Emotiva PA-1 Review (Amplifier)

[Rottmannash]

I've assumed this is the result of the biz model shown on the back of their gear: "Designed in Nashville, USA, Precision Crafted in China" which suggests they have large lots of any particular product built for them, but not many lots....so when a product is gone, it's gone.

Actually in Franklin TN, near Nashville. In Maryland Farms I believe. Need to drive over there someday and see if they will let me prowl around...

 

[Spocko]

I've assumed this is the result of the biz model shown on the back of their gear: "Designed in Nashville, USA, Precision Crafted in China" which suggests they have large lots of any particular product built for them, but not many lots....so when a product is gone, it's gone.

But now the design is in China and likely selling unauthorized copies worldwide!

 

[sejarzo]

But now the design is in China and likely selling unauthorized copies worldwide!

Unsure what point you are attempting to make re Emotiva.

Emotiva didn't develop any of the technology. It's a standard ICEpower module in a box with connectors, nothing more. ICEpower has only 40 or so employees in Denmark, so it obviously has contracted out all manufacture of their modules to firms that one would assume are in China. And yes, it's been known for a long time that there are knock-off copies of various Class D boards available on Chinese web sites.

 

[garbulky]

I used the PA-1 and loved every minute of it. It was a real bargain, subjectively felt almost as good as my XPA-1 gen 2. What I couldn't get over was that it was super light and super compact. Couple that with low heat, it could stack directly on top of my Emotiva DC-1. A far cry from my 70 pound monoblocks but sounded very close to them. I am actually very surprised that @amirm reccomended it. Emotiva said several times that it didn't measure very well. So I was expecting something atrocious and am happy to see it did reasonably ok.

 

[Spocko]

Unsure what point you are attempting to make re Emotiva.

Emotiva didn't develop any of the technology. It's a standard ICEpower module in a box with connectors, nothing more. ICEpower has only 40 or so employees in Denmark, so it obviously has contracted out all manufacture of their modules to firms that one would assume are in China. And yes, it's been known for a long time that there are knock-off copies of various Class D boards available on Chinese web sites.

Maybe I was being too glib, but my point is that just because one company (Emotiva) ceases to pay for the manufacture of a product (PA1) doesn't mean that the OEM won't turn around and spin off that exact same product (with all design elements intact minus the logo) and sell it en masse on Amazon for a huge discount. It has nothing to do with ICEpower and everything to do with tooling/manufacturing. I suspect that Emotiva paid for the tooling needed to manufacture the licensed ICEpower module but once this sunk cost was invested by Emotiva, the manufacturer can continue to make it for themselves and sell it direct after Emotiva has left the building so to speak.

 

[garbulky]

@amirm can you test if single ended produces a hum? This was reported by some Emotiva members.

 

[Rottmannash]

He's already sent it back to me. It only has balanced inputs, right?

 

[garbulky]

He's already sent it back to me. It only has balanced inputs, right?

"Stealth PA-1 accepts both XLR and 1/4” balanced input connections. The PA-1 can also be operated from any unbalanced input source with the addition of a simple low-cost passive adapter". Emotiva will also provide you with the adapter if you ask for it. https://emotiva.com/products/pa-1

 

[Francis Vaughan]

I suspect that Emotiva paid for the tooling needed to manufacture the licensed ICEpower module but once this sunk cost was invested by Emotiva,

If what has been noted earlier is true, Emotiva did nothing, they found a warehouse full of distressed stock of ICEPower boards and made some money. Their tooling was limited to designing the labels and holes in the boxes. At full price one assumes the value proposition didn't work, so this was always a one off.

When it comes to spinning up manufacture of electronics in China it is stunning how cheap it is to build a simple double sided PCB and populate it. If you have Gerber files for the PCB, and a parts list, the factories will do the rest. They will manufacture the PCB, programme the pick and place machines, wave solder, and finish the boards. All for a ridiculously cheap price. Most of the manufacture is just code for robots. The only actual physical tooling are the photo-lithography and silk screen masks.
Obviously you need to design the PCB, and there will be effort in prototyping and debugging. If one is licensing a design you don't even need to go here. But the actual tooling for manufacture is near free. China has significant competition in the game now, from Vietnam and others.

 

[respice finem]

This. Compared to a PC mainboard, an amp board is a "piece of cake", and a PC mainboard (save for the most "upmarket" ones) doesn't cost much.

 

[DualTriode]

I rather thought that was what I said. Perhaps I was less than clear, but I was explicitly using the phrase "percentage distortion" not absolute.

Crossover distortion is essentially constant since it is frozen into the output stage by the device characteristics and the bias chosen. Douglas Self goes to significant effort to point out the manner in which it operates, and shows how it is not possible to remove. Indeed mathematically you cannot bias the output stage to sum flat (not until you reach class A operation). You can make the crossover region maximally flat, but you are summing two exponentials, and that cannot ever sum to a constant. A heavily biased AB output stage can move the location of crossover distortion away from the middle, but the final result is an output stage that remains non-linear, and overall actually performs worse. Modern practice is not to apply large amounts of bias, it just heats up the amp for no good result. Even with a heavily biased output stage you still end up with an amp that exhibits cross over distortion. It has moved in location, but it does not disappear.

Hello All,

I am not going down the crossover distortion rabbit hole. The large majority of amplifiers tested here at ASR are blameless.

The little acknowledged fact around here at ASR is that every speaker tested has a power amplifier attached.

Every test plot shows decreasing THD+N and increasing SINAD with increasing power output. The single variable that is responsible for decreasing THD+N and increasing SINAD with increasing power output is noise. For those that want to take exception, the exception is not the rule.

Thanks DT

 

[sejarzo]

I suspect that Emotiva paid for the tooling needed to manufacture the licensed ICEpower module....

You're missing the point. This is what is inside--a standard module that any maker can buy from ICEpower (assuming they have any to sell):

https://icepower.dk/buy/as-series/300as1/

Anybody can get similar modules right now from PartsExpress in the US:

https://www.parts-express.com/electronic-parts/audio-amplifier-boards-modules/brand/ICEpower

It's not one whit different from VTV or Buckeye buying amp modules, putting them in a box, wiring up the connections, and shipping them out, other than it was an established manufacturer doing it and providing a warranty.

I actually made a mistake. The "Designed in Nashville Precision Crafted in China" label is on the back of other Emotiva products...but my PA-1s show what is in the pic in the first post in the thread: "Designed and Assembled in the USA with Globally Sourced Components."

 

[sejarzo]

He's already sent it back to me. It only has balanced inputs, right?

I think he means if you use RCA<>1/4" TS adapters or a (hopefully correctly manufactured?) RCA-XLR cable.

 

[garbulky]

I think he means if you use RCA<>1/4" TS adapters or a (hopefully correctly manufactured?) RCA-XLR cable.

I think it was the first one RCA 1/4" TS

 

[sejarzo]

I think it was the first one RCA 1/4" TS

I believe that those were included with the amps.

 

[sejarzo]

Most of the manufacture is just code for robots. ...

Someone I know has a business in the US making promotional items, including clothing and accessories embroidered with custom logos. If you need something cheap, he sources the whole thing from his Chinese suppliers and you wait. If you need something quick, you email him your art file, he immediately forwards it to one of his Chinese contractors who work around the clock and guarantee no more than a 4 hour turnaround to send back the code for the embroidery machines he has here, and production begins on the next available shift as long as he has the "blank" items in stock.

 

[Rottmannash]

I think it was the first one RCA 1/4" TS

I actually used adaptors when I first bought them and there was no hum or noise from my AVR to the amp.

 

[garbulky]

I actually used adaptors when I first bought them and there was no hum or noise from my AVR to the amp.

Glad to hear!

 

[Xyrium]

Man, what a sweet deal this ....was......

Thanks for bringing this to us chief!

 

[MASKINEN]

Glad to hear!

I also used the RCA adapter and didn’t experience any hum.