Emotiva UPA-500 & UPA-200 Ultra Series Amps Preview

When we first got interested in home theater and high end audio, there were no options like Emotiva Audio. There were no companies out there that were shattering the myth that external amplification had to cost as much as a used car. If you wanted to step up to an external amplifier, you had to be prepared to pay for it. And it wasn't cheap. Some of us scrimped and saved and (at time) begged and cajoled our significant other. Anything to have the pleasure of owning what is pretty much a hallmark in high end audio. Verily (we've been reading too much LOTR lately), you couldn't claim to have any sort of high end system without an external amp.

And then came Emotiva. They showed us that not only could amps be accessible for those of us that also have to pay for little league, taxes, and food, but that these lower cost amps could perform as well if not better than those that cost much more. When they started offering amps at the $700 price point, we were shocked. They were huge, they had tons of power, and they were cheap. We were in love.

But we are not the average consumer. Most consumers look at a box the size of a receiver and think, "What, it just powers the speakers? What about the rest?" Or, more likely, "And WHERE exactly am I supposed to put that?"

Emotiva has heard these consumers and have risen to the occasion. Their new Ultra Series of amplifiers sport smaller boxes, lower power, and much lower prices. First, some amplifier porn:

UPA-200	UPA-500

Usually, we would start with features and specifications when talking about a new product. But with Emotiva, let's start with price. These new Ultra Series amps will run you less that $400. The five channel UPA-500 has a MSRP of $399 but it is currently on sale for $359.10. The two channel UPA-200 will cost $349 but is currently on sale for $314.10. These are amazing prices for entry level amplifiers. The second selling point is their size. Rather than the receiver-sized boxes of their larger brethren, the Ultra Series enclosures are 17" wide by 4 1/16" high by 16 5/16" deep (the UPA-200 is only 3.375" tall). Oddly, the UPA-200 is specified as weighing in a 24 pounds while the UPA-500 comes in at 22.9 pounds. We think this might be a misprint on the Emotiva website.

Of course, with lower cost and smaller boxes comes smaller power supplies and less power. Luckily, this is Emotiva we are talking about so the downsides have been minimized. The UPA-500 sports 80 watts per channel, all channels driven into 8 ohms while the UPA-200 has 125 watts into both channels at 8 ohms. Both have high quality components including toroidal transformers and precision film capacitors. While the power supplies look identical from the pictures, we can't confirm that. The UPA-200 has a 350 VA high current ultra-low noise toroidal power transformer and they both sport 40,000 uF of storage capacitance. Of course, the amps feature fully discrete, dual differential, high current, short signal path Class A/B typologies and are rated stable into 4 ohms.

Glancing at the backs, we see five way blinding posts and unbalanced (RCA-style) inputs for each channel. There is a removable power cord, power button, status LED light defeat switch, 12 volt in and output, and a power button. At this price point, we would expect that this is all a consumer might need. While we might have liked to see unbalanced inputs, it really is probably a waste that will be accrue a cost increase that would only be used by a few buyers. The front of the amps sport a 15mm solid milled aluminum faceplate and a solid steel chassis. The channel status LEDs are in the traditional blue with a central standby button with the stylized Emotiva "E".

Conclusion

While some might eschew the lower power ratings of the Emotiva Ultra Series, we dare you to find a sub $400 five channel amplifier with 80 watts per channel or two channel amp with 125 watts per channel that are stable into 4 ohms. Put behind these power claims the pedigree of the Emotiva name, their history of making affordable yet powerful amps, and it is a nigh impossible task. With chassis no taller than 4 1/16", these are amps that are begging for installation just about anywhere. With most consumers having 8 ohm nominal speakers anyhow, the Emotiva Ultra UPA-500 and UPA-200 amps will be more than they need. Pair the two channel UPA-200 with the Emotiva USP-1 Stereo Preamp and you've got a dedicated two channel system for less than $800 (priced during the current sale).

For more information, please visit www.emotiva.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.