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Post by msimanyi on Apr 23, 2024 10:09:45 GMT -5
You're thinking well!
Balanced connections are great for electrically noisy environments... and noise is compounded by long runs.
If it sounds good now, it's going to be fine with RCA connections on your new processor.
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Lsc
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Post by Lsc on Apr 24, 2024 10:20:45 GMT -5
Depending on your speakers, I'd say yes. XPA offers more power, and with more power you get more control over your speakers. Best is to try it out. Thanks for the reply. I understand the aspects of better dynamics, headroom, etc... what I did not understand is a balanced vs unbalanced connection. I should have been clearer on that. I didn't want to miss out on any functionality by having the wrong equipment and I see that would not be the case. After a little bit of research, I see that a balanced connection (in a nutshell) is better for long cable runs which I do not have. I think I'll stay with the BASX for now. I got the XMC-2 hooked up yesterday and did a few quick test runs and it sounded great so far. Balanced connection is better for long runs but also the amps that are fully differential balanced also take advantage of the XMC-2. I have the ATI6000 and ATI4000 that are fully differential balanced but Emotiva also has the XPA DR amps. Something to think about down the line. The BASX amps I'm sure will serve you well. This is from the XPA DR-3: The Benefits Of A Fully Differential Balanced Power Amplifier Most experts agree that, if you want the absolute best sound quality and technical performance, you should use dedicated separate components. Because our power amplifiers are designed for a single purpose, we can concentrate on ensuring that they perform that one task very well, and avoid the compromises inherent in products that are expected to perform a variety of different functions. The Differential Reference Modules in the XPA-DR3 are each made up of a perfectly symmetrical balanced pair of high-performance amplifier modules. Each individual amplifier module already has vanishingly low distortion but, by connecting them as a balanced differential pair, a significant portion of the tiny amount of remaining nonlinearity is cancelled out. As a result, we are able to achieve even lower levels of distortion in the XPA-DR3, resulting in remarkably transparent sound, with unprecedented smoothness and clarity.
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richb
Sensei
Oppo Beta Group - Audioholics Reviewer
Posts: 860
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Post by richb on Apr 24, 2024 11:52:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply. I understand the aspects of better dynamics, headroom, etc... what I did not understand is a balanced vs unbalanced connection. I should have been clearer on that. I didn't want to miss out on any functionality by having the wrong equipment and I see that would not be the case. After a little bit of research, I see that a balanced connection (in a nutshell) is better for long cable runs which I do not have. I think I'll stay with the BASX for now. I got the XMC-2 hooked up yesterday and did a few quick test runs and it sounded great so far. Balanced connection is better for long runs but also the amps that are fully differential balanced also take advantage of the XMC-2. I have the ATI6000 and ATI4000 that are fully differential balanced but Emotiva also has the XPA DR amps. Something to think about down the line. The BASX amps I'm sure will serve you well. This is from the XPA DR-3: The Benefits Of A Fully Differential Balanced Power Amplifier Most experts agree that, if you want the absolute best sound quality and technical performance, you should use dedicated separate components. Because our power amplifiers are designed for a single purpose, we can concentrate on ensuring that they perform that one task very well, and avoid the compromises inherent in products that are expected to perform a variety of different functions. The Differential Reference Modules in the XPA-DR3 are each made up of a perfectly symmetrical balanced pair of high-performance amplifier modules. Each individual amplifier module already has vanishingly low distortion but, by connecting them as a balanced differential pair, a significant portion of the tiny amount of remaining nonlinearity is cancelled out. As a result, we are able to achieve even lower levels of distortion in the XPA-DR3, resulting in remarkably transparent sound, with unprecedented smoothness and clarity. When I had my Parasound (not balanced) amps, I was able to reduce hum at the speakers using balanced cables, even though the amps measured better using the unbalanced inputs. Since my gear is in a credenza, cable entanglement is unavoidable. - Rich
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Post by markc on Apr 25, 2024 6:37:30 GMT -5
Therefore, since one of our goals is to maintain a reasonable price, that our customers can actually afford, that does limit what we can spend on each of our priorities... And, since we all come from audio backgrounds, we generally choose to put sound quality at the top of that priority list.. With respect, functionality and audiophile sound quality are not unrelated: I don't approve of your budget decisions that allow me get the signature high end audiophile Emotiva sound to include an audiophile reproduction of all that you route to that audiophile stage including digital warble, incorrect channels mixed to incorrect speakers randomly, incorrect bass management, volume shifts from day to day. (For the latter, I refer to the same bitstreamed audio Dolby stream that can be decoded at different times to have 5-10dB of volume difference from one day to another depending on how my XMC-2 is feeling today)
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Post by octavarium on Apr 25, 2024 10:54:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply. I understand the aspects of better dynamics, headroom, etc... what I did not understand is a balanced vs unbalanced connection. I should have been clearer on that. I didn't want to miss out on any functionality by having the wrong equipment and I see that would not be the case. After a little bit of research, I see that a balanced connection (in a nutshell) is better for long cable runs which I do not have. I think I'll stay with the BASX for now. I got the XMC-2 hooked up yesterday and did a few quick test runs and it sounded great so far. Great info, thank you. I've been reading up on these amps and I think if I listened to more 2 channel audio, I would go this route. So far so good with the BASX amps... Balanced connection is better for long runs but also the amps that are fully differential balanced also take advantage of the XMC-2. I have the ATI6000 and ATI4000 that are fully differential balanced but Emotiva also has the XPA DR amps. Something to think about down the line. The BASX amps I'm sure will serve you well. This is from the XPA DR-3: The Benefits Of A Fully Differential Balanced Power Amplifier Most experts agree that, if you want the absolute best sound quality and technical performance, you should use dedicated separate components. Because our power amplifiers are designed for a single purpose, we can concentrate on ensuring that they perform that one task very well, and avoid the compromises inherent in products that are expected to perform a variety of different functions. The Differential Reference Modules in the XPA-DR3 are each made up of a perfectly symmetrical balanced pair of high-performance amplifier modules. Each individual amplifier module already has vanishingly low distortion but, by connecting them as a balanced differential pair, a significant portion of the tiny amount of remaining nonlinearity is cancelled out. As a result, we are able to achieve even lower levels of distortion in the XPA-DR3, resulting in remarkably transparent sound, with unprecedented smoothness and clarity.
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Post by aliensound on Apr 25, 2024 12:45:37 GMT -5
Therefore, since one of our goals is to maintain a reasonable price, that our customers can actually afford, that does limit what we can spend on each of our priorities... And, since we all come from audio backgrounds, we generally choose to put sound quality at the top of that priority list.. With respect, functionality and audiophile sound quality are not unrelated: I don't approve of your budget decisions that allow me get the signature high end audiophile Emotiva sound to include a representation of all that you route to that audiophile stage including digital warble, incorrect channels mixed to incorrect speakers randomly, incorrect bass management, volume shifts from day to day (The same bitstreamed audio Dolby stream can be decoded at different times to have 5-10dB of volume difference from one day to another depending on how my XMC-2 is feeling today) I have had the same issues as well with my XMC-2 using firmware 3.2. Still waiting for the updated/fixes fw to be released. I use my XMC-2 everyday so I notice any change from the last time. I believe it helps or is needed to use it everyday to even discover the sometimes small changes.
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Post by aswiss on Apr 27, 2024 4:38:48 GMT -5
Today it's official - my RMC-1 works now 5 years (and is out of warranty now).
I really hope, the + models will show up soon.
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Post by foggy1956 on Apr 27, 2024 6:17:27 GMT -5
Aren't we about due for a podcast with a working G4 prototype?
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Post by sebna on Apr 27, 2024 14:31:51 GMT -5
Aren't we about due for a podcast with a working G4 prototype? That would be nice, would not it?
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Post by davidl81 on Apr 27, 2024 17:42:02 GMT -5
Aren't we about due for a podcast with a working G4 prototype? That would be nice, would not it? I’ve said this for the last year plus, best case the G4 goes on sale Q3 to Q4 2024, really starting to look more and more like Q4.
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Post by sebna on Apr 28, 2024 13:41:11 GMT -5
TBH with first good opportunity I will jump ships to AVM90 or AV10, whichever comes first at better price 2nd hand. Just to see if the grass is greener on the other side Well, for sure it is reliability wise, but we all know that. But I am curious about SQ
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Post by thxultra on Apr 29, 2024 8:00:46 GMT -5
TBH with first good opportunity I will jump ships to AVM90 or AV10, whichever comes first at better price 2nd hand. Just to see if the grass is greener on the other side Well, for sure it is reliability wise, but we all know that. But I am curious about SQ I would like to hear both of these as well. Both test really good. The AV10 test show a big improvement over the 8805. Really wish Emotiva would fix these issues. Had to do a power cycle this weekend because I had a 5.1 source that it detected as 2.0 so I was missing the dialogue of my show. Pretty big effect on sound quality if you ask me.
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Lsc
Emo VIPs
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Post by Lsc on Apr 29, 2024 9:31:50 GMT -5
That would be nice, would not it? I’ve said this for the last year plus, best case the G4 goes on sale Q3 to Q4 2024, really starting to look more and more like Q4. Well it’s still not June 2024 yet. But it does on the surface seem like this is a low priority release so they may not have a lot of resources tied up to get this done….who knows and imho who cares.
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Post by foggy1956 on Apr 29, 2024 11:19:20 GMT -5
I’ve said this for the last year plus, best case the G4 goes on sale Q3 to Q4 2024, really starting to look more and more like Q4. Well it’s still not June 2024 yet. But it does on the surface seem like this is a low priority release so they may not have a lot of resources tied up to get this done….who knows and imho who cares. Those hoping for DLBC care 😎
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Lsc
Emo VIPs
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Post by Lsc on Apr 29, 2024 18:23:02 GMT -5
Well it’s still not June 2024 yet. But it does on the surface seem like this is a low priority release so they may not have a lot of resources tied up to get this done….who knows and imho who cares. Those hoping for DLBC care 😎 I plan getting a hdmi 2.1 tv this Black Friday (most likely the LG 77G4) so it would be nice to have the xmc2+ before then but I’m losing hope for DLBC. The normal pattern would be “we have engaged with Dirac and DLBC will be coming soon” 🔜 = 2-3 years 😬. But so far we haven’t heard a peep…we shall see.
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Post by thezone on Apr 29, 2024 19:14:27 GMT -5
TBH with first good opportunity I will jump ships to AVM90 or AV10, whichever comes first at better price 2nd hand. Just to see if the grass is greener on the other side Well, for sure it is reliability wise, but we all know that. But I am curious about SQ I would like to hear both of these as well. Both test really good. The AV10 test show a big improvement over the 8805. Really wish Emotiva would fix these issues. Had to do a power cycle this weekend because I had a 5.1 source that it detected as 2.0 so I was missing the dialogue of my show. Pretty big effect on sound quality if you ask me. Sorry but the grass is definitely greener on the other side and lush and tasty and................... I sold my XMC-2 and bought a Marantz Cinema 30 and it is FAR superior to the XMC-2 in everyway imaginable. It sounds, better in pure pre-amp mode even with only using un-balanced connections, it has better atmos separation and steering, its more flexible, is has a better GUI, better phone app, can stream music directly to it without even turning on the TV, it can control the subs beautifully with its distribution mode, and this is all out of the box, no room correction applied at all. Oh but if I wanted to I could just get Dirac in all its iterations. Did I mention there's no static noise coming from random speakers that no one knows how to fix? No HDMI switching issues, no audio dropouts, and nothing that requires a full system reboot, and if it did, it would only take like 10 seconds to do a full reboot. Best money I ever spent.
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Post by foggy1956 on Apr 29, 2024 19:35:06 GMT -5
Those hoping for DLBC care 😎 I plan getting a hdmi 2.1 tv this Black Friday (most likely the LG 77G4) so it would be nice to have the xmc2+ before then but I’m losing hope for DLBC. The normal pattern would be “we have engaged with Dirac and DLBC will be coming soon” 🔜 = 2-3 years 😬. But so far we haven’t heard a peep…we shall see. If I remember correctly, Keith said the hooks were in place for DLBC but I am not confident that it will make it.
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Post by markc on Apr 30, 2024 3:48:52 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, Keith said the hooks were in place for DLBC but I am not confident that it will make it. For all of our sakes, including those that are yearning for it in their pipe dreams, I very much hope that Emotiva DO NOT try and implement DLBC, or even Dirac Live in the initial iteration. They clearly need to keep it simple, having failed to implement basic surround sound processing in the G3P. As they have limited resources to implement both functionality and audio quality and processing, we should only ask for basic functions. No amount of fancy audiophile quality fully differential balanced single DAC per channel blah blah blah or post processing room correction in Dirac basic or Bass Control can EVER compensate for the type of performance we experience and have to tolerate in the G3P: Random and unexplained and unfixed incorrect channel steering, random unexplained and unfixed static warbling noises require reboots, incorrect bass management, variable volume decoding/presentation of a bitstream, audio lock-on issues, surround mode lock-on issues et etc
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Post by thxultra on Apr 30, 2024 10:12:36 GMT -5
I would like to hear both of these as well. Both test really good. The AV10 test show a big improvement over the 8805. Really wish Emotiva would fix these issues. Had to do a power cycle this weekend because I had a 5.1 source that it detected as 2.0 so I was missing the dialogue of my show. Pretty big effect on sound quality if you ask me. Sorry but the grass is definitely greener on the other side and lush and tasty and................... I sold my XMC-2 and bought a Marantz Cinema 30 and it is FAR superior to the XMC-2 in everyway imaginable. It sounds, better in pure pre-amp mode even with only using un-balanced connections, it has better atmos separation and steering, its more flexible, is has a better GUI, better phone app, can stream music directly to it without even turning on the TV, it can control the subs beautifully with its distribution mode, and this is all out of the box, no room correction applied at all. Oh but if I wanted to I could just get Dirac in all its iterations. Did I mention there's no static noise coming from random speakers that no one knows how to fix? No HDMI switching issues, no audio dropouts, and nothing that requires a full system reboot, and if it did, it would only take like 10 seconds to do a full reboot. Best money I ever spent. Using a cinema 30 as a preamp is a great idea. Didn't think about that. Would be interesting to hear one against a Anthem AVM70. See some pretty good deals on the Cinima 30. AVM10 is still pretty pricey. Been watching for deals on those. These issues with the XMC-2 are really frustrating and the "sound quality justifies them" excuse isn't helping.
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Post by lavocat on Apr 30, 2024 16:03:41 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, Keith said the hooks were in place for DLBC but I am not confident that it will make it. For all of our sakes, including those that are yearning for it in their pipe dreams, I very much hope that Emotiva DO NOT try and implement DLBC, or even Dirac Live in the initial iteration. They clearly need to keep it simple, having failed to implement basic surround sound processing in the G3P. As they have limited resources to implement both functionality and audio quality and processing, we should only ask for basic functions. No amount of fancy audiophile quality fully differential balanced single DAC per channel blah blah blah or post processing room correction in Dirac basic or Bass Control can EVER compensate for the type of performance we experience and have to tolerate in the G3P: Random and unexplained and unfixed incorrect channel steering, random unexplained and unfixed static warbling noises require reboots, incorrect bass management, variable volume decoding/presentation of a bitstream, audio lock-on issues, surround mode lock-on issues et etc What? No Dirac Live ? Why?? It now runs very very well and the overall sound result in the room is just amazing! Please! Stop your nonsense
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