Emotiva Pro airmotiv4 Loudspeakers Review - Page 17

 

Sale prices good through 7/16... but "quantities are limited."

 

http://emotiva.com/news/index.php/2012/06/15/summer-sale/

I have been listening to the AirMotiv 4s for over a week now and I am very happy with them.  $320 delivered is a great deal for a nice pair of powered speakers...connectivity options aren't geared towards iPods but if you want a smallish speaker with good extension to 60Hz and a very usable max volume in small to medium size rooms I consider them a steal.  It is my first pair of ribbon type speakers and I am loving the highs.  Depending on room placement the shelving EQ on the back makes a significant difference with the sound.  I was skeptical with 25W per driver but this is apparently a true 25W since these play loud and proud with no distortion (computer/small room/gaming/music).  The pics of the internal amp looks pretty stout for a budget powered monitor.

 

I have their ERM LCR series (front)/ERD1 (surround dipole/bipole) with an Outlaw LFM1 plus sub in the living room hooked up to a Pioneer Elite SC-35 receiver...for a budget home theater system I think it sounds pretty nice.  I picked up the ERDs first when I had NHT across the front then grabbed the ERM 6.2 during the clearance last year.  The Pioneer SC-35 was a half price gamble from Costco since the Emotiva UMC1 has issues and I wanted an upgrade with HDMI switching over an old Onkyo integra receiver.  The Outlaw sub was picked up on sale w/ free shipping.  I am not like some of the members on here with deep pockets so I am usually looking for a bargain and Emotiva is a great company.  I put their ERM series with one of the UPA5 amps in our staff room at work paired with an SVS cylinder sub and it is overkill to say the least but several grand less than what a custom installer wanted for higher end stuff that sounds marginally better.

 

Long story short...Emotiva is a great company to deal with.  I missed the summer sale by a day and they have a 14 day price protection guarantee...called Emotiva, explained, credit to my CC two days later.
 

I have a GT40 DAC/Preamp and I just bought a pair of airmotiv 4s. Everyone says the 4s have a lot of sound for their size but are they powerful enough for a whole room? i also want a subwoofer. Does anyone have any suggestions or know anything about the subwoofer that emotiva plans on releasing with for the airmotiv line?

 

What's your budget? There are lots of good subs on the market, Emotiva already makes some good ones in their X line.

Airmotiv 4s in a small bedroom (where I am currently using) provide as much bass as I want for music/games from the PC.  A larger room would probably need the 5 for the extra headroom and larger bass driver.I have mine about a foot from the rear wall, angled up and towards my ears.  HF/LF shelving EQ are both at -2.  Output is from mobo optical to a Fiio D3 -> monoprice beefy single RCA to each Airmotiv.  Just finished listening to Daft Punk and some classical stuff and I don't feel I am missing out on the bottom end.  I listened to some psytrance and didn't feel like much was missing but I am not a basshead so take my comments with a grain of salt. These definitely don't sound like the NHT superzero/one with no sub so I am pretty satisfied with the low frequency extension for their size.The Airmotivs are getting a small rest since I just got a used pair of Grado RS2s and have been trying the phones for a bit.

 

I hope Emotiva releases a sub option because I might want another pair for surround and a sub for movie watching.  I bet an NHT sub would pair nicely with these or something from HSU.  I have never tried the Emotiva subs before but their amps are pretty top notch and my experience with their speakers is great.  HSU is pretty hard to beat for subs and the STF1 is probably a good bargain at $299 to pair with the Airmotivs until Emotiva has an option closer to the price range of the 4s.

 

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

thanks for the impression, Hunter, for those who look for a mid-fi (?) 2.0 setup they seem to be a real killers ,or at least from what i have reading about.

I'd say the 4s would shine in a 2.1 system. The 5s and 6s would be better suited for a 2.0 system. At least from the conclusions I can draw from hearing the 6s.

 

  This was my perspective.  I am in student loan repayment so my expendable money needs to be spent wisely.  I had considered something from Swan in the ~$300ish range from Audio Insider along with the Audioengine A5 plus.  I didn't want to spend $400 on the A5+ nor could I afford the Swan M200mk3 or whatever is the highest version now.  I had seen the Airmotiv line when they release info went out over a year ago and balked at the price for the 4s which were $399 at the time.  I looked at offerings from KRK and after researching powered monitors for a bit the $399 price for the Airmotiv 4 didn't seem so unreasonable so I started researching and read what little reviews I could find online.  I saw the price had dropped to $350 shipped and decided to take a gamble and I am pleased as punch.  Plus I got $34 back since the summer sale started and they have a 14 day price guarantee.  They don't have convenience inputs, don't power off/on automatically but I am really digging the sound quality.  Highs are revealing and since I am mainly listening to compressed audio or FLAC I dropped the HF a notch to -2 for long term ear happiness in my particular room setup. Bass to my ears is very clean...I don't have a golden ear and cannot discern the difference between rca/power/digital cables so I am not the last word in critiquing sound signatures.  Just to my ears I hear nothing missing nor anything added through the Airmotiv 4s.  The drivers look to be top notch along with the internal amp section. 

 

  I know the Audioengine A5+ is a rocking setup along with more hookup options and I did just plunk down for the Audioengine D1 DAC/Headphone amp to pair with the Airmotiv/Grados/Etymotic.  Once again I needed a sub $200  DAC option to hook up my powered speakers/headphone ampage and since a seller never responded on availability for something along the same lines in the for sale section I just went with the D1 which will arrive Thursday.  I have been pretty impressed with the $27 Fiio D3 via optical for providing signal to the Airmotiv 4s.

 

  I live in Mississippi and used to live in Tennessee relatively close to where Emotiva is located so I figured quick shipping/arrival plus close by if I have a problem.  So $320 sale or $350 regular price for a pair of powered monitors that are at least in the same ballpark as Adam Audios entry line of monitors is nothing to sneeze at especially with the difference in price.  I am looking for bang for my buck regarding dollar spent vs perceived sound quality.  So internet direct companies like SVS, Emotiva, Audio Insider, HSU tend to get my money.  At least I am paying for product instead of rent on a high-end store/sales clerk/advertising etc.

 

  Someone on Amazon is using the small Audioengine angled speaker "stand" for the Airmotiv 4 and I might do the same.  For now I just have the front rubber feet sitting on some leftover wood pieces to angle the drivers closer to ear level.  Willow is one of my favorite film scores and sounds great through the Airmotivs.  Hope this helps...I know I have like 4 posts but I tend to read more than comment and I did join in 2005.

 

      

Edited by vampirehunterd - 7/2/12 at 3:47pm

you are thinking exactly the way i do , for those who are not rich (nothing against) money is somewhat a problem not a solution ..

concise post.

Salute

Are you guys using a headphone preamp to drive these or a stereo type of preamp?  

 

I was thinking about using my Burson 160D as the preamp.  Does anyone have any impressions with this combo?

I did see one or two comments about how these compare to the Swan M200MkIII, but was hoping that maybe now more people have experience with both and can comment directly on each of them. I'm considering the Airmotiv 4 or 5, Swan M200MkIII, Equator D5, and Ascend 170. Any input would be great. Thanks!

My only experience is with using optical from mobo -> Fiio D3 -> RCAs straight to Airmotivs w/ level at max on speakers using PC as volume control.  I got a little pop at PC boot so I would recommend turning speakers off when booting/rebooting.  Two days ago I got the Audioengine D1 and I am using the lineout from that to the Airmotivs.  It is nice having a little volume control now versus relying on the PC sliders plus the headphone amp pairs well with my low impedance phones.  Sound quality is quite a bit better now versus a 7 year-old Pimeta v1 headphone amp.

 

I think the Burson would sound great since it has straight line-outs.  I just saw the retail price on the Burson so for $1K+ it should sound like magic IMHO.  I was considering a Zero DAC off Ebay but just went with the D1 since most of the reviews described the sound as warm/non-fatiguing w/ computer audio that would pair well with my brightish phones/Airmotivs.  My rig is strictly budget so my comments are probably not much help but I do dig the Airmotivs.

Edited by vampirehunterd - 7/8/12 at 11:25am

 

 

Cool,

 

Thanks for the feedback

I could spend around 300, maybe more or less depending on what is out there. Preferably less.

Tehjam, 

 

I could spend $300, maybe more or less depending on what is out there. I'd prefer less but I dont know if that's an option.