New $800 Theater Amp From Emotiva: 125×5
Emotiva has just introduced its A5175 power amp. It provides a solid 125×5 with all five channels driven into 8 ohms. Emo is betting that this hits the sweet spot for most buyers.
It is a notch above A500 ($500, 80×5), and notch below XPA5G3 ($1600, 250×5). Hence Emo now has three versions of terrific five channel amplifiers! It has commensurate 7ch amps too.
Back In Stock- Emotiva MC-700 Pre-Pro $600
No sooner than Emo brought out its MC-700- it went on back order. We only had a handful and then… were out for over a month. Now they’re back in.
MC-700 is a fine sounding pre-pro with few bells and whistles! If you don’t need need 101 connections (MC-700 has 6 HDMI inputs, two analog ins, one OPT, one COAX and supports BT with $50 adaptor)- MC-700 may be all you ever need!
Yes is supports 4K.
It supports 5.1 or 7.1.
Has Emo room correction.
Don’t Want A Surround Receiver?
If you want better sound than a receiver can provide, consider Emo’s MC-700 ($600) pre-pro and A-500 power amp ($500, 80×5) combo. The package runs only $1100 and beats any receiver near that price point!
$2K Per Pair Loudspeakers
Triton 5
We have an embarrassment of riches in speakers at about $2k. Check out the options.
GoldenEar Triton Five $2000pr
GoldenEar’s Triton 5 is an easy choice as one of the best $2k options going. First of all, GE speakers are more forgiving of lousy speaker placement than any other speaker in our biz. You can place them much farther apart than any other speaker- and still get a strong center image. Because the T5 isn’t boomy, it is also more forgiving about being stuffed in a corner- though we’d rather you NOT. Tonal balance is voiced smooth as silk- no bite on top. T5 is easy to drive. Any receiver or integrated amp will get you plenty of volume. T5 is a tremendously versatile speaker.
GoldenEar Triton Sevens $2100 ($1400pr) & FF-4 Subwoofer ($700)
Triton 7
GoldenEar’s Triton 7 doesn’t have the bass of T5. But, some of our customers who want brass kahunas and want to land about $2k, will go with T7 and add a
ForceField 4 powered subwoofer
The FF4 delivers bass as no $2k tower can. Hence by trading a bit of kick in the towers, if you have room for a FF4 sub, you can have your bass and imaging too.
Quad S-5 $2200pr
Quad’s S5 has a slightly brighter, leaner flavor than GoldenEar’s T5 above. Some customers like a bit more lively top end. Quad’s ribbon provides it. S-5 is voiced leaner and tighter than GE. If you’re in an apartment or condo and have to play at lower volume, S5 might be just the ticket. It provides super clarity at low volume, without prodigious bass to annoy the rest of the house, or perhaps your neighbors.
Magnepan MG-1.7i $2200pr
If you have a living room with enough space to let your speakers breathe, Maggies are always a tantalizing option. Maggies are dipolars. They need to be away from the back wall by about three feet to prevent bass cancellation. While 1.7i has bass, it’s not of the booming variety. Maggies are for the listener who loves music and doesn’t mind speakers being a prominent focal point in the room. Pull ‘em out from the back wall. Drive them with quality amplification and source- and the Maggies disappear better than any speaker out there.
Who Is The Teacher?
George Gershwin (1898-1937) wanted to get composition lessons from Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Ravel knew of Gershwin and when they met, asked George, “How much do you earn from your compositions?” Gershwin replied, “Around $100,000.” Ravel countered, “In that case, you give ME lessons!”