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Post by aarheadc on Mar 18, 2009 16:11:08 GMT -5
Great review! And thanks for all the close-up pics! Can't wait to hear more
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Post by ny1pr2009 on Mar 18, 2009 20:37:41 GMT -5
I placed my order for a pair of Emotiva ERT-8.3 Reference towers on Monday March 9 and and on Wednesday March 11 the Speakers were delivered from Tennessee to Kew Gardens, New York via FedEx in Excellent Condition. First let me say that the customer service you get from Emotiva is the best that I have experienced in a long time. Many companies nowadays have forgotten how to treat customers and trust me I know since living in New York. Everytime I have call Emotiva I have always the pleasure of talking to Jennifer. She has always answered all my questions in a very professional and curteous manner and when she does not know the answer to my questions she always connects me with the right person. Thank You Jennifer for always being so nice and helpful. Jennifer took my order over the phone for the RSP-2 Preamp,XPA-2 amplifier and the pair of ERT-8.3 Reference Speakers and within minutes I have the invoice send to email address and a few hours later the tracking numbers for all the items. Now,This is what I call "Class A customer service" Anyway, my speakers were delivered on March 11 and when I came home after work (5pm) I was able to set them up together with the RSP-2 Preamp and the "almighty and powerful" XPA-2 amplifier. It took me around 2 hours to set up the system and once I was done I sat down to beging a listening session. *I know that in order to make a serious and complete review of these speakers I will need to give this speakers around a good 100 hours of break-in but I just wanted to see what was my first impression of them right out of the box* First let me say that from the looks the speakers were appealing to me. Very well put together. Connecting the feet was very easy and the fact that part of the feet section is already attached to the speakers was a plus. Again very well done. The fact that the grill attaches to the front by way of a magnet which is already built into the speaker (which it does not affect the sound in any way)was a very nice touch. I know of another company(Tyler Acoustics) which is also using this approach when connecting the grill to their line of speakers which are 5 to 6 times more the cost of the ERT-8.3 towers. Very Nice Looking Pair of Tower Speakers. Second,I can honestly say that I was very surprise,let me rephrase that,amazed at the sound of the towers right out of the box. Very clean sound. Very transparent and neutral. Not brightness noticed at all. I knew that the bass need it time to break in but otherwise it was a very positive experience and I knew that the best was yet to come. The next day I turned the system on,put a CD in my player and ran the system from 6am to 11pm every day for the next 6 days . That's 17 hours a day which will give the system approx. 102 hours of break-in time. Since I work right accross the street from where I live I was able to come home for lunch and check the system and listen to it from time to time. Now after this 100+ hours of break in time I knew that it was time for a serious listening session. I have been an Audiophile for more than 10 years and I have either owned or auditioned many High End Speakers in those years. My most recent speakers were the Tyler Acoustics Lynbrook Signature Series($8000 pair). Tyler Acoustics does not make this model speaker anymore since he has gone to a new line. These speakers were my Reference Tower Speakers after owning or auditioning speakers like, Revel,Alon,Von Schweikert,Dali,Paradigm,Axioms,Legacy Audio Focus 2020,Aerial Acoustics and Focal LM Labs. I can honestly tell you that the Emotiva ERT-8.3 Towers can compete toe to toe with these speakers. I know that the ERT-8.3 towers may not go as low on the bass extension as some of these speakers that I have mentioned did because the ERT-8.3 are not made to go that low but in anything else they have nothing to envy the speakers ithat I have mentioned including my Reference Tyler Acoustic Lynbrook Signature Series. In fact I sold my Lynbrooks last year to a friend because I was getting out of the audio hobby because of lack off time due to many long hours at my job. But now I am back an I was looking again to put together a nice system and that's when I came across the Emotiva Web site and that's when I decided to give them a try. These speakers are here to stay in my house. Trust me. I like them better than most of the speakers that I have owned in the past and most of them costing more that 4 to 5 times what the ERT-8.3 cost. They are very warmth sounding speakers. Very Dynamic and clear but never hint of brightness. It brings the music to your ears they way it was meant to be. Delicate Highs with a Beautiful Midrage Detail and a Wide Soundstage.They are so clear and detail that you can hear every instrument being played but with the delicacy that you want to spend hours listening to them. They are remarkable speakers. I am still wondering how Emotiva has being able to put such a nice sounding speakers at the price they are asking for them. To get this sound and performance you will need to spend a lot of money,maybe 5 to 6 more times what the ERT-8.3 cost. My pair is here to stay for a long time. It shows you that there is still a company out there that can put a very nice pair of "High End Speakers" without you having to spend the so called "High End Prices" and that Company is called EMOTIVA AUDIO CORPORATION. Here is a link to my current Emotiva System. i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt266/NY1PR2009/DSC01576.jpgRegards to all, Carlos
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Animo
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Post by Animo on Mar 18, 2009 21:57:09 GMT -5
Carlos, another great review. Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Post by Animo on Mar 18, 2009 22:28:53 GMT -5
Knuckleheadjones, Awesome post..... great pictures. Just what we have become accustomed to!! Enjoy them my friend. This little paragraph has me confused though......... "spotted her"....."and had him hold the one speaker she did have"......."Poor FedEx guy!"...." he still remembers" What's up with this? Is you Fedex guy a He/She?
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Post by SDMonkey on Mar 19, 2009 0:03:13 GMT -5
I was just curious how the UPA-7 and ERT 8.3 match up. Do you think the UPA-7 has enough power or do you feel the ERT 8.3 needs more?
Very nice review and thanks for the pictures.
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Post by jmilton on Mar 19, 2009 6:16:42 GMT -5
Knuckleheadjones, Awesome post..... great pictures. Just what we have become accustomed to!! Enjoy them my friend. This little paragraph has me confused though......... "spotted her"....."and had him hold the one speaker she did have"......."Poor FedEx guy!"...." he still remembers" What's up with this? Is you Fedex guy a He/She? ...you can always lift their tail!
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Post by bigred7078 on Mar 19, 2009 12:57:04 GMT -5
great initial writeup!!! and of course i love the pics!!!! c'mon who doesn't!!!! Its great to hear your loving them!
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Post by bigred7078 on Mar 19, 2009 12:58:46 GMT -5
I placed my order for a pair of Emotiva ERT-8.3 Reference towers on Monday March 9 and and on Wednesday March 11 the Speakers were delivered from Tennessee to Kew Gardens, New York via FedEx in Excellent Condition. First let me say that the customer service you get from Emotiva is the best that I have experienced in a long time. Many companies nowadays have forgotten how to treat customers and trust me I know since living in New York. Everytime I have call Emotiva I have always the pleasure of talking to Jennifer. She has always answered all my questions in a very professional and curteous manner and when she does not know the answer to my questions she always connects me with the right person. Thank You Jennifer for always being so nice and helpful. Jennifer took my order over the phone for the RSP-2 Preamp,XPA-2 amplifier and the pair of ERT-8.3 Reference Speakers and within minutes I have the invoice send to email address and a few hours later the tracking numbers for all the items. Now,This is what I call "Class A customer service" Anyway, my speakers were delivered on March 11 and when I came home after work (5pm) I was able to set them up together with the RSP-2 Preamp and the "almighty and powerful" XPA-2 amplifier. It took me around 2 hours to set up the system and once I was done I sat down to beging a listening session. *I know that in order to make a serious and complete review of these speakers I will need to give this speakers around a good 100 hours of break-in but I just wanted to see what was my first impression of them right out of the box* First let me say that from the looks the speakers were appealing to me. Very well put together. Connecting the feet was very easy and the fact that part of the feet section is already attached to the speakers was a plus. Again very well done. The fact that the grill attaches to the front by way of a magnet which is already built into the speaker (which it does not affect the sound in any way)was a very nice touch. I know of another company(Tyler Acoustics) which is also using this approach when connecting the grill to their line of speakers which are 5 to 6 times more the cost of the ERT-8.3 towers. Very Nice Looking Pair of Tower Speakers. Second,I can honestly say that I was very surprise,let me rephrase that,amazed at the sound of the towers right out of the box. Very clean sound. Very transparent and neutral. Not brightness noticed at all. I knew that the bass need it time to break in but otherwise it was a very positive experience and I knew that the best was yet to come. The next day I turned the system on,put a CD in my player and ran the system from 6am to 11pm every day for the next 6 days . That's 17 hours a day which will give the system approx. 102 hours of break-in time. Since I work right accross the street from where I live I was able to come home for lunch and check the system and listen to it from time to time. Now after this 100+ hours of break in time I knew that it was time for a serious listening session. I have been an Audiophile for more than 10 years and I have either owned or auditioned many High End Speakers in those years. My most recent speakers were the Tyler Acoustics Lynbrook Signature Series($8000 pair). Tyler Acoustics does not make this model speaker anymore since he has gone to a new line. These speakers were my Reference Tower Speakers after owning or auditioning speakers like, Revel,Alon,Von Schweikert,Dali,Paradigm,Axioms,Legacy Audio Focus 2020,Aerial Acoustics and Focal LM Labs. I can honestly tell you that the Emotiva ERT-8.3 Towers can compete toe to toe with these speakers. I know that the ERT-8.3 towers may not go as low on the bass extension as some of these speakers that I have mentioned did because the ERT-8.3 are not made to go that low but in anything else they have nothing to envy the speakers ithat I have mentioned including my Reference Tyler Acoustic Lynbrook Signature Series. In fact I sold my Lynbrooks last year to a friend because I was getting out of the audio hobby because of lack off time due to many long hours at my job. But now I am back an I was looking again to put together a nice system and that's when I came across the Emotiva Web site and that's when I decided to give them a try. These speakers are here to stay in my house. Trust me. I like them better than most of the speakers that I have owned in the past and most of them costing more that 4 to 5 times what the ERT-8.3 cost. They are very warmth sounding speakers. Very Dynamic and clear but never hint of brightness. It brings the music to your ears they way it was meant to be. Delicate Highs with a Beautiful Midrage Detail and a Wide Soundstage.They are so clear and detail that you can hear every instrument being played but with the delicacy that you want to spend hours listening to them. They are remarkable speakers. I am still wondering how Emotiva has being able to put such a nice sounding speakers at the price they are asking for them. To get this sound and performance you will need to spend a lot of money,maybe 5 to 6 more times what the ERT-8.3 cost. My pair is here to stay for a long time. It shows you that there is still a company out there that can put a very nice pair of "High End Speakers" without you having to spend the so called "High End Prices" and that Company is called EMOTIVA AUDIO CORPORATION. Here is a link to my current Emotiva System. i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt266/NY1PR2009/DSC01576.jpgRegards to all, Carlos Carlos i really think you should copy and paste this post into its own review thread for the 8.3 as i think it will be better for the masses to be able to read/see various threads on the 8.3's. The more reviews, the more willing people will be to snatch these up
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Lonnie
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Post by Lonnie on Mar 19, 2009 13:18:41 GMT -5
Don't forget, folks. The outriggers are adjustable. You take out the screws from the preset position, and slide them outwards if needed.
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Post by Wideawake on Mar 19, 2009 19:13:50 GMT -5
Nice review knucklehead. I'm curious as to why you did not choose the ERM 6.3 as your center. Wouldn't it match better with the 8.3s than the bigfoot?
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Post by Lonnie on Mar 19, 2009 20:04:38 GMT -5
Don't forget, folks. The outriggers are adjustable. You take out the screws from the preset position, and slide them outwards if needed. These babies are in place and I ain't movin em! The pads have sunk into the carpet and pad and compressed it well enough that they don't really need the extra stability. They are down and stable. I'm listening to Pink Floyd's The Wall disc one right now and it sounds absolutely stunning. There is more detail than I remember hearing with the Infinities. I've listened to many (to my mind) high priced speakers in my day and these probably can hold their own against any of them up to the $5000 level. One thing I never bothered with was to listen to something costing more than that. Paradigm, B&W, Polk, BA, etc, etc. I moved the IL40s out of the way, it was no contest, the mid range is more clear than anything I can remember. I was slightly disappointed with the extreme low end but I have a sub that seems to integrate itself well with anything I drag home to play with it. One thing worth mentioning is how tight the bass plays. Very nice, the kick drum doesn't hang around for an encore, sibilance is virtually non-existent, I can't hear it. I went to bed last night with my ears ringing! Dann, you guys have a real winner here. Get some professional reviews out and you won't be able to keep them in stock. And for anyone thinking they need an XPA-1 or -2 to get these things singing, I haven't found the point where the UPA-7 starts clipping. The UPA-7 delivers 280wpc in 2 channel mode. More than enough. Low volume or high, there is plenty of punch to the music. Now I just need the LMC-1 to get here! We have some reviews in the works...
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Post by roadrunner on Mar 20, 2009 15:23:46 GMT -5
knuckleheadjones
No more than the ERM-6.3 weighs I thought for certain you would give it the 30-day trial just to see how it compared with the big foot... it would cost very little to return it should you decide the big foot was better. After having heard the 6.3, first-hand, I doubt that you would return it. The ERM-6.3 is one of the very few speakers that could even be considered a challenge for the 8.3s -- not to mention how well they integrate with each other. The ERM-6.3 is the perfect Center for the ERT-8.3. It would be interesting to see if the big foot is even in the same league.
I would hate to see you miss out on the nirvana the combination of the 8.3 plus the 6.3 is capable of providing the listener... it is pure heaven. ;D ;D
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Post by snodog on Mar 21, 2009 13:46:24 GMT -5
They look better in these pictures for some reason but I still wish they had broken up all the black a bit. Just some trim or different colored cones or something to give some contrast to the all black. Nice review, thanks
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Post by Lonnie on Mar 24, 2009 0:08:43 GMT -5
Ok kids. I've had these almost a week. OK, 5 days, but who's counting? Just me.I just wish I had the superlatives to properly describe the sound of these ERTs. I've been listening to them non-stop since last Wednesday. I'm listening to LeAnn Rimes right now. What a voice! She's dragged out and dubbed over a very old song I first heard as a kid of 5 or 6 by Eddy Arnold called "Cattle Call". WOW. Sounds like shes right here in my LR. One of my favorites of hers is called "Hurt Me". Its a silky smooth voice and on the ERTs its so much more. Diana Krall sounds like she is right in my LR! I'm a sucker for a great female voice. Add a piano and I'm all ears. Hells bells, I even like Madonna's rendition of "Don't Cry for me Argentina!" I'm not a fan of most of her work, but she has one of the best female voices I've ever heard and that song brings it out. What a wasted talent! Thank you Andrew Lloyd Webber for bringing us that! I even listen to Sarah Brightman once in a while. I used to have some stuff by Ann Murray. Yeah, she sounds good, but only inside that one octave. She has a good sounding voice but no range whatever. Another one of God's cruel jokes? Kind of like giving Roy Orbison one of the great male voices of the modern age and making him as ugly as a mud fence. Anyway, back to speakers. For those who questioned the choice of the AV123 Bigfoot center, the Bigfoot is not a perfect match for the ERTs, but is so close as to be a non-issue. Makes sense to me, after all, these speakers are supposed to be neutral sounding. And I guess thats the best compliment you can give a speaker. While watching a movie where sound crosses the front stage there is no tonal shift that is noticeable to me. Perhaps I should listen harder. All in all, if I had it to do over again I would buy these ERTs in a heart beat. They don't need a sub, and in fact I haven't figured out how to utilize my sub in 2 channel bypass with the LMC-1. If anyone knows the magic button that turns it on, please let me know. Maybe thats the point of bypass? If you are on the fence over buying these I'd just say DO IT. Unless you already have some killer speakers. My IL40s are already up for sale. I always knew they weren't 'killer speakers', but I know I now have a pair of 'killer speakers'! ;D
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Post by Lonnie on Mar 24, 2009 0:16:59 GMT -5
By the way, folks...the 'tri-fiber' material the woofers are made of are two strands of a para-aramid fiber, and one strand of fiberglass. THese are designed to stay very rigid at moderate volumes, for accurate sound, but to flex at higher levels, to allow possible distortion to be absorbed into the butyl rubber surrounds.
'Para-aramid' is a fiber that has various trade names...I'm not gonna get into trademarked substances here, but suffice to say bulletproof vests are made of this.
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Post by aarheadc on Mar 24, 2009 3:32:48 GMT -5
By the way, folks...the 'tri-fiber' material the woofers are made of are two strands of a para-aramid fiber, and one strand of fiberglass. THese are designed to stay very rigid at moderate volumes, for accurate sound, but to flex at higher levels, to allow possible distortion to be absorbed into the butyl rubber surrounds. 'Para-aramid' is a fiber that has various trade names...I'm not gonna get into trademarked substances here, but suffice to say bulletproof vests are made of this. Hey Dann, I noticed most speakers with para-aramid have a weave pattern to them and the 8.3s don't. Is there any reason they don't? I would assume the weave is more than just cosmetics.
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Post by nicholas322 on Mar 25, 2009 14:11:35 GMT -5
OH MY GOD!!! I actually know all the words to cattle call!!!
Nicholas
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Post by topcat on Mar 25, 2009 20:00:08 GMT -5
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Post by topcat on Mar 26, 2009 12:07:50 GMT -5
Can you really talk with the cows? You've never heard of the cow whisperer? Let's keep this quiet.
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