pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Sept 12, 2021 13:17:57 GMT -5
I’m currently using a Marantz 8802a. Recently it has begun to have HDMI issues….I have both outputs in use, one to an old Panny plazma for everyday use, and one to a Sony projector. Semi-regularly now, the processor won’t auto-select the correct output to use, and last week I had no video output at all. After a few days it decided to work again, but I’m aware of these issues being fairly common on Marantz processors.
So, being far from immune from upgraditis anyway, and never having been that happy with the Marantz anyway (nothing specific, just at no time did I get that ‘oh wow’ feeling despite taking the time to setup Audyssey and adding 4 ceiling speakers for Atmos), I’m surfing the ‘net for a consensus on where to go for the next step. I’m really not that bothered by sound quality for movies, I just want good steering of signals to the appropriate speaker, and good blending of the speakers for a cohesive ‘whole’. I am very interested in SQ for 2 channel, however, to the point I’ve been researching high-end 2 channel preamps to integrate into the system.
Based on this, it appears the best candidate for my purposes would be the XMC-2.
I don’t use ARC. My tv and projector are purely monitors.
I use a fire stick and roku, and for now DirecTV for video.
I have an Oppo 205 for blue ray, and Roon which is my main audio source. Balanced outputs into the analog ‘CD’ input to the processor.
Harmony remote set for the wife to be able to just hit whichever button for whatever she wants to watch.
So to the questions:
Anyone else come from the Marantz processor to Emotiva, and what did you experience, good or bad in terms of my main criteria, sound quality, wow-moments in movies, wive’s/SO’s being able to use the system.
I’ll take whatever time necessary to learn/implement Dirac, I’ve heard it’s worth the time/effort for the improvements over Audyssey.
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ttocs
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Post by ttocs on Sept 12, 2021 14:28:03 GMT -5
Back when it was the top offering from Marantz, I picked up an AV8801 on a Friday, and returned it on Monday. Seemed like a fine product, but it was not a good match for my amp. Then, a friend recommended I try Emotiva so I ordered a UMC-200. It was perfect for me. Then, in mid 2014 I preordered and later purchased the XMC-1, then traded that for the XMC-2 when it was my turn to do so early last year. Each product represented an upgrade.
The XMC-2 was a wow.
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Post by davidl81 on Sept 12, 2021 14:47:08 GMT -5
I’m currently using a Marantz 8802a. Recently it has begun to have HDMI issues….I have both outputs in use, one to an old Panny plazma for everyday use, and one to a Sony projector. Semi-regularly now, the processor won’t auto-select the correct output to use, and last week I had no video output at all. After a few days it decided to work again, but I’m aware of these issues being fairly common on Marantz processors. So, being far from immune from upgraditis anyway, and never having been that happy with the Marantz anyway (nothing specific, just at no time did I get that ‘oh wow’ feeling despite taking the time to setup Audyssey and adding 4 ceiling speakers for Atmos), I’m surfing the ‘net for a consensus on where to go for the next step. I’m really not that bothered by sound quality for movies, I just want good steering of signals to the appropriate speaker, and good blending of the speakers for a cohesive ‘whole’. I am very interested in SQ for 2 channel, however, to the point I’ve been researching high-end 2 channel preamps to integrate into the system. Based on this, it appears the best candidate for my purposes would be the XMC-2. I don’t use ARC. My tv and projector are purely monitors. I use a fire stick and roku, and for now DirecTV for video. I have an Oppo 205 for blue ray, and Roon which is my main audio source. Balanced outputs into the analog ‘CD’ input to the processor. Harmony remote set for the wife to be able to just hit whichever button for whatever she wants to watch. So to the questions: Anyone else come from the Marantz processor to Emotiva, and what did you experience, good or bad in terms of my main criteria, sound quality, wow-moments in movies, wive’s/SO’s being able to use the system. I’ll take whatever time necessary to learn/implement Dirac, I’ve heard it’s worth the time/effort for the improvements over Audyssey. I had the 8802a and upgraded to the RMC-1 about two years ago. Overall I’ve been extremely happy with the RMC-1. It sound much better than the 8802a especially in 2 channel stereo. It has the “wow” factor the 8802 did not have. Now the 8802a was better in some ways. It was faster in switching HDMI inputs, it updated firmware over the internet, and it had apps like Spotify connect built it which was nice. But if your goal is for something that sounds better you will be extremely happy with the RMC-1 (or XMC-2). Dirac is a game changer (more complicated to run than the Marantz system, but so much more powerful), and if you do any 2 channel music you will be shocked at what you were missing. |
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Sept 12, 2021 15:37:36 GMT -5
Thanks, this is what I’m looking for. I’m not a critical listener during movies, seems counter productive, but I am during 2 channel music listening. Having said that, none of the Atmos movies I’ve tried have given that wow factor either. I’m not even sure they’re adding anything, tbh, and I would like some ‘wow’ from that.
For 2 channel I’m using Roon mostly, fed from my Mac mini into my Oppo and then balanced outputs to balanced in on the Marantz, and I’d like to keep that setup, only with the XMC-2 acting as a better analog pre amp than the 8802a. I have a better-than-average 2 channel amp, and Aerial 7T’s as my mains, that I know are capable of better imaging than I’m getting (but still sound great), and the room and pre amp are my prime suspects on what’s holding them back. I don’t expect the XMC-2 to rival a Pass or BAT pre amp, but a ‘boost’ would be nice:). And I would like to have the ‘wow’ moments during some of the movies I’ve read about but not experienced.
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Post by davidl81 on Sept 13, 2021 23:33:17 GMT -5
Thanks, this is what I’m looking for. I’m not a critical listener during movies, seems counter productive, but I am during 2 channel music listening. Having said that, none of the Atmos movies I’ve tried have given that wow factor either. I’m not even sure they’re adding anything, tbh, and I would like some ‘wow’ from that. For 2 channel I’m using Roon mostly, fed from my Mac mini into my Oppo and then balanced outputs to balanced in on the Marantz, and I’d like to keep that setup, only with the XMC-2 acting as a better analog pre amp than the 8802a. I have a better-than-average 2 channel amp, and Aerial 7T’s as my mains, that I know are capable of better imaging than I’m getting (but still sound great), and the room and pre amp are my prime suspects on what’s holding them back. I don’t expect the XMC-2 to rival a Pass or BAT pre amp, but a ‘boost’ would be nice:). And I would like to have the ‘wow’ moments during some of the movies I’ve read about but not experienced. I think you will be quite happy with the 2 channel performance of the XMC-2 versus the 8802a. To me that difference was huge and my system opened up so much more. Movies are a little closer to be honest, but my RMC-1 with the right Atmos movies is pretty damn legit. It’s the first time since I’ve been in this hobby that I have no desire to change anything in my theater room. |
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Post by tropicallutefisk on Sept 14, 2021 6:51:14 GMT -5
Fellow 8802a owner here. I'm enjoying hearing other people's experiences with the Emo pre pros. For me the pros to the Marantz are its ease of use of use and lack of glitches. Those two things keep my wife from revolting against the hobby. At least not revolting to the point of a full scale rebellion. As for the minuses, I totally agree with the original poster that for 2 channel its terrible. There is just no way around it. The two channel performance is weak and tinny. I purchased a separate pre amp to listen to two channel. As for TV and Movie SQ, I'd describe it as adequate. Nothing really bad, nothing really exciting either. When I need to change to something else, I'd really like to give an Emo pre pro a shot as long as it isn't so glitchy my wife can't use it. Luckily all I need is for it to work well with Roku streaming. That's all she uses it for. I'm the only one switching to two channel or to the Oppo player.
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Sept 14, 2021 7:20:21 GMT -5
Fellow 8802a owner here. I'm enjoying hearing other people's experiences with the Emo pre pros. For me the pros to the Marantz are its ease of use of use and lack of glitches. Those two things keep my wife from revolting against the hobby. At least not revolting to the point of a full scale rebellion. As for the minuses, I totally agree with the original poster that for 2 channel its terrible. There is just no way around it. The two channel performance is weak and tinny. I purchased a separate pre amp to listen to two channel. As for TV and Movie SQ, I'd describe it as adequate. Nothing really bad, nothing really exciting either. When I need to change to something else, I'd really like to give an Emo pre pro a shot as long as it isn't so glitchy my wife can't use it. Luckily all I need is for it to work well with Roku streaming. That's all she uses it for. I'm the only one switching to two channel or to the Oppo player. I have no complaints currently from my wife concerning my XMC-2 for several firmware releases. That being said, I usually recommend the Emo processors, and other higher end processors to audio/video philes as opposed to "the regular Joe" because they are more complicated and require a bit more knowledge to set up and operate. My wife knows to just turn on the unit, (it's in VRO), it comes on and she has her sound. Mine is set to turn on at a low volume level and all she has to do is raise volume and switch to the input she wants which in most cases is Apple TV 4K or Directv. I have it set to default to Directv. If she doesn't want to turn the XMC-2 on and is using Directv for instance, with VRO the sound will automatically come out of the TV. Pretty simple. |
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Sept 14, 2021 8:40:17 GMT -5
Sounds promising then. What’s VRO? Currently I use a Harmony Hub for remote duties, and the wife is fine with it, I would just have to reprogram all the Activities with the Emo instead of the Marantz, and take the time to learn/implement the Dirac instead of the Audyssey. I’m hoping that would also improve the results, which seems to be a no brainer given the opinions I’ve read of the 2 systems. I don’t mind taking the time initially to set everything up, but I do prefer set-n-forget as opposed to constantly messing with the system. I wouldn’t be giving it too much thought if the Marantz hadn’t started giving me HDMI issues, although it did start working again after a few days of not giving me any image through either HDMI output.
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Post by creimes on Sept 14, 2021 9:04:18 GMT -5
VRO - Video remains on
The XMC-2 will pass video through it when on low power state
Chad
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Sept 14, 2021 17:01:39 GMT -5
VRO - Video remains on The XMC-2 will pass video through it when on low power state Chad Ah, ok. The Roku, Firestick and DirecTV all plug into the processor as of now, so that wouldn’t be a factor for me. My old Panny doesn’t have Apps. I can see how using the tv as the hdmi switcher could be beneficial, though, given the issues I’ve read about. The tv will get upgraded at some point, obviously, maybe then I’ll source all the video apps at the tv. That’s a different discussion, though. For now I’m looking at the processor upgrade and commensurate SQ boost. It seems the XMC-2 is fairly stable now, after the early teething problems? |
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Nov 18, 2021 11:29:16 GMT -5
We’ll, I just ordered the XMC-2. I don’t need the upgraded DAC’s for the surround channels, so no need to go further up the line. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition…  |
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Sayer
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Post by Sayer on Nov 18, 2021 12:13:37 GMT -5
We’ll, I just ordered the XMC-2. I don’t need the upgraded DAC’s for the surround channels, so no need to go further up the line. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition… Congrats! Now you need to decide how you will spend your Emo bucks! |
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Nov 18, 2021 19:41:14 GMT -5
I won’t deny, that was a factor, but I also won’t deny that I’m going to wait out the trial period to be sure I’m happy with operation:). I just couldn’t get my mind around spending twice as much or more for the next level in processors. This has what I wanted in terms of connections and all indicators are it has the sound quality boost for my 2-channel listening over the Marantz. I just hope ease of use (once I’ve got it all set up and programmed with my Harmony) is at least close. Excited, and cautiously optimistic… |
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Sayer
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Post by Sayer on Nov 18, 2021 20:14:09 GMT -5
I have an XMC-2 on the way as well. Replacing a Yamaha AVR with it. Also use a Harmony, so we are on a similar path! |
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Post by creimes on Nov 18, 2021 20:43:53 GMT -5
I won’t deny, that was a factor, but I also won’t deny that I’m going to wait out the trial period to be sure I’m happy with operation:). I just couldn’t get my mind around spending twice as much or more for the next level in processors. This has what I wanted in terms of connections and all indicators are it has the sound quality boost for my 2-channel listening over the Marantz. I just hope ease of use (once I’ve got it all set up and programmed with my Harmony) is at least close. Excited, and cautiously optimistic… I owned a Marantz AV7702, Sherbourn PT7020C4 and XMC-1 at the same time and the Marantz was inferior in 2ch SQ so hoping you have the same experience as I have had, the Emotiva X series processors are IMO really good for 2ch use. Cheers, Chad |
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Nov 19, 2021 8:17:05 GMT -5
I have an XMC-2 on the way as well. Replacing a Yamaha AVR with it. Also use a Harmony, so we are on a similar path! No issues with my XMC-2 and my Harmony One. |
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Nov 19, 2021 9:06:02 GMT -5
I won’t deny, that was a factor, but I also won’t deny that I’m going to wait out the trial period to be sure I’m happy with operation:). I just couldn’t get my mind around spending twice as much or more for the next level in processors. This has what I wanted in terms of connections and all indicators are it has the sound quality boost for my 2-channel listening over the Marantz. I just hope ease of use (once I’ve got it all set up and programmed with my Harmony) is at least close. Excited, and cautiously optimistic… I owned a Marantz AV7702, Sherbourn PT7020C4 and XMC-1 at the same time and the Marantz was inferior in 2ch SQ so hoping you have the same experience as I have had, the Emotiva X series processors are IMO really good for 2ch use. Cheers, Chad The consensus seems to be its 2-channel sound quality is never a question. I’ve toyed with the idea of adding a higher end 2-channel preamp w/ ht bypass, but the Marantz stopped passing video to the tv, and work arounds don’t seem to work, so I’m scratching the upgradeitis itch with this XMC-2 instead. We’re planning a move in the next few years, and I’ll have a 2-channel room separate from the family room with all the movie stuff, so I’ll get a pre amp then. No ideas yet on when it’s going to ship, but it showed ‘in stock’…. |
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Post by creimes on Nov 19, 2021 9:45:32 GMT -5
I owned a Marantz AV7702, Sherbourn PT7020C4 and XMC-1 at the same time and the Marantz was inferior in 2ch SQ so hoping you have the same experience as I have had, the Emotiva X series processors are IMO really good for 2ch use. Cheers, Chad The consensus seems to be its 2-channel sound quality is never a question. I’ve toyed with the idea of adding a higher end 2-channel preamp w/ ht bypass, but the Marantz stopped passing video to the tv, and work arounds don’t seem to work, so I’m scratching the upgradeitis itch with this XMC-2 instead. We’re planning a move in the next few years, and I’ll have a 2-channel room separate from the family room with all the movie stuff, so I’ll get a pre amp then. No ideas yet on when it’s going to ship, but it showed ‘in stock’…. My hopes are to one day have a separate 2ch room but the cost that goes along with that it's highly unlikely haha, bigger house and more gear and the space needed and I have 2 young kids who need their own rooms. It does seem the newer gen processors don't work as smooth as the XMC-1 but also some have had issues with it whereas I have owned three XMC-1's over the years and have all been rock solid for me, the newer 4K HDMI standards seem to be more problematic for sure. Chad |
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Post by foggy1956 on Nov 19, 2021 12:27:59 GMT -5
I have an XMC-2 on the way as well. Replacing a Yamaha AVR with it. Also use a Harmony, so we are on a similar path! No issues with my XMC-2 and my Harmony One. Same here |
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pzzr
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Post by pzzr on Nov 19, 2021 13:43:40 GMT -5
I had to look mine up, it’s the Harmony Uitimate.
(Tapping my foot for an email saying it’s shipped….)
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