Post by tutoemo on Jan 31, 2017 11:24:17 GMT -5
Hello All. I am practically new to the Lounge. I have been registered for a couple of years and have posted maybe twice? Both time related to buying a discontinued center channel speaker to match my towers for the kid's game room. Although the speakers have been replaced since, I still own a 2-ch combo to drive my outdoors speakers (UPA-200 and XDA-2).
Anyways, this is my first "real post" . I would like to share a very special acquisition: the XMC-1 (1.4b). I have been on the fence about this component for a little while, and finally dropped the anchor. I have to say what a relief! This guy is pretty awesome. Now, I have only played with the most superficial settings as of yet. I have not dived into the deep waters of "personalization" with all the EQ parameters, and DIRAC stuff... The thing is, I may never do! The XMC is that good right out of the box.
I was, once again, impressed by build quality. I sure hope Emotiva NEVER depart from the classic, formal, unassuming, all business black aluminum trim with blue lights. I really never cared for the silver trim... If I may, I think the silver trim in the Emotiva gear does not work like in other brands, it makes the gear look cheaper. Obviously, this is only a matter of personal taste.
The front display is excellent. I really appreciate all the information available in one screen. The OLED really makes a difference. All buttons and control knob feel solid to the touch and efficient. One thing I especially like is that the requisite logos for all the processing products that are being used in a processor are not on the face of the darn unit like everyone else's, but instead are printed on the TOP of the unit, which is a cleaner, more attractive approach. That was a refreshing touch.
The back layout is simple and logical, self explanatory. My favorite part of the back panel is the print " PROUDLY DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN THE USA". This, as matter of fact, was a factor in buying this processor.
I will not dwell into the software and menu/control details, except I will highlight what i like about it so far:
- The front lights are dimmable. It is a perfect black when in use, BUT the display automatically lights up with the touch of any button.
- The unit sends its display to your monitor, which is always a plus. Some processors don't have this feature and almost impossible to use the menu without being 6" away from it
- Navigating the menu i a breeze, again very intuitive.
- The unit is very, very smart. It memorizes as it goes, which I really like. It is obvious that a lot of human thinking took place in the design, which is not always the case elsewhere, where a processor takes extra, more complicated steps, and/or makes decisions for you that make you go "hmm?"
- I really, really like the "Advanced Video On Standby" feature. Very convenient in my set up, and I don't recall which other product has it (maybe others have it under a different name?)
As for the end product of video and sound, the jury is still out. i say this because i don't think I have optimized the settings for my room/setup. So far out of the box it has been pretty good. I have yet to dive into DIRAC LE... I keep remembering my "workouts" with Audyssey MultEQ and am not a super fan of placing microphones here and there, but if it helps I will give it old college try...
As far as 2ch critical listening, that took a back seat, and i am not very interested in the results, since the XMC is in a HT/2ch hybrid setup, where the processor passes thru my dedicated 2ch preamp. This will not change, as I really love my 2ch setup...
So for now, I will leave y'all with a few pics, which I always enjoy taking when a new member joins my team:
Happy listening!
Anyways, this is my first "real post" . I would like to share a very special acquisition: the XMC-1 (1.4b). I have been on the fence about this component for a little while, and finally dropped the anchor. I have to say what a relief! This guy is pretty awesome. Now, I have only played with the most superficial settings as of yet. I have not dived into the deep waters of "personalization" with all the EQ parameters, and DIRAC stuff... The thing is, I may never do! The XMC is that good right out of the box.
I was, once again, impressed by build quality. I sure hope Emotiva NEVER depart from the classic, formal, unassuming, all business black aluminum trim with blue lights. I really never cared for the silver trim... If I may, I think the silver trim in the Emotiva gear does not work like in other brands, it makes the gear look cheaper. Obviously, this is only a matter of personal taste.
The front display is excellent. I really appreciate all the information available in one screen. The OLED really makes a difference. All buttons and control knob feel solid to the touch and efficient. One thing I especially like is that the requisite logos for all the processing products that are being used in a processor are not on the face of the darn unit like everyone else's, but instead are printed on the TOP of the unit, which is a cleaner, more attractive approach. That was a refreshing touch.
The back layout is simple and logical, self explanatory. My favorite part of the back panel is the print " PROUDLY DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN THE USA". This, as matter of fact, was a factor in buying this processor.
I will not dwell into the software and menu/control details, except I will highlight what i like about it so far:
- The front lights are dimmable. It is a perfect black when in use, BUT the display automatically lights up with the touch of any button.
- The unit sends its display to your monitor, which is always a plus. Some processors don't have this feature and almost impossible to use the menu without being 6" away from it
- Navigating the menu i a breeze, again very intuitive.
- The unit is very, very smart. It memorizes as it goes, which I really like. It is obvious that a lot of human thinking took place in the design, which is not always the case elsewhere, where a processor takes extra, more complicated steps, and/or makes decisions for you that make you go "hmm?"
- I really, really like the "Advanced Video On Standby" feature. Very convenient in my set up, and I don't recall which other product has it (maybe others have it under a different name?)
As for the end product of video and sound, the jury is still out. i say this because i don't think I have optimized the settings for my room/setup. So far out of the box it has been pretty good. I have yet to dive into DIRAC LE... I keep remembering my "workouts" with Audyssey MultEQ and am not a super fan of placing microphones here and there, but if it helps I will give it old college try...
As far as 2ch critical listening, that took a back seat, and i am not very interested in the results, since the XMC is in a HT/2ch hybrid setup, where the processor passes thru my dedicated 2ch preamp. This will not change, as I really love my 2ch setup...
So for now, I will leave y'all with a few pics, which I always enjoy taking when a new member joins my team:
Happy listening!