OK, PEEPS... 😁 After spending a full day and late evening setting up, calibrating, and auditioning our new "Emotiva Audio Home Theater," I would like to share my thoughts and experiences with those of you interested. Coming from the perspective of someone who has always used AVR's in the past, some expensive and some cheap. Let's start with the MC1 - First off, this isn't your standard AVR plug-and-play processor (although it can be) this processor goes WAY beyond the standard plop the calibration mic down in the listening position and hit go. After watching the Emotiva videos on their TH-cam page for the setup of the MC1 I really began to comprehend the depth that this processor goes. From being able to overlay multiple video and audio sources to a single experience or fine-tuning the curve correction even after the calibration down to the finest detail and nuance of what you desire in your room. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I am not a sound engineer, so I just trust the EmoQ automated setup and let it roll. That being said, I will, as always, dive down the rabbit hole as far as it will go.... eventually. I have heard that the UI navigation can be a bit tricky and confusing. I personally didn't find this to be the case, and after only a few wrong presses of buttons, I was navigating the menus with ease. Following along with the videos allowed me to quickly understand the setup procedures and features. And within less than an hour of pressing the power button, I was auditioning my favorite movie parts in a blissful and crisp soundscape. Even placing a single speaker in the room was almost impossible. It was as if they all had disappeared, and the sound was "Just everywhere." I would be hard-pressed to remember that great of an initial experience with any AVR I have heard, not to say that there aren't AVRs on the market that could do a better job, maybe just not in this price range. MC1 - Fit and Feel As always, the Emotiva components have that industrial and dark vibe and look. Which I personally love. The unit looks and feels fantastic. The knobs, buttons, and remote feel substantial and work well. The display is clear and looks good. The connectors and inputs on the back are clean, tight, and laid out very well. The whole thing just looks and feels like a professional processor. Now, what about that AMP??? The A7 - First off, this thing surprised me when I went to pull it out of the box. It was as if someone was holding it down. I didn't anticipate it would be that heavy, although I am not sure why I felt that way as all my other Emotiva amps have been lead weights. The build is simple, basic, and beautiful. All of the connectors in the back panel feel and look great. No wiggling or looseness in any of it. It feels substantial, and you just get a feeling that you're holding a professional piece of gear. How does that A7/MC1 thing sound???? I was concerned about the low WPC of the A7 and having the beast and power-hungry T2 on the front stage. So much so that I even called brent at Emotiva and asked if I should purchase an additional amp or even Bi-amp the T2 off the remaining 6&7 channels of the amp as I am only running 5.1. Brent told me to not worry about purchasing another amp and that I would probably be surprised at the results of just sending a single channel to each T2, but If I felt the need afterward to Bi-Amp, then go ahead. But he made it clear there was no need for an additional amp. And I couldn't agree more!! The first 1-3 min intro to the new DUNE movie is one of my favorites as it covers a broad spectrum of sound and really slaps the speakers around. The second was the first 5 minutes of the new Mad Max movie, which is a surround sound experience of epic proportions. The whispers and vocals seem to swirl around in a magical way. The FIRST thing my wife and I noticed was the AMAZING level of clarity and detail we were hearing, like none I've ever heard on any AVR I have owned. Everything was just effortless, and the overall blending of the speakers was just excellent. The entire array of speakers and subs just disappeared into the room. The grin on my face was almost painful... LOL. Considering all I did was run the base EmoQ correction program and get that result was IMPRESSIVE, to say the least. And it's not the standard put the mic in the LP and hit run, but rather, after that, you hold the mic and face each speaker as it further adjusts for the room. Even the sub. Closing remarks - I absolutely cannot wait to continue to fine-tune this setup, and at this point, I have ZERO regrets about spending the money on the A7 and MC1. You can tell that Emotiva designed all of their gear to be compatible and work well with each other. Since the launch of the BasX lineup from Emotiva years ago, I have been a super fan of them. Starting with my 2.0 set up with the A300 and PT100 to now the MC1 and A7, I have loved and appreciated every component. Please feel free to ask any questions you have, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this... Have a GREAT day. James..
This is good timing for me. I just wired up my mc1 with a 5.2.2 configuration. I got the unit and BasX amps back in December 2021, but Covid-19 then a hospital stay and then recovery, delayed me in set up. I’m using front wall mounted elevation speakers for now, but hope to get some overhead speakers going soon. I have 13 channels of amplifier so hope to run a 9.2.4 ATMOS configuration at some point. I am still confused about audio input and output format with the MC1. Watched Ready Player One last night and it rocked!
Is it possible to show some REW measurements before and after Emo-q? I don't want you to doctor them or massage them but I think it would be great to see the areas where it succeeds most and where folks need to tinker perhaps and play a few frequencies to try and see how they can modify the curve. Room Correction is such a black box that you don't even know what you're getting in the end. The most impressive thing I've seen is a test review of Audyssey and Audyssey XT32 on avforums for the Denon 1700 (XT) and 3700 (XT32). With 1 sub, the XT was as good if not better but the correction looked really good. Another person compared a heavily tweaked Audyssey to AVM70's Arc Genesis and the corrected bass response of the AVM70 was terrible when measured. More than likely, Emo-Q has nowhere to go but up with that test assuming it's making the right corrections. God forbid, it attenuates bass by 40db and increases treble by 30db.
Hi, As sound Engineer for more than 30 years of experience, I suggest you, if you have great speakers like Genelec and know they sound good, to not calibrate the EQ. I tried it with the MC1 and i was surprisingly extremely disappointed. After the automatic EQ calibration my sound was too fake, It was like having Bose speakers, with some mid-range missing frequencies, too much on the Highs and lows. Do not Calibrate, It is like adding more Butter and sugar to your homemade cake. It will taste much stronger and more sweet and like fast food.
@@pranavms404 Hi, While manual EQ correction is an option, for optimal sound quality, I recommend starting with high-quality active speakers. These often have it's own calibration systems, like those found in my Genelec speakers. Ideally, I recommend your listening environment would be designed to minimize sound reflections from the beginning. I hope it helps :)
OK, PEEPS... 😁
After spending a full day and late evening setting up, calibrating, and auditioning our new "Emotiva Audio Home Theater," I would like to share my thoughts and experiences with those of you interested. Coming from the perspective of someone who has always used AVR's in the past, some expensive and some cheap.
Let's start with the MC1 -
First off, this isn't your standard AVR plug-and-play processor (although it can be) this processor goes WAY beyond the standard plop the calibration mic down in the listening position and hit go. After watching the Emotiva videos on their TH-cam page for the setup of the MC1 I really began to comprehend the depth that this processor goes. From being able to overlay multiple video and audio sources to a single experience or fine-tuning the curve correction even after the calibration down to the finest detail and nuance of what you desire in your room. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I am not a sound engineer, so I just trust the EmoQ automated setup and let it roll. That being said, I will, as always, dive down the rabbit hole as far as it will go.... eventually. I have heard that the UI navigation can be a bit tricky and confusing. I personally didn't find this to be the case, and after only a few wrong presses of buttons, I was navigating the menus with ease. Following along with the videos allowed me to quickly understand the setup procedures and features. And within less than an hour of pressing the power button, I was auditioning my favorite movie parts in a blissful and crisp soundscape. Even placing a single speaker in the room was almost impossible. It was as if they all had disappeared, and the sound was "Just everywhere." I would be hard-pressed to remember that great of an initial experience with any AVR I have heard, not to say that there aren't AVRs on the market that could do a better job, maybe just not in this price range.
MC1 - Fit and Feel
As always, the Emotiva components have that industrial and dark vibe and look. Which I personally love. The unit looks and feels fantastic. The knobs, buttons, and remote feel substantial and work well. The display is clear and looks good. The connectors and inputs on the back are clean, tight, and laid out very well. The whole thing just looks and feels like a professional processor.
Now, what about that AMP??? The A7 -
First off, this thing surprised me when I went to pull it out of the box. It was as if someone was holding it down. I didn't anticipate it would be that heavy, although I am not sure why I felt that way as all my other Emotiva amps have been lead weights. The build is simple, basic, and beautiful. All of the connectors in the back panel feel and look great. No wiggling or looseness in any of it. It feels substantial, and you just get a feeling that you're holding a professional piece of gear.
How does that A7/MC1 thing sound????
I was concerned about the low WPC of the A7 and having the beast and power-hungry T2 on the front stage. So much so that I even called brent at Emotiva and asked if I should purchase an additional amp or even Bi-amp the T2 off the remaining 6&7 channels of the amp as I am only running 5.1. Brent told me to not worry about purchasing another amp and that I would probably be surprised at the results of just sending a single channel to each T2, but If I felt the need afterward to Bi-Amp, then go ahead. But he made it clear there was no need for an additional amp. And I couldn't agree more!! The first 1-3 min intro to the new DUNE movie is one of my favorites as it covers a broad spectrum of sound and really slaps the speakers around. The second was the first 5 minutes of the new Mad Max movie, which is a surround sound experience of epic proportions. The whispers and vocals seem to swirl around in a magical way. The FIRST thing my wife and I noticed was the AMAZING level of clarity and detail we were hearing, like none I've ever heard on any AVR I have owned. Everything was just effortless, and the overall blending of the speakers was just excellent. The entire array of speakers and subs just disappeared into the room. The grin on my face was almost painful... LOL. Considering all I did was run the base EmoQ correction program and get that result was IMPRESSIVE, to say the least. And it's not the standard put the mic in the LP and hit run, but rather, after that, you hold the mic and face each speaker as it further adjusts for the room. Even the sub.
Closing remarks -
I absolutely cannot wait to continue to fine-tune this setup, and at this point, I have ZERO regrets about spending the money on the A7 and MC1. You can tell that Emotiva designed all of their gear to be compatible and work well with each other. Since the launch of the BasX lineup from Emotiva years ago, I have been a super fan of them. Starting with my 2.0 set up with the A300 and PT100 to now the MC1 and A7, I have loved and appreciated every component.
Please feel free to ask any questions you have, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this... Have a GREAT day.
James..
James, thank you so much for sharing!
AWESOME!
This is good timing for me. I just wired up my mc1 with a 5.2.2 configuration. I got the unit and BasX amps back in December 2021, but Covid-19 then a hospital stay and then recovery, delayed me in set up. I’m using front wall mounted elevation speakers for now, but hope to get some overhead speakers going soon. I have 13 channels of amplifier so hope to run a 9.2.4 ATMOS configuration at some point. I am still confused about audio input and output format with the MC1. Watched Ready Player One last night and it rocked!
Is it possible to show some REW measurements before and after Emo-q? I don't want you to doctor them or massage them but I think it would be great to see the areas where it succeeds most and where folks need to tinker perhaps and play a few frequencies to try and see how they can modify the curve. Room Correction is such a black box that you don't even know what you're getting in the end.
The most impressive thing I've seen is a test review of Audyssey and Audyssey XT32 on avforums for the Denon 1700 (XT) and 3700 (XT32). With 1 sub, the XT was as good if not better but the correction looked really good.
Another person compared a heavily tweaked Audyssey to AVM70's Arc Genesis and the corrected bass response of the AVM70 was terrible when measured.
More than likely, Emo-Q has nowhere to go but up with that test assuming it's making the right corrections. God forbid, it attenuates bass by 40db and increases treble by 30db.
Hi, As sound Engineer for more than 30 years of experience, I suggest you, if you have great speakers like Genelec and know they sound good, to not calibrate the EQ. I tried it with the MC1 and i was surprisingly extremely disappointed. After the automatic EQ calibration my sound was too fake, It was like having Bose speakers, with some mid-range missing frequencies, too much on the Highs and lows. Do not Calibrate, It is like adding more Butter and sugar to your homemade cake. It will taste much stronger and more sweet and like fast food.
Hi, Then what steps do you recommend for room correction with this processor? I heard it doesn’t have manual eq correction.
@@pranavms404 Hi, While manual EQ correction is an option, for optimal sound quality, I recommend starting with high-quality active speakers. These often have it's own calibration systems, like those found in my Genelec speakers. Ideally, I recommend your listening environment would be designed to minimize sound reflections from the beginning. I hope it helps :)
How many individual filters per speaker? I don't see an option to add more if needed, say for a problematic speaker.
Is this the same as for the MR1?
I understand that it is.
Why don't you do thr same for us 2 channel folks.
You can apply the same principles from the video to a two channel system or any of the assignable speaker configurations.
Seriously, add a nice web User Interface. This is too fiddly with a remote
The EMO-Q process is pretty simple and only needs to be run once. Then enjoy your movies and music without having to spend time in the menu system.
@@EmotivaAudioCorp those of us who like to tinker disagrees. Maybe an update down the road
I actually agree. It would be nice to have a nicely designed interface. But I do like that the software displays a graph w/ the different curves.