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My friend who owns a wonderful setup with Soulsonic speakers and EMOTIVA amps (see picture below) wanted to do an upgrade, so he decided to buy the new EMOTIVA XPR-1.
He enquired about XPR-1 and the responses he got were rather strange:
Sarah Heath replied:
Hello,
Thanks for your email. We're really sorry, but we can't ship the XPRs internationally right now. The size and weight makes it prohibitive; as well as the complexity of warranty repairs that must be made at our USA facility. We can't have you paying more for shipping than for the amp! Our wonderful customers are the most important part of Emotiva, and we want you to be satisfied with every aspect of your order, including price.
I'd like to suggest you check out our other flagship amplifier, the XPA-1. It's one of our most popular products, and we can ship those most anywhere. I think you'll be really happy with it. Would you like me to prepare a quote for you?
Thanks in advance for understanding, and we look forward to helping you put together the best system possible.
Sarah Heath
Customer Support
Nick Kaumeyer replied:
Hello,
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately due to the highly inconsistent and overall poor AC quality internationally, any DC artifact or offset that occurs can cause hum to be produced from the transformer that can be audible from even a few feet away if the room is quiet because of the size of the transformer in these amplifiers. This is all due to issues with AC power internationally. We want our customers to be completely satisfied with their purchase and know that this would detract our customers from enjoying their purchase fully. At this time we regret that we are not able to ship the XPR amplifier if they are destined internationally, even through a freight forwarding service. Thank you for your consideration and your understanding. We look forward to assisting you in the future in any way that we are able.
Nick Kaumeyer
Department Head of Sales
Emotiva Audio Corporation
I wonder what is wrong with the XPR-1 because the excuses for not selling them are really weird, first size/weight then "poor AC quality"?
He has organized his own transportation and the shipment would cost 200 Euros, not really a fortune. He doesn`t want to buy XPA-1 but XPR-1 - is there a problem with the CE certificate?
The review here says: "Like all other Emotiva products, the XPR-1 has full third party CE and FCC / RoHS certification. Unlike many companies that self-certify, Emotiva makes it a point to have this done independently for complete regulatory compliance and safety. This is an expensive and lengthy process but demonstrates how far Emotiva is willing to go to tighten up the product design."
http://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/emotiva-xpr1-amplifier/emotiva-xpr1-amplifier-introduction
Does anybody know where is the problem?
Follow Ups:
There are many other design / manufacture options that have no problem with "international" power. I'd suggest a product commensurate with the rest of his system.
If I'm not mistaken that company is simply an off shore jobber. There are enough reports by their customers of component failure and poor manufacturing to question their economical cost.
If he is searching for clean lush sound from a high current solid state amplifier at a reasonable price I'd suggest looking for a pair of Cullin USA manufactured Spread Spectrum 2000 Ampzilla mono blocks on the used market or contact Underwood HiFi for sales, Wyred 4 Sound for service.
If he wants clean and lush - tubes. KT-88's, nice looking and lots of power.
charles
Thats what I told him also... I use a GRAAF GM200 OTL/OCL tube amp with 32pl504 tubes and about 200w/8ohm.. I think he will look around other gear soon.
But what is also strange, EMOTIVA has blocked him on theirs forum after he asked why he cant buy the amplifier and deleted his post about that.
That is very strange for a company like this...
Lots of folks in the home theater crowd (ie: Home Theater Shack) like there amps, probably because they are cheap enough. But their processors are problematic.
My friend bought one of their 5 channel amps and I didn't think it was very resolving, in fact kind of flat and muffled sounding to my ears.
I'm not sold on their products from what I've heard and read.
but I bought an Emotiva two-channel amp couple of months ago and I love it. Best gear purchase since I got a better tone arm four years ago. In fact, it's the best amp I've ever used, outclassing the Kenwood monoblocks I had 30 years ago. Woke my MMGs right up.
Emotiva is starting to make gear in the US, by the way.
___
The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
The amp I heard was their entry 5 channel amp. Maybe it has too many compromises to price it right, or their stereo amps are that much better.
I've really only heard a couple of HT systems, thought they were both pretty compromised also. One was built around a Marantz receiver and Cambridge Audio Ensemble speakers. The other used Paradigm speakers and a Yamaha receiver.
Maybe you just can't expect much from a cheap 5-channel system.
___
The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
Edits: 03/29/14
It's always gratifying to find and inexpensive component that sounds good. I am equally impressed with my Parasound Halo A21 amplifier. I researched all the available amplifiers within my price range and the Parasound Halo A21 looked like the most promising. I have not been disappointed in the least. Furthermore, I can't imagine how an amplifier could sound any better, but I'm sure they do. I'm happy, though.
Best regards,
John Elison
I received a news letter from Audio Advisor offering to sell Parasound before April at current prices. Looks like prices are going up about 10% in April.
Not because it's too tall but it's too deep by several inches. I'd have to rest it on the bottom cover.
I DIY'ed my own rack and sized the shelves to match the turntable. The Emotiva XPA-200 is 19 inches deep and overhangs the shelf at both ends, but it still sits on it's feet.
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The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
I think it's always better to give a powerful amplifier more ventilation room than it would otherwise have if placed in an equipment rack. It's also good to separate magnetic fields caused by large transformers from other line-level equipment in the rack.
Edits: 03/29/14 03/29/14
I can create enough airflow for just about anything. The big Emotiva amp would have fit just fine if I felt like wrestling 80 pounds of amplifier around. Probably would have needed a floor jack.
As it is, the XPA-200 has about ten inches of space between it's top cover and the bottom of the shelf immediately above it. It never even gets warm.
Nothing I can do about the depth, though and no other options other than getting my neighbor to build something.
(He's a carpenter.)
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The little old ladies wait in wild anticipation for the meetings of the Double-A-C-ASSN...
Edits: 03/29/14
Aren't you all a bit OT?
Maybe your friend should consider Parasound instead of Emotiva. ;-)
Definetly not a Emotiva :) !
What is really strange how a company reacts when a customer needs a answer...
Probably they are hiding some problems with the XPR-1
Edits: 03/29/14
Several years ago I experienced a lot of frustrations with my 2ch speaker system. The A21 was the lone bright spot of that time. There was a large sonic gap between the A21 vs. a Sunfire Sig II and PS Audio HCA-2. I later upgraded to the JC1 and then went to tubes, but the A21 was a fantastic sounding amp at a great price. Tons of power and no hint of the bad artifacts associated with SS sound. In fact, in that particular system, I don't even recall the JC1 providing discernible improvement over the A21. Fond memories from that A21; wish I still had it around to play with and give the tubes an occasional break.
Edits: 03/28/14 03/28/14
I wouldn't mind having a pair of JC-1 monoblocks, but I'm so happy with my A21 that I can't justify spending the money. It powers my Thiel CS3.7 speakers beautifully.
Edits: 03/28/14
Very pleased with my A21 pushing Dunlavy SC-IV/A's. So much, I don't mind having paid full retail.
See ya. Dave
Even at the NEW full retail, the A21 looks to be a true audiophile bargain compared to the incredibly inflated prices we see on some amps with fancier chassis and face plates. ;-)
I heard the A21 at a dealer and it was impressive, but I haven't had the opportunity to try one in my home.
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