KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Feb 2, 2017 14:24:41 GMT -5
This thread is for FIRST IMPRESSIONS about the MC-700.
This is a place for people who have purchased the MC-700, or are planning to, to discuss how they like it, what they like about it, and even what they don't like about it. This is NOT a thread for posting bugs (there is a separate thread for that).
And, as always, if you think your MC-700 is not operating the way it should, feel free to contact our Support Department directly.
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 2, 2017 14:52:29 GMT -5
I bought one for my bedroom system but my son needed it more, so I gave it to him. However, I installed it and set it up for him. It was a breeze to set up and the EmoQ routine went well. We did have a tough time getting it to fit on the shelf of his A/V cabinet because of the depth of the MC-700 plus the added room required by the connectors. The fill factor of the MC-700 box doesn't look much more than 50%, so it would have bee nice if it had less depth. My son has used it for a week now, but I have not heard from him since the install. It must be O.K. or he would have called me by now!
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Post by harlan on Feb 2, 2017 15:51:40 GMT -5
It sounds fantastic in every medium I throw at it including vinyl, XRCDs, standard CDs, 4 k movies and hi def comcast feed . There are a few things I wish were different but once they are worked out it will exceed my every expectation. I'm going to be honest, a small part of why I purchased it was its footprint. It fits perfectly in my cabinet. I'm not sure why there is distortion in the center of the picture. The center rail is straight as an arrow in real life.
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Post by jessa69 on Feb 3, 2017 8:17:51 GMT -5
Hi....got my MC-700 on 23rd Jan.firstly it's a great match for my XPA 5 GEN 2, running a 5.1 system with all X - REF speakers , no 4k for me yet....cdp/ analog...Oppo /hdmi 4...cable tv/optical...bluetooth module...all works well, no EMO calibration done, sounds great, comparable to my ex XMC1. Renaming inputs....that is waiting for update soon I hope, and also the VFD display could have been a little larger...from 10 feet it's a bit blurry or is it my vision. Anyway im loving it, coming from umc1. .umc 200 , xmc1 and RZ 900 Onkyo. Cheers!
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Post by jolaca on Feb 3, 2017 10:22:32 GMT -5
Hi....got my MC-700 on 23rd Jan.firstly it's a great match for my XPA 5 GEN 2, running a 5.1 system with all X - REF speakers , no 4k for me yet....cdp/ analog...Oppo /hdmi 4...cable tv/optical...bluetooth module...all works well, no EMO calibration done, sounds great, comparable to my ex XMC1. Renaming inputs....that is waiting for update soon I hope, and also the VFD display could have been a little larger...from 10 feet it's a bit blurry or is it my vision. Anyway im loving it, coming from umc1. .umc 200 , xmc1 and RZ 900 Onkyo. Cheers! Please, post some pictures!! I'm still waiting for mine and meanwhile it's great to see it in real setups. Thanks!
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Post by crazycuz2k on Feb 3, 2017 11:52:59 GMT -5
Coming from a Marantz SR6004. Upgraded to get 4K switching to a Vizio P65-C1. Didn't expect that an added benefit would be superior audio. Ascend Acoustic Sierra 1 NrT's, Paradigm CC-370c3 center, Paradigm ADP-390v2 dipoles, Paradigm PS1-000v3 sub, haven't run Emo-Q calibration driven by an Emotiva UPA-5.
First Impression: - Easy power, used to listen around -10 db on the Marantz but get the same volume at -17 using the same amp to match loudness - More clarity - didn't realize there was a veiled sound to the Marantz (maybe room-correction???) but the sound is more open and clear, especially center channel dialog - Listened to Diana Krall DVD-Audio in surround and again, sound was fuller, better use of rear channels (again room-correction???)
Anxious to play with Emo-Q this weekend and calibrate the system to the room and pop in some of my reference movies in the Oppo UDP-203 and putting it through it's paces.
Some growing pains but I bought it blind expecting some bugs knowing that all these formats are new. Had my own fair share of HDMI handshaking issues with my SR6004 to the Vizio.
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Post by jolaca on Feb 3, 2017 14:00:33 GMT -5
I'm not sure why there is distortion in the center of the picture. The center rail is straight as an arrow in real life. This is your camera lens barrel distortion! ;-) So sure that center rail is straight. BTW, congrats on your nice cabinet setup and perfect fit!
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Post by leefdalucky on Feb 3, 2017 14:40:11 GMT -5
(reposted from last night- I see Keith made a new thread for this. Hope you folks don't mind.)
I took possession of my MC-700 on late Tuesday afternoon. I spent Tuesday night cleaning up my equipment rack, moving some sources around, pulling out the exisiting UMC-1, installing the new MC-700, lots of wire/cable management with some Zipties. Ended the night with a quick power cycle test, input verifications and some internet speed tests to make sure everything worked.
Installation notes: 1) for the purposes of my own HT, Everything is based on 720p as my old projector is native 720. (this saved me a lot of headaches for now, and indeed I didn't require any new cables or HDMI's) Current HDMI's are monoprice UltraSlim Active redmere 18 Gpbs cables (late 2015), and 1 x 25' Monoprice Ultra Cabernet HDMI (3 months ago)
2) Config - Out: HDMI Port 1 In: HDMI 1 MediaSonic HW180 OTA In: HDMI 2 Sony Bluray BX38 In: HDMI 3 Apple TV 2 In: HDMI 4 Beelink GT1 Android Box
3) Setup - Personal Preferences Old school Tape measured to 5.1's for distance. Rat Shack Calibrated to 77db (around 18 on Volume Display in my case) across the board. Then..... Bumped Centre up: + 2.0 db (pretty standard for me) Dropped down Sub: -5.5 db Slopes : 12/12/12/24sub Crossover: Smalls/80hz
No EmoQ run. (Don't know if I will, i rebuilt an old laptop and my try some REQwiz in the future, provided i survive the learning curve.)
Wednesday night: Testing for 5+ hours...
4) THE GOOD: Sound quality. Yes, this is why i bought it. And it's definitely here. I was HOPING that, like the Umc200, this thing would beat the UMC-1 and it does. Soundly. I'm getting a lot more of everything. The mid bass is more pronounced, dialog seems to be much improved as far as clarity goes. My bass went through the roof during Batman Begins last night. I went through Batmobile-Scene 28 around 5 times until I finally dialed in the Sub to -5.5 without cracking my rafters. Actually I'm kinda wondering how soft the UMC-1 was on midbass now. Was I missing this all along? Does anyone else think the UMC-1 was slightly sterile in the mids? The UMC-1 was really accuarate on the highs/cymbals/ricochets etc. and thankfully that's all here too. So i'm happy. Played through the opening credits of Blade Runner (awesome Vangelis soundtrack in there) and was pretty WOWed. Did I mention my surrounds are now alive?! I chucked on Star Wars:FA and was doing some DTS:Master testing and noticed how much more my surrounds are on. I have no idea why the UMC-1 sounded so weak on these now. I went through the same basic calibration process, but I didn't hear anything like the enveloping sounds of last night. Love it so much i watched the whole movie. and Pacific Rim rocked too. Oh and I ran some Dave Matthews off the RadioCity 96/24 disc. Its' probably the best I've ever heard it sound. I did some prelimary music listening but nothing defenitive. I just wanted to make sure it worked. I briefly tried some SuperTramp off AppleTVs music section. Sounded pretty sweet (still have to get used to the midbass presence). Played a couple .flacs of Zeppelin, Police, Santana, Queen, Floyd, Guitar Music for Small Rooms... All this was very quick scanning, so i won't make too many comments of the MC-700's musicality until I investigate more. Sounds VERY good from what I've heard so far.
Later on during the weekend, i'm going to delve into some more of the serious albums i was waiting for (Genesis: Lamb, SEBTP, Doors, Pink Floyd DSOM, America - Ventura Highway, some Robbie Roberston and some Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young and, if i get the house to myself at any point, some Metallica: justice for all/master of puppets)
Build Quality: Very nice. compact form factor. Simplified. I like the little things like the back panel is black instead of that industrial grey computer panel steel. sturdy inputs. light weight. Hooked it up in around 35 mins.
HDMI Switching: very good. a couple seconds faster than the UMC-1. Oh and no video/audio dropouts at ANY time during my runs last night. I do have the 0.1 second pink screen when switching inputs but it syncs up and locks on eventually.
5) The So-So: I had one issue with AppleTV not picking up DD5.1 from Netflix/Apple Store (until i figured it out and set up Digital Output as "On" instead of "Auto" on the ATV. The UMC-1 has no problem with this. Not sure why the MC-700 struggled until I set it permanent. The Menu/GUI system seems counter Intuitive. It's not terrible. But it could be easier. At least you only have the play with it once and awhile. The VFD Display is freakishly small. I remember Dan was talking about the new upcoming Slim Form factor processor with a sweetheart of a display (Just like the XMC, but smaller...) Sadly i think this is headed for the Emersa line. (Others mentioned this, so i was already aware).
6) The Ugly: The OSD. are you kidding me? it's 2017. Even my 2009 UMC-1 has a prettier menu/OSD. Why would you guys install that? And for the record, that's exactly why i'm using inputs 1-3, so i don't have to look at that thing. it makes me cry. Please someone tell me that it's fixable or can be modified. It looks like it was created by some kid using Minecraft. I would really rather use inputs 4-6 so i can see volume and source info.
Other than that, I'm thoroughly enjoying this unit so far. The instant sound upgrade was noticeable, and i really like the form factor. I'm not suffering any drop-outs or malfunctions yet (alhough i still need to do some more music testing). And i'm glad i was able to future proof a bit by getting a 4k/HDR potential processor. Pretty happy over here and i have NO problem unloading my UMC at this point.
my $0.02 for what it's worth, Leefy
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Post by neekos on Feb 3, 2017 15:07:24 GMT -5
Love your setup It sounds fantastic in every medium I throw at it including vinyl, XRCDs, standard CDs, 4 k movies and hi def comcast feed . There are a few things I wish were different but once they are worked out it will exceed my every expectation. I'm going to be honest, a small part of why I purchased it was its footprint. It fits perfectly in my cabinet. I'm not sure why there is distortion in the center of the picture. The center rail is straight as an arrow in real life.
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Post by harlan on Feb 3, 2017 21:21:32 GMT -5
Love your setup It sounds fantastic in every medium I throw at it including vinyl, XRCDs, standard CDs, 4 k movies and hi def comcast feed . There are a few things I wish were different but once they are worked out it will exceed my every expectation. I'm going to be honest, a small part of why I purchased it was its footprint. It fits perfectly in my cabinet. I'm not sure why there is distortion in the center of the picture. The center rail is straight as an arrow in real life. Thank you! I built the credenza about 12 years ago when I got my first plasma TV. Obviously I built the 2 equipment areas to fit the standard width of components. On the left behind the door is my comcast dvr, cd player, multizone speaker switcher and 4k dvd player. Behind the acoustic fabric is my center channel speaker, wireless router, bluetooth receiver and zantach IR distribution box. The circular eye in the top center is the bullet IR receiver. The speakers are DIY Dynaudios I built with esotec D 260 tweeters and 17w 75 woofers.
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 4, 2017 7:43:08 GMT -5
I'd be worried about 1) heat, and 2) diffraction distortion due to the set back of your speakers.
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Post by harlan on Feb 4, 2017 9:20:28 GMT -5
I'd be worried about 1) heat, and 2) diffraction distortion due to the set back of your speakers. Heat is not a problem as the back is open. Been using the cabinet for 12 years and not once did I feel like it was warm in there. Please tell me about set back distortion as I had not considered it given the minimal setback. For reference the front plane of speaker is 1 1/16" from the front plane of the credenza. The front plane of the drivers is slighly less than that.
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Post by vneal on Feb 4, 2017 9:59:14 GMT -5
People who have switched from the UMC200 to the MC700 please speak up on the differences. Especially audio. Thanks
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Post by mgbpuff on Feb 4, 2017 13:51:47 GMT -5
I'd be worried about 1) heat, and 2) diffraction distortion due to the set back of your speakers. Heat is not a problem as the back is open. Been using the cabinet for 12 years and not once did I feel like it was warm in there. Please tell me about set back distortion as I had not considered it given the minimal setback. For reference the front plane of speaker is 1 1/16" from the front plane of the credenza. The front plane of the drivers is slighly less than that. The front plane of the speakers should be flush with the front plane of the cabinet. But if you like the sound as it is now, who am I to say? It does look pretty though! Sorry, we've gone off subject!
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Post by rvsixer on Feb 7, 2017 17:46:36 GMT -5
The front plane of the speakers should be flush with the front plane of the cabinet... Only if they no or minimal BSC. But EMO hopefully compensated for that,
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Post by harlan on Feb 7, 2017 18:14:28 GMT -5
The front plane of the speakers should be flush with the front plane of the cabinet... Only if they no or minimal BSC. But EMO hopefully compensated for that, Can you elaborate on BSC?
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Post by rvsixer on Feb 7, 2017 18:40:02 GMT -5
Can you elaborate on BSC? Okay one more before I risk thread derailing consequences . Most all consumer speakers are made to be pulled out away from the wall boundaries, and therefore have full BSC. This is why they can/probably do sound "tubby" when you put them close/near a wall or inside a cabinet. Speakers actually do far better in wall or in cabinet, but only IF they have no/little BSC. speakerdesignworks.com/bafflestep.htmlNow back to MC-700 goodness.
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Post by mmarques on Feb 8, 2017 9:06:12 GMT -5
Hi there, I wonder if anyone could tell if the Emotiva would work with the Rotel RSX-1067. I love this receiver, but it lacks some audio and video resources currently available on most HT systems. I appreciate any help I can get on this one. Thanks a lot!
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Post by cwt on Feb 9, 2017 11:42:25 GMT -5
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Post by sydhaynes on Mar 3, 2017 19:18:06 GMT -5
I received my MC-700 along with my A-700 amplifier on January 20th,. This unit is currently performing 5.1 channel non-4K duty in my home office. I have it connected to my Oppo BDP-93 and my PC. I did have a few initial issues, most of which have been sorted with a combination of "premium certified" HDMI cables and my Harmony remote power sequencing. The unit is amazing. I mostly use it for playing FLAC files from my PC through my Creative Sound Blaster ZxR card that uses a Burr Brown Dac. Occasionally I play movies and listed to SACD through the Oppo. Although my office uses Q series KEF for LCR duties, this system comes very close to my main system which costs easily 4 times more. Those on the fence and thinking of purchasing this unit will not be disappointed, Once the last of the quirks are ironed out with a firmware update this system will have earned it's place in my home for years to come. This was my first Emotiva purchase, but I'm sure it will not be my last.
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