I would prefer to have this thread open for anyone, but have decided to start it out as a resource for owners only to post. This is a long anticipated pre-pro that has been discussed almost to death before any of us had the chance to actually see or touch one. In an effort to draw speculation and pre conceived notions to an end, I will begin with my fewer than 30 hour long experience with the XMC-1 with a post that I put together earlier for another thread:
Well, I am hardly an Emotiva "insider"; rather someone who signed up for the XMC-1 on the same day I ordered my UMC-1 several years ago. But, mine arrived yesterday and has been in my system since 6 pm last evening.
Contrary to the teething issues that some experienced with the early UMC-1s, the fact is that I set this unit up in the time it took to remove the UMC-1, the 7.1 analog cables, set it into the rack and hook up the HDMI cables from the Directv box, the Oppo, a Toshiba HDDVD player, an Adcom CD player and a Logitech Touch. Based upon my impression of the sound quality through HDMI and Direct, I am not sure that I will re-install the 7.1 analog cables.
I used my RS SPL meter to set the levels for preset 1 and immediately put on a series of CDs that reflect the best sounding media I have. Without exception, each CD came across (out of very old Energy Reference Connoisseurs) with better detail and clarity than I have ever heard from these sources and through these speakers. Yes, this is a subjective assessment, but that is pretty much all that anyone will get from me on sound quality.
I watched The Golden Compass for about 20 minutes which was long enough to decide, for the moment, at least, that my dedicated HT probably does not need the tweaks that are yet to come from Dirac. I will be happily and pleasantly surprised if the Dirac process provides a significant overall sound-field improvement in my HT, but I currently feel that this box is worth the price even if I never see Dirac. The clarity I perceived with CD music came through in the movie with very clear dialogue. I have found myself being increasingly critical of actor's mushy diction and some of the dialogue in The Golden Compass was problematic for me. That problem was not present through the XMC-1. Sounds associated with object or character movement across the screen were clearly and evenly represented. For anyone who is wondering, I am running Energy RC-LCRs across the front for movies, Emotiva ERD-1s for surrounds and backs, 3 UPA-1 monos for L/C/R, two UPA-2s for back and surrounds, and two powered subs; one Rhythmic and one NHT. For music, I switch to the aforementioned vintage Energy RefConns.
The manual is in preliminary form, yet it is far and away the most task oriented and intuitively written audio manual I have ever read. The menu system seems to be both potent and simple. Most folks who spend a thoughtful 10-15 minutes will have a workable command of the input assignments and settings. Even with the preliminary settings I ran through, all of my sources are performing beyond my immediate expectations.
Clearly, there will be much more to come to understand about getting the most out of this box's capabilities, but for now, it seems like I could stop tweaking today and feel that all my sources are well represented. While it is nice to have that feeling, I know that I am just at the beginning of what I expect to be an ongoing customizing and overall improvement to my system.
This was worth the wait.
As I stated in the opening, this is to be a resource thread. It is not for anything other than specific discussions about the unit you have in your system. After we establish a base of information derived from owners experiences, I would like to open it up for anyone to participate. In the meantime, non owners are free to PM me with specific questions about my unit.
Well, I am hardly an Emotiva "insider"; rather someone who signed up for the XMC-1 on the same day I ordered my UMC-1 several years ago. But, mine arrived yesterday and has been in my system since 6 pm last evening.
Contrary to the teething issues that some experienced with the early UMC-1s, the fact is that I set this unit up in the time it took to remove the UMC-1, the 7.1 analog cables, set it into the rack and hook up the HDMI cables from the Directv box, the Oppo, a Toshiba HDDVD player, an Adcom CD player and a Logitech Touch. Based upon my impression of the sound quality through HDMI and Direct, I am not sure that I will re-install the 7.1 analog cables.
I used my RS SPL meter to set the levels for preset 1 and immediately put on a series of CDs that reflect the best sounding media I have. Without exception, each CD came across (out of very old Energy Reference Connoisseurs) with better detail and clarity than I have ever heard from these sources and through these speakers. Yes, this is a subjective assessment, but that is pretty much all that anyone will get from me on sound quality.
I watched The Golden Compass for about 20 minutes which was long enough to decide, for the moment, at least, that my dedicated HT probably does not need the tweaks that are yet to come from Dirac. I will be happily and pleasantly surprised if the Dirac process provides a significant overall sound-field improvement in my HT, but I currently feel that this box is worth the price even if I never see Dirac. The clarity I perceived with CD music came through in the movie with very clear dialogue. I have found myself being increasingly critical of actor's mushy diction and some of the dialogue in The Golden Compass was problematic for me. That problem was not present through the XMC-1. Sounds associated with object or character movement across the screen were clearly and evenly represented. For anyone who is wondering, I am running Energy RC-LCRs across the front for movies, Emotiva ERD-1s for surrounds and backs, 3 UPA-1 monos for L/C/R, two UPA-2s for back and surrounds, and two powered subs; one Rhythmic and one NHT. For music, I switch to the aforementioned vintage Energy RefConns.
The manual is in preliminary form, yet it is far and away the most task oriented and intuitively written audio manual I have ever read. The menu system seems to be both potent and simple. Most folks who spend a thoughtful 10-15 minutes will have a workable command of the input assignments and settings. Even with the preliminary settings I ran through, all of my sources are performing beyond my immediate expectations.
Clearly, there will be much more to come to understand about getting the most out of this box's capabilities, but for now, it seems like I could stop tweaking today and feel that all my sources are well represented. While it is nice to have that feeling, I know that I am just at the beginning of what I expect to be an ongoing customizing and overall improvement to my system.
This was worth the wait.
As I stated in the opening, this is to be a resource thread. It is not for anything other than specific discussions about the unit you have in your system. After we establish a base of information derived from owners experiences, I would like to open it up for anyone to participate. In the meantime, non owners are free to PM me with specific questions about my unit.