What to replace my XMC-1

[kuon]

About ten years ago (I was one of the first customers), I bought an XMC-1 from emotiva.

It had correct audio quality, but many quirks with the HDMI and other "processor" features. It was a complicated ritual to get it to work with some inputs (PC, nintendo switch...) but it eventually worked using some chinese HDMI splitter.

Anyway, my panasonic plasma TV finally died out because of a lighting that directly hit my house, it was unplugged but died anyway. But I'm going off track here.

I'm going to upgrade to 4k, and I need to upgrade my processor.

My power amps and my speakers are still working well, and I'd like to keep them.

I am looking for an AV receiver with pre-out (balanced XLR or RCA, I guess RCA is fine as the cables are very short and my budget is low) for at least 5.1 channels and also 12V DC trigger out would be a nice plus to turn my amplifiers on automatically.

For the budget, I was thinking around 1500$ but I can stretch that to maybe 2k if there is no other choice.

I found the Marantz cinema 70s, but the reviews are "mixed", I wonder if there is something better.

Thanks a lot.

 

[jaakkopetteri]

I don't see a downside with the Cinema 70s if you don't use the amps

 

[kuon]

I don't see a downside with the Cinema 70s if you don't use the amps

Yeah, I think it is my best option for now. I was a bit worried by some reviews.

 

[Guddu]

About ten years ago (I was one of the first customers), I bought an XMC-1 from emotiva.

It had correct audio quality, but many quirks with the HDMI and other "processor" features. It was a complicated ritual to get it to work with some inputs (PC, nintendo switch...) but it eventually worked using some chinese HDMI splitter.

Anyway, my panasonic plasma TV finally died out because of a lighting that directly hit my house, it was unplugged but died anyway. But I'm going off track here.

I'm going to upgrade to 4k, and I need to upgrade my processor.

My power amps and my speakers are still working well, and I'd like to keep them.

I am looking for an AV receiver with pre-out (balanced XLR or RCA, I guess RCA is fine as the cables are very short and my budget is low) for at least 5.1 channels and also 12V DC trigger out would be a nice plus to turn my amplifiers on automatically.

For the budget, I was thinking around 1500$ but I can stretch that to maybe 2k if there is no other choice.

I found the Marantz cinema 70s, but the reviews are "mixed", I wonder if there is something better.

Thanks a lot.

I know I have decided to switch to another avr, but if you aren’t after ATMOS/DTS-X then xmc-1 ARC should be good enough for any TV.
I have recently moved my xmc-1 to movie setup, simply QLED TV ARC out to xmc-1 and everything works.
My xmc-1 is ver 2, which came with factory upgraded HDMI 2.0 (it supports 4K, HDR, etc. but I use ARC only).

 

[kuon]

My XMC-1 is still ver 1 without HDMI 2, and with the issues I have with it, I don't feel like changing the HDMI board.

 

[GXAlan]

Onkyo TX-RZ70

11.2-channel home theater receiver with Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, Apple AirPlay® 2, and Chromecast built-in

www.crutchfield.com

Seems to be a better deal since this includes full range Dirac, has good amplifiers (even though you can also run is a processor using the RCA pre-outs).

Hard to get a good XLR output Atmos processor at your budget. The HTP-1 is excellent if you can find the budget for it.

 

[kuon]

Onkyo TX-RZ70

11.2-channel home theater receiver with Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, Apple AirPlay® 2, and Chromecast built-in

www.crutchfield.com

Seems to be a better deal since this includes full range Dirac, has good amplifiers (even though you can also run is a processor using the RCA pre-outs).

Hard to get a good XLR output Atmos processor at your budget. The HTP-1 is excellent if you can find the budget for it.

The onkyo is 2500$ in europe.

 

[Timcognito]

I have thinking of upgrading for awhile, look at the Denon lineup and anything with Dirac. There many threads here at ASR on AVRs Search titles only. and last few pages here:

(Europe) Master Deals Thread on Audio Product Sales

Hey EU Folks, This is an alternative version of @amirm original Master "deals" (massdrop, ebay, Amazon, etc.) Thread on Audio Product Sales ... But this time specifically focused on deals available for shipping to (most) EU countries. It turns out that I am already an active member on French...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Guddu]

My XMC-1 is still ver 1 without HDMI 2, and with the issues I have with it, I don't feel like changing the HDMI board.

Right, changing HDMI board to new 2.0a for another 500$ isn’t worth for xmc-1.
Does ARC not work with your xmc-1*?

*not in relation with changing to another avr.

 

[kuon]

To get correct sound, I have to set the XMC-1 to "direct" and I equalize manually using my HTPC with PCM output. ARC never worked properly and most dolby/DTS... has channels not equalized properly.

 

[avdoc]

I agree that your best bet is an AVR with line level outputs. Pick whichever company has features and correction you prefer.

 

[boxerfan88]

Yamaha AVR might be something for you to consider.

 

[peng]

Yeah, I think it is my best option for now. I was a bit worried by some reviews.

For better future proofing, AVR-x3800h, Cinema 50, or RZ-50 or the Pioneer equivalents. Cinema 70 is good if you must have a low profile avr, but for that you pay a huge premium, Marantz would thank you for the huge profit lol..

 

[jaakkopetteri]

Cinema 70 is good if you must have a low profile avr, but for that you pay a huge premium, Marantz would thank you for the huge profit lol..

That depends, in the EU it's over a third cheaper than the 3800H for example

 

[peng]

That depends, in the EU it's over a third cheaper than the 3800H for example

In my opionion that’s enough to call it a super high margin prodct. They can do it because it is the only nice looking low profile avr that has 7.1 pre-out. I will mot go for one because it only has Multeq so for SQ it is not as good as the ones I mentioned, but that’s just me, we all have different needs and preference.

 

[avdoc]

I've heard good things about the processing of the new Sony AVRs.

 

[jaakkopetteri]

In my opionion that’s enough to call it a super high margin prodct. They can do it because it is the only nice looking low profile avr that has 7.1 pre-out. I will mot go for one because it only has Multeq so for SQ it is not as good as the ones I mentioned, but that’s just me, we all have different needs and preference.

MultEQ version isn't apparently relevant anymore with One EVO being better than even XT32

 

[peng]

MultEQ version isn't apparently relevant anymore with One EVO being better than even XT32

I doubt that, but regardless, I won’t like to limit my options. If that’s what you believe then go for it.

 

[madrac]

Maybe an Anthem 540 (5 ch) or 740 (7 ch). If not within budget, maybe find a used 520 or 720.

 

[remlemasi]

I’m in a similar situation, but don’t want to upgrade my processor as I’m still happy with the sound (NuForce AVP-18). You can consider sending all HDMI inputs direct to the TV (max of 3), and use an eARC audio extractor to send audio from the TV eARC port to a standard (non-ARC) input on the processor.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D4C5YWDH/

eARC passes TrueHD, DTS-MA, PCM 7.1, etc.

Unless you needed other inputs on the processor (analog, phono, optical, coax), then you would just park it on the one HDMI input and never touch it again.

I think it’s worth trying it out for a month and returning it doesn’t work for you. Beats spending $1.5-2k on something you might not need or even want.