Not to chastise imahawki because he certainly is entitled to his opinion, but as an Emotica CD ERC-3 owner please allow me to add the following.

First, T Cobe, you may be interested to know that I spoke with Lonnie just before the new year and told him the specs were wrong. Specifically the s/n ratio. He checked, agreed, apologized, and a month later had his staff update the specs. See their webiste and compare to the manual and you'll see what I mean.

Imahawki, I do not own nor have I encountered any Emotiva product other than the ERC-3. That said, and in addition to being a member of their forum and reading user/customer posts their, I am going to draw an inference and say that Emotiva is not over rated. Instead, many other products are over priced. I have to believe the value to quality ratio of ALL Emotiva products are exceptional. And it is this component (no pun intended) they have in common with GET.

Watch this video where Lonnie thoroughly explains the ERC-3


He does similar videos with other products of theirs. He - like Sandy - is genuine. Emotiva, like GET, are certainly high end audiophile grade components that happen to be - thankfully so - outstanding values. As the Grateful Dead say, "some things you just know".

I'd bet the new T2+ combined with a Halo Integrated amp would be a great setup!

www.soundandvision.com/content/goldenear...#wXGrp2ZBSXbMLulq.97

hometheaterreview.com/parasound-halo-int...-amplifier-reviewed/

I believe the gap between the T1 and T2, as narrow as it was, has been reduced even more. Going with the T2+ would increase the 2-channel setup budget quite a bit. The Parasound Halo Integrated Amp would be worth a demo. It would be a one box solution that would offer multi-channel capabilities later with the use of home theater bypass. This may be a great balance between speakers and electronics.

Cheers,

T Cobe

imahawki wrote: I briefly owned an Emotiva stereo amp and one of their DACs and was not impressed. I'll counter your claim that Emotiva is hindered because of its cost. I'm the exact opposite of a gear snob. And in fact, as I frequent (and even run my own) audio forums, I've definitely observed that there is a tendency to crown the low cost gear as awesome products that punch way above its weight class but is poo pooed do to audiophile snobbery. I believe Emotiva is a low cost leader more than anything else. They're stuff is OK.

I've been burned a few times buying similar products in different space because people on forums said it was as good as products costing x times as much. I once bought a pair of $100 Pioneer headphones that Head-Fi.com was all a twitter about as they were allegedly the poor mans Sennheiser HD-600. I bought a pair and guess what. They were poorly made, uncomfortable, and sounded about like a $100 pair of headphones.

I will admit to some negative bias as I find their fanbase on AVS to be beyond intolerable. But I have heard the equipment, I'm not solely going off hearsay. AVS is awash of people who DO have problems with Emotiva gear being SHOUTED DOWN and frankly abused by the owner community there.

I've also owned Parasound but have never owned any of the other brands that were discussed.

I also fully agree that you need to listen for yourself but if you get advice from people you know and trust and who you have established say a common taste in gear, ignoring that and saying, well I have to buy it to know, is folly to me.

To the OP, absolutely try Emotiva if it seems to tick all the right boxes.

I really don't want to hijack this thread into an Emotiva debate. My OPINION is, there are at least 3-4 brands on the OPs list that are significantly better than Emotiva. If he wants the cheapest option, Emotiva is almost certainly it. Maybe one of the lower powered Parasound amps is in the same price range but most of the other options are up the price chain a bit. If he had mentioned NO other brands, I would not have offered my two cents on Emotiva.

Thanks, Imahawki. My suggestions are all about value. With a $7,500 budget, as an example, I'd hate to spend the majority of that on electronics and only $2k on speakers. I think you'd be better off spending a little more on the speakers and less on the electronics. That's just my preference.

I certainly agree about accepting other people's opinions as gospel. I frequently warn people to audition gear for themselves and take my advice with a grain of salt. Everyone needs to decide for themselves what sounds best and where to place the most value. Again, I respect your opinion and appreciate your contributions.

Cheers,

T Cobe

imahawki (and anyone else for that matter), just for clarification on my position regarding Emotiva, in no way am I suggesting that Emotiva is the "holy grail", "best-of-the-best", etc. For that matter and to keep this thread pertinent to the forum to which this comment is posted, I am also not saying that GET is the last word either. However, I am saying that Emotiva, GET, and likely other brands I have yet to discover, can compete "quality wise" with ANY other brand. Then, when cost is thrown into the mix, VALUE comes into play and in that respect I'm saying Emotiva and GET are a rather compelling option.

T Cobe wrote:

imahawki wrote: I briefly owned an Emotiva stereo amp and one of their DACs and was not impressed. I'll counter your claim that Emotiva is hindered because of its cost. I'm the exact opposite of a gear snob. And in fact, as I frequent (and even run my own) audio forums, I've definitely observed that there is a tendency to crown the low cost gear as awesome products that punch way above its weight class but is poo pooed do to audiophile snobbery. I believe Emotiva is a low cost leader more than anything else. They're stuff is OK.

I've been burned a few times buying similar products in different space because people on forums said it was as good as products costing x times as much. I once bought a pair of $100 Pioneer headphones that Head-Fi.com was all a twitter about as they were allegedly the poor mans Sennheiser HD-600. I bought a pair and guess what. They were poorly made, uncomfortable, and sounded about like a $100 pair of headphones.

I will admit to some negative bias as I find their fanbase on AVS to be beyond intolerable. But I have heard the equipment, I'm not solely going off hearsay. AVS is awash of people who DO have problems with Emotiva gear being SHOUTED DOWN and frankly abused by the owner community there.

I've also owned Parasound but have never owned any of the other brands that were discussed.

I also fully agree that you need to listen for yourself but if you get advice from people you know and trust and who you have established say a common taste in gear, ignoring that and saying, well I have to buy it to know, is folly to me.

To the OP, absolutely try Emotiva if it seems to tick all the right boxes.

I really don't want to hijack this thread into an Emotiva debate. My OPINION is, there are at least 3-4 brands on the OPs list that are significantly better than Emotiva. If he wants the cheapest option, Emotiva is almost certainly it. Maybe one of the lower powered Parasound amps is in the same price range but most of the other options are up the price chain a bit. If he had mentioned NO other brands, I would not have offered my two cents on Emotiva.

Thanks, Imahawki. My suggestions are all about value. With a $7,500 budget, as an example, I'd hate to spend the majority of that on electronics and only $2k on speakers. I think you'd be better off spending a little more on the speakers and less on the electronics. That's just my preference.

I certainly agree about accepting other people's opinions as gospel. I frequently warn people to audition gear for themselves and take my advice with a grain of salt. Everyone needs to decide for themselves what sounds best and where to place the most value. Again, I respect your opinion and appreciate your contributions.

Cheers,

T Cobe

That's fine. We're getting into minor gradations here I think. If you gave me a $7500 budget I'd also put the most money towards speakers. But I would more likely than not purchase in integrated amp like Parasound, Wyred 4 Sound, Primaluna, Peachtree, etc. I'd also be very open to going on Audiogon and finding a $4000 amp for $2000.