Emotiva T1+ Speaker Review

December 17th 2019

The perfect step up for the Emotiva T-Zero Speaker is found in the T1+? Read on to find out. The Emotiva T1+ towers have been provided to me by Emotiva. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Physical Description

Coming in looking like a futuristic jet fighter, the face of the speaker has angular cuts out toward the top but is purely for show. The rest of the face of the speaker is laid out in black lacquer HDF (high-density fiberboard) and the surrounding sides of the cabinet are wrapped in faux black leather. Typically used in the more expensive speakers, the T1+ uses 15mm HDF for its sides and rear parts of the tower. One major advantage to using this HDF is less cabinet resonance which means less coloring of the sound - which is something that we do not want. Needlessly to say, because of these material choices, the towers are built quite well with quality design and construction that are second to none.

The dimensions of the tower are 39 1/8” tall by 8 3/8” wide by 11 5/8” deep. For driver compliment the T1+ uses one 25×32mm Airmotiv folded ribbon tweeter (Emotiva’s take on a folded ribbon), one 5 ¼” woven fiber cone mid-woofer driver and two 6” woven fiber cone low frequency drivers. While the uncovered look provides that raw and edgy look to any audio setup, a very nice quality, seamless grill cover can be attached via built-in magnets. To provide the utmost level and stable installation of the towers, permanent outrigger feet have been installed with the option to install and use included high quality carpet spikes. Each tower is generously rear ported and finished with some high-quality, gold five-way binding posts. Each T1+ weighs in at 40.1 pounds (53 pounds shipped).

How Do They Sound?

The T1+ is a three-way loudspeaker, built around the Airmotiv platform. As mentioned before, the Airmotiv tweeter is Emotiva’s take on a folded ribbon tweeter. The Airmotiv tweeter provides airy and spacious detail in the upper frequencies without ever being shrill and staying smooth up to 28kHz. This is due, in part, to the design of a folded ribbon. Also, the 5 ¼” midrange woven fiber cone mid-woofer driver incorporates an aluminum phase plug. This design feature helps to produce a smoother sounding speaker, natural sounding vocals, and a great midrange response.

The first album I used to capture the sound of the T1+ was Bill Laurence’s - Live At Union Chapel. This excellent Jazz album, recorded in the Hall, captures all the subtle nuances of the speaker. Whether it’s the piano, the cymbals or the snap of the snare or even the cheer of the crowd, it is all captured perfectly due to the folded ribbon tweeter. As we continue to explore the speaker, we journey to Beck’s 2019 release of Hyperspace, which is a mix of pop, funk, and a little rap. The Hyperspace album is an excellent pick as it can help the T1+ flex its muscle across the tonal spectrum. The sound journey continued with The Milk Carton Kids’ - The Only Ones - which is a beautiful acoustic country album. I was quite surprised at how live this album sounded through the T1+’s. It’s an album that is highly recommend!

Setup and Adjustments to Make Them Come Alive

Since the T1+ is rear ported, I set them up 16 inches away from the back wall to allow them to breathe. This also allowed them to go down to 45Hz without sounding bloated in my 12’x15’ room. The T1+ is rated to 37Hz, but realistically it does not go that low. Setup is critically important as the Airmotiv tweeter has a flat beam that is not as wide as a standard dome tweeter…more on this in The Downside section below. Up until now, I had not used my subwoofer. I added an SVS SB-3000 (800 watts continuous / 2,500 watts peak audiophile sealed sub - https://www.svsound.com/products/sb-3000 )

After adding the sub, the entire sound experience changed and for the better. I brought the sub down to match the T1+, which is 88dB, and crossed the sub at 40Hz. At this point we had a full range system. I played the beautiful voice of Corinne Bailey Rae from her 2016 entry, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, which includes an impressive amount of low end and is very well recorded. With the subwoofer added, the T1+ sounds as if nothing was missing. The Downside There are some minor qualms or some down sides to the T1+. Having the Airmotiv tweeter is fantastic, but the dispersion pattern is limited when it comes to a regular dome style tweeter, as I mentioned earlier. Due to this limited dispersion pattern, extra time is required during setup of the speakers. Getting the correct amount of toe is critical. How the speakers are toed in or out can make a dramatic difference. Whiles the bass is reported to 37Hz, I was only able to achieve 45Hz. This can easily be remedied by adding a sub for under $750. Finally, these are 4-ohm speakers that you will need to make sure your source can drive them. It is best to drive these from a dedicated power amplifier to hear their maximum potential. My Recommendation What negatives I mentioned are minor and are greatly outweighed by the positive. Overall, the experience with the T1+ was a satisfying one and they can make for an excellent sub $750 pair of Audiophile towers. These would be an excellent pair of speakers for someone who is already an Audiophile. Additional

Specifications

• Efficiency: 88 dB (2.83V/1m).

• Power handling: 150W continuous / 300W peak.

• Recommended amplifier power: 75W – 350W / channel.

• Nominal impedance: 4-ohm.

• Frequency response: 37Hz – 28kHz (+3/-3 dB).

• Crossover (midrange / tweeter): 2,700Hz, 12 dB / octave.

• Crossover (woofer / midrange): 275Hz, 12 dB / octave.

• Dual speaker terminals for bi-amping or bi-wiring.

Gear used in this review:

• Emotiva PT-100

• Emotiva A-300