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Emotiva XMC-2 Review (AV Processor)

HammerSandwich

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That would depend on the reason they are out of sync. If it is constant delay then you can adjust it in the menu. But from what I can tell, the delay is variable and depends on frequency. This points to one channel processing data N samples before the other.
N samples divided by the sample rate equals a constant amount of time, right?
 

dsnyder0cnn

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I'm so glad I jumped out of the Emotiva wagon 3 years ago when I sold my XMC-1 for good and refused to upgrade to the XMC-2 for $600. I owned the XMC-1 for 2 years and those 2 years were the most frustrating (audio and video wise) years of my life. A new firmware almost every 2 weeks to fix the unfixable. That thing got broken for good from the day I put the new 4K HDMI Board inside. Emotiva processors for me never again!!!
Yeah. You dodged a bullet with that decision. Most days I regret my decision to trade my XMC-1 (and $1.6k) for an RMC-1L. While it does sound better than I recall my XMC-1 sounding, it is flakey. If I switch inputs or pause a movie for more than a few minutes, video refuses to sync, frequently requiring a power-cycle to get things back. It's so irritating that we rarely use our home theater since the RMC-1L arrived. And, it's not like I have anything unusual connected to it: 4k LG 65" TV, Amazon FireTV, Nvidia Shield TV Pro, and a Kaby Lake Intel NUC. All standard stuff, and all using Blue Jeans certified BJC Series-FE HDMI cables.

Another note on the RMC-1L, my unit arrived with the left and right channels of the headphone jack wired out of phase. It took several tries for me to convince their support people that this was a real problem. Ultimately, Emotiva sent me a replacement ribbon cable with two of the leads crossed and some instructions on how to take the unit apart so that I can repair it myself. This, for a $4k unit??! That's pretty poor customer service. Plus, what other "high-performance" audio components use a ribbon cable internally for analog outputs like a headphone jack??

Unrelated, when my Emotiva XSP-1 analog preamp mysteriously died after a power outage, Emotiva wanted $300 plus shipping to fix it. I only paid $799 for it new during one of their sales…if I had it repaired, I doubt I could sell it for enough to cover the costs. So, I asked them if they would provide a return shipping label so that I could send it to them for spare parts (saving me the recycling fees). They said they were not interested, which tells me everything I need to know about what they think of the quality of their own gear.

Like you, I'll never buy from Emotiva again. I don't even think their amps are that great. Their service is terrible. Perhaps they were decent value for the money years ago, but I don't understand why they still exist today.
 

sarumbear

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Another note on the RMC-1L, my unit arrived with the left and right channels of the headphone jack wired out of phase. It took several tries for me to convince their support people that this was a real problem. Ultimately, Emotiva sent me a replacement ribbon cable with two of the leads crossed and some instructions on how to take the unit apart so that I can repair it myself. This, for a $4k unit??! That's pretty poor customer service.
This is beyond believe horrible design, manufacture and quality control!
 

Dj7675

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A couple of years ago when I was going to replace my receiver I thought getting an XMC-2 but there were no specs and no measurements. There were specs and some reviews on the XMC-1. Emotiva had a very good upgrade incentive on the XMC-2 so I had located a used XMC-1 and sent it to Amir to review. I ended up deciding to sell the XMC-1 instead of upgrading to the XMC-2... I had several messages from Emotiva that they would be listing meaningful specs “soon” to the XMC-2 but they never did. With Emotiva’s lack of reliability, no DLBC, etc it just seems as though other alternatives make a better choice now... HTP-1, 2021/22 Onkyo/Pioneer Receivers, Storm Audio MK I/II or Trinnov Altitude depending on what you want or want to spend.
 

GimeDsp

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3 grand for crap. Nuff said.
EDIT- I realize this is touchy review.
Many people believe Emotiva is a good company and are happy.
many people own Emotiva and are unhappy.

I think the issues speak for themselves.

Regarding video issue
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-3kVbE2rkPw1/learn/what-you-need-to-know-about-hdcp-2-2.html#:~:text=The big difference,no 4K picture.

It seems the only logical explanation is if Amir's monitor is 4k, his source is 4k and one or the other is 4k non-hdcp2.2.
interesting to get the details.

Hopefully Amir will chime in about his monitor/source details.
 
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amirm

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@amirm What version of firmware was used for the review?

As seen with the RMC-1, performance increased significantly after updating the firmware to version 1.9.
For a fair review of the XMC-2, you should use firmware version 2.2
I looked and there are a bunch of firmware numbers for all the sub components. If I am reading it right, there is one that says "Firmware Version" and it says 2.3. I looked and this was released on June of this year.

I am packing the unit folks and going on to other tests....
 

poopy

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I looked and there are a bunch of firmware numbers for all the sub components. If I am reading it right, there is one that says "Firmware Version" and it says 2.3. I looked and this was released on June of this year.

I am packing the unit folks and going on to other tests....

That’s the most recent firmware, indeed. Thanks for checking.
 

sarumbear

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I had several messages from Emotiva that they would be listing meaningful specs “soon” to the XMC-2 but they never did.
How long ago were those promises?
 

sam_adams

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I am packing the unit folks and going on to other tests....

Probably for the best. They know how to reach you if they have issues with your findings. Would be nice if they did contact you to have some discussion.
 

enricoclaudio

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Yeah. You dodged a bullet with that decision. Most days I regret my decision to trade my XMC-1 (and $1.6k) for an RMC-1L. While it does sound better than I recall my XMC-1 sounding, it is flakey. If I switch inputs or pause a movie for more than a few minutes, video refuses to sync, frequently requiring a power-cycle to get things back. It's so irritating that we rarely use our home theater since the RMC-1L arrived. And, it's not like I have anything unusual connected to it: 4k LG 65" TV, Amazon FireTV, Nvidia Shield TV Pro, and a Kaby Lake Intel NUC. All standard stuff, and all using Blue Jeans certified BJC Series-FE HDMI cables.

Another note on the RMC-1L, my unit arrived with the left and right channels of the headphone jack wired out of phase. It took several tries for me to convince their support people that this was a real problem. Ultimately, Emotiva sent me a replacement ribbon cable with two of the leads crossed and some instructions on how to take the unit apart so that I can repair it myself. This, for a $4k unit??! That's pretty poor customer service. Plus, what other "high-performance" audio components use a ribbon cable internally for analog outputs like a headphone jack??

Unrelated, when my Emotiva XSP-1 analog preamp mysteriously died after a power outage, Emotiva wanted $300 plus shipping to fix it. I only paid $799 for it new during one of their sales…if I had it repaired, I doubt I could sell it for enough to cover the costs. So, I asked them if they would provide a return shipping label so that I could send it to them for spare parts (saving me the recycling fees). They said they were not interested, which tells me everything I need to know about what they think of the quality of their own gear.

Like you, I'll never buy from Emotiva again. I don't even think their amps are that great. Their service is terrible. Perhaps they were decent value for the money years ago, but I don't understand why they still exist today.

To be fair, their amps from Gen 1 and Gen 2 are still in my rack performing like day one. I also got a few of the new BasX A series amps and they sound good enough to me so I can use my Denon X6500H a a pre amp. Same for my X6700H which is setup as pre amp with Emotiva XPA Gen 1 and Gen 2 amps. My XPA-3 Gen 1 is already 12 years old and still functioning like day one. However, regarding processors and the Gen 3 amps, Emotiva lost me as a customer.
 

sarumbear

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September... 2019
Thank you. They still have no specs, two years later. How else can we interpret their actions other than they knew how bad the specs are and they want to hide them?
 

Koeitje

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In a perfect world, everything would work all the time. Nothing would ever break or wear out. Every device would have perfect specs. There would be no need for ASR. We would all be writing poetry at high altitude.

However, the current state of affairs brings us to the reality that devices seem to ship before they are ready. They are full of bugs. Their performance lacks. Companies seem to have taken the Captain Kirk attitude of, "Test it in combat!" They are all too willing to trade consumer goodwill tomorrow for profit today.

If you guys think this device is unacceptable because of its performance from a small company like Emotiva—and I'm not defending them—it's a good thing that you didn't buy a Sony X900H, you'd be apoplectic by now.
Is that about that Sony not supporting the full HDMI 2.1 spec? But yeah, I buy products based on the performance they have in the here and now, and not based on whatever promises a manufacturer makes.

The thing is, silly bugs I can forgive. Modern home cinema electronics are complex and can have issues, but if they already fail at the simplest tasks then its clear to me these products have not been tested at all.
 

sarumbear

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Modern home cinema electronics are complex and can have issues, but if they already fail at the simplest tasks then its clear to me these products have not been tested at all.
Like the out of phase headphone output :facepalm:
 

RichB

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I looked and there are a bunch of firmware numbers for all the sub components. If I am reading it right, there is one that says "Firmware Version" and it says 2.3. I looked and this was released on June of this year.

I am packing the unit folks and going on to other tests....

That is the latest main firmware so it appears that the measurement issues are not yet corrected in firmware.
This is a testament to the need to measure products and not just assume they perform.

It is also important to know the performance for the center channel, as well as the mains, with basic DSP processing engaged.

- Rich
 
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