Emotiva PT-100 first thoughts.
Sept 4, 2016 2:02:17 GMT -5
knucklehead, hemster, and 9 more like this
Post by geebo on Sept 4, 2016 2:02:17 GMT -5
Now that I've had a little time to play with the recently purchased PT-100 (it was my wife's birthday present 
), I thought I'd give my impressions so far.
The PT-100 has a clean and sleek look with a minimum of controls and clutter. Black Gen3 trim pieces flank either side of the front panel. It measures 17" x 12.5" x 2 5/8" (1.5RU) high. It's a nice looking piece that will match up nicely with the new Gen3 amps and other BasX gear.
This preamp is going into a second system consisting of a CD player and a pair of Airmotiv 6 speakers. It's replacing an XDA-2 that worked very well but was somewhat limited as far as features and input types. I also picked up a BTM-1 Bluetooth module at the same time with the idea of using an iPad to pull music from a NAS to play with the PT-100.
Packaging was as usual for Emotiva first rate. Double boxed and wrapped in a black bag with a separate accessory box containing a stereo pair of RCA cables, a trigger cable, power cord, remote control and an FM antenna. A nice saddle stitched and well written easy to understand printed manual is also included. The remote is much smaller and lighter than the aluminum remotes included with much of Emotiva's gear and is quite easy to hold and use with one hand. I use Harmony remotes for everything and to my disappointment Logitech's database does not yet contain the remote codes for the PT-100. Fortunately there are only about 8 buttons on the remote so it was fairly easy to manually teach the codes to the Harmony.
Setup was pretty straightforward and consisted of attaching the C7 style power cord, connecting the FM antenna and, a coax cable from the CD/DVD player and plugging in the Bluetooth module. Inputs are also included for Phono MM and MC (switchable), CD and Aux analog, Optical and USB. There is a 12 volt trigger cable output and left and right analog outputs as well as subwoofer outputs. It should be noted there is no bass management in the PT-100. The subwoofer outputs are summed monaural full range outputs so you will want to make sure any sub you use with the PT-100 has it's own crossover and level controls which most modern subs do include.
In no time at all I was enjoying some of my favorite CDs via coax and I am pleased to report that the PT-100 DAC sounds at least as good as the XDA-2 did in this system. But the PT-100 offers things like bass, treble and balance controls, an FM tuner, Bluetooth capability and analog inputs that are lacking on the XDA-2. Bluetooth sounded better than I would have thought and will probably become my main source in this system. It simply worked right from the start and paired with my iPad immediately. I downloaded a four dollar program called mconnect HD that found my NAS quickly and allows me to play FLACs with the PT-100 using only my iPad Mini. The Western Digital MyCloud app also works well but requires a separate player for FLAC files. FM channel presets were setup using the Autotune feature and the tuner sounded as good as any other I've used in recent memory. It will easily suffice for background music and talk radio. I have not tried any of the other inputs yet.
My only nitpick so far is with the menu system which is a little awkward for changing things like the front panel dimming and adjusting the bass, treble and balance controls. I'm sure it will become easier to navigate after some more use but it can be a little confusing at first. For everyday things like volume adjustments and input changes it's very easy and intuitive however. The display is a large blue VFD and very easy to read from 10 feet away even with my old tired eyes and it even displays the sample rate briefly when switching to a digital input.
All in all, I'm very happy with my choice of this year's birthday present for my better half. The added versatility over the XDA-2 is most welcome and the sound quality is not at all compromised which is par for the Emotiva course. It's a nice little piece and well worth the $299 asking price.
), I thought I'd give my impressions so far.The PT-100 has a clean and sleek look with a minimum of controls and clutter. Black Gen3 trim pieces flank either side of the front panel. It measures 17" x 12.5" x 2 5/8" (1.5RU) high. It's a nice looking piece that will match up nicely with the new Gen3 amps and other BasX gear.
This preamp is going into a second system consisting of a CD player and a pair of Airmotiv 6 speakers. It's replacing an XDA-2 that worked very well but was somewhat limited as far as features and input types. I also picked up a BTM-1 Bluetooth module at the same time with the idea of using an iPad to pull music from a NAS to play with the PT-100.
Packaging was as usual for Emotiva first rate. Double boxed and wrapped in a black bag with a separate accessory box containing a stereo pair of RCA cables, a trigger cable, power cord, remote control and an FM antenna. A nice saddle stitched and well written easy to understand printed manual is also included. The remote is much smaller and lighter than the aluminum remotes included with much of Emotiva's gear and is quite easy to hold and use with one hand. I use Harmony remotes for everything and to my disappointment Logitech's database does not yet contain the remote codes for the PT-100. Fortunately there are only about 8 buttons on the remote so it was fairly easy to manually teach the codes to the Harmony.
Setup was pretty straightforward and consisted of attaching the C7 style power cord, connecting the FM antenna and, a coax cable from the CD/DVD player and plugging in the Bluetooth module. Inputs are also included for Phono MM and MC (switchable), CD and Aux analog, Optical and USB. There is a 12 volt trigger cable output and left and right analog outputs as well as subwoofer outputs. It should be noted there is no bass management in the PT-100. The subwoofer outputs are summed monaural full range outputs so you will want to make sure any sub you use with the PT-100 has it's own crossover and level controls which most modern subs do include.
In no time at all I was enjoying some of my favorite CDs via coax and I am pleased to report that the PT-100 DAC sounds at least as good as the XDA-2 did in this system. But the PT-100 offers things like bass, treble and balance controls, an FM tuner, Bluetooth capability and analog inputs that are lacking on the XDA-2. Bluetooth sounded better than I would have thought and will probably become my main source in this system. It simply worked right from the start and paired with my iPad immediately. I downloaded a four dollar program called mconnect HD that found my NAS quickly and allows me to play FLACs with the PT-100 using only my iPad Mini. The Western Digital MyCloud app also works well but requires a separate player for FLAC files. FM channel presets were setup using the Autotune feature and the tuner sounded as good as any other I've used in recent memory. It will easily suffice for background music and talk radio. I have not tried any of the other inputs yet.
My only nitpick so far is with the menu system which is a little awkward for changing things like the front panel dimming and adjusting the bass, treble and balance controls. I'm sure it will become easier to navigate after some more use but it can be a little confusing at first. For everyday things like volume adjustments and input changes it's very easy and intuitive however. The display is a large blue VFD and very easy to read from 10 feet away even with my old tired eyes and it even displays the sample rate briefly when switching to a digital input.
All in all, I'm very happy with my choice of this year's birthday present for my better half. The added versatility over the XDA-2 is most welcome and the sound quality is not at all compromised which is par for the Emotiva course. It's a nice little piece and well worth the $299 asking price.
Three year warranty is NOT transferable. Period! Warranty expires upon resale of product. 
