Edwood Posted July 5, 2009 Author Report Posted July 5, 2009 LOL, I don't have a rack for my home theater components. You guys would laugh if you saw my set up. Suffice it to say, I would have the physical space to stack seven XPA-1's on top of each other. But the uh...."audio furniture platform" would probably be crushed under the weight. Oh, did I mention that I have a 2 year old toddler that likes to poke and push buttons? So, cool/warm running amps are a must. Class A heaters need not apply.
grawk Posted July 5, 2009 Report Posted July 5, 2009 I went with the "all audio gear over 5' from the ground" setup for toddler defense
swt61 Posted July 5, 2009 Report Posted July 5, 2009 They are on sale ($100 of) until 7/15. The only issue I have with the XPA-1 is that it may be too tall from my rack. I guess I have 10 days to decide. Dew eeet!
Edwood Posted July 5, 2009 Author Report Posted July 5, 2009 I went with the "all audio gear over 5' from the ground" setup for toddler defense I live in earthquake central California. So, anything over 20lbs is pretty close to the ground here and/or bolted to the wall. I would prefer to have ruined stuff than a crushed daughter. Still, now that I think about it, it wouldn't really take much for her to pour her drink into the top vents of my receiver. Hmmmmm. I might have to invest in a rack mounted set up after all.... Guess I'll do that if/when I get that Emotiva UMC-1.
tyrion Posted July 5, 2009 Report Posted July 5, 2009 (edited) Dew eeet! I got the amps confused. The XPA-1 is on sale but it's the mono. I would be getting the XPA-2, if I were to try one of their amps. It's $799. I was thinking of going with the USP-1 pre until the one with balanced in and out comes out later in the year and the XPA-2. Damn, $1700 for a pair of XPA-1 500/1000 watt monsters. Edited July 5, 2009 by tyrion
Edwood Posted July 5, 2009 Author Report Posted July 5, 2009 Doh! Veto by the wife. No huge amplifier box. She rules the home theater (LOL, yes, but I rule anything headphone related. She's the videophile of the family). If the DLP TV died, she would want a replacement pronto. LOL. Need to find a butt cheap way of fixing it. She's almost willing to go stereo. I wish the Emotiva UMC-1 had a built in stereo amp like the LMC-1 did. Maybe I could still convince her if I could find an Amp that was butt cheap (sub $300 used). Yeah, not really much in the way of choices there.
Hopstretch Posted July 5, 2009 Report Posted July 5, 2009 Maybe at this point you should just get a new receiver? There are plenty of nice ones for < $500. Your wife will get some snazzy new AV features and won't have to tolerate an extra box to boot.
swt61 Posted July 6, 2009 Report Posted July 6, 2009 Doh! Veto by the wife. No huge amplifier box. She rules the home theater (LOL, yes, but I rule anything headphone related. She's the videophile of the family). If the DLP TV died, she would want a replacement pronto. LOL. Need to find a butt cheap way of fixing it. She's almost willing to go stereo. I wish the Emotiva UMC-1 had a built in stereo amp like the LMC-1 did. Maybe I could still convince her if I could find an Amp that was butt cheap (sub $300 used). Yeah, not really much in the way of choices there. So buy the LMC-1... Videogon ForSale: Emotiva Lmc-1: Perfect Condition,
Edwood Posted July 6, 2009 Author Report Posted July 6, 2009 I probably should've jumped on that $275 one on Audiogon. *smacks forehead*
Nebby Posted July 6, 2009 Report Posted July 6, 2009 The emotiva stuff certainly looks tempting, I'll have to look into them myself sometime in the future.
Edwood Posted July 9, 2009 Author Report Posted July 9, 2009 Dreams of Emotiva UMC-1 with all Quad 12L Actives around have been dancing around in my head. If for some reason I can't get the Smyth SVS Realiser (fucking long ass waiting list, c'mon, guys, I can have a check signed and ready in 5 minutes!), than I will probably say fuck the neighbors and go that route. Although I heard Wharfedale 8.2 Actives are very similar. (Not as pretty, though, but I don't really care).
swt61 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Not to mention they can be had for as little as $148.00 ea. USB Microphones, Stereo Microphones, Preamplifiers, Digital Recorders, Cables and more at Rock Bottom Prices from The Sound Professionals - Great deals on Microphone, Preamplifier, Digital Recorder, Cable and more!
Dusty Chalk Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Although I heard Wharfedale 8.2 Actives are very similar. (Not as pretty, though, but I don't really care).And a lot cheaper.
Edwood Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Posted July 11, 2009 Just got an email from Smyth Research that a Realiser is ready for me to pick up. Wharfedales are on my short list. I'd really like to hear them in person before pulling the trigger on five of them. Since I'm getting the SVS Realiser sooner than later, I'm going to live with my crippled Receiver as a preamp (front three channels still work). Get the Emotiva UMC-1 when it eventually comes out (next year this time? LOL). And then get some Wharfedale Actives, or something. Although, Maybe I should wait for the Emotiva Pre Pro that has Balanced outputs. I don't fancy running long single ended RCA wires to surround speakers. -Ed
Iron_Dreamer Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 Just got an email from Smyth Research that a Realiser is ready for me to pick up. Par-tay! I know how much you've been anticipating this one!
Edwood Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Posted July 11, 2009 I'm going to have to sell some stuff. The Realiser alone is hella expensive. I also want the Crowson tactile transducers as well. Which needs an oddball amp that can drive at 6 ohms. Their amp is way overpriced and has a fan in it. No thanks.
swt61 Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 Ed there's always the B&K Reference 70, However it's around $3000. Then there's the Integra DHC-9.9 for $2000.00. It's going to be hard to beat the Emotiva XMC-1 though, and I believe it's retail is going to be around the $1000.00 mark. And just check out the features... Twin Cirrus
grawk Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 The outlaw 997 should be competitive with the emotiva, while being made in the US, if that matters to you.
Edwood Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Posted July 11, 2009 Wow. Nice. I'll probably wait for the XMC-1. The SVS Realiser is killing my toy budget. The Tactile Transducer thing is the part that is killin me further. Trying to find a cheap 2 Channel amp that outputs 6 Ohms at anywhere from 100-200watts is not easy. It doesn't need to be super high fidelity as it's not powering speakers. -Ed
luvdunhill Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 Wow. Nice. I'll probably wait for the XMC-1. The SVS Realiser is killing my toy budget. The Tactile Transducer thing is the part that is killin me further. Trying to find a cheap 2 Channel amp that outputs 6 Ohms at anywhere from 100-200watts is not easy. It doesn't need to be super high fidelity as it's not powering speakers. -Ed why not use a plate amp and case it up, or even a car amp?
Hopstretch Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 (edited) The outlaw 997 should be competitive with the emotiva, while being made in the US, if that matters to you. The 997 is not made in the US. It is a modified, amp section-less Sherwood-Newcastle 972 and is built in Korea. Interestingly, the Trinnov Optimiser technology that will be built into these is rather reminiscent of the Smyth Virtualizer, but for speakers. It allows for not only time and phase correction, but also virtual speaker remapping, so you can -- for example -- "raise" the center channel you have under your TV so that the sonic image emanates from the center of the screen as it should. It's reportedly frickin' awesome. The following is from an online conversation with one of the S-N product guys. I believe you have it exactly backwards. Trinnov actually takes the room out of the room. Let's imagine that we wanted to perfectly reproduce a movie soundtrack as it was mixed on the dubbing stage. A simple way to state our goal is that we want to make the playback venue identical to the recording venue. If that could be done, one could then hear exactly what the mix-down engineer heard when he put the recording together. Trinnov knows where the speakers are in your room. It measures distance to the millimeter, azimuth and elevation within two degrees and it knows the frequency and phase response of your speakers. Trinnov also knows the frequency response of the speakers used during mix-down (must meet Dolby certification) and their placement. (In the case of some studios, we have their exact placement as the studio owns the Trinnov Professional box and the box "calls home" to Trinnov with the pertinent room data, in most cases we rely on the industry standards for sight lines, subtended angles, etc.) Knowing frequency, phase and placement details for both venues, Trinnov is smart enough to create virtual speakers in your room with the same position as the original speakers and with the same response. In the mobile recording vans in Europe where Trinnov's professional EQ is a fixture, the image extends beyond the confines of the van. If it helps, you can think of us purifying the signal. Trinnov measures direct sound, first reflections, power response and room modes. Then it uses the most advanced EQ engine in the world to fix frequency and phase errors caused by reflections, refractions, floor dips, wall dips, modal peaks and dips, etc. If you stop there and simply use the Trinnov EQ and don't engage the remaping, you'll have the best possible sound from your existing system given the dimensions of your room. If you want to get a step closer to the original, you can engage 2-D remapping and move your front speakers to +/- 22.5 degrees (Cinema) or +/- 30 degrees (Music). Or if you need to, you can engage 3-D remapping and change the vertical position of your speakers as well. All these options, including bass only EQ and matching your front L and R speakers at all positions are available on the R-972 and each is stored by input. You could use Bass EQ only for stereo recordings, 2D remapping for multi-channel music and 3D remapping for Cinema or any combination that works for you and your room. Despite one's inability to change channel levels, Trinnov is not one-size-fits-all, it's a set of 12 state of the art options that the user can choose to apply to his audio. Edited July 11, 2009 by Hopstretch
Edwood Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Posted July 11, 2009 why not use a plate amp and case it up, or even a car amp? Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. DIY route, or commissioning someone to make one. I'm all for quick and dirty. Any suggestions?
Nebby Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 Interestingly, the Trinnov Optimiser technology that will be built into these is rather reminiscent of the Smyth Virtualizer, but for speakers. It allows for not only time and phase correction, but also virtual speaker remapping, so you can -- for example -- "raise" the center channel you have under your TV so that the sonic image emanates from the center of the screen as it should. It's reportedly frickin' awesome. The following is from an online conversation with one of the S-N product guys. Also interestingly enough, the Smyth Research guys had the Trinnov Optimiser setup and running on the speaker system at CanJam. They told me it was for room correction, but I didn't know at the time that it's a $13,000 piece of equipment. Ouch.
Hopstretch Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 Also interestingly enough, the Smyth Research guys had the Trinnov Optimiser setup and running on the speaker system at CanJam. They told me it was for room correction, but I didn't know at the time that it's a $13,000 piece of equipment. Ouch. Which makes it all the sweeter that you get most of its core functionality included with your $1400 receiver/pre-pro.
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