Emotiva RMC-1 AV Processor Review

[AudiophhileInTraining]

Thanks for your reply. I'm very happy with Dirac live 3 running on a PC (nuc) in the stereo part of my setup, but I want to migrate surround to Dirac as well. It's still a very expensive processor for me, and I think even more so because I'm in Europe.

The dirac levels being lower is normal. There has to be headroom for every db of gain the curve needs to correct your audio or you'd be clipping.

Do you use CEC and what is your experience? Thx

Hi! Yes, I use CEC for control and it's been pretty easy. If I turn the TV on it will turn on the RMC-1, and I have amps connected to the 12v triggers, and so that subsequently turns on the amps. Very easy is that turning in or off the TV will do the same for the entire system. The Apple TV remote volume and the TV remote volume both control the RMC's volume which makes it easy.

For the user who gave Emotiva a hard time for the raspberry pi usage, I think you're overreacting just a touch. You can plug the raspberry pi in anywhere on your network (I presume you're connecting the Emotiva to your network -- phone app, etc) and you're done. You can unplug it after if you want (which I did -- I'm putting the large UMIC microphone somewhere safe too). Maybe I'll change my tune as I play with some different Amps and test speakers before installing in-wall, but I doubt i'll mind.

If/when you do the DIRAC setup, just make sure to reset to zero any manual Speaker Level adjustments you made previously. Dirac's settings won't use them in the Dirac filter setup, but they will still be engaged after setup when you go to watch TV... I liked this b/c it is easy to adjust up the level on my sub for movies and still have room calibration. Also made it easy to play with an amp's gain setting to reduce some static on my height speakers immediately and allow me to recalibrate the DIRAC setup at a later date.

 

[AudiophhileInTraining]

WAIT A MINUTE...

Does Emotiva's "Dirac Interface Kit" really contain a Raspberry Pi??? And it requires a hard wired network connection? Is this a joke? I think I'll pass...

Martin

Do you work for Arcam, or Marantz?

That aside, would love to hear an expert discuss views on evaluating the systems before vs after Dirac correction -- does the correction improve Sinad? Agree you want better Sinad as a baseline, I'm just curious how much the software can compensate for hardware shortcomings (not just room acoustics, speaker position/size, amp choice etc)

 

[rhollan]

I am glad to see that Emotiva got to the bottom of the poor performance issue, and any friction between them and Amir appears to have subsided. I have been looking for an Atmos pre/pro with SINAD figures around 100 dB and Dirac Live. I have considered both the Emotiva RMC-1L and Monoprice HTP-1, with a slight preference for the latter's eARC support, though this is not a major issue to overcome (its anemic output, however, is).

To date, I've been going from 7.1 LPCM over HDMI through a nanoAVR for bass management and a nanoAVR-DL for Dirac Live room correction, and subsequent conversion to SDI and 4x 2 channel AES/EBU extraction to the DAC of my choice. Granted, the SINAD figures are not all that impressive but an Okto DAC8 Pro would fix that at modest cost. Of course, no Atmos or sample rates greater than 48 kHz. But whatever SINAD I can buy in terms of DAC and amps.

I would LOVE to see a 7.1 straight through module on the RMC-1 just switched, not even volume control (or an optional processed path, though I see little reason for it) that would not significantly degrade a 110 or 115 dB SINAD signal for people like me. (Balanced, pleaseeeee.)

If this seems like a unicorn, consider that it would mate perfectly with an Oppo 105 or 205 player.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I gave up on Emotiva. Switched to Anthem. Emotiva does something odd with its site. Otherwise, one would see massive problems with XPR series. Instead, they quietly discontinued the albatross and left owners holding the bag. I use the XPR 5 as a paper weight.

 

[MusicNBeer]

I gave up on Emotiva. Switched to Anthem. Emotiva does something odd with its site. Otherwise, one would see massive problems with XPR series. Instead, they quietly discontinued the albatross and left owners holding the bag. I use the XPR 5 as a paper weight.

I agree I'm completely done with them too. They run a dubious operation with regard to supporting customers ethically.

 

[rhollan]

I gave up on Emotiva. Switched to Anthem. Emotiva does something odd with its site. Otherwise, one would see massive problems with XPR series. Instead, they quietly discontinued the albatross and left owners holding the bag. I use the XPR 5 as a paper weight.

What was wrong with them? (Perhaps a separate thread).

 

[ryanstroeder]

I agree I'm completely done with them too. They run a dubious operation with regard to supporting customers ethically.

Yes please elaborate

 

[MusicNBeer]

Yes please elaborate

Well for one, they don't do any out of warranty service on their XPR amps. They give the middle finger to those customers that need those amps repaired. So basically, it's throw away gear, 100 lbs of electronics to the landfill.

 

[ryanstroeder]

Well for one, they don't do any out of warranty service on their XPR amps. They give the middle finger to those customers that need those amps repaired. So basically, it's throw away gear, 100 lbs of electronics to the landfill.

That’s not cool. Customer service is half the game!
In terms of performance and audio quality, how do they stand? Thanks

 

[MusicNBeer]

That’s not cool. Customer service is half the game!
In terms of performance and audio quality, how do they stand? Thanks

I have two XSP-1 preamps. Distortion/noise wise and feature set wise, they're excellent with exception of the internal headphone amp which is terrible (no power). I liked the first so much I bought the second for my other listening room.

The second one I received has a different display color. It's a very deep blue that's impossible to read more than 3 feet from the unit. Annoying but not a deal breaker. This 2nd unit also had a warranty repair needed on a bad cap in the power supply. Emo did do that repair with shipping to Emo cost to me, reasonable I guess.

At this point, they're both out of warranty so when either dies, it's probably off to the landfill.

 

[rhollan]

I have two XSP-1 preamps. Distortion/noise wise and feature set wise, they're excellent with exception of the internal headphone amp which is terrible (no power). I liked the first so much I bought the second for my other listening room.

The second one I received has a different display color. It's a very deep blue that's impossible to read more than 3 feet from the unit. Annoying but not a deal breaker. This 2nd unit also had a warranty repair needed on a bad cap in the power supply. Emo did do that repair with shipping to Emo cost to me, reasonable I guess.

At this point, they're both out of warranty so when either dies, it's probably off to the landfill.

I wonder why they discontinued such an exceptional component.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Let me elaborate. I personally dropped the XPX 5 off in Nashville. I was told that they have experienced a lot of problems with the XPR line and "they have a mind of their own.". They sure do. It is called protection mode. The problem was hidden and I ended up with a 100 pound dust collector. I am an attorney. I didn't sue. I just walked away from the brand.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I have two XSP-1 preamps. Distortion/noise wise and feature set wise, they're excellent with exception of the internal headphone amp which is terrible (no power). I liked the first so much I bought the second for my other listening room.

The second one I received has a different display color. It's a very deep blue that's impossible to read more than 3 feet from the unit. Annoying but not a deal breaker. This 2nd unit also had a warranty repair needed on a bad cap in the power supply. Emo did do that repair with shipping to Emo cost to me, reasonable I guess.

At this point, they're both out of warranty so when either dies, it's probably off to the landfill.

Bad cap with pre amp too. They did fix. Why are caps failing after 6 months? A pattern emerges. In their defense, they bit off more than could chew. I am sticking with big brands from now on. Harmon/Samsung for speakers and Anthem for AVR.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Well for one, they don't do any out of warranty service on their XPR amps. They give the middle finger to those customers that need those amps repaired. So basically, it's throw away gear, 100 lbs of electronics to the landfill.

They don't repair XPR in or out of warranty because they can't. They should have offered replacement with anything else.

 

[Sal1950]

I've got a Emo DC-1 DAC, had it for close to 6 years now, Amir measured and did a detailed review of it here. It hasn't given my any issues and gives a very enjoyable sound IMO. The big picture though is that reading around the internet of Emo gear during all the time has given me a very negative view of them. I've read too many poor customer service experiences and of problems with their firmware updates and such. I do consider myself lucky with my personal experiences and don't think I would look to them for another purchase.
What ever happened to the DC-2 DAC that was talked about for 2 years but never appeared? LOL

 

[MusicNBeer]

I wonder why they discontinued such an exceptional component.

No idea. They have a pattern of seemingly randomly discontinuing products with no replacement ready.

 

[rccarguy]

I've got a Emo DC-1 DAC, had it for close to 6 years now, Amir measured and did a detailed review of it here. It hasn't given my any issues and gives a very enjoyable sound IMO. The big picture though is that reading around the internet of Emo gear during all the time has given me a very negative view of them. I've read too many poor customer service experiences and of problems with their firmware updates and such. I do consider myself lucky with my personal experiences and don't think I would look to them for another purchase.
What ever happened to the DC-2 DAC that was talked about for 2 years but never appeared? LOL

I suppose a dac is pretty simple decide compared to a av pre.

They still wire up their xpa amps XLR out incorrectly though

 

[Rlev]

The RMC-1 was at the top of my list at one point. I waited a long time for it to be released and then waited 6 months or so for them to get the thing working but gave up. Purchased a 8805 just to hold me as it was a reasonably price processor which seemed to just work. The S/N is acceptable although one can hear the noise floor if one is very close to the speaker when nothing is playing. Right now I have 7.4 and will have 7.4.6 + the 2 extra speakers for aura-3d soon. I’d love to add wides but at this point I’m in no rush. The RMC-1 is still a possibility but the UI/UX and a few other things are holding me back. I’m also a bit turned off on a company which promises moving target release dates for years and then releases a beta product with out stating it.

Speaking of future, I am currently trying to guess what’s coming next as I’m buttoning up my ceiling soon. To that end I’m wiring for all the possible speaker positions I can think of. That’s a whopping 12.4.19 (not that they will all be used). If the RMC-1 ever adds a working expansion card with more channels I’d might have to take a chance on it.

 

[DonH56]

I bagged Emotiva and went with an SDP-75 (Trinnov).

 

[Sal1950]

The RMC-1 is still a possibility but the UI/UX and a few other things are holding me back. I’m also a bit turned off on a company which promises moving target release dates for years and then releases a beta product with out stating it.

I'm right there with ya'll. I really wanted to love the RMC-1 and a couple other later Emo products, IMO they have very handsome styling plus offer some of the best features/price ratio. BUT they seem overrun with the issues you have highlighted and more. I just could not in good conscience pre-order one of these pieces just to either wait forever for shipping, or find out on delievery that the son-ofa-gun was crammed full of bugs and only partially working software.
I'll have to pass for now.