The Sound
I auditioned the RSP-1 and RPA-1 as a pair, without independent auditioning
of either component alone. They were used to drive my new Gallo Reference
3.1s. In addition, the Gallo Reference SA amplifier was used to drive the
second voice coil of the woofers for extended low range performance. I used
the balanced connection between the RSP-1 and RPA-1, and used the single
ended output of the RSP-1 to drive the Reference SA. I used the 12V trigger
to turn on the RPA-1, after finding that the warm-up time for the amp and
preamp to be only a few minutes.
There was no benefit to leaving the system
turned on at all times, as is necessary with my reference Plinius 8150i (it
takes 1-2 days to properly warm up). As per my usual review plan, I
installed the components and used them for about two weeks for casual
listening and home theater applications. I found that this was not a
sufficient break-in period for the Emotivas. Another week or so was
necessary for the components to really reach their full potential. The 30
day trial period offered by Emotiva should be perfectly adequate to hear
what the RSP-1 and RPA-1 can do, just don't expect optimal performance the
day you unpack them; give them 2-3 weeks to achieve their full potential.
Initially, the soundstage was a bit closed in,
with the clarity they later delivered a bit compromised. After break in,
these components became giant killers that need make no apologies about any
area of their sonic performance.
The first thing I noticed about the Emotivas was the incredible level of
clarity and timbral separation between images. Image separation can be both
spatial in the soundstage (lateral, height, or depth separation), but tonal
separation is a more subtle and difficult goal to achieve. Compared to my
Plinius 8150i, which had an MSRP more than double the Emotivas, the RSP-1
and RPA-1 offer a far greater level of overall clarity and transparency,
with razor sharp tonal image separation at all volume levels.
In comparison, the Plinius sounds somewhat
veiled, with images tonally merged. This quality allowed me to hear vast
amounts of new detail in almost every recording I listened to. When I went
back to the Plinius later in the review for comparison, I was still able to
hear and focus on the details in each recording, but with difficulty. On the
albums Cuatro Caminos and Valle Callampa from my new favorite
band, the Mexican alternative rock group Café Tacuba, many percussion
instruments leapt out of the soundstage, while with the Plinius they blended
into the background. In every case, each image was tonally distinct,
allowing me to easily focus on each sound in the presentation.
This quality was displayed on every recording
I listened to, but was most welcome on tonally dense music, with many
different sounds presented simultaneously. What was so interesting was that
I never noticed the deficiency in the Plinius excepting a feeling that the
amp lacked the last measure of transparency, until I had the Emotiva pair to
compare. Even when I auditioned the $5800 Classé
CAP-2100 integrated, the improvement in tonal clarity did not seem as
shocking, although that could have been a result of shortcomings in the
Platinum Audio Solos I was using at the time.
The transparency and tonal separation of images were accompanied by an
extremely neutral presentation, with no sign of high frequency harshness,
midbass bloat, or midrange coloration. By comparison, the Plinius sounded
more round and tubelike, but less tight and precise. This more rounded
presentation made the Plinius sound a bit less mechanical on some
recordings, but it was unclear whether this was a source material issue or
an electronics issue. I could imagine that if combined with hard sounding
source electronics or loudspeakers, you could get yourself into trouble with
the Emotivas, but I found their extended, clear, and smooth highs to be very
welcome.
The sound was fully integrated across the
frequency spectrum with no bands sticking out more than any other. The bass
was every bit as agile as the midrange and high range presentation. It was
difficult to tell if the RPA-1 had the same iron fisted bass control as the
Classé CAP-2100, since the use of the Gallo
Reference SA in concert with the dual voice coil woofers of the Reference
3.1 speakers offer such jaw dropping low frequency control and agility
regardless of the full range drive amplifier.
Overall smoothness, transparency, and
neutrality were best with the balanced connections between the preamplifier
and amplifier. With the single ended connection used, the pair lost a small
but noticeable level of performance, with a slightly more muddled and coarse
quality present. Still, the Emotivas used with the single ended connection
was superior to the Plinius. Overall background noise level was far lower
with the Emotivas, as the Plinius design is exceptionally sensitive to
ground loop-induced 60 Hz hum.
The soundstaging and imaging of the Emotivas were also excellent, but the
Plinius redeemed itself in comparison. In terms of lateral presentation of
the soundstage, the Plinius offered just a bit wider presentation, extending
the soundstage maybe 6" farther left and right of the loudspeaker locations.
The Plinius was also superior at the reproduction of height in the
soundstage, really being able to throw an almost floor to ceiling
presentation with some source material, while the Emotivas were only able to
get maybe 2/3 of the way there.
The Emotivas, with their superior tonal
presentation, were able to excel in the presentation of soundstage depth,
which relies to a great extent on tonal cues. The overall presentation of
the RSP-1 and RPA-1 was slightly more forward than the Plinius, with the
soundstage just in front of the loudspeaker plane, rather than just behind.
Before break-in was complete, the presentation was even more forward, but
slowly migrated rearward during my auditioning. In terms of image sharpness,
the result was likely a wash, but the tonal separation of images and razor
sharp clarity of the Emotivas multiplied the impact of the spatial imaging
and soundstaging. The Emotivas were not only able to precisely locate images
within space, they were able to reveal their texture. With Miles Davis' "All
Blues" on the groundbreaking modal-masterpiece album Kind of Blue, I
could feel the texture of the brushes on the snare, and visualize the impact
of the drumstick on the high hat in a truly visceral way.
Achieving that reproduction of the texture,
the feel of a sound and not just the sound by itself, is a great achievement
for any audio component. Another telling fact was that I was able to
identify and combat a room interaction effect that caused the right side of
the soundstage to truncate closer to the loudspeaker than on the left side.
With the Plinius, this problem existed, but never drew attention to itself.
The super sharp tonal and spatial presentation of the Emotivas made the
room's shortcomings stick out like a sore thumb. After careful changes to
the speaker setup and listening position, I was able to largely eliminate
this issue I never really noticed before. This is the double-edged sword of
transparency: every layer of veiling you remove from your system will reveal
a new level of more subtle shortcomings you never noticed before. While this
can be frustrating, every step leads to a more accurate facsimile of live
music.
A very surprising, and welcome feature of the RSP-1, was the quality of the
phono stage. It was so good that within the first 10 seconds of the first LP
I played, I knew it was clearly superior to the Lehmann Black Cube I used
with the Plinius (which was noticeably better than the Plinius' internal
phono stage). When compared with digital source material played directly
through the Plinius, the Black Cube plus Plinius line stage always lacked
the same level of transparency, and would also easily become a bit confused
with complicated music, especially at high volume. I always chalked this up
to the cartridge and arm (a Grado Reference Platinum and Linn Ittok Lv II).
The RSP-1 phono stage proved that this was not the case. While there could
be some dynamic compression and muddling in extremely complicated and
dynamic passages, the vast majority of the confusion and compression was
eliminated.
It is really difficult to engineer a good
phono stage, especially in a budget preamp. The signal levels involved are
1000 times smaller than line level, placing a far greater premium on a low
noise, high quality power supply and very good shielding. As a comparison, I
paid $600 for the the Lehmann Black Cube, or 85% the price of the entire
RPA-1. And the RPA-1 comes will a full-featured line stage preamp to boot.
It was clear in my auditioning that the tone controls should be bypassed at
all times. With the Source Direct feature not bypassing the linestage, the
transparency of the RSP-1 was noticeably compromised.
There were also a couple of small usability
quirks that were minor, but still present. The remote control for the RSP-1
shares some codes with my DirecTV HR-20 HD-DVR. While the Emotiva remote
does not cause the HR-20 to respond, some HR-20 commands will cause the
Emotiva to switch inputs or in some cases, mute. The mute was caused by the
HR-20 power command, so I never had the RSP-1 mute while watching TV, and
the processor loop does not care what preamp input is selected, so there
were no real usability issues, just a bit of confusion before I figured out
what was going on. Also, the RSP-1 needs to complete a given command
(switching inputs for example), including the VFD display of the change,
before it will accept another command. This can make the remote feel a
little sluggish to respond if you press more than one button in quick
succession.
Another somewhat vexing question also puzzles me. How much better could the
RSP-1 be if some of the less vital features were thrown over the side? What
if there were no tone and balance controls at all, no bass management
crossover, no headphone jack? The RSP-1 is already an exceptional preamp,
but I bet it could be made even better with fewer bells and whistles.
Conclusions
The Emotiva RSP-1 and RPA-1 would get a positive review from me even at a
Krell/Levinson price point. The fact that they are as good as they are and
cost only $699 each makes them something very special. I am seriously
considering replacing my $3,000 Plinius 8150i with the review pair. It is
only the very high priority that I place on soundstage width and height (the
one are where the 8150i beats the Emotivas) that makes me hesitate a bit.
As I have said in previous reviews, this is
not something I do lightly. I have owned the Plinius for seven years, and
have been extremely happy with it, and still believe it is a fantastic
amplifier. The Emotivas are clearly better in most ways than the Plinius,
but unlike the also superb Classé CAP-2100, they
are far cheaper. It's not a common occurrence in this hobby where you can
upgrade and simultaneously spend less money. If sound quality beats cachet
on your priority list, I highly recommend you give the RSP-1 and RPA-1 an
audition, regardless of your budget.
- Chris Groppi -