Don't be disappointed, you should be happy
If you don't own a XMC-2 and want to buy an AVP, then it won't be on your list anymore. If you own one, sell it asap (before the second-hand market becomes saturated with XMC-2) and buy another AVP. Won't be difficult to buy something performing better....
I am with the RMC-1. I like many features including analog Pure Direct mode, DAC input option, integration with REW (filter import), on-the-fly temporary adjustment for the center channel (and others) for specific titles. The Dolby upmixer is excellent with 2.0 sources, virtually indistiquishable from multi-channel sources. I absolutely love it. Perhaps, this is also true of other processors but this is not the site to evaluate these features.
HDMI switching in about 6 seconds a bit longer than the Denon 3700 that is also not instantaneous. I can't directly compare the 3700 to the RMC-1 (that are not collocated) so I don't know if the RMC-1 up-mixing/center channel implementation is superior but can say it is excellent. I do look for consistent architecture on all channels as an indication of the uniform performance on all channels but would like the see that measured.
I selected the 3700 for reliability, simplicity, and wireless features so I am also happy with its functionality.
I use PEQ but not Dirac, but monitoring threads, it is clear that there have been many Dirac releases with fixes and it may be that Emotiva has unit specific issues. Emotiva is still tackling bass management issues some specific to Dirac some not.
Much of the work of AVR/AVPs is DSP processing and clearly there are different architectures so the reasonable assumption is different performance. Dirac and other REQ are black-boxes in that the actual filters applied are not known. Some processors support more and possibly different filters, so Dirac/REQ may produce different and more effective results that are system dependent. This is an assumption on my part, of course.
ASR is providing a wonderful service by giving us a baseline performance metrics. Thank you!
Fortunately, the RMC-1 measured very well on ASR so I am spared from the angst facing XMC2 owners.
- Rich