dolby
Minor Hero
Posts: 62 
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Post by dolby on Dec 14, 2021 11:53:35 GMT -5
Has anyone ever gone this route and - if so - what was the first impressions then ? I've read reviews and (tried) to skim the first impressions thread - but curious about what owners of the other two Emotiva's say with regards to sound quality and reliability ? The reason I ask is that that 9 months ago I had a set of twins - and my UMC-200 broke at the same time  With the twins, there was no money to actually buy another unit and I've been watching TV sound ever since. Now, a new & sealed MC-700 unit has come up for sale (old stock?) at $415.00 (new price was $1,230.00). If I can do without Atmos and just really need a working processor, is this decent at 1/3 the new price ? Also bearing in mind the Emotiva warranties are pretty useless here, so it'll essentially have no support. |
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Post by Percussionista on Dec 14, 2021 13:23:26 GMT -5
You're probably going to get replies all over the map with this - some people hated all of these and some had either no or few problems.
I still have all three, in theory all still working, but have upgraded to the XMC-2 which is something else! I found all of the previous you mentioned to work fine enough. Each had their own idiosyncrasies but not everybody noticed or cared, depended somewhat on the feature set you used, etc. I can't make any kind of comparison one to the other regarding sound, I have never attempted to do a literal comparison.
Re the MC-700 specifically, I bought it to handle 4K. It handles this on three of its six inputs. I found that "feature" a bit confusing at first (read the documentation carefully), but once things were set-up it was fine. Whatever hiccups I may have run into, as in previous units, was solvable.
In each case I upgraded for features not because of issues with the units.
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Post by rbk123 on Dec 14, 2021 13:40:34 GMT -5
I went UMC-1 -> MC-700; unit was similarly problematic but with good cables the issues pretty much went away. Sonically the MC is probably a little better with newer processing chips.
Your decision should be around the current 4K which the MC doesn't support so it depends if that's an issue for you or not. If it is, I'd think a used/refurbished Yamaha/Onkyo/Denon receiver with pre-outs would be the route for you to go.
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Post by Percussionista on Dec 14, 2021 13:44:32 GMT -5
... Your decision should be around the current 4K which the MC doesn't support so it depends if that's an issue for you or not.... I am curious as to what this refers to. When I bought my 700 in early 2017, I used it with my (then only) 4k TV, a Sony 43" model that I used as my PC monitor (and still do). I figured I could get used to it and give it a run through while waiting some day to get a 4k TV for the main room. So, what in the current 4K TV's today is not handled by the MC-700? |
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 9,945
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Post by KeithL on Dec 14, 2021 14:48:27 GMT -5
Unfortunately the HDMI standard is very complex, includes both required and optional modes, and continues to evolve over time.
The MC-700 WILL do 4k 30 Hz HDR. The MC-700 will NOT do 4k 60 Hz. The MC-700 will NOT do Dolby Vision. ... Your decision should be around the current 4K which the MC doesn't support so it depends if that's an issue for you or not.... I am curious as to what this refers to. When I bought my 700 in early 2017, I used it with my (then only) 4k TV, a Sony 43" model that I used as my PC monitor (and still do). I figured I could get used to it and give it a run through while waiting some day to get a 4k TV for the main room. So, what in the current 4K TV's today is not handled by the MC-700? |
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Post by Percussionista on Dec 14, 2021 16:17:51 GMT -5
Ok... so... As TV shows and movies are mostly shot at 24fps, that shouldn't be a problem. I was using my 700 with a 2018 Sony 75" 4K TV with no problem (and before that a slightly older 43" Sony). Switched to the XMC-2 this summer.
Gamers, who want high frame rates, especially 60fps or higher won't be able to achieve that via the MC-700, though one can certainly connect the game source (PC etc.) directly to the TV. Audio might either be connected directly to the 700, or passed back from the TV on its (usually toslink) audio out.
Dolby vision... as long as the extra info is ignored, the picture will be fine, just not have the extra dynamic range, assuming of course your TV could process the Dolby Vision in the first place. Unfortunately the HDMI standard is very complex, includes both required and optional modes, and continues to evolve over time.
The MC-700 WILL do 4k 30 Hz HDR. The MC-700 will NOT do 4k 60 Hz. The MC-700 will NOT do Dolby Vision. ... |
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Post by sirphatsalot on Dec 15, 2021 15:25:07 GMT -5
Unfortunately the HDMI standard is very complex, includes both required and optional modes, and continues to evolve over time.
The MC-700 WILL do 4k 30 Hz HDR. The MC-700 will NOT do 4k 60 Hz. The MC-700 will NOT do Dolby Vision. I am curious as to what this refers to. When I bought my 700 in early 2017, I used it with my (then only) 4k TV, a Sony 43" model that I used as my PC monitor (and still do). I figured I could get used to it and give it a run through while waiting some day to get a 4k TV for the main room. So, what in the current 4K TV's today is not handled by the MC-700? Hmm. I get 4k 60 Hz HDR no problem with the MC-700 on inputs 1-3. The Nvidia Shield, Xbox series X, and PS5 all output it. 4K 12 bit 4.2.0 60Hz HDR (On the PS5 And Xbox, 4.2.2 causes the screen to flash and 4.4.4 isn't supported at all at this resolution and framerate). I can't confirm Dolby Vision though because it's a projector setup which doesn't support DV. |
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With the twins, there was no money to actually buy another unit and I've been watching TV sound ever since. Now, a new & sealed MC-700 unit has come up for sale (old stock?) at $415.00 (new price was $1,230.00). If I can do without Atmos and just really need a working processor, is this decent at 1/3 the new price ? Also bearing in mind the Emotiva warranties are pretty useless here, so it'll essentially have no support.
