Emotiva is well known to AVS Forum members as a provider of high-quality and high-value audio components, and the new MC-700 preamp/processor is no exception. As the newest member of the company's BasX "aspirational" line of products—which cost less than the flagship X-Series products—the Emotiva MC-700 offers a feature set that goes far beyond its list price of $599.

Chief among these features is support for 4K/UHD HDR video on three of its six HDMI inputs and one of two HDMI outputs; the other three inputs and one output support 4K/UHD without HDR. In addition, it supports high-resolution audio—all rates up to 24-bit/192 kHz, except 176 kHz for some reason—via HDMI, coax, and optical in any 5.1 or 7.1 surround format. However, it does not support any immersive formats, such as Dolby Atmos. Also of interest is the latest generation of Emotiva's Emo-Q room-correction system, flexible bass management with two subwoofer outputs (one balanced, one unbalanced), and 11 fully parametric equalizers per channel with three memories that can be applied to any input. And if you want to stream music from your smartphone, an optional Bluetooth 3.0 module—which uses the high-quality AptX format—is available for an extra $50.

According to Dan Laufman, Emotiva's president and founder, "The combination of 4K UHD high dynamic range (HDR) video, high-resolution surround-sound audio, and the latest generation of our highly acclaimed Emo-Q automatic room-correction system makes the MC-700 the best choice for anybody who wants to take their home-theater experience to another level without paying the high prices of typical audiophile gear."

$599 for this much pre/pro is pretty amazing, but Emotiva is sweetening the pot even more with $100 off until the end of the month or until the first shipment is gone. And of course, we will take a careful listen at CES, where the MC-700 will be the centerpiece of Emotiva's display.

For more info, visit the MC-700 product page .