Welcome Emotiva Audio
Emotiva of Franklin, Tenn has offered very affordable, high end separate electronics, most notably gutsy power amps, since 2003. You can link to their page for the full offering, but I want to point out a particularly strong Emo product here.
XPA-2 Power Amp, $900, 300×2, 73 pounds. 1.2 KVA transformer, 24 output transistors. AND… Emo is running a summer promo, $810.
Are you serious?! This is INSANE!
Oh, there’s more. You can buy a second one, run them bridged and have 1000w per amp! This is crazy cheap! Spend $1620 and get 1000×2?! These are Class AB sledgehammer amplifiers- no D tricks up the sleeve.
If you have a power amp over ten years old that doesn’t say Bryston on the front, you should be visiting us.
Ah, and the matching XSP-1 Balanced Preamp, $1000, now on special for $900. It has MM&MC, RCA and XLR ins and outs. For a grand?!
And… the ERC-3 CD Player for only $500, $450 on entry promo. Supports XLR as well as RCA outs- with true balanced circuitry. It weighs in at 21 pounds and is a serious player for those of us who want to spin our extensive CD collection with best possible sound quality!
Emotiva also makes a terrific DAC and interesting assortment of amplifier and speaker options. We will have it on display any day! Check our LATEST tab. We’ll post when it’s actually on the floor, in the flesh.
EMOTIVA AUDIO
Retro 50 Music System $2000
We welcome to the party… the Retro 50 Music System. In a nutshell, Retro 50 is the most cool looking REAL HIFI out there at a bargain price.
It’s a tube integrated amp (25×2) with built in phono & DAC, that comes with a pair of speakers modeled after the classic British LS3/5a. The music is full of warmth and romance. The going rate on LS3/5a’s is well over $2k alone.
Retro 50’s amp has 3 analog RCA inputs. #2 can double as an input for mini jack. #3 can serve MM or MC phono! Retro 50 accepts USB-B, Coax & Optical. It has Bluetooth aptX.
Whether your discs are black or silver, or you listen through your phone, Sonos or computer… you’re set. That takes care of just about everyone!
The integrated amp section uses four EL-84X tubes for the power, and two ECF-82s for the inputs. It has bass & treble tone controls. It has the Xbass EQ circuit. It has 25×2, mostly Class A horsepower. The integrated amp portion alone sells for $1500.
The speakers are the same size as LS3/5a’s but have an interesting twist- NO CROSSOVER. They feature a 4.5” mid/woof and 1” silk dome tweeter. The mid/woof runs full range which really opens up the sound, bass & dynamics. The tweet has a cap/resister in line- hence, there are almost no electronics in the road. The speakers alone run $800pr.
Don’t buy a boom box. Don’t hook up your hundred year old receiver and rotting out college speakers. But a Retro 50 and really enjoy the music!
Amp size: 6.1h, 12w, 9.1d
Speaker size: 10.7h, 6.1w, 9.1d
GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL: $1250
GoldenEar brought out two cabinet style center speakers to mate with its towers. The response to SuperCenter X ($600) and SuperCenter XL ($800) has been terrific. But we always want MORE=BIGGER- right?
Enter SuperCenter XXL, a much higher octane center that maintains all the strengths of its little brothers, but has significantly higher capacity. Musically, GoldenEar speakers have universally been acclaimed as being among the smoothest, least aggressive sounding speakers you can buy.
As you can see from the photo, the center section of XXL features two 5.25” Mid/Woofs and the Ribbon Tweeter. There is a 7×10” Quadratic Radiator tied to this interface. So basically, XXL starts life similar to SuperCenter X.
To the outside of each 5.25” driver there is another 5.25” driver with its own 6.75×8” Quadratic Radiator. Hence XXL has three separate chambers. It produces significantly deeper bass and higher volumes than its little brothers. And for only $1250, you’ve got a sophisticated, muscular center! Further, there’s nothing wrong with running three, left/center/right, under your screen.
5.75h, 35w, 11d. 20-350w/ch
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