Sharing my journey: Emotiva and NHT
Aug 8, 2020 7:44:00 GMT -5
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Post by lttelamon on Aug 8, 2020 7:44:00 GMT -5
Greetings all,
I’m new to the boards and thought I’d jump in and share a bit about my recent Emotiva (and wider audio) journey.
My dad has a great set of Morel speakers powered by a who-knows-what brand seemingly hand-built amp, both from the late eighties and they sound great. It was the start of my audiophile education. But as a college kid I used to frequent a local hifi shop who were great about accommodating a kid who clearly would never buy much of anything. At this shop I started a now 20+ year love affair with NHT. Specifically, the 2.5i 3-way towers.
In the last year I’ve been rekindling this love due to 1) my kids being old enough not to mess with stuff too much and 2) finally having the ability to apply some money to the hobby.
After some quick affairs with ELAC Uni-fi BS U5 Slims and NHT SuperOnes and C3s (driven initially by the Pioneer Elite SX-S30 and then Cambridge Audio CXA80), I inevitably found a pair of NHT 2.5i and have been building my system around them. The speakers are, I think, modest by many audiophile standards but they make me smile every single day, especially now that I’m working from home.
My 2.1 music set up is:
An old iMac feeding my digital collection to an SMSL SU-8 v2 dac, going into an Emotiva XSP-1 gen 2 differential preamp via balanced, into a bi-amping configuration of a pair of Stealth PA-1s (balanced) for highs and a BasX-A300 (unbalanced) for lows. The preamp also feeds a Hsu ULS-15 mk2 sub via balanced connection. I also have a Nexum TuneBox 2 that I use for occasional Spotify/Airplay streaming, and a Fluance RT85 turntable in the chain.
The Emotiva gear make these old slabs of 21 degree angular beauty that I’ve built up in my mind for two decades fulfill and exceed every expectation I’ve had of them.
So, if you’re game, do you have any stories of eventually being able to get your hands on a long-sought after sound or component? A perhaps unreasonable affection for something that is still strong today? I’d love to hear some. I look forward to contributing here!
I’m new to the boards and thought I’d jump in and share a bit about my recent Emotiva (and wider audio) journey.
My dad has a great set of Morel speakers powered by a who-knows-what brand seemingly hand-built amp, both from the late eighties and they sound great. It was the start of my audiophile education. But as a college kid I used to frequent a local hifi shop who were great about accommodating a kid who clearly would never buy much of anything. At this shop I started a now 20+ year love affair with NHT. Specifically, the 2.5i 3-way towers.
In the last year I’ve been rekindling this love due to 1) my kids being old enough not to mess with stuff too much and 2) finally having the ability to apply some money to the hobby.
After some quick affairs with ELAC Uni-fi BS U5 Slims and NHT SuperOnes and C3s (driven initially by the Pioneer Elite SX-S30 and then Cambridge Audio CXA80), I inevitably found a pair of NHT 2.5i and have been building my system around them. The speakers are, I think, modest by many audiophile standards but they make me smile every single day, especially now that I’m working from home.
My 2.1 music set up is:
An old iMac feeding my digital collection to an SMSL SU-8 v2 dac, going into an Emotiva XSP-1 gen 2 differential preamp via balanced, into a bi-amping configuration of a pair of Stealth PA-1s (balanced) for highs and a BasX-A300 (unbalanced) for lows. The preamp also feeds a Hsu ULS-15 mk2 sub via balanced connection. I also have a Nexum TuneBox 2 that I use for occasional Spotify/Airplay streaming, and a Fluance RT85 turntable in the chain.
The Emotiva gear make these old slabs of 21 degree angular beauty that I’ve built up in my mind for two decades fulfill and exceed every expectation I’ve had of them.
So, if you’re game, do you have any stories of eventually being able to get your hands on a long-sought after sound or component? A perhaps unreasonable affection for something that is still strong today? I’d love to hear some. I look forward to contributing here!
