Why I have ordered an XMC-1 and will take delivery as soon a
Mar 3, 2014 22:53:37 GMT -5
ElectroAl, DYohn, and 7 more like this
Post by audioguy123 on Mar 3, 2014 22:53:37 GMT -5
(I wanted to post this under another thread on the XMC-1 pricing but the thread was closed/locked).
I have extensive (well over 20 years) experience in digital room correction products. The very first product on the market in the very early 90’s was by a company called Cambridge Signal Technology and the SigTech time-domain based digital room correction product was a major audio breakthrough. I was their Marketing Director for 10 years and we sold systems to many of the well known recording studios and very high end audio and home theater enthusiasts. A two-channel version retailed between $6000 and $8000 (it was not a preamp or SSP). Robert Greene of The Absolute Sound loved it (and still does). Unfortunately, because of the price point, it was only the very well healed 2 channel guys that were prospects and they were more interested in spending stupid money for cables that made no difference rather than on a technology on which a deaf person could hear the difference --- so SigTech went toes up (there were other reasons as well but are unimportant as it relates to the purpose of this post).
I was also a dealer for TacT audio. TacT had their version of digital room correction and The TacT user interface was superior in some ways to the SigTech and the system cost less. They had a two-channel version and a home theater version. The two channel version was excellent but the HT version was really an incomplete product. Unfortunately for them, they targeted the same market that SigTech had which are the audiophiles who don’t want to mess with the signal but will put $12,000 worth of metal footers under their speakers and other equipment and think they have entered audio nirvana.
Digital room correction (done right) is easily the best money spent for an improved audio listening experience – when used in conjunction with appropriate room treatment. But the vast majority of the high end two channel guys did not and still do not get it.
Finally, Audyssey came out and the wise HT crowd jumped on board. But Audyssey did it right and marketed their software/firmware through the SSP manufacturers (Integra, Denon, Onkyo) and it added very little to the SSP costs. Audyssey was, in my opinion one of the very best things that has happened in home audio reproduction in a very long time.
And there are now a couple of more: Trinnov, which has some other functionality in addition to digital room correction (and runs on a VERY EXPENSIVE platform) and Dirac. Dirac is currently available on a PC for about $800 (which I have been using for about a year) and on the Datasat RS20i for about $20,000. Theta Digital announced approximately 300 years ago their new Casablanca IV with Dirac and it is still not available and it too will retail for about $20,000. Dirac (at least the PC version) has much more flexibility than Audyssey and the specificity of the setup instructions provide increased repeatability as you execute the measurement process.
So while I have no experience with Trinnov, I do with every other digital (non PEQ) room correction technology and Dirac is a major home run. I can compare Dirac to Audyssey and visually (the frequency response curves of both systems) see the difference and sonically, it is better as well.
So why will I buy the XMC-1 as soon as I can get it? (1) it has the ability to be the SSP with the best digital room correction product (that costs less than a small car) on the market; (2) it is a product that comes from a company that is dedicated to providing high end solutions at close to mass market pricing; (3) after sale customer support that is hard to argue with (at least in my experience as I have owned their amps, preamps and DAC’s); (4) a proven track record of making things right when there is an issue and (5) a try-it-to-buy-it approach. If it turns out to be a piece of crap, I send it back and continue using what I am already using.
I know they have slipped delivery dates for a very long time (my guess is they have learned something from this experience) but this stuff is REALLY hard to get right and to make the user interface such that one does not need to be a professional computer geek to actually use it. (It took SigTech YEARS before they had an operational product). And I think part (maybe most) of the XMC-1 delay came about as a result of having to drop the work started when TacT was going to be the room correction solution and starting over with Dirac.
I have read some posts that suggest the price point of $2000 is too high. Assuming this product is only 90% of what it could be, at $5000 it would be a great product. Right now we have the Integras/Onkyo’s/Denon’s in the $3000 price point then we get to jump to $20,000 !!!!! Hats off to this company if they can pull this off.
I also have no unrealistic expectations on how reliable this product will be upon initial release. I don’t know how many Beta Testers they have trying to break it but this is one complicated product and there will be a few/some/many issues with the initial release. But, again based upon my experience with this company, they will make things right. I can’t wait to get it into my system and see how Emotiva’s version of Dirac compares to the two channel PC version and how it also compares to a very well tuned Audyseyy Pro based product.
But that’s just me!!
I have extensive (well over 20 years) experience in digital room correction products. The very first product on the market in the very early 90’s was by a company called Cambridge Signal Technology and the SigTech time-domain based digital room correction product was a major audio breakthrough. I was their Marketing Director for 10 years and we sold systems to many of the well known recording studios and very high end audio and home theater enthusiasts. A two-channel version retailed between $6000 and $8000 (it was not a preamp or SSP). Robert Greene of The Absolute Sound loved it (and still does). Unfortunately, because of the price point, it was only the very well healed 2 channel guys that were prospects and they were more interested in spending stupid money for cables that made no difference rather than on a technology on which a deaf person could hear the difference --- so SigTech went toes up (there were other reasons as well but are unimportant as it relates to the purpose of this post).
I was also a dealer for TacT audio. TacT had their version of digital room correction and The TacT user interface was superior in some ways to the SigTech and the system cost less. They had a two-channel version and a home theater version. The two channel version was excellent but the HT version was really an incomplete product. Unfortunately for them, they targeted the same market that SigTech had which are the audiophiles who don’t want to mess with the signal but will put $12,000 worth of metal footers under their speakers and other equipment and think they have entered audio nirvana.
Digital room correction (done right) is easily the best money spent for an improved audio listening experience – when used in conjunction with appropriate room treatment. But the vast majority of the high end two channel guys did not and still do not get it.
Finally, Audyssey came out and the wise HT crowd jumped on board. But Audyssey did it right and marketed their software/firmware through the SSP manufacturers (Integra, Denon, Onkyo) and it added very little to the SSP costs. Audyssey was, in my opinion one of the very best things that has happened in home audio reproduction in a very long time.
And there are now a couple of more: Trinnov, which has some other functionality in addition to digital room correction (and runs on a VERY EXPENSIVE platform) and Dirac. Dirac is currently available on a PC for about $800 (which I have been using for about a year) and on the Datasat RS20i for about $20,000. Theta Digital announced approximately 300 years ago their new Casablanca IV with Dirac and it is still not available and it too will retail for about $20,000. Dirac (at least the PC version) has much more flexibility than Audyssey and the specificity of the setup instructions provide increased repeatability as you execute the measurement process.
So while I have no experience with Trinnov, I do with every other digital (non PEQ) room correction technology and Dirac is a major home run. I can compare Dirac to Audyssey and visually (the frequency response curves of both systems) see the difference and sonically, it is better as well.
So why will I buy the XMC-1 as soon as I can get it? (1) it has the ability to be the SSP with the best digital room correction product (that costs less than a small car) on the market; (2) it is a product that comes from a company that is dedicated to providing high end solutions at close to mass market pricing; (3) after sale customer support that is hard to argue with (at least in my experience as I have owned their amps, preamps and DAC’s); (4) a proven track record of making things right when there is an issue and (5) a try-it-to-buy-it approach. If it turns out to be a piece of crap, I send it back and continue using what I am already using.
I know they have slipped delivery dates for a very long time (my guess is they have learned something from this experience) but this stuff is REALLY hard to get right and to make the user interface such that one does not need to be a professional computer geek to actually use it. (It took SigTech YEARS before they had an operational product). And I think part (maybe most) of the XMC-1 delay came about as a result of having to drop the work started when TacT was going to be the room correction solution and starting over with Dirac.
I have read some posts that suggest the price point of $2000 is too high. Assuming this product is only 90% of what it could be, at $5000 it would be a great product. Right now we have the Integras/Onkyo’s/Denon’s in the $3000 price point then we get to jump to $20,000 !!!!! Hats off to this company if they can pull this off.
I also have no unrealistic expectations on how reliable this product will be upon initial release. I don’t know how many Beta Testers they have trying to break it but this is one complicated product and there will be a few/some/many issues with the initial release. But, again based upon my experience with this company, they will make things right. I can’t wait to get it into my system and see how Emotiva’s version of Dirac compares to the two channel PC version and how it also compares to a very well tuned Audyseyy Pro based product.
But that’s just me!!
