Which amps Emo RMC-2 future?

[dragonV]

Hi all,

I'm thinking some new amps for a future with an Emotiva RMC-2 when/if it arrives. Hoping we will be happy together.

So have read various posts, threads, and been to a Psychic 🤔, but would love to hear opinions in regards to the following potential setups. Will be looking at various new speakers for cinema room, but leaning anywhere from Kef Q to R series, with plenty of other brand still to audition. All budget permitting.

Will be staying with a separate room two channel system.👍

So with so many options now available, do any of these sound good, bad, overkill....or better ideas would love to hear???

.XPA-5 (5 mono) + XPA-8 (4 stereo) total $2998rrp

.XPA-7 (7 mono) + XPA-6 (3 stereo) total $3198rrp

.XPA-3 (3 mono) + XPA-10 (5 stereo) total $2798rrp

.XPA-DR3 (3 mono) + XPA-10 (5 Stereo) total $3598rrp

Thanks in advance!!!

[AudioHTIT]

You should choose amps based on your speakers, other than asthetics the preamp/processor makes little difference. Pick them first.

[AudioHTIT]

That said, you left out (13) x PA-1 = $3900 == A fully balanced solution

[davidl81]

IMO the most important speakers in a HT setup are the L/C/R speakers (center being the most important). The "best" setup based on what you are looking at would be the DR-3 (XPA-3 being really close though)+ the XPA-10 (stereo) option. The surround speakers really only use a fraction of your amps wattage, thus the XPA-10 would be more than sufficient to drive them. In all likely hood in a HT setup you would never hear the difference between the DR-3 and the XPA-3, but if you got the DR-3 then you would never wonder if things could have sounded better with the upgraded amp.

FWIW when I upgraded my XPA-2 to the DR-2 I could not really tell any difference. Maybe a tad difference in 2 channel stereo, but nothing in a HT setup.

[dragonV]

Thanks guys 👍

[jcz06]

I run three DR-1s across the front stage and came from XPR-1s.....I like the more compact design of the DR-1s but don't see a night/day difference and like David said....maybe a little more clarity in stereo listening but I would do the upgrade again in a second.....

[tchaik]

Oct 18, 2018 8:57:39 GMT -5 davidl81 said:

IMO the most important speakers in a HT setup are the L/C/R speakers (center being the most important). The "best" setup based on what you are looking at would be the DR-3 (XPA-3 being really close though)+ the XPA-10 (stereo) option. The surround speakers really only use a fraction of your amps wattage, thus the XPA-10 would be more than sufficient to drive them. In all likely hood in a HT setup you would never hear the difference between the DR-3 and the XPA-3, but if you got the DR-3 then you would never wonder if things could have sounded better with the upgraded amp.

FWIW when I upgraded my XPA-2 to the DR-2 I could not really tell any difference. Maybe a tad difference in 2 channel stereo, but nothing in a HT setup.

I agree....... set up for most power to the front 3 channels



tchaik...........

[tagmanz]

I agree with others here that the L,C,R channels are the most important and generally should be given priority. If you have the funds and space available to house them then an XPA-3 or DR3 will in theory bring the best results. That being said I wouldn't discount using an XPA-5 or XPA-7 for powering both front and surrounds. It is rare for a movie sound track to be playing full scale simultaneously in all channels so unless your speakers are particularly hard to drive I doubt you would notice much difference over using a dedicated amp for the main channels.

The key to deciding how much power is required is to first understand the specifications of the speakers you will be driving. Emotiva provide a great video tutorial on this here emotiva.com/blogs/latest-1/how-much-amplifier-power-do-i-need

I would definitely advise familiarizing yourself with your speakers before choosing any of the XPA stereo modules. In a nutshell the speaker sensitivity, seating distance and listening volume are all important factors to consider as is the speakers impedance.

I too was considering using the stereo modules for my surrounds but ruled this out after doing the calcs due to my speaker impedance being 4 ohm. The stereo modules are not capable if doubling there power output into 4 ohm loads so where they may be suitable at 8 ohms they may struggle at 4 ohms.

[dragonV]

Thanks all for great responses👍

[garbulky]

Oct 22, 2018 0:16:08 GMT -5 dragonV said:

Thanks all for great responses👍

Due to poor results from the single blade gen 3 amps in the IMD tests section and mediocre subjective impressions (from me), I would not reccomend gen 3 amps -at least not the single blade. I would much rather go with the gen 2 version. Also AudioHTIT isn't kidding, those PA-1 monoblocks would be really quite fantastic in this application even for main speakers.

[Boomzilla]

+1 for the PA-1 mono blocks. Stand by for my review on the Secrets website (with input from garbulky).

[novisnick]

Oct 23, 2018 2:04:38 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

+1 for the PA-1 mono blocks. Stand by for my review on the Secrets website (with input from garbulky ).

Looking forward to it !