Westly T
Second Unit
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1999
- Messages
- 320
The XMC-2 or the RMC-1L (with upgraded surround channels vs the XMC-2) provide amazing sound. They will likely sound better to most than the Anthem, definitely better than Marantz. Denon and Yamaha will fall under those even on the flagship models. I’ve never actually heard the Anthem so that’s just based on what I’ve heard from others, they should be close though. The trade off with Emotiva will be speed in switching inputs, delays in locking onto digital signals when they change, waiting on it to boot up if you don’t keep video active, and the need to “reboot” it on occasion/glitches. Emo had a number of issues when it came out, most of which have been addressed. I still see delays where the first seconds of a movie intro or song get muted while it’s locking onto the signal. Upgrades are offered on the Emo stuff, so when you need 8K they should offer an upgrade board.
I seriously considered the Marantz 7xxx series as my experience with their ability to switch inputs, lock onto the digital signal, and over all great functionality as well as being glitch free is a big perk. I’m not overly thrilled with a receiver that boots an OS and the things that come with it, but in the end it was sound quality vs price. The RMC-1 / 1L uses the AKM 4490’s in a mono, fully balanced configuration dedicating one stereo chip to each channel, so it is a truly balanced configuration. To me there is a clear superiority in the sound quality to any other surround setup I’ve heard.
The Emotiva RMC-1L has a promotion for $500 off with the trade in of any surround receiver/pre with HDMI - working or not in October. Also Emo also uses Dirac versus Audyssey, and while it’s a more involved process, to me it provides results that are hugely better sounding than Audyssey. I’ve never been at all happy with the results of Audyssey and have even just turned it off. Lastly I like that Emotiva is a US company, and I’ve had good experiences working with support to date. They were professional, knowledgeable, and straight forward. I had no problem getting through to them, but their business hours are limited for those on the west coast. This said, if perfect execution and quick response switching inputs, locking signals, and never having to reboot or boot up are a priority, the Marantz will still sound great - I was really on the fence and the promo really helped me go for the RMC-1L vs the AV7706 or AV8805A. I’d also love to hear the Anthem but how is support in the US? I’m also curious about Rotel, I hear very little about them and can’t even find one in my area.
I seriously considered the Marantz 7xxx series as my experience with their ability to switch inputs, lock onto the digital signal, and over all great functionality as well as being glitch free is a big perk. I’m not overly thrilled with a receiver that boots an OS and the things that come with it, but in the end it was sound quality vs price. The RMC-1 / 1L uses the AKM 4490’s in a mono, fully balanced configuration dedicating one stereo chip to each channel, so it is a truly balanced configuration. To me there is a clear superiority in the sound quality to any other surround setup I’ve heard.
The Emotiva RMC-1L has a promotion for $500 off with the trade in of any surround receiver/pre with HDMI - working or not in October. Also Emo also uses Dirac versus Audyssey, and while it’s a more involved process, to me it provides results that are hugely better sounding than Audyssey. I’ve never been at all happy with the results of Audyssey and have even just turned it off. Lastly I like that Emotiva is a US company, and I’ve had good experiences working with support to date. They were professional, knowledgeable, and straight forward. I had no problem getting through to them, but their business hours are limited for those on the west coast. This said, if perfect execution and quick response switching inputs, locking signals, and never having to reboot or boot up are a priority, the Marantz will still sound great - I was really on the fence and the promo really helped me go for the RMC-1L vs the AV7706 or AV8805A. I’d also love to hear the Anthem but how is support in the US? I’m also curious about Rotel, I hear very little about them and can’t even find one in my area.
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