Emotiva A500 (1 Viewer)

[Rokzi]

Hi all,
'been out of the forums for long while; looking for advise on the amp mentioned in title,but
I could not find any thread about Emotiva's A500 amp.
I've recently purchased their A300 ( to drive my mains instead of my old Denon 3312CI. I almost thought the amp was still weak as it sounded quieter, but a few moments later and as I turned it up I just realized that the sound coming out was just clearer/cleaner! As I was also planning to get another receiver for my bedroom I decided to return the A300 and get the MC-700 along with the A500 (rated at 80wpc @8om @ 5-channels) and just move my denon to the bedroom.

I really want to move the denon away from my main viewing room as i don't really like the way it sounds with my speakers (there's always something missing/too bright/thin/canny,whatever). For reference, I always loved the HK525 it replaced (replaced to upgrade to HDMI trechnology). The HK sounded warmer.

So my chance to upgrade to modest separates at least.

For stereo music I don't think I have a problem (the A500 is rated at 110w@8om/190w@4-ohm, so that's plenty).

The question is would the A500 still drive my speakers cleanly @ reference levels (more or less). My speakers are rated at 90db/100watt (RMS)/6-ohm and not clip during movie peaks? The amp is rated at 80wpc @ 8ohm @ 5channels. No 4ohm rating for 5 channels driven.

How loud can the speakers go cleanly without clipping/distortion with this amp?
Also, the A500 is currently cheaper on the discount than Outlaw's 5000 which is rated with higher wattage.

Thank you for any input.

 

[JohnRice]

Do you think you'll ever go 7.1? If cost isn't too much of an issue and you have somewhere to put them, I'd lean toward keeping the A300 to drive the main L&R, and getting the A500 for surround with the MC-700. You can just run 3 channels of the A500 for the time being and you'll get more headroom from it. If you decide to go 7.1, then you already have the amps to do it. Amplifiers have long term value, since you can continue to use them through generations of other equipment, processors and so on. You'll spend a lot less in the long run and get a lot more value and better equipment if you think of amplifiers that way. There should be no reason you can't use those amps for 20-30 years.

 

[Rokzi]

Thanks John. I actually pondered that thought (I used to have 7.1 with the HK) but decided I don't care too much for it at the moment. I have Mirage omnisats as surrounds and they are excellent I usually mistake the effects for the real thing a lot of times (phone ring, car passing by, etc) so didn't feel the need for the extra speaks/wires. I would keep the A300 for just for the mains but I don't have space for 2 amps in the cabinet, actually had to get the Xbox out to make space for one. Plus also trying to keep the spending down for now, if Emotiva wasn't a lot of bang for the buck, I wouldn't be in this position , and hence, the question.

 

[Rokzi]

Update; Received shipment of A-500 last night but did not get the chance to plug it in yet. So right now I have both the A-500 and the A-300 maybe I can A/B them and decide whether to keep either or both. I have up to a day or two after this weekend's holiday to do it, tight sched... tsk. Outlaw's Model 500 and 7140 are looking very appealing right now if i'm going to break my budget anyway. There is still an issue of cabinet space/potential dedicated circuit requirement.

Any recommendations for short-run 5-channel RCA cable/snake to connect the AVR/Mc-700 to the amps? most of what I find are for longer runs but i only need between 3~4ft in a bundle of 5channels.

 

[Dave Upton]

Our forum sponsor Blue Jeans Cable can make those for you - and they are fantastic. https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/6channel/index.htm

 

[Rokzi]

Thank you Dave. I'll check them out.

 

[JohnRice]

I think you're running the risk of over thinking the whole thing. You can't miss with either Emotiva or Outlaw. I doubt you'll benefit from a dedicated power line. I run my system from two household lines, but I'm also potentially pulling many times as much power as you. Ideally, sure, but in reality, not really worth the cost.

 

[Rokzi]

Thanks John, I never had separates before that's why I just wanted some input from the likes of you for ex. The dedicated circuit comment was for bigger amps from the said makers which I wasn't keen on getting anyway.
Anyway, I plugged the new amp in and recalibrated the Denon and yeah, I did notice an improvement.. Cleaner sound overall, loud but not noisy..
However, I also did see that the trim levels on the Denon are now lesser than without the amp..

 

[JohnRice]

Trim levels and how loud it plays at a certain volume level don't mean anything important. It's a common misconception that more power means louder at a certain volume level. That's gain, which has nothing to do with power. Power is how dynamic and loud it can be played, in combination with the sensitivity of the speakers. Gain is how much the volume is increased through the system. People always assume they are the same thing, but they have nothing to do with each other. That whole idea of "Look how much power this has. I only have it turned up 1/10th of the way and the walls are shaking." is something manufacturers do to make people think stuff is powerful. Better equipment usually has lower gain than cheap stuff.

 

[Dave Upton]

All that said, headroom is real and very helpful. I personally upgraded from 200WPC to 1500WPC for my mains, because I noticed a huge increase in the ability to handle transients. If you are looking for the next step up from Emotiva or Outlaw, D-Sonic really deserves a look.

 

[JohnRice]

I came across this thread and just wanted to clarify what I was trying to say. Gain has nothing to do with power, which does benefit headroom, which is what Dave was talking about. I'm a big fan of brute power and my entire main system, even the surrounds, has a minimum of 300 wpc, with 500 wpc on the mains. I'd love to have 1K monoblocks for the mains. I'm using an Emotiva XPA-2 with 4 ohm speakers and would love a pair of XPA-1s while they're still made, but that's just not going to happen.