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Rogue Metis vs. Emotiva USP-1


Recently I posted my review of the Emotiva amps vs. some more expensive amps. Last night I played with the Emotiva USP-1 preamp that costs under 400 bucks. I mated it with a Odyssey Stratos and Rotel 1090. The pre-amp war was on and I compared it to was the very sweet Rogue Metis.

While Secrets of Home Theater had already posted a impressive review for the inexpensive Emotiva, I still doubted it would be any good.

I'll cut right to the point. The Emotiva is NOT as good as the Rogue, at least with the Stratos or Rotel. The Rogue had the ability to soften some of the SS brightness and made both amps sweeter sounding. Maybe this is an unfair contest and a shootout with another SS pre makes more sense.

But here's the problem: The Emotiva was VERY close, and it seemed to produce a more neutral sound, where the Rogue sometimes gave a bit of midrange bloat to some vocal recordings. Bass seemed tighter and more detailed and the Emotiva also had a lower noise floor. Mated to the Odyssey I really felt that the USP-1 was doing more than a good job. I would have easily believed I was listening to a 1500 dollar pre. On top of that the Emotiva seemed to work better with my MJ Acoustics 150 II subwoofer since it has it's own bass management built in. It's really quite a bit more flexible and I think some would actually prefer it to the Metis depending on their speakers and tastes. At the end I felt that the Rogue Metis was somehow more than the sum of it's qualities and more musical...but I wouldn't be unhappy with the USP-1 either!

Bottom line: For a SS pre-amp this thing has no business costing 399.00! It's just crazy. Frankly it's cost will scare off a lot of audio buffs, but that's their loss. A product like this makes me seriously question the obviously inflated costs of like-featured products with better known names.

Don't be afraid. Listen to a USP-1 before springing for a preamp that costs 3 times more. I probably won't buy one since I like the Rogue (my second one!), but WOW....

Rob
robbob
brahmslover's avatar
brahmslover
4 posts
 
Most negativity about the Emotiva preamp will disappear if you switch from the preamp outs that go to satellite and subwoofer, to the full range outs. I found the hi pass outs glaring; but the full range outs are mellow and fine on my Martin Logan Vistas. btw, the Emotiva Monster does not flinch running them,my McIntosh MC 2002 ran out of steam. Th Monster uses up to 6 of the 14 volume meter lights.
ferrari
617 posts
 
In my testing have only used the full range outputs. I won't be testing the other outputs, as this test is for stereo operation only sans any subwoofer attachment. Have never found a subwoofer I could live with.
ptepm
1 posts
 
can you guys tell me why the usp-1 don't even have a function like integrated amp with the adjust of the bass and treble , i just got the pre-amp yesterday and already disappointed with it , sound so flat and there is no bass at all(my gear is upa-1 and focal 836
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
Hi Ptepm

Are you sure you have everything hooked up correctly? Have you double checked the IC connections as well as your speaker connections? The reason I ask is that I have a USP-1 and I don't have speakers as nice as yours but I have no issues with bass and treble whatsoever. Also nowadays lots of preamps don't have bass or treble controls anymore. Receivers do and maybe some integrateds but for the most part preamps with bass and treble controls is a thing of the past.

Have you also tried calling Emotiva customer service to help you trouble shoot? They are pretty helpful.

Good luck.
bondmanp
1,811 posts
 
One note: If you are using your subwoofer's internal high- and/or low- pass cross-overs, you are filtering the signal from the Rogue through what may be an inferior cross-over vs. the cross-over built into the Emotiva. My point is, it's not a very fair comparison because of that variable. Just for grins, try comparing the two preamps without your subwoofer, just running full range to your mains.

I am not saying to leave your system that way, but just try it and see if the Metis ranks better. In my own experience, moving from the temporary x-over that came with my Vandersteen subs to a fixed in-line (and much higher quality) x-over made a significant improvement in clarity, imaging and soundstage. So much so, that I am planning on moving up to Vandersteen's best outboard x-over when I can afford it.
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