Amp for use with Emotiva Airmotiv 4S Powered Monitors?

[TimberHo]

Have the Emotiva Airmotiv 4S powered monitors...they have RCA connections. Most of the pre amp and integrated amps I am seeing have the traditional speaker wire hook ups for the outputs...

 

Anyone have a recommendation for how to hooks these up to an amp? or an amp recommendation for this scenario?

 

Using them as PC desktop speakers

[kumakuma]

Have the Emotiva Airmotiv 4S powered monitors...they have RCA connections. Most of the pre amp and integrated amps I am seeing have the traditional speaker wire hook ups for the outputs...

 

Anyone have a recommendation for how to hooks these up to an amp? or an amp recommendation for this scenario?

 

Using them as PC desktop speakers

 

Amplification is built into the monitors so there is no need for a separate amplifier.

 

The RCA connections can be connected directly to your DAC although you need to give some thought to how you are going to control volume in this case.

 

One option would be something like this:

 

Control Freak Passive Volume Control | Emotiva

 

Another option would be a regular preamp which might not be a great option for a desktop setup.

[TimberHo]

Thanks. So in your opinion there is no advantage to sound quality by adding in an audiophile grade pre-amp / integrated amp?

[kumakuma]

Thanks. So in your opinion there is no advantage to sound quality by adding in an audiophile grade pre-amp / integrated amp?

 

Attaching to an amp will probably damage your speakers.

 

I use a preamp (Emotiva USP-1) for volume control with my desktop powered speakers.

 

You may want to also check out this recent thread for other ideas:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f8-general-forum/best-volume-control-options-29302/

[Lynn124]

Thanks. So in your opinion there is no advantage to sound quality by adding in an audiophile grade pre-amp / integrated amp?

 

No, it could ruin the speakers to have 2 amps. They already have one amp each built into the speakers. What would improve the sound quality is a good DAC- Digital to Analog Converter. I had the Emotiva speakers but they sounded too bright and harsh for my tastes- I like warm. I got different speakers and just now got my first DAC- an old Bel Canto DAC2. It's very warm. If you have a chance to try different DACs that would be your best bet before buying one. When I had the Emotivas I tried a very cheap Behringer DAC and it actually sounded worse- they need a decent DAC. You can buy a dragonfly DAC for around $175 or a better, much older DAC used for around $300. If you can try out different DACs and get an idea of the "house sound" of different brands you can make a better decision.