deep base, but what they have is very good. Worth the price difference? Hard to call. I would love to own a pair of the Kefs.

[shaneinhisroom]

Thanks. Garbulky I don't even own a CD player until now, so I thought why not, the price is right, if I move the DC-1 to another room at least I have a great resolving standalone still.

I have a pair of Audioengines right now in their place (Their A5+'s) hooked up to some cheap Logitech Bluetooth module for the time being. I hear the Audioengines are no match for even the am4S so I can't wait to sit down and compare!

[pdaddy]

I think you will love this setup. I have the AM 6's gen 2 and the look and sound great. I use the Olive One as my source to stream and the Control Freak to control the volume. You'll have the DC-1 with a remote so you're good.

[jevans64]

Oct 30, 2014 14:20:50 GMT -5 shaneinhisroom said:

There's just something about grabbing a CD and putting it into the player. I have all my CD's as uncompressed wavs but I just loved it as a child when I grabbed a CD, put it in the home stereo and sat next to my parents listening to a piano concerto, or whatever.

I know I'm spending good money on nostalgia, sue me

Works either way. I use the computer's BD drive to play CDs and can also queue up 24-bit audio. The main advantage to having rips for me is that I can have a playlist of several CDs queued up. I have an LG BD drive and that thing makes more noise than my computer when it spins up.

You'll have to give those 6S a workout by running some Holst through them. Not sure if it is still in print, but I have the EMI Holst/LSO/Previn DVD-A that has a 24bit/48kHz track on it. The Thielemann Discovering Beethoven series is good as well, but I actually prefer the LSO/Haitink SACDs. Classical in 24bit is getting a little easier to find but there are still a lot of older recordings out there that are just upsampled.

I have the Stealth 6 and DC-1 for audio plus an SVS SB-2000 for the hard-hitting electronica stuff. Computer room is 11 x 12.

If you are going to be putting the 6S on a desk, I highly recommend the IsoAcoustic isolating stands. I have the L8R-155 ( medium ) that I used with the Airmotiv 5. They work fine with my Stealth 6 but look a little small. You'll probably want the L8R-200 if they are going to sit on the long 8" legs. I use the 3" legs and that puts the tweeter right at ear level for me.