Emotiva had their full complement of electronics, loudspeakers and monitors available to view, with a couple of demonstrations going on in a large conference room, divided into three parts.
I took a few moments to listen to their theater setup in the back, sans video, playing Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" in Dirac Research corrected surround. The effect was unlike that which I have ever heard before, so big and spacious was the sound, the center channel seemed to extend all the way to the left/right speakers with no audible '"holes" in the soundfield, a Dirac hallmark and powerful demonstration of it's ability to coalesce multi-channel sound, wiping away the audio equipment and room and seemingly transporting the listener to the event.
XMC-1 photo by Mark Henninger
I stood next to Mark and had a listen as he inquired about one of his many interests, music production. I want a pair of Stealth 8 for computer monitors as a result, they are really just a do-everything-all-in-one type of monitor.
Mark states: "I was immediately drawn to the active Airmotiv and Stealth 8 ($750/each) speaker demo. I’m a big fan of powered monitors and have often wondered what the Stealth 8 was capable of. My first encounter did not disappoint, I heard eminently competent speakers that did not need a subwoofer to tackle bass-heavy music like Daft Punk’s “Doin’ It Right.”
Wayne's Comments
The Emotiva exhibit occupied one of the larger rooms at AXPONA, and they showcased all their product lines, including their powered monitors, which I have worked with and are gaining a footing in the studio industry as a real value in clean-sounding, flexible, near-field monitors. They also displayed their new line of DACs (I will be reviewing one soon).
Emotiva introduced two new lines of speakers for home theater, one powered and the other passive. Both make use of the folded-ribbon tweeter, the standard for all their speaker lines, a favorite tweeter type for me because of its low distortion, smooth response, and even dispersion pattern. I spent some time with the passive setup and enjoyed their performance. Emotiva has established itself solidly in the high-value and great-sound category of audio gear for home and home theater and two-channel.
We got a very good look at the insides of the XMC-1 preamp/processor with Dirac Live and the XPA Gen 3 7-channel power amp, and a great explanation of the flexibility and upgrade paths for both products. Options exist or are in the wings for a variety of channel types and power level and processing options, with ATMOS on the horizon. Emotiva’s strategy is to partner with customers and make those purchases upgradable for many years to come. "Rethink High End," is the company's motto. You can barely hear a product or category name that their products occupy, without doing exactly that. "This is the way it should be done," you find yourself thinking very quickly when looking at their product lines.
Their theater room, with Polk and SVS speakers and Dirac Live correction, allowed them to show their processing and amplification chops,
All product final build and test is done at their facility in Tennessee.