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Emotiva equipmet, how good is it?

I don’t have a big budget but need to start making a decent listening system. I have a couple of options open to me for some equipment. All used since I seem to be able to get a better bang for my buck. Wanted to know what people thought, but of course I know opinions don’t matter as much as my ears so just let me know if you have used or heard either of these pieces. Or if you think something is similar toss it out there.
XPA-100. I have a chance to get 2 for just over $500PT-100. Around $200
Someone also suggested I simplify and just buy a new Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amplifier
Looking at using my current speakers which are Dali Ikon6 and I also have Totem Dreamcatchers. Oh and the room is about a 11 x 16. And yes I saw the opps in the title but it won’t let me fix the spelling of Equipment.

Thanks for your thoughts.
schwantner
coachpoconnor's avatar
coachpoconnor
380 posts
 
A NuForce STA 200 power amp and a Schiit Freya or Saga Preamp would be a nice combination. You can get the NuForce from Audio Advisor for 499.00 and the Schiit Freya for 699.00 or Schiit Saga for 349.00. The detail in the NuForce Amp is amazing for 500 bucks.
Good Luck!
rohanstevens
88 posts
 
I’ve owned two Emotiva amps. The DR differential series better than their standard xpa. That said I found the amp to cause listening fatigue which is a combo on many things but when I changed the Emotiva it was reduced. They have a home trial. Give them a call to discuss. The Parasound and NAD reccomendation others have made is good too. NAD integrated with Dirac room correction is amazing.  The Music Room has pre owned gear at a great price. You might find something there. Gutenberg at CNET has some good reviews for equipment normal folks can afford and enjoy. At the end of they day an actual demo in your house is the only opinion that matters. Plenty of online store offer generous trial and return policies. Audio Advisor was helpful to me. Good luck. I sold 2 Emotiva’s recently. 
cubillop's avatar
cubillop
1 posts
 
For what is worth I own a pair of Emotiva differential monoblock amps [XPA-1L]  powering a pair of B&W CM1 [84db] and they sound great in my room to my ears. I use an ARC LS28 preamp and the trio is superb. Emotiva is good bang for the buck. Here is a review [https://goo.gl/Gi8hF9]
in the review their most egregious complaint was the finish, but my amps were perfect.
tgrisham
1,291 posts
 
I think Emotiva equipment is excellent. If you don’t have $20K+ speakers you can’t tell the difference. Maybe not even then. Don’t get me started on ABX experiments. Sources and speakers far outweight any amp. Buy them. Try them. Send them back if you don’t like them. Plenty of reviewers have praised the company. Find out for yourself. 
lastperfectdaymusic's avatar
lastperfectdaymusic
48 posts
 
As sbank said, your speakers are definately up to the task - I found a good review on the, this was the conclusion. 
`The Dreamcatchers are very attractive, and are not fussy about set up. They deserve to be mated with high quality electronics despite their diminutive size and moderate price. They are musically involving in a way that makes the listener really want to focus on listening. They are tough speakers to relegate to background music. To sum up, there is certainly lots of competition in the “budget” book shelf speaker market. But I feel the Totem Dreamcatchers are a step ahead of the class when compared to similarly priced models from Paradigm, Epos, B&W, and PSB. If shopping for speakers in the $500-$600 range, the Totem Dreamcatchers are a must listen.`
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