AudioControl Maestro M5 AV Processor Review (1 Viewer)

[Dave Upton]

AudioControl is a brand oft discussed by installers and professionals in the home theater industry, yet rarely by consumers. The reason for this is that AudioControl almost exclusively sells their products through system integrators who design high end home theaters for the elite. AudioControl’s products have a sterling reputation in the industry and often come with features that are impossible to find in consumer AVRs and processors, and they are priced accordingly.
I ultimately stumbled upon this product when hunting for a Dolby Atmos capable processor with 4K HDR support and Dirac Live room correction. This particular combo was very hard to find, but thankfully AudioControl saw the need for just such a product and brought the...

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[JohnRice]

Interesting piece of equipment, which will never find a a spot in my house, or budget. I wonder how it compares to the Emotiva RMC-1, which will have Dirac Live, but also seems to have significantly more features most high-end user will want, but not the fancy integration features, and is about $1K less.

 

[Dave Upton]

Emotiva has proven again and again that they struggle to deliver a reliable product in a timely fashion when it comes to AV processors. I think most folks who are willing to shell out this much are more concerned about reliability and availability. Early reports on the RMC-1 have been mixed.

 

[JohnRice]

Yeah, I definitely agree. I learned that myself. Even though I own many Emotiva pieces, I swore not to buy their processors again. That’s why I went with Marantz instead. I hoped it had gotten better. Even the Emotiva designed Sherbourn processor I had was always twitchy.

 

[Bob Doll]

Hi Dave, fairly basic question here. I'm looking at adding the Maestro M5 ot my system. If it's installed in an equipment rack far distant from the TV, how can you do basic configuration if there's no app or web interface? I understand all the Dirac config can be done remotely (at the TV) but how do you do anything else? Thanks in advance for your thoughts...

 

[Dave Upton]

Bob

You would need to use an IR repeater or blaster so you could use the remote in the room with your display unfortunately, there is no alternative.

 

[Bob Doll]

Dave, thanks for the info, much appreciated.