Emotiva BasX A7+ 7-Channel Amp Review

[Hiten]

For 230v mains countries, I think it is not a good idea to have a rocker switch to select input mains voltage.

 

[Roland68]

View attachment 530649
For 230v mains countries, I think it is not a good idea to have a rocker switch to select input mains voltage.

The toggle switch is solely for switching the amplifier on and off.
The switching between 115 and 230 volts AC is performed automatically and is merely indicated by the LEDs.

 

[Hiten]

The toggle switch is solely for switching the amplifier on and off.
The switching between 115 and 230 volts AC is performed automatically and is merely indicated by the LEDs.

ah OK. Thats good to know.

 

[dguillor]

I think not having an XLR/RCA selector switch is a good thing. The vast majority of people won’t have something connected to both so the switch just adds expense and another failure possibility.

 

[jhaider]

What was the issue?

They wire them to an archaic standard. Pin 1 hot or something like that.

 

[Endibol]

No. It is a ranking of the power of amplifiers, under sort of an extreme, i.e. 40 Hz. I always wanted such a chart but hadn't collected the data in a spreadsheet. But now I have.

If Excel allows me to put both pieces of data on the same bar, I will add it in.

Thanks Amir, I hope you can manage to add the percentages.

 

[GPx86]

Very meh. Not enough value at $1K.

 

[peniku8]

Combination of price, features, aesthetic, build quality, it's.... fine, which I guess is as good as one can expect from Emotiva these days. As you say in the review, it's a shame they dont' strive for better. A little less noise and distortion, a little less crosstalk, and this could be really good value for the money instead of just "fine".

Noise can be a dealbreaker with sensitive speakers, but distortion is already way below any audible threshold so I wouldn't worry about that. It not being class D is certainly more of a concern. I don't fancy hot electronics in my home. Whats this amp's idle power draw?

 

[dtaylo1066]

Meh. Another product where without much effort they could have produced something that performed a lot better.

 

[tineared]

For not much more money, a Hypex NCx252MP 6-Channel ($1350@Buckeye) gets you more power and much better specs in every way, likely including longevity due to cooler operating conditions. I realize that a 30% increase is not insignificant, but sometimes the cheapest way to go is not the cheapest in the long run

 

[SuicideSquid]

Noise can be a dealbreaker with sensitive speakers, but distortion is already way below any audible threshold so I wouldn't worry about that. It not being class D is certainly more of a concern. I don't fancy hot electronics in my home. Whats this amp's idle power draw?

2nd harmonic is around -80dB which is likely below the threshold of audibility but only barely. That's why it's "fine" and "good enough", but there are other options that do far better for a similar price.

Good question re idle power draw. I've had a Marantz thin chassis receiver with class A/B amps in it and it never got too hot, so I don't think that should be a dealbreaker - there are good, efficient A/B designs that can be happy in an enclosure of this size and not cook themselves/neighbouring electronics.

 

[Head_Unit]

Most of the measurements can be summed as, "not bad."

I thought multi channel power amps were supposed to be an upgrade for receivers?

Yeah, I think ALL the Bas-X can be summarized as "not really improving significantly on your receiver" (OK maybe 2 dB more 40 Hz power but if you want to upgrade, UPGRADE)

 

[Roland68]

Meh. Another product where without much effort they could have produced something that performed a lot better.

I am constantly astonished—and appalled—by the notion expressed here in this forum that spending a hundred, or even hundreds, of hours on development constitutes "no great effort"—and this is in addition to the effort required to translate that work into near-production-ready prototypes.
Furthermore, the task of transferring the entire design into actual production—using components that are both available and affordable at the time—while simultaneously ensuring compliance with all measurement specifications, presents an entirely different set of challenges.

Many people here tend to forget that this extremely costly development time—which necessitates test equipment costing in the six-figure range, along with facilities, overheads, and a workforce possessing the requisite expertise—must ultimately be recouped through the sales of these very devices.
Otherwise, the manufacturer will no longer exist.

 

[Matias]

For not much more money, a Hypex NCx252MP 6-Channel ($1350@Buckeye) gets you more power and much better specs in every way, likely including longevity due to cooler operating conditions. I realize that a 30% increase is not insignificant, but sometimes the cheapest way to go is not the cheapest in the long run

Agreed! This amp below runs circles around the Emotiva.

Buckeye Amps

Buckeye Amps utilizes the most advanced audio amplifier technologies available. Authorized seller for Hypex and Purifi Class D amplifiers. Based in the US. Free shipping and worldwide service!

www.buckeyeamp.com

 

[amirm]

I am constantly astonished—and appalled—by the notion expressed here in this forum that spending a hundred, or even hundreds, of hours on development constitutes "no great effort"—and this is in addition to the effort required to translate that work into near-production-ready prototypes.

That's not what he said. He was referring to extra effort to optimize the design.

At the risk of stating the obvious, we are here to reward results, not effort.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Teardown see attached file

I'm curious to see the review of the upcoming Alsozone multichannels Pam256 amp by 3E Audio....

Strange location/positioning of the fans. I would think they would be more useful exhausting air out the back (being mounted on the back side of the case) and thus encouraging airflow through the case rather than being situated inside the middle of the case and blowing already hot air from the transformer over the heat sink.

 

[Short38]

I’ve had a UPA 700 (no cooling fan) in almost daily operation for around 10 years in a home brew active. I bought the predecessor to the reviewed amp but returned because of fan noise. Fan was audible at 8 feet. Curious if fan was audible during test. Agree that with focused engineering Emotiva would be a high value product.

 

[motogp34]

Surprised, usually their stuff is shit. Was a Emotiva owner for 6yrs...

 

[amirm]

Curious if fan was audible during test.

I didn't think to check. My analyzer is noisy so unless I check with it off, I can't hear such noises.

 

[Hart]

It does not seem to meet the standards of their advertising and marketing.