Great review! For those who want just a preamp with the same features, the Emotiva PT2 provides the same features as the TA2 minus the amp. I have the PT2 with a pair of Emotiva A1 monoblocks, it's a great, powerful, system and hard to beat for the money. I use a minidsp shd hooked up to the home theater bypass inputs along with a Denafrips Ares ii. This setup allows me to keep my analog setup completely analog by using one of the analog inputs on the PT2, bypassing the minidsp. Highly recommended.
Great review, Brother Nemo! About 5yr ago my main amp driving my Maggies needed service. I happened to have an emotiva stereo power amp, cost about $300, and it drove the big Maggie 3.6s like a boss. It was very impressive. Always love seeing the updates to their line. Happy listening!
For anyone looking at buying a TA2 I thought I would mention that the tone controls also come with a Sub adjustment +/- 5. The TA1 only has bass and treble. I like that feature as well, it has come in handy when im having parties or not trying to piss of my fiancee.
Yes! I forgot to mention that in the video but had 2 onscreen elements mentioning it. I know a lot of people don't watch and instead only listen though, I'm one of those people myself.
Great video! Bass management sound excellent. Damping factor? Loudness button feature with bass and treble on remote? Legacy Audio HD monitors or Thiel's CS2.3's matching?
Another heartfelt review that is a mainstay of your contributions to the audio community 🙂 Being that this is more of an integrated amp, for fine stereo listening, would the amp section of this TA2 be more on par with the Emotiva BasX A2 or their more high-end XPA-2 Gen3?
Hi, Congrats for the review. I have a pair of Mirage M3Si Speakers. They are very large and power demanding (86db) speakers. I do not like very loud listening, more on the loud moderate listening. Do you think this Emotiva PT2 should be a good match with these speakers and deliver good sound with them?
The PT2 is a preamp only. I’m not familiar with the Mirage speakers but the TA2 should be able to drive just about any speaker in a normal sized room to well over 100dB.
Cool video! Parasound pre-amps and integrated amps have similar bass management features! Emotiva copied them -> which is great! The Parasound New classic 200 pre-amp even has subwoofer volume on the remote! I wish all companies would copy Parasound and Emotiva and have all these important features! Thanks for the speaker pairings too! I look forward to your next video! Cheers!
Brian have you heard emotiva amps? I'm considering avoiding the step from emotiva and going straight to parasound or ps audio after talking to a local, mostly because ive learned i dont like harsh, high, or shouty, and he mentioned emotivia definitely makes speakers bright and shouty. I dont remember what his amp was but i bought some speakers from him and listening on his $4k amp vs my yamaha is a different experience all together and he reccomended parasound. I just got some hwco 700's, have 2 rythmik 12's on the way, and trying to make headroom for my speakers and play my subs in true stereo
@@GoodVibesOnly1914 I have not heard the Emotiva amps yet. I do have some Heco 300's and they are warmish. Heco 700's with 2 Rythmik 12 subs is probably going to sound very awesome!!!!!! I do have some Emotiva speakers and an old Emotiva surround pre-amp which sounds good but has a terrible user interface (It's discontinued). I say test out your new speakers and subs with your current Yamaha you might like it! Sorry for the late response! Parasound is a good company and all tracks are not recorded equally. The sub volume adjustment helps out a lot on the Parasound pre-amp(New Classic 200). I haven't heard their newer power amps (I have goals!) and PS-Audio anything also (More goals!). All I can recommend is to look at other gear if the Yamaha isn't working for you, it might sound great with the Heco 700s they are 92 DB = easy to drive! IT's ok to use tone controls!! I think Nemo reviewed some Emotiva amps and same with Cheap audioman. Cheers and thanks for sharing! I hope your system turns out the way you want it to sound!
If I was able to disable the internal amplifier at will - I would buy it - but it appears you cannot. Unit is primarily for my pool sound system preamped to crown amplifiers and JBL Control 29s and SB2210’s but also wanted to throw a set of speakers in the garage that I can switch on and off as I please. Suppose I will just stick with the PT2. Excellent review.
I currently use the Kanto YU6 with the Kanto 8" Sub for a music only setup - vinyl, CD, Tidal, etc. I'm considering this Emotiva amp with a 10" or 12" Emotiva sub, and with the Emotiva B2+ or T-Zero+. However, your review of Buchardt and others has me leaning toward the P300. Do you recommend the P300 over the B2+ or T-Zero+? Do you have any other recommendations for this type of setup? My budget is flexible but go for value/price ratio.
Great review. How does it compare to the TA1? is it just more power and inputs? or is there a difference in sound quality too? Also, is the TA1 as future proof to evolve into home theater? Thank you.
I didn't notice any difference in SQ, both are great! The TA1 is still very feature packed and can also be used as a preamp so while it depends on your future goals it certainly does have the option to stay in your system as a preamp if you were to upgrade to mono blocks in the future for example.
Hello Nemo! After many hours of watching and listening to speaker reviews on YT, I think I am going to go with a set of Wharfedale Lintons to pair with my TA2 and REL T/5x, replacing my B1+’s. The YT audiophile world seems to LOVE these speakers. I am am curious if you have ever checked them out, and if so, how you think these “warmer” speakers would pair with a slightly forward TA2…? 🤔
this sounds like compelling amp, i guess you can make you own subwoofer with this Emotiva TA2, sub out into a poweramp and build a passive subwoofer. but its only the one mono out for bas right? you can not use the stereo pre out while at the same time powering some speakers?
You can use the preout at the same time as the speaker terminals but if you switch the high pass function on it applies to both the pre out and the speaker terminals.
The only integrated amplifier I'm aware of that has high and low pass filters as a feature set is the Parasound Hint 6. However, it comes in at $4800.00CAD. So, to have this feature set on a piece that is less than $1k, is astounding.
The amp that comes to mind with similar features is the Parasound Halo Hint 6. Obviously more expensive, but would be very interesting to hear what you get when moving up a little bit in price but with the same feature set. Edit: just to add. I’m thinking based off my reading that the Parasound will be a bit “warmer” than the “cooler” Emotiva as you describe it. You get some more power and you get the balanced inputs and outputs, and also looks and build quality, but damn the features are almost identical.
I thought about the Hint as well, similar features for sure. However, for similar features AND similar price, check out the Outlaw Audio RR2160 MkII. Styling not for everyone (I think it's rad, personally), but undeniable value.
@@svalbard01 never seen that one before, definitely looks like another good value proposition but I have never looked to deep into that brand and their reputation. What I would love to see is a Halo Hint 6 or an amp with those features that just eliminates the DAC. Just give me all those same features in an analogue only unit. Edit: to add to my statement. For instance you can get the p6 pre amp and it’s the same pre amp that’s in the hint 6. Or you can move up to their premium line which is an all analogue pre amp, but you lose all the bass management and tone controls and what not.
I tried the Parasound P6 preamp with my A21 power amp. The P6 is a very polite sounding amp and I would expect the Hint 6 to be similar, but I thought the P6 buried the details, so I returned it and bought a Musical Fidelity M6s Pre instead. The MF is next level. I also have a TA2, but Nemo is right that Emotiva has a house sound and it isn't to my taste. I agree that the TA2 is a great value, but if you are a critical listener, then I believe proper speaker selection is a must. You need the right speaker to help tame the brightness of the TA2.
There is one product that compares to this fairly close. Thats The Outlaw Audio RR2160 MKII STEREO RECEIVER, It also has bass management with 2 Sub outs, built in DAC and phono stage for MM/MC. Its not as powerfull but still respectable for what you get and it offers alot more then listed hear. There arent alot of reviews because its not part of the cookie cutter crowd, its a smaller company trying to put out a good product. Yeah I know it says Receiver but so is the TA2. Great review as always.
@@NemoPropaganda It does look really cool. I'm wondering, with all it's options, if it's able to drive something like the Buchardt S400 MKII to it's full potential. Thank You also for covering the Fritz Carbon 7 SE MK2. Another great product we dont hear enough about.
@@BRoss-tj2yo I can drive the S400 MK2 no problem but not to its full potential of fidelity. The S400 MK2 has a high performance ceiling, if you want the absolute best out of it I'd suggest something like a Kinki EXM1+ but that doesn't have any features.
I wish you would review the Emotiva t2+ speakers , I consider buying them BUT for the price and nice reviews I look also the monolith encore t6 and they seems pretty good for the price.... REVIEWS THE TWOS FOR ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FAN PLEASE !!!
I wanted to buy this integrated amp but i didn't see myself using all the features it has. I have an emotiva A2 power amp which i paired with an older emotiva preamp, a USP1 model . This will hold be down until i want to upgrade to a better preamp/amp. I'm not sure what to upgrade to though when i get to it. If you see this comment what will you recommend to upgrade to?
If you like the Emotiva sound some logical upgrades would be something like the Kinki Studio EXM1+ or Buchardt i-150. Those two amps have a similar sound but take it to another lefel of fidelity. But if you're happy with what you got maybe just add an Ares2 DAC as your next upgrade perhaps. I've found that to compliment emo gear rather nicely.
How do you spell Bukhard? I was looking at the Heco Aurora 300 but only available from Audio Advice nd not listed on website. Don't know if I can assemble some CSS speakers .
There are other amplifiers for (nearly) the same price, NAD c368 and audiolab 7000A. Both have less features and about half the power (70Watts). I wanted to ask if those 2 sound better, I mean - is there a reason to choose any of those 2 instead of TA-2 for the price?
I tried to review audiolab but they did not respond to my email, I have not tried the NAD either but it looks nice. In my experience most of the popular amplifiers from reputable companies between $500 and $1000 offer similar sound quality. I don't believe there is one that stands above the rest in terms of sound quality only.
Right, we can't have it all at that price point. What about a RCA out clear path as well for external headphone amp. LOL. So I can listen full tilt with the speakers off with external amp, also aligns sort of with the "Tape Out" part of this, for just line source for tube headphone amp, as mine also has outputs "monitor" to add tube sound to any source. I'm off in the weeds again, sorry. Just saying if it had the tape out/monitor in, could use the best tone controls (valves) via my schitt Valhalla 2.
Im on the fence with this one. I see they have this ta2 factory renewed for $750 and the ta1 factory renewed for $450. Would either of those pair well with wharfedale diamond 12.2 rated at 86.5 db paired with a sub?
either one will have plenty of current to drive most speakers, the TA2 ups that power obviously and has way more features. If you can afford the TA2 I don't think you'll regret it.
Does Emotive stuff sound good? or does it just do a job and it's meh. I want to buy the BASX A2 and their Pre Amp. Will it be clean and good enough to make my Sonus Faber Lumia II's? (or Polk R200 Reserves (my other set))
Yes, very good stuff. Would I pair an emotiva amp with Mon Platimon speakers? Probably not. But I would pair Emotiva with Buchard p300/S400, CSS 1TD/1TDX, Polk Reserve, Dynaudio EMIT/Evoke, KEF Q150/350, Elac, Thomas's TL speakers, Heco Aurora, etc... Emotiva gives you a lot for your money and it's mostly a neutral/cool sound so it's a great match for a lot of speakers but I wouldn't pair it with anything thin or analytical sounding personally because then the whole system will be analytical but some people like that.
Hello,...i ve got the part about soundstage. But does it develope also the depth of it if there is a aries II as a source,? ...well and if the recording is also meant like that?
As other have said, the Parasound Halo Hint 6 has the same features minus the tuner and BT. I was debating the TA2 because of the bass management but went with the Hint 6 because of the bass management and better phono stage, better DAC, power and design. Obviously, the price is more though. In the future I'll probably get a TA2 for a second system. Even though not comparable in orice I'd like to hear your thoughts compared to the Hint 6.
oh yeah, there are always options higher up the chain. I totally forgot about parasound but they've been offerring some cool bass management options for awhile, thank you for mentioning that! Great option for anyone that has a couple more dollars.
I am strictly a stereo listener, I use Klipsch rp280f towers and a pair of 10in klipsch powered subs. Would this integrated be a very noticeable improvment in sound quality and pure driving power vs the Yamaha a-s501 inegrated i cureently use? Was also looking at the NAD C 389. I listen to mainly Metal. Any advise?
I listen to metal too but I don't have any first hand experience with any of the gear you own so it's hard to say. The TA2 has way more headroom but your speakers aren't that hard to drive either.
Thanks for the reply!. When comparing specs on paper and the price difference would you choose the NAD C 389 over theTA2 personally? Is the x2 price worth it? @@NemoPropaganda
@@infamous119 the C389 isn't twice the price unless you get the BluOS version that has a streamer built in, there is a cheaper one for $1599 that doesn't have the streamer built in, anywho without hearing it my guess is the sound quality on both is most likely about equal and you should choose based on aesthetics, price, and features. Hope that helps.
Great amp, having a HP filter does wonders. Now I can cross the subs higher instead of augmenting the speakers, taking a shit load off the speakers. I really dont know why most 2 channel integrated amps dont have a HP filter, its vital. Nemo, do you have any amp recommendations that have a HP filter for cheap, lets say 500 - 1000 bucks, beside this? Emotivas are a bitch to find here too.
No I don't know any others that have full high pass/ low pass. You could use something like a miniDSP maybe? I don't know much about them but I think you can accomplish the same thing.
After talking to Emotiva, they said the high pass filter is only applied to the pre-outs and not to the main speaker outs. Conflicting, because their user manual says the high pass filter is applied to both the pre out and main speaker outs. Have you specifically tested the high pass on the TA2's speaker outs to confirm that the high pass filter is also applied to the main speaker outs and not just the preouts?
are you sure you didn't ask them about the TA1 maybe? Perhaps you got a new employee who was confusing TA1 and TA2. Maybe try giving them another call just to be sure they didn't change anything. Tell them the man on youtube said they're wrong lol, jk don't say that. But feel free to mention my review. If you can't get a straight answer I'll try and test it again, I ended up getting one for my living room TV setup since I liked it so much :).
@@NemoPropaganda Yeah, I spoke with 2 different reps there and they both said the same thing. I made sure to clarify it was the TA2 and not the TA1, and they gave me the same response that the high pass is only applied to the preouts and not the main speaker outs.
@@papoosee I just called emotiva and used my youtuber privlidges to get a little further up the chain. The high pass 100% functions on preouts AND main speaker terminals exactly as I mentioned in my review and there has been no change to the unit. There was a little confusion on their internal literature but they've cleared it up now. So rest assured you can indeed high pass on the main speaker terminals and I am 100% sure because I used it myself :)
@@NemoPropaganda wow!! Thank you so much for confirming as this was critical for me to know before considering buying. Thanks again for being so quick to help. Great channel!
I had one of these for a few weeks but sent it back. The fans were a deal breaker. They offered a possible fix but I declined. As a positive, they had no problem driving my old Thiel 2.2”s, which are a difficult load. Yeah, it had a lot of features, but the sub stuff wasn’t anything I’d use. The phono section was sort of meh. I wound up getting Parasound 200 pre and 275 v2 amp, which soundly trounce the Emotiva. Granted, half again as much. For home theater folks, it’s a no brainer as long as you don’t mind the angry bees, unless they got rid of those tiny fans and put in a single large one. [edit] Ah, you finally got to fans at the last second. My fans always turned on after 10-15 minutes, and had _loads_ of breathing space. I would guess the difficult load of the Thiels (even at TV volumes) meant the fans went on, period. So caveat: Modern speakers probably present no problem. Inefficient speakers, look elsewhere. Emotiva _was_ aware of the issue.
@@NemoPropaganda Yeah, something like that. Back in the 90's I had Adcom GFA-555II to push them, all I could afford. I had 2 of those to push some Maggies that were even worse! When I built my listening room, I got a BAT amp that slapped them around just fine - and sounded _so_ much better. I'm using that same amp almost 20 years later to push Kanta 2's, they don't need a fraction of the grunt that thing has! The Parasound does an ok job for the TV with movies in a considerably smaller room. The TA2 did almost as good, but there was no way those fans weren't going to switch on. I could hear those things out in the hallway.
Hey Nano - I've been looking hard at this unit for a month, but only one thing doesn't check the box for me - WiFi connectivity. Need to stream lossless files / can this be accomplished? BTW- Happy Birthday again brotherl!
Hey thank you brother!! The answer is no, well, not without spending a few more dollars at least. You'd need to add your own streamer and you can do that at a reasonable price these days. The Wiim Mini seems to be gatting a ton of love and is under $100 and then there is the Arylic S50 Pro+ at $219 and they'll be running a 20% off mothers day sale pretty soon so you have some super affordable options to add streaming to any amp you want. Hope this helps.
Im torn between this and the ragnorok 2. The feature set and power of this along with price makes the ta2 hard to beat. But the rag is so sexy and seems like a higher quality build.
I couldn't say, Schiit is fairly picky with who they send review samples to, they strike me as a company that doesn't really need YT or marketing, their products are generally received well and sell very well simply by word of mouth and my hats off to them for that.
Around this price Emotiva amps will drive more honest power and have more features than Yamaha, personally I would rather have the Emotiva TA2. Emotiva TA2 is 135w at 8ohm and with much less distortion versus the Yamaha and the TA2 has onboard bass management which is really amazing and easy to use.
@NemoPropaganda Thank you so much for the feedback! Would you change your thoughts at all, knowing that I'll be driving a pair of KEF Q150? They sound pretty bright, so I was thinking the Yamaha might be a better match, but I'm no expert. On a side note, I will upgrade my KEFs eventually. Right now, I'm just having fun seeing how good I can get them to sound. Thanks again, I love your content!
@@benbrown7628 I think it's still a good match, you can just turn down the treble by 1-2 dB using the tone controls from the remote. Also try facing the speakers more straight into the room, only angled towards you a little bit, you should be able to see the inner sides of each speaker, that's how they sounded best for me. Pointing them straight at my ears was not the best.
I have the PT 1. and the A2. Just fantastic. Cerwin Vega RE30. THE BEST.!!! All the extras on the TA2. ARE NICE. But for good bass go Vegas, WILL SHAKE HOUSE.
2023 and beyond all amps should have bass management. No excuses. Even if sub has a HPF, I am not sure how noisy it would make the signal going back to the mains. I would rather the amp do it properly and cleanly as Emotiva does.
The DAC needs to be upgraded to a more modern AKM DAC and add streaming features to bring it to the modern ERA. Other than that, this thing is a beast.
Yeah, I also prefer AKM, could be a way of keeping the cost reasonable. Adding a streamer could raise the price another $200, I'm hoping for an evolution of this in the future like a signature version maybe with streaming built in. That would be amazing!
The reason a lot of audiophiles don’t like high pass filters is because they don’t want their full range signal to go through another analog filter…analog filters just aren’t fully transparent IME…and historically the analog filters built into amps haven’t been very high quality…having said that…cheap little speakers can really benefit from a high pass…as well as LS50 and smaller Magnepan speakers.
I agree HP filters aren't necessary. I have a TA2 and I have tried the Parasound P6 and after trying them, I turned off the HP filters on both. Subs have a LP filter, so I don't think bass management on a preamp is a must have feature. I run my subs off my power amp and set the LP filter to about 75 Hz and I couldn't be happier.
@@dirtroadie5747 it’s usually the car audio people who obsess over HP filters and are shocked that hi-fi almost ignores them…of course with car audio you have lots of speakers that can’t handle much bass.
High pass filters only affect lower freqs. Mine stop (at 28db p Oct) all freqs 100hz and lower from muddying up the mains. Thusly, components aren't as critical as when high freqs are affected.
@@kozmiczian with the analog high pass filters I have seen the full range signal has to first go through an analog filter network to divide up the frequencies. IMO high pass filters should only be done in the digital domain, such as how AV receivers or mini-dsp do it…but it’s worth testing as not every system or set of ears will notice the degradation of the extra filtering.
yeah, I think on affordable gear it makes sense, its perfect here on the emotiva and doesn't detract from sound quality at all. Would I expect to see it or use it on something costing $5000+, probably not. At that point I would be worried it could degrade something because the system becomes so much more revealing.
I dunno if I'd call that a problem, the PT2/A2 combo is 22% more money and a 2 box solution, not everyone wants a 2 box solution but its nice that one exists for not much more money.
I have always preferred AVR’s (especially the middle to high-end ones) to integrated amps but the good ones cost $2500-$3500). But this integrated amp for $1000 is simply amazing!
I feel your pain the AC in my movie room has been F'ing up for months now... every time the AC techs repair it the refrigerant leaks out within a month or so. Most recent repair was just 2 weeks ago and it's already icing up so I am giving up and replacing the whole thing. Rats on the other hand, I don't have, but most people think rats are attracted to cheese when in fact it's actually peanut butter that they can't resist. Get one of those large super sticky mouse traps and put a smear of peanut butter in the middle of the trap. Your rat problem should be solved within 24 hrs.
@@NemoPropaganda I blame scientist for that. They work so closely with mice that it was only a matter of time before some of the intelligence of these scientist started to impact the intelligence of the mice right? 🤣
@@NemoPropaganda wow it seems to me he's receiving some black ops tactical support from a devout following of approximately 3 highly skilled turtles. Your situation might be far more serious than we had anticipated. There's an expert that goes by the name of April I believe we may need to consult with her urgently.... lol sorry bro I mean there's nothing more we can do so we might as well have a laugh about it right? I hope you catch the bastard soon though. Sounds like a nightmare.
The bass management you described is a welcome change to integrated amps. But, at the heart, it is a very basic way of doing basic bass management that AVR/ home theather receivers have been doing forever. So, when treating this is a preamp, it is as basic as an AVR being treated as a pre amp. My AVR is actually still the reason I choose to use it over an integrated because of a decent dac, stellar room correction, excellent bass management and wireless capabilities built in. We're praising integrateds for catching up by implementing the most basic form of subwoofer integration, but they should of had this a long time ago.
I don't think it's the same, in AVR's its mostly been in the digital domain while stereo amps like this one take an analog approach. I could be wrong here but that's what it looks like to me.
@@NemoPropagandathanks for verifying. I'm in Canada and the site is calculating the currency but it doesn't tell you that until you're ready process payment.
It's too bad that Emotiva refuses to update the DAC chip used in their products. They have been using the same ancient Analog Devices 1955 DAC chip for the past 8 years, and nothing in audio has changed or improved faster than DAC technology. The Analog Devices DAC was just average 8 years ago, and by comparison to the current ESS or AKM DACs out today, it sounds simply terrible.
I really wish Emotiva would release a preamp, similar to the PT2, but without the dac, fm tuner, and phono preamp. I think the dac and phono preamp make more sense in something like the TA2 but I'd prefer a stripped down preamp.
@@dchale1 lol we all say this like we don't have external DACs ready to go. To be fair, this is my main complaint with almost any amp under 2k. My CXA 81 has the same issue and that has amazing reviews online.
@@CommonAccent Very true statement, but I don't think any other manufacturer is using quite as outdated of a DAC as Emotiva. Even the CXA 81 is using a far more recent version of the Wolfson DAC I believe.
That was a kick ass video, review. Are you going to do a drawing to give this amp away? Happy hunting for the rats. Hell to the rats get rid of them all. Have a great day and happy Cinco de Mayo.
@@GeirRssaak of course yes some people are a bit tone deaf. I think everyone has some areas of hearing they are more or less sensitive to. For me personally understanding midrange took a long time.
I wanted one of these but instead, I purchased the Pt1 and A2 combo. It has a little more power and a fixed low/high pass filter(90 Hz). I love it but dammit now I want a TA2😮😯😲🥹
Integrated amps by Denon, Yamaha, and others never give you pre outs on most of the models unless you spend well over $1000. And that sucks. They do that on purpose and to me it’s a huge limitation. Emotiva is my choice for many reasons but ti be able to start off with this integrated and add a larger amp in the future is sensible and smart.
