What to replace my XMC-1

[Miker 1102]

I think the 3800 is the way to go. It has the feature set and is very versatile. I may try the full dirac suite this weekend. I have been hesitant as I am moving in a year. It's been sitting here on my floor for months. I simply love the way my 4500 sounds for music with the xt 32 dialed in. Rush Hemispheres never sounded so good. I did use the 3800 for a weekend and couldn't get the music right even with the exact same settings. I am gonna give it a go with the Dirac and maybe that will do the trick. I hope your situation works out. I do have a Yamaha that does like 7.1.2 that I don't use. I could loan that to you to mess with it. It does atmos and all the other stuff. YAPO is funky. Let me know.

 

[livinon2wheels]

I wonder....very much...if the Schitt audio processor that throws away ALL current codecs and decodes everything in the analog format is a long term better choice and a less aggravating and more desirable overall choice as a processor.

 

[kuon]

I kept my XMC-1 a bit more, but now it died. It can still process audio from analog inputs, but HDMI is dead. No more input/output on any HDMI port.

So, it leaves me with Denon 3800H or Marantz 70s which are roughly the same price and same feature set.

I don't have experience with any of those brands, they both looks like they are good.

Which brand do you think would have the best HDMI and software stack? Compatibility with anything I can throw at it is what matters to me. For example, on my XMC-1, I had to use a chinese HDMI splitter to get the nintendo switch to work.

But maybe those issues were here because emotiva wasn't very good at software/HDMI at the time.

I like the marantz design better but I don't have any other argument for either one.

 

[peng]

I kept my XMC-1 a bit more, but now it died. It can still process audio from analog inputs, but HDMI is dead. No more input/output on any HDMI port.

So, it leaves me with Denon 3800H or Marantz 70s which are roughly the same price and same feature set.

I don't have experience with any of those brands, they both looks like they are good.

Which brand do you think would have the best HDMI and software stack? Compatibility with anything I can throw at it is what matters to me. For example, on my XMC-1, I had to use a chinese HDMI splitter to get the nintendo switch to work.

But maybe those issues were here because emotiva wasn't very good at software/HDMI at the time.

I like the marantz design better but I don't have any other argument for either one.

I like the Marantz design better too but only in terms of aesthetic and its low profile as well as smaller footprint.

The x3800h seems unbeatable in terms of feature set, that the Cinema 70s does not even come close. A easy choice imo.

 

[Svend P]

So, it leaves me with Denon 3800H or Marantz 70s which are roughly the same price and same feature set.

The Denon x3800h is identical to the Marantz Cinema 50. It is only a different box.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/x3800h-vs-cinema-50.3265417/

 

[kuon]

I like the Marantz design better too but only in terms of aesthetic and its low profile as well as smaller footprint.

The x3800h seems unbeatable in terms of feature set, that the Cinema 70s does not even come close. A easy choice imo.

Yeah, the x3800h seems to have a better feature set in term of software.

The Denon x3800h is identical to the Marantz Cinema 50. It is only a different box.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/x3800h-vs-cinema-50.3265417/

That is funny, here the cinema 50 is 4 times the price of the denon 3800h. I guess that settles it.

I have to admit that I am a big lost in the "audio" world. I'm an electronic engineer and I really don't see what they can put in them to justify the price. R&D on amplifier is pretty much "done" now, and the HDMI/processor part is so high volume it shouldn't cost that much to develop. Even my new oscilloscope, with new fancy ASICS that took years to develop and is a niche market doesn't have that high a premium than audio equipment.

 

[peng]

Yeah, the x3800h seems to have a better feature set in term of software.



That is funny, here the cinema 50 is 4 times the price of the denon 3800h. I guess that settles it.

I have to admit that I am a big lost in the "audio" world. I'm an electronic engineer and I really don't see what they can put in them to justify the price. R&D on amplifier is pretty much "done" now, and the HDMI/processor part is so high volume it shouldn't cost that much to develop. Even my new oscilloscope, with new fancy ASICS that took years to develop and is a niche market doesn't have that high a premium than audio equipment.

Oh yes, as i posted on the price difference many times, The Cinema 50 costs a lot more here in the USA and Canada. In Europe, the difference is not that much, making the Marantz seems like a very reasonable deal.

 

[livinon2wheels]

I just bouught a Cinema 40, partly based on review here, as a refurbished from an online company accessories4less. Cost me roughly 2300 after tax. I get that is way more than the 70s by roughly twice...but it is a solid performer and after wading through the setup it works very well indeed. No HDMI glitches or irritating issues.

 

[livinon2wheels]

Do not consider Emotiva...their warranty is worthless and their customer service is a complete waste. The only way I would buy from Emotiva is if the item was an amplifier and it was on sale at such a good price that I didn't care whether it had a warranty or not. And guess what that aint never gonna happen again, they fucked me out of nearly 1500 bucks. It will not happen again ever.

 

[livinon2wheels]

Oh yes, as i posted on the price difference many times, The Cinema 50 costs a lot more here in the USA and Canada. In Europe, the difference is not that much, making the Marantz seems like a very reasonable deal.

I just bought a Cinema 40 to replace an Emotiva MR1L. Its right at 1000 buck more in refurbished form and worth every penny because everything works. As long as everything continues to work, this is my long term keeper. I have no tolerance for things that do not live up to the marketing speak. This does. Serious Marantz respect here.

 

[peng]

I just bought a Cinema 40 to replace an Emotiva MR1L. Its right at 1000 buck more in refurbished form and worth every penny because everything works. As long as everything continues to work, this is my long term keeper. I have no tolerance for things that do not live up to the marketing speak. This does. Serious Marantz respect here.

Again, elsewhere but not in the Americas, Marantz C50 and 40 would be my choice, otherwise it would be the X3800/4800H, same features, same specs, but I prefer Marantz style and build (so called M sound is bs imo but that's just my O, though is based on objective facts (mostly known facts), and some actual listening experience that are naturally subjective. I keep repeating the facts about the price differences (between the Ds and the Ms) in different countries just in case there are people who don't have much preference in the style, aesthetic, don't trust marketing info too much, but do trust Amir's tests/measurements much more, and want to spend much less. To those, Denon is clearly also an alternative to Emo's.

 

[perceptionist]

I kept my XMC-1 a bit more, but now it died. It can still process audio from analog inputs, but HDMI is dead. No more input/output on any HDMI port.

So, it leaves me with Denon 3800H or Marantz 70s which are roughly the same price and same feature set.

I don't have experience with any of those brands, they both looks like they are good.

Which brand do you think would have the best HDMI and software stack? Compatibility with anything I can throw at it is what matters to me. For example, on my XMC-1, I had to use a chinese HDMI splitter to get the nintendo switch to work.

But maybe those issues were here because emotiva wasn't very good at software/HDMI at the time.

I like the marantz design better but I don't have any other argument for either one.

Onkyo RZ30 will get you full pre-out and Dirac Live Full Bandwidth all included. It has two independent sub outputs and full 8K HDMI inputs, which the four year old RZ50 doesn't have.

 

[Sharok]

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.

so, you don’t have to use the processor’s or receiver’s “eARC” HDMI to pass eARC from the TV to the receiver?
It can be any HDMI input in the receiver or processor?
As long as the TV can output eARC?
Receivers and processors have an HDMI that says "eARC" on it, I just want to make sure that I don't need to specifically use that one for the audio signal coming from the TV to the processor or the receiver since some users complain about the eARC port on the receiver side.
But it makes sense since it is just an audio signal coming from an HDMI cable, once it leaves the TV it shouldn't matter which HDMI input to use on the receiving side. I hope I'm right. Has anybody try connecting eARc out of a TV to any HDMI input on the receiver other than the one marked "eARC" to se whether it works or not?
I'm also planning to replace my XMC-1 with something else (I was hoping to use Minidsp Flex HTx for my 5.1 system but seems like it doesn't offer enough audio delay so maybe a Denon receiver) just for the movies with my external amp (Anthem Statement P5). I use a DAC and Bobwire audio XLR1 for music.
Looking for a receiver/processor with the fewest number of HDMI inputs since I'll just want to use for eARC coming from TV and be able to output signal to my external amplifier and to have at least 18 bits of dynamic range and a reasonable SNIAD.
What processor or receiver would you suggest? I can get an x3700h (good SINAD and 18 bits decoder), if I don't have to be worried about eARC hdmi port functionality on the receiver.
BTW, the TV is a Sony A90J which is eARC capable.

 

[kuon]

The Denon 3800h is 700$ here while the Onkyo RZ30 is 1200$ and the Marantz Cinema 50 is 2500$. So I went for the Denon because they really seems to have similar features.

 

[peng]

The Denon 3800h is 700$ here while the Onkyo RZ30 is 1200$ and the Marantz Cinema 50 is 2500$. So I went for the Denon because they really seems to have similar features.

$700 vs $2,500 (unlike $1,500 vs $1,800) for basically the same thing except the look and without the almost useless HDAMs and gold plated RCA connectors, easy smart choice! Where did you get the $700 deal though, does it include the original Denon warranty, new in the box?