AN actual RMC Owner's Thread

[Deleted]

I have had my RMC-1 up and running for a little over a week now.  I previously had a Lexicon MC12HDBEQ in a 5.1.3 arrangement.  The performance and configurability of that unit are (were) phenominal (for its time).  The level of my expectation was high.  Did/does the RMC-1 meet or exceed my expectations?  The quick answer is yes ... mostly.
1.  Movies sound very good.  "Backdraft" (from my lowly cable box) was the first thing I watched and it "blew me away."  The music, dialog, and surround effects were all clean, clear, and engrossing.  The soundstage was deep and wide and weighted toward the front.  (through the MC12 I'm able to shift the sound balance front to back - I would prefere a more central balance). 
2.  For the first few days male vocals and solo piano were slightly veiled and hard.  After about 3-4 days the veil lifted and now music sounds clean, clear, and airy.
3.  The unit is wonderfully quiet.  There is very little self-noise.  I have several devices connected to the unit and have less ground loop hum noise through the RMC-1 than I had with the MC12 .

    Movies sound better than through the MC12.  But, I miss the fine tunning/configurability I have with the MC12.
    Music sounds at least as good as the MC12 and over time (once it's fully broken in) may surpass it.

The down side:
1. HDMI handshaking can be a nightmare.  You will have to experiment with the order in which you start your equipment in order to make things work.  Unfortunatly, I think this is an HDMI problem more than an Emotiva one.
2. There are random glitches that produce a buzz through all speakers.  A soft or hard reset will fix it.
3.  There are other very minor usability issues that will simply take time and firmware updates to fix.

I will comment further after I listen to more music.
Lee
p.s. let's please keep this thread about the actual USER/OWNER's experience.

[mgbpuff]

It would help if your signature would include your complete set up. Sorry, I am not an owner, so maybe you want only owners to talk to you and ask questions. What to do, what to do, said Poo!

[Geronimo]

Why?............SMH..........

[musicfan]

Dec 12, 2018 13:04:51 GMT -5 Geronimo said:

Why?............SMH..........

was thinking the exact same thing....

why not just start a group text if you want it that exclusive....sheesh

[Deleted]

... not trying to be "exclusive" in the sense that ONLY owners can comment (not the intent). I simply want the thread to focus on how the RMC-1 WORKS (or doesn't) and SOUNDS. If "non-owners" have questions about such things please ask away. I would like to hear from other owners their impressions about the RMC-1's functionality "in the wild" and "how does it sound?". ...those other threads were quickly derailed by other matters.
will add my equipment to my profile shortly - once I know how .
For now-
Audio: RMC-1, ML 436 Mono's front L&R, ML 433 Center & Surr,  Revel Ultima Salon2 L&R, Kef Ref 4 Center, Def Tech BPVX Surr., Paradigm Sub2,  PowerSound T18 (x2), Oppo BDP-95, Auralic Vega.
Vid: DVDO iScan Duo, Panasonic PTAE 7000.

[mgbpuff]

Dec 12, 2018 14:16:44 GMT -5 @brucelee said:

... not trying to be "exclusive" in the sense that ONLY owners can comment (not the intent). I simply want the thread to focus on how the RMC-1 WORKS (or doesn't) and SOUNDS. If "non-owners" have questions about such things please ask away. I would like to hear from other owners their impressions about the RMC-1's functionality "in the wild" and "how does it sound?". ...those other threads were quickly derailed by other matters.
will add my equipment to my profile shortly - once I know how .
For now-
Audio: RMC-1, ML 436 Mono's front L&R, ML 433 Center & Surr,  Revel Ultima Salon2 L&R, Kef Ref 4 Center, Def Tech BPVX Surr., Paradigm Sub2,  PowerSound T18 (x2), Oppo BDP-95, Auralic Vega.
Vid: DVDO iScan Duo, Panasonic PTAE 7000.

So, you have a high quality 5.1 speaker arrangement with bi-polar type surrounds, and 2K video source and display. Why did you buy the RMC-1?

[pedrocols]

Having only owners participating will make too much sense. Most likely people that don't have it will be the ones talking nonsense because guess what they don't own one. See I don't have one and I am already talking crap. Moderators are moee than welcome to delete this nonsense comment along with the already othere nonsense comments from non owners.

[Deleted]

I wanted to give the RMC1 a try for several reasons:
1. My MC12 is 10+ yrs old and doesn't support anything beyond Dolby Digital and DTS. It plays them very nicely (with multiple configurable options that the RMC-1 will never have; eg. Vocal enhance, thx, 5.1 enhanced (fake 7.1)), but it's outdated. I wanted to at least move to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD (because they are non-lossy ...supposedly ).
2. Atmos and DTS:X in my mind also add value - especially if I keep the RMC-1 for 10+ years. I have the space/ability to easily add in-ceiling speakers for Atmos/DTS:X.
3. The EQ in the MC12 is adequate, but it only processes frequencies below 180 or 160hz. Dirac may help with some standing wave issues that the Lexicon can't.
4. My projector and processor are 5+ years old (with nearly 20k hrs. on the projector), so they will be replaced within two years with 4k gear - making the RMC1 an even better fit.
5. I was originally looking at replacing my equipment with a Classe' SSP800 or Bryston unit. With Classe' no longer producing their top tier products and Bryston's latest piece priced at about $16K - my "real world price" options became limited to Marantz, McIntoch, and Emotiva.
6. When viewed as value for form, function, future proofing, audio quality, and price the Emotiva piece is on a short list.
I am a musician and an audiophile so audio quality is paramount. If the Emotiva piece doesn't sound at least as good as the Lexicon does on two channel music I will not keep it - so far it has aquitted itself admirably. My previous reference was a Proceed AVP2 (which I believe sounds even better than the Lexicon on two channel music) - the Emotiva is very close in sound to the AVP2 and maybe after couple more weeks of break-in will better it.
I hope this helps.
Lee

[mgbpuff]

Dec 12, 2018 16:42:37 GMT -5 @brucelee said:

I wanted to give the RMC1 a try for several reasons:
1. My MC12 is 10+ yrs old and doesn't support anything beyond Dolby Digital and DTS. It plays them very nicely (with multiple configurable options that the RMC-1 will never have; eg. Vocal enhance, thx, 5.1 enhanced (fake 7.1)), but it's outdated. I wanted to at least move to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD (because they are non-lossy ...supposedly ).
2. Atmos and DTS:X in my mind also add value - especially if I keep the RMC-1 for 10+ years. I have the space/ability to easily add in-ceiling speakers for Atmos/DTS:X.
3. The EQ in the MC12 is adequate, but it only processes frequencies below 180 or 160hz. Dirac may help with some standing wave issues that the Lexicon can't.
4. My projector and processor are 5+ years old (with nearly 20k hrs. on the projector), so they will be replaced within two years with 4k gear - making the RMC1 an even better fit.
5. I was originally looking at replacing my equipment with a Classe' SSP800 or Bryston unit. With Classe' no longer producing their top tier products and Bryston's latest piece priced at about $16K - my "real world price" options became limited to Marantz, McIntoch, and Emotiva.
6. When viewed as value for form, function, future proofing, audio quality, and price the Emotiva piece is on a short list.
I am a musician and an audiophile so audio quality is paramount. If the Emotiva piece doesn't sound at least as good as the Lexicon does on two channel music I will not keep it - so far it has aquitted itself admirably. My previous reference was a Proceed AVP2 (which I believe sounds even better than the Lexicon on two channel music) - the Emotiva is very close in sound to the AVP2 and maybe after couple more weeks of break-in will better it.
I hope this helps.
Lee

All good reasons - enjoy!

[Deleted]

I Have now lived with the RMC-1 for a little over 2 months. I have suffered most of the operational glitches/anomalies/aggravations along with other early adopters. With the early firmware(s) I would experience an annoying all channel buzz or other lockup daily (requiring a soft reset to fix). Brief cyclic (repeating at consistent intervals) audio drop outs would occur with DTS-MA and occasionally Dolby TruHD. I tollerated these nuissances because when the unit behaved itself the sound it produces is quite good.
Recently I updated to firmware 1.2 and am happy to report that I have not had any issues with the all channel buzz or daily lockups. There are still brief audio drop outs, but they are far more random and less annoying (this is a problem that Emotiva has acknowledged they are still working on).
What's my current impression on the RMC-1's sound quality?
1. For multi-channel movies (eg. DD, DTS, Atmos, DTS:X) are all clean, clear, and involving. Dialogue is more intelligible than through my old Lexicon MC12HDBEQ. Surround effects are also more precicely placed and have greater weight.
2. For 2.0 movie material the DSU and DTS Neural:X are less impressive. The sound is still clean, clear, and intelligible. But, the sound is strongly located in the front main's. I much prefered the sound I got through my Lexicon via Logic 7. Lexicon's Logic 7 (even the version I had which was 10+ years old) is able to take 2.0 material and recreate a truly convincing surround envelope. It wasn't truly 5.1, but it could be pleasingly close. Logic 7 could however, at times, miss-process sounds and place them in weird/strange locations. I haven't noticed any "miss-processing" with DSU or DTS Neural:X.
3. For music the RMC-1 is simply wonderful. It's better than both of my previous processors (Proceed AVP2, and the Lexicon). Just last night I found myself listening well beyond midnight...I didn't want it to end.
The first movie I watched on the unit was Backdraft via my Motorola cable box. I was blown away by the sound then. I re-watched it last night and am still blown away. In the first 10-15 minutes the video, music, and surround effects are jaw droppingly good.
The unit isn't perfect yet, but it is soo good that the remaining minor usability issues are easily ignored. My observations are without using any equalization. Sooo, if it's this good without Dirac how much better might it be when ...?
Lee

[tom9933]

Lee,
What is your two channel music source? I ask as one of the other things I was intrigued are the balanced inputs.  I say that as I've been considering a high end external DAC and the balanced inputs with passthru capabilities seemed like a great feature. One thing I will miss from the Dennon was the integrated HEOS support, it was nice and easy. I did talk to Emotiva about an integrated player and it sounds like that could be an option for a card... With respect to the DAC I really wonder if its worth the money over the internal DAC, the Dennon sounded really good and hoping the RMC is even better... Mine along with the additional amps will hopefully be here shortly....
Thanks
Tom

[Deleted]

I Have been using an AURALiC Vega dac (original version) via its balanced outputs feeding the RMC-1 in "Reference (passthrough)" mode with great results.   Through the balanced inputs the RMC-1 is surprisingly quiet - at full volume I can place my ear right next to my Revel Salon2's tweeters and not hear any hissing.  I use a dedicated HTCP running Roon to feed it.  (My amps are Mark Levinson No.436's)
I have not tried the RMC-1's internal dac yet.  As good as movies sound (when things are behaving) I would listen to the RMC-1 first before making an additional purchase.  If you like what you hear, you're set.  As the RMC-1 seems quite transparent to sources (at least in my very very limited experience) you should be able to add an outboard dac and start your climb up the endless ladder of audiophile upgrades  .
Lee

[tom9933]

Thanks for the info!!! I also have Revels but mine are the performa series 7.2.4 setup which will soon have all Emotiva power, currently only the FCR have a DR3... For the DAC I keep thinking of a PS Audio DirectSTream but am not sure its worth the cost... Maybe after I get everything working I'll try one with their return policy.

[Deleted]

Performas should prvide a wonderful experience with the RMC-1 and Emotiva amps. I would recommend giving the RMC-1 a minimum of two weeks break-in (3-4 is better). The unit sounds a little cold/closed-in at first. If you are interrested in the DirectSTream for its DSD processing you may also want to wait until the firmware for the RMC-1 is "perfect" with DSD and not just "very close...". Especially since you can use JRiver to convert everything to DSD before sending it to the RMC-1. Enjoy the ride .
Lee