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Post by givontou on Aug 17, 2016 14:42:20 GMT -5
Has anyone purchased and received any of the new Airmotiv speakers and if so how do they sound?
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Post by Porscheguy on Aug 17, 2016 16:14:20 GMT -5
I have the old ones that sound good and the new ones will sound good too.
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Post by adaboy on Aug 17, 2016 17:04:34 GMT -5
Are you talking about the new T-1"s? If so there was a new member that posted his impressions with pictures.
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Post by wreckingball on Aug 19, 2016 18:40:34 GMT -5
Got the e-mail today about the T1s.. seriously thinking about investing for my upstairs setup.
That said, I'd sure like to see a review, or hear a sound-clip comparison against another 'ribbon-top' type speaker that's more well-known.
Shipping these babies back if they weren't for me would be an expensive audition.
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Post by garbulky on Aug 19, 2016 18:58:48 GMT -5
Having heard the airmotiv 4 - which was the smallest powered speaker Emotiva had, I was shocked at its performance. It just sounded GREAT even in my small living room - without subs! They bought a lot of my bigger Axiom m80's had with the main difference being quality of bass (duh) and the treble wasn't quite as real (only in very specific aspects, in other aspects it was better). It had a remarkable "open" window to the sound which completely outperformed its price tag. Try to get a bookshelf speaker with a dome tweeter with that treble for anywhere that price. You couldn't!
So when I see that they released the T1 towers, I mean really, what's not to love about this? I don't know how it compares against its competition but whatever it is, I have no doubt it seriously performs.
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Post by wreckingball on Aug 19, 2016 19:11:10 GMT -5
@ garbulky, Could you elaborate what you mean by the treble not being as 'real' as the m80's? (I know, hard to translate using the printed word) ..but give it a shot? Song comparisons or something like that? etc.
Thanks
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Post by Porscheguy on Aug 19, 2016 19:17:16 GMT -5
@ garbulky, Could you elaborate what you mean by the treble not being as 'real' as the m80's? (I know, hard to translate using the printed word) ..but give it a shot? Song comparisons or something like that? etc. Thanks I hate it when the treble is not real. Ruins everything. |
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Post by wreckingball on Aug 19, 2016 20:23:24 GMT -5
^lol..
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Post by garbulky on Aug 19, 2016 22:44:10 GMT -5
@ garbulky, Could you elaborate what you mean by the treble not being as 'real' as the m80's? (I know, hard to translate using the printed word) ..but give it a shot? Song comparisons or something like that? etc. Thanks Well first you must know I am a subjective guy. I describe what I hear. And that's pretty much it for my method. Now obviously being subjective has its own flaws....the first being that its subjective to my own fickle intepretation and ears! Also keep in mind that we are comparing something that is $300 (airmotiv 4) to something that now costs about $1900. I paid $1300 myself. So of course there is going to be a difference. In my review of it I had written I can't believe the kind of critical scrutiny I put towards these speakers that cost $350. Any other speaker of this price would not have this kind of scrutiny because….they wouldn't be able to hold up to it. So treble not being as real was me saying it wasn't "as natural" sounding to my ear. In this case, the Axioms had a solidity to the treble. So if a guitar played, the sound seemed to have a bit more solidityor thickness in terms of the instrument. It felt less thin than with the axioms. But the more obvious feature was that the airmotiv tweeter itself had an interesting coloration to it. The coloration itself I found very nice but it was a coloration. B'zilla on this forum describes it as a homogenizing of sound which is pretty close to what it is. However homogenizing makes it sound like everything is squashed together - which in this case it isn't. It's a coloration that affects most of the treble. The tweeter is very resolving. But it's a sort of....sigh....here I go again.... a "brilliance" to the sound. Like it's lit up from inside. If you've heard a Nakamichi stasis class A amplifier you may recognize it. Or maybe some type of tube amps. A "glow" if you will. The coloration is quite pleasing to my ear and makes things musical to me. But I also recognize it being sounding less close to a natural tone than the Axioms. Now remember this was the smallest, cheapest, and least powerful of the airmotivs. I put it this way. When I jumped in to "audiophile grade" speakers in the entry level and mid-fi category, I heard several systems that cost as much as the airmotivs. None of them could come close to touching them at the price. In fact, if I had heard the airmotivs and the axioms back to back there is a good chance I would have passed on spending the extra money for the very nice Axioms. Now don't get me wrong, the Axioms are the better speaker. Just that the airmotivs are darn good values for the money. Hope that helps. Here's my full review when I tried it. emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/35418/garbulkys-airmotiv-4-reviewP.S.: Oh song comparisons. It's been awhile. So I can't remember a lot. But I do remember a bit Gu*s 'N Roses - Patience This showed the strengths of both speakers. This track has several guitars....plus whistling and a bit where the voice comes in after the strumming. The airmotivs provided a great open window to the sound. The guitars were positioned well. No vagueness in their positioning. Now the window had a size to it mainly in height - there was only so much to it. You could tell where it stopped. You wouldn't mistake it for a LARGE speaker. The difference is that the axioms lacked that "brilliance" color to the treble, sounded larger, and had more solidity and dynamics to the song. The dynamics being the most obvious thing. But the airmotivs also had dynamics and some solidity. You wouldn't call it a "thin" sounding speaker. It's just that in my room the axioms sounded more natural with more body. The airmotivs also brought most of the detail but at times the very ( VERY[/u]) were lost to the coloration haze. Don't be mistaken this tweeter can bring tons of details. Other tweeters in its price range sound positively dull, slow, and not extended in the upper end in comparison. So hope that helps. |
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Post by Axis on Aug 19, 2016 22:45:04 GMT -5
There is no coloration in the Emotiva Airmotiv high-frequency transducers. In my entire life of listening to speakers the Airmotiv AMT tweeter is the smoothest most natural without distortion tweeter I have ever heard.
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Post by garbulky on Aug 19, 2016 22:53:08 GMT -5
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Post by Axis on Aug 19, 2016 23:55:19 GMT -5
Hope you didn't misunderstand me my friend.  I like to nit pick at speakers and sound as I am very picky. However when I was writing my review at the time, I was thinking ....why on earth am I even mentioning this stuff? It's $350! (Less now!) Other speakers at that price were so bad in comparison that I wouldn't even start talking about a "pleasing coloration" or "brilliance" or "lit up from within".  I would be more like...."wow it didn't clip" or "I think I heard some treble there and a semblance of soundstage" or "not as congested as I expected" or more often than not just - "meh". When people hear the word "coloration" they hear things like obvious stuff like uneven reponse, poor quality sound etc. That's not what I was describing. Every speaker has its own tonal coloration and a deviation from "perfect". This speaker had one as well - at least for me. You simply can't do everything for $300. But in the airmotivs case you can do a heck of a lot! And I agree that that airmotiv tweeter - I can describe it in two words - "coherent" and "fast". Garbulky I made a separate post because I have always respected both you and Booms opinion and journey. My opinion is that needs to stay in both of your journeys. The AMT tweeters in the Airmotiv are incredible and that has what has set these speakers apart from many since they introduced the Stealth 8 speakers to the would. I could not find the remarks but I read the remarks from the critics when they did there first rodeo where Big Dan took his DC-1 and Stealth 8 speakers on the road it blew all those that heard them away. They were the talk of the town with those who only thought mega buck speakers were the cats meow. It is those Non Distorting AMT tweeters. Both you and Boom may need to revisit these Bad Boys. |
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Post by garbulky on Aug 20, 2016 0:24:47 GMT -5
Axis Hehe you keep forgetting that I was pretty darn impressed!! I think we are both saying more or less the same thing. The AMT tweeter is darn good. (Not perfect though - what is? ...but definitely a heck of a performer!!) In my opinion, just because something slightly negative is pointed out, one must take it in the context of the whole. First - price. Second - this was one person's opinion - mine only. For instance, you find it more or less flawless! No argument from me there! Third - what about all the other good stuff it does? It does a lot of it, right? In my review, I call it one of the best values out there in its price range. It is my go to recomendation if somebody wants something small, simple, and cheap. A behringer UCA-202 ($30) + Airmotiv 4 fulfils it! Only catch - the Behringer needs a PC. So no bluetooth or stuff like that. Now keep in mind I only heard the smallest airmotiv - the airmotiv 4 not the 5 or the stealth. B'zilla heard it in a very large living room and he wasn't terribly impressed - as it should be. Though he too thought it was pretty good. It's a speaker with 4 inch drivers. It couldn't reproduce the power needed to fill that large living room he has. Heck, my Axioms don't have enough oomph to fill it either without subwoofer help.
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Post by Axis on Aug 20, 2016 0:42:07 GMT -5
Axis Hehe you keep forgetting that I was pretty darn impressed!! I think we are both saying more or less the same thing. The AMT tweeter is darn good. (Not perfect though - what is? ...but definitely a heck of a performer!!) Now keep in mind I only heard the smallest airmotiv - the airmotiv 4 not the 5 or the stealth. And it was also not as nearfield as a PC setup which I imagine is what it was really meant for. I used it in a small living room. B'zilla heard it in a very large living room and he wasn't terribly impressed - as it should be though he too thought it was pretty good. It's a speaker with 4 inch drivers. It couldn't reproduce the power needed to fill that room. Garbulky, you are absolutely right. You can not compare the total presentation of sound between these two speakers. Garbulky, I sit an arms length away from the second generation s model of the Airmotiv 5S's on IsoAcoustic stands connected to a DC-1. They are near-field speakers and not designed to fill the entire room with a full range sound. Garbulky, you understand that it is not a proper evaluation of the new Airmotiv T1 speaker and until you guys have them set up properly in a room and hear the AMT tweeter along with the compliments of the Mid, Woofers and Cabinets, saying the tweeters on the Airmotiv T-1's is a weak point in the speakers is a little hasty. Do you agree Garbulky ? |
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Post by garbulky on Aug 20, 2016 1:02:55 GMT -5
Absolutely I do Axis ! BTW, I wasn't calling the tweeters a weak point in the T-1. I haven't heard the T1 myself. All my comments were about the airmotiv 4. I was saying if such a small speaker which was so cheap could do so well...what a great idea the T1 was! I imagine it has some serious value. With a doubling of the price you now get towers, bass and mid drivers and an increase in size as well. These are all good things imo. I would be interested in hearing the T1s. |
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Post by Axis on Aug 20, 2016 1:05:41 GMT -5
Absolutely I do Axis ! BTW, I wasn't calling the tweeters a weak point in the T-1. I haven't heard the T1 myself. All my comments were about the airmotiv 4. I was saying if such a small speaker which was so cheap could do so well...what a great idea the T1 was! I imagine it has some serious value. With a doubling of the price you now get towers, bass and mid drivers and an increase in size as well. These are all good things imo. I would be interested in hearing the T1s. Big smile Garbulky. I understand and think we all need to give these new speakers a chance. Thanks Garbulky. |
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Post by adaboy on Aug 20, 2016 1:06:18 GMT -5
Axis, I disagree with what you are doing here. No offense.
The OP asked for opinions Garbulky stepped up to the plate and provided at least what I thought was a pretty well thought out review with explanations and cost reasoning.
On the same coin you can provide your review / opinion and the OP can take it for what it's worth just like Garbulky.
I apologize to you for me stepping in and pointing out that I perceived your post as playing defense for Emotiva once again. We in this forum can give constructive and at times negative feedback back if warranted.
Lets be civil amd let people have there say please.
Thanks
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Post by Axis on Aug 20, 2016 1:09:50 GMT -5
Axis, I disagree with what you are doing here. No offense. The OP asked for opinions Garbulky stepped up to the plate and provided at least what I thought was a pretty well thought out review with explanations and cost reasoning. On the same coin you can provide your review / opinion and the OP can take it for what it's worth just like Garbulky. I apologize to you for me stepping in and pointing out that I perceived your post as playing defense for Emotiva once again. We in this forum can give constructive and at times negative feedback back if warranted. Lets be civil amd let people have there say please. Thanks I am a Bad Ass adaboy ! |
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Post by adaboy on Aug 20, 2016 1:13:49 GMT -5
Axis, I disagree with what you are doing here. No offense. The OP asked for opinions Garbulky stepped up to the plate and provided at least what I thought was a pretty well thought out review with explanations and cost reasoning. On the same coin you can provide your review / opinion and the OP can take it for what it's worth just like Garbulky. I apologize to you for me stepping in and pointing out that I perceived your post as playing defense for Emotiva once again. We in this forum can give constructive and at times negative feedback back if warranted. Lets be civil amd let people have there say please. Thanks I am a Bad Ass adaboy ! Hahahahaha!!! 👊💥 fist bumps all around! That was playa right there! |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2016 1:34:55 GMT -5
I must add here that I have own the original Emotiva ERM-1 Reference speaker, which is identical to their top of the line ERT-8.3 tower from the woofers up, (the same exact 1" soft dome tweeter and 5.25" mid) I A/B'd this extensively with the Emo ERM-6.3 center speaker. I found the tweeters to be identical and sound identical.
I also own a small M2 Axiom bookshelf speaker which had the same exact tweeter as in the M80, at that time the top of the line tower. The M80 had two of these tweeters because the single tweeter was not high enough in power handling. I believe the current Axiom tweeter has perhaps been upgraded.
I did many hours of A/B comparison between the Axiom and Emo Reference ERM-1. It took about 30 seconds to see that the enclosure build and driver quality of the Emo were obviously superior. The tweeter in the ERM-1 has exceptional 4 ohm power handling driven by my Emo XPA-5 with 300+ watts into 4 ohms. Don't get me wrong the Axiom is a very nice speaker and sounds generally very good to excellent! However, the ERM-1 bested it in 17 out of 18 blind listening comparisons with one tie (I had a helper) and I had all settings at identical loudness and reversed side by side positions/wiring during the comparison.
My purpose here is to talk about the sound of the Emo tweeters. For my ears and anything within 3-4 times the cost, this soft dome tweeter is superb! It was not peaked above 10kHz-15kHz like so many tweeters are that sound so apparently clean at first listening but then become edgy and fatiguing after some time. The sound was ultra clean, smooth and completely non-fatiguing. There was a slow roll off starting at about 14kHz with no peak before that range.
I have compared this tweeter again with many hours of side by side A/B comparisons with the folded ribbon tweeter in my Emo Airmotiv 4's. By the way, I have the 4's at my computer system with an 8" Mirage Omni 8 sub. Wow! At about 10-12 feet it puts out a very clean and flat sound down to about 30Hz with 90+ decibels. Not super loud but very nice for a den or family room as well as my near field computer system.
My conclusion on the folded ribbon tweeter (1.25" --- 26 by 32mm versus the soft dome on the ERM-1. I ever so slighty preferred the soft dome in the ERM-1. The ribbon tweeter went very slightly less high than the soft dome, maybe 500Hz less when it started a slow roll off. I know many will be surprised but I used frequency response tests to compare them. They sounded almost identical to my ears in the high end range. They both were very smooth and natural, no fatigue. I gave an ever so small edge in overall sound to the soft dome, but both IMO were superb! The off axis on the soft dome is excellent but the folded ribbon is even better, sounding so good way off axis in the adjoining room. The ERM-1 tweeter driven by the XPA-5 obviously had higher power handling/volume output. The folded ribbon tweeters in the new speakers should play plenty loud driven by a strong amp.
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I like to nit pick at speakers and sound as I am very picky. However when I was writing my review at the time, I was thinking ....why on earth am I even mentioning this stuff? It's $350! (Less now!) Other speakers at that price were so bad in comparison that I wouldn't even start talking about a "pleasing coloration" or "brilliance" or "lit up from within". 
