KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Jul 22, 2014 9:57:28 GMT -5
As I promised, this thread is for discussion of stuff posted in the "XMC-1 : Inside Tips" thread. (You can also use it to post suggestions for topics you want me to cover there.) This thread is intended for owners (and future owners) of the XMC-1. It is a happy place... intended to help you get the most out of your XMC-1. Of course, anyone who's just considering becoming an XMC-1 owner is more than welcome.... However, we will NOT tolerate sour pusses in this forum.... If you want to be a sour puss, there are plenty of other forums where you can do it.... WHAT THIS THREAD IS NOT:This thread is NOT a forum for bashing the XMC-1 and complaining that it won't make coffee, or play 8k video, or wash the dishes..... This thread is NOT a forum for complaining about our delivery schedule on the XMC-1, or to complain about how we share too little (or too much) information.....
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bootman
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Post by bootman on Jul 22, 2014 11:19:21 GMT -5
Keith, can you walk us through some of the design decisions regarding how bass management is handled in the XMC? Example: Stereo vs mono vs dual mono and which would be preferable based on different room configurations. Also how will DIRAC treat multiple subs in each scenario?
Thanks
Al
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Post by tweed on Jul 22, 2014 12:45:33 GMT -5
Great idea for a thread Keith!
I am hoping to pre educate myself so as to not be to overwhelmed.
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tubby
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Post by tubby on Jul 22, 2014 13:00:48 GMT -5
Keith, can you walk us through some of the design decisions regarding how bass management is handled in the XMC? Example: Stereo vs mono vs dual mono and which would be preferable based on different room configurations. Also how will DIRAC treat multiple subs in each scenario? Thanks Al +1. This is definitely getting the most attention right now with lots of speculation and assumptions on how the XMC functions and confusion on what the actual issue might be.
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Post by pop on Jul 22, 2014 13:01:36 GMT -5
Keith, can you walk us through some of the design decisions regarding how bass management is handled in the XMC? Example: Stereo vs mono vs dual mono and which would be preferable based on different room configurations. Also how will DIRAC treat multiple subs in each scenario? Thanks Al +1. This is definitely getting the most attention right now with lots of speculation and assumptions on how the XMC functions and confusion on what the actual issue might be. +2
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 13:31:19 GMT -5
In the Inside Tips thread Keith says:
I also need to mention (and it's easy to forget because you simply get used to it) that the XMC-1 sounds incredibly good EVEN IF YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESSOR. No more deciding if the benefits of room correction outweigh the "hit" you're going to take in sound quality by going through the processors; the XMC-1 sounds just about as good when you go through the processors as when you don't. Yeah, if you want bass management, you're going to go through the processors - but SO WHAT? I guess, if you wanted to get nit picky, even the XMC-1 sounds a teeny bit better in Reference Stereo mode than in Direct Mode (Direct Mode gives you bass management, and no other processing, but it does use the processor). But, folks, it's awful close. Even going through the analog-to-digital converters, and then through the processor, and then back through the D/A's, the XMC-1 still has way better performance, and sounds better, than most analog preamps out there. And the XMC-1's bass management, done properly by the processor, is cleaner and more accurate than any analog bass management you're going to find...
Paragraphs like this make me confident that I made the correct decision to wait for the XMC-1, zero risk! Also, even though it is a preliminary copy, kudos to whoever wrote the owner's manual, great job!
Believe it or not, one of the features I plan to use frequently on my XMC-1 is the High performance AM/FM tuner with RDS text information, including artist, category, and title. Also features a signal strength meter. FM/AM sections in AVR's and pre-pro's over a number of years have been generally terrible. We have some great FM stations here in the Seattle area and I need the AM to get the local Husky football games when not on TV.
Have you had any chance yet to check out the FM/AM section? Thanks!
PS: Does the Emo BTM-1 Bluetooth Module work on the XMC-1 as well as the UMC-200?
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Post by thepcguy on Jul 22, 2014 15:24:18 GMT -5
As an analog preamp, the XMC-1 sounds good.... I don't mean "really good for a processor"; I mean really REALLY good.... as in "as good as most analog preamps you've ever heard - at ANY price". It's NOT "a compromise" or "good enough for movies"; it's good enough to be your analog preamp. (If you haven't had a chance to listen to one yet, just look at the specs; the XMC-1 is quieter, and has less distortion, than the vast majority of analog preamps out there that cost five or ten times what it does.) Even beyond ridiculously impressive numbers, it sounds great. And, for those who find such things de-rigueur, it has balanced inputs and outputs. Before anything else, can you please give us an idea how you do your testing? I quoted the above because I wanted to know how (or if) you have compared the XMC-1 head to head with other preamps (blind?) I am really interested in this because, like you, I am using my OPPO 103's analog. I can't tell the difference between the LMC-1 vs UMC-1 in head-to-head blind comparison.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 16:08:04 GMT -5
I use my Oppo 103 analogue directly to the XPR-5 (waiting for the XMC-1 email still ) and I get an annoying hiss out of the rear channels. Not sure if this is because my system isn't balanced yet, or just because of my less than ideal (OK appalling) speaker positioning (no other way to set it up in the TV Room).
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Post by petew on Jul 22, 2014 18:28:12 GMT -5
We'd love to see the draft IP control protocol. Get it out there before the Dirac upgrade so issues might be included with that firmware.
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Post by igorzep on Jul 22, 2014 19:04:03 GMT -5
What I would like to know about the 'insides' is how all the re-sampling done inside the XMC-1, and in particular what is exact frequency/sample rate used on the out of ASRC and fed to the DAC. In the context of jitter suppression.
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hemster
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Post by hemster on Jul 22, 2014 23:15:33 GMT -5
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Post by bobcel on Jul 23, 2014 0:08:33 GMT -5
So does anyone know if when Dirac Live is implemented are we going to be given a choice of PC vs MAC software? or will both be available.. I have an older Netbook (Windows) Daughter has a Mac Book Pro I could use.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 23, 2014 0:14:52 GMT -5
So does anyone know if when Dirac Live is implemented are we going to be given a choice of PC vs MAC software? or will both be available.. I have an older Netbook (Windows) Daughter has a Mac Book Pro I could use. The first feature is still listed as this: "Exclusive Dirac Live™ 7.2 automatic room correction system with PC/MAC GUI for complete system control and adjustment, "on-the-fly,” including the creation of your own customized response curve for precise alignment with your individual preferences."
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Post by nathanzachary on Jul 23, 2014 7:29:03 GMT -5
So does anyone know if when Dirac Live is implemented are we going to be given a choice of PC vs MAC software? or will both be available.. I have an older Netbook (Windows) Daughter has a Mac Book Pro I could use. The first feature is still listed as this: "Exclusive Dirac Live™ 7.2 automatic room correction system with PC/MAC GUI for complete system control and adjustment, "on-the-fly,” including the creation of your own customized response curve for precise alignment with your individual preferences." I guess it's a bit much to hope for a Linux GUI. Anyway, I'll just hope that the PC or Mac versions function within a VM.
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bootman
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Post by bootman on Jul 23, 2014 9:12:25 GMT -5
For HDMI only sources are the digital outputs active?
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Post by paintedklown on Jul 23, 2014 10:00:07 GMT -5
This may be a question for a later date, but what will Dirac be able to do that cannot already be done with a good working knowledge of REW while utilizing the vast amount of paramaters available to tweak on the XMC?
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Post by drtrey3 on Jul 23, 2014 10:03:26 GMT -5
I do not have an order in for an XMC. But I am curious about what it is like. What I would love to read in this thread is what people are discovering about it that have it. It seems that is the intent of this thread, for people who have one to share what they think of it and what they have discovered. Now THAT is what I am interested in reading.
Trey
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Post by jking on Jul 25, 2014 17:44:01 GMT -5
I think that only the very few will ever be able to do what the Dirac ARC can do. It takes years to learn how to really tune your system to a room. Anyone can take the Dirac program to a room and tune it in a short time. How many people are going to spend the time to gain a real working knowledge of room acoustic's? You can use the controls in the XMC to get the room close to flat if you know what you are doing but then it takes a real ear to finish tweaking the EQ's to make the room sound really good. Understand that being flat does not make the room sound good, it is only the starting point for tuning the room to sound really great. This is what Dirac and some of the newer ARC programs do. And this does not take into account rooms that need other help to fix problems that are inherent in some rooms.
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Post by PGT on Jul 25, 2014 20:00:53 GMT -5
Keith, can you walk us through some of the design decisions regarding how bass management is handled in the XMC? Example: Stereo vs mono vs dual mono and which would be preferable based on different room configurations. Also how will DIRAC treat multiple subs in each scenario? Thanks Al +1. This is definitely getting the most attention right now with lots of speculation and assumptions on how the XMC functions and confusion on what the actual issue might be. I'm interested to know. I've got a pair of Crown XLS-1500's jury-rigged at the moment (signal-wise) to drive my four Fi Audio 18" IB subs. - Sometimes the terseness of my reply can't be blamed on my phone.
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Post by jimbailey on Jul 26, 2014 9:07:22 GMT -5
OK. Received mine yesterday. Set speaker distances (which is to the inch BTW) and levels via my trusty old analog Radio Shack meter. Left my USP-1, ERC-1, UMC-1, XDA-1, Paradigm sub controller (phase, LPF, Level) out of the system. Sounds so good already that I'm considering selling all this gear, just using the Oppo for disks letting the XMC-1 do all the decoding. DSDs decode very well, sound amazing. I have loved the USP-1 especially and now have no phono preamp, but what do you all think about this radically reduced signal path idea? Any reason to keep the ERC-1, or the others?
I found it difficult to understand how the various trigger option are "and'd" or "or'd" together. Trying to trigger my XPA-5 which handles the center and surround channels. I couldn't get a trigger to work based on speaker use exclusively without having the "main power" also selected. But that seems to trigger it whenever main power is on regardless of speaker use. Not a big deal, but the final manual needs to be a bit more specific as to how these selections interact. Keith?
Also got an audio glitch (sub-second noise) via the Oppo and XMC-1 at the end of a DSD CD after the last cut. Seems like the stream wasn't shut down gracefully. Haven't tried to reproduce this yet.
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