Well, not quite an upgrade... but I'm not sure what else to call it.
The background:
I have a pair of Emotiva Airmotive 5s' (powered speakers) hooked up to a Topping E30, and I've really enjoyed this setup. There's just one snag with it and it's that for the past few years there's been a random scratching sound coming out of one tweeter. The power LED on that unit also flickers constantly and I figure something in the electronics is bust. I've decided that it's about time I finally did something about it.
Sending them back for repairs isn't really an option for me, plus they're a discontinued model. Given how much I've enjoyed them, and that the Emotiva B1+s appear to be physically identical, I figured I'd replace the 5s' with the B1+s.
The thing of course is that the B1+s are unpowered, so I'm going to need an amp. The way I see it, I've got a few options:
Option 1 - E30 + PA3s
The most straighforward and cheapest option is to get a PA3s to go with my existing E30. I'm tempted by the draw of higher performance figures though.
Option 2 - E50 + PA5
A nice bump up the performance charts, but also a bump up in cost. There's also the concern about issues with the PA5. After the annoyance with my 5s', I'd really like a setup that's as hassle free as possible. Another point about this combo is that it appears to be balanced only? (More on this later.)
Option 3 - E50 + LA90
This solves the reliability concerns with option 2, and it's a further nudge up the charts, but at this point it's not quite the "budget" solution I originally intended. Does still seem to be great value compared to what else is out there. Again, also balanced only.
Other thoughts:
Unless something comes along that stands out enough, I'm probably going to go with the B1+ speakers. This wouldn't change much even if I went with something else as they'd very likely also be unpowered. I have wondered if I might want to get an accompanying subwoofer down the line, but that's nowhere in the near future. But if I do, the question then is how do I hook that up ? I haven't spent much time looking at them, so my current understanding is that I'd need to pass an unbalanced connection through the subwoofer, with volume control at the DAC, something I don't seem to be able to do with options 2 and 3 above.
Appreciate any thoughts and inputs. And apologies in advance if I don't reply promptly. Life's been getting busy of late.
The background:
I have a pair of Emotiva Airmotive 5s' (powered speakers) hooked up to a Topping E30, and I've really enjoyed this setup. There's just one snag with it and it's that for the past few years there's been a random scratching sound coming out of one tweeter. The power LED on that unit also flickers constantly and I figure something in the electronics is bust. I've decided that it's about time I finally did something about it.
Sending them back for repairs isn't really an option for me, plus they're a discontinued model. Given how much I've enjoyed them, and that the Emotiva B1+s appear to be physically identical, I figured I'd replace the 5s' with the B1+s.
The thing of course is that the B1+s are unpowered, so I'm going to need an amp. The way I see it, I've got a few options:
Option 1 - E30 + PA3s
The most straighforward and cheapest option is to get a PA3s to go with my existing E30. I'm tempted by the draw of higher performance figures though.
Option 2 - E50 + PA5
A nice bump up the performance charts, but also a bump up in cost. There's also the concern about issues with the PA5. After the annoyance with my 5s', I'd really like a setup that's as hassle free as possible. Another point about this combo is that it appears to be balanced only? (More on this later.)
Option 3 - E50 + LA90
This solves the reliability concerns with option 2, and it's a further nudge up the charts, but at this point it's not quite the "budget" solution I originally intended. Does still seem to be great value compared to what else is out there. Again, also balanced only.
Other thoughts:
Unless something comes along that stands out enough, I'm probably going to go with the B1+ speakers. This wouldn't change much even if I went with something else as they'd very likely also be unpowered. I have wondered if I might want to get an accompanying subwoofer down the line, but that's nowhere in the near future. But if I do, the question then is how do I hook that up ? I haven't spent much time looking at them, so my current understanding is that I'd need to pass an unbalanced connection through the subwoofer, with volume control at the DAC, something I don't seem to be able to do with options 2 and 3 above.
Appreciate any thoughts and inputs. And apologies in advance if I don't reply promptly. Life's been getting busy of late.