Post by B Weiss on Dec 6, 2009 21:41:23 GMT -5
I ordered my first Emotiva product, the UPA-2 a few months ago and have been living with it and using it almost daily; in short, it's by far the best bang-for-your buck in high-end audio today.
I currently reside in an apartment, and let me just say, the UPA-2 is ideal for the audiophile who wants a serious amplifier, but doesn't want to invest in 250+ watts quite yet (assuming you want to be on good terms with your neighbors).
I use a Squeezebox (v3) as my front-end and a Rotel RSX-1055 as a pre/pro. As for speakers, I've got the UPA-2 connected up to Paradigm Signature S1s (v2). These are some of the best small speaker's you'll ever hear (that's another story though). While the S1s are definitely 4-Ohm rated, the UPA-2 doesn't even break a sweat driving them (just barely warm to the touch) Also, the Emotiva/Paradigm mate is excellent-- the UPA2 is incredibly neutral and balanced, just like the Paradigm Signatures.
I have tested my setup with a number of amps in the 700-2K $ range from the likes of Rotel, Arcam, NAD, and others; I was at first skeptical that the inexpensive UPA-2 would hold up against these higher priced competitors, but at only $300 I figured it was at least worth a shot (the specs sold me).
Let me just say, not only did the UPA-2 pleasantly surprise me when it arrived, but it truly competes in that $700-2K range. To have no discernible differences between a UPA-2 and some of Arcam's higher end offerings is incredible, and speaks to the talent in Emotiva's engineering team; I'm blown away by the UPA-2's value and this "little" Emotiva amp has, without a doubt, made me an Emo loyalist.
I currently reside in an apartment, and let me just say, the UPA-2 is ideal for the audiophile who wants a serious amplifier, but doesn't want to invest in 250+ watts quite yet (assuming you want to be on good terms with your neighbors).
I use a Squeezebox (v3) as my front-end and a Rotel RSX-1055 as a pre/pro. As for speakers, I've got the UPA-2 connected up to Paradigm Signature S1s (v2). These are some of the best small speaker's you'll ever hear (that's another story though). While the S1s are definitely 4-Ohm rated, the UPA-2 doesn't even break a sweat driving them (just barely warm to the touch) Also, the Emotiva/Paradigm mate is excellent-- the UPA2 is incredibly neutral and balanced, just like the Paradigm Signatures.
I have tested my setup with a number of amps in the 700-2K $ range from the likes of Rotel, Arcam, NAD, and others; I was at first skeptical that the inexpensive UPA-2 would hold up against these higher priced competitors, but at only $300 I figured it was at least worth a shot (the specs sold me).
Let me just say, not only did the UPA-2 pleasantly surprise me when it arrived, but it truly competes in that $700-2K range. To have no discernible differences between a UPA-2 and some of Arcam's higher end offerings is incredible, and speaks to the talent in Emotiva's engineering team; I'm blown away by the UPA-2's value and this "little" Emotiva amp has, without a doubt, made me an Emo loyalist.
