# Emotiva Says the XMC-1 Will Begin Shipping in March



## Todd Anderson

*Emotiva* recently released exciting news concerning its highly anticipated XMC-1 AV Preamp. The first piece of news will undoubtedly please those of you that grumbled when the company missed its projected February 2014 ship date; the first units are now expected to ship in March 2014. While being great news for enthusiasts that have patiently waited on the product’s pre-order reservation list, Emotiva cautions that they will slowly ramp-up production to make sure quality control is perfect. Therefore, all reservation orders won’t likely be filled until the end of April or May 2014. 








The most exciting news paired with Emotiva’s new launch date came in the form of information that the XMC-1 had been reconfigured with HDMI 2.0 capabilities – we apologize for reporting this as fact. Emotiva’s Dan Laufman has since retracted the company’s stance, saying: "Certain aspects of its performance could allow us to claim 2.0 compliance, but we felt it would be misleading, as we do not fully support all 2.0 operating states and bandwidths.” Therefore, the company is labeling the unit as HDMI v1.4b compliant, with the capability of supporting current 4K and 3D content with a 3 GHz bandwidth. Emotiva’s retraction speaks volumes about the fluidity of 4K technology, especially in the early stages of its rollout. The XMC-1 will still be shipped with eight HMDI inputs and two outputs. 

Other specs on the dual zone XMC-1 look fantastic, including:


Inclusion of Dirac Live 7.2 room correction software, which Emotiva says isn’t available on any audio product “south of $20,000.” Using the included custom measurement microphone, owners will have access to full-scale professional room correction capabilities.

A total of 3600 MIPS of processing power (dual Texas Instruments DA710 32-bit floating-point, dual-core, 300 MHz DSP) and audiophile-grade DACs capable of handling all high-resolution audio codecs and 4K video resolution.

An on-board 11-channel parametric equalizer, bass management, independent crossover settings for all channels including dual subwoofers, bass/treble controls, dynamic range controls, and a Fletcher-Munson loudness control.

Modular upgrade capabilities, allowing owners to upgrade hardware in the unit to meet future standards (thus allowing owners to upgrade to full HDMI 2.0 when it becomes available)

True 7.2 audio channel pathways

An AM/FM tuner with RDS text information (artist, category, title)
Last year, Emotiva announced an “All built in USA” initiative, which they have been slowing implementing in their production process. The company’s original intention was to build the XMC-1 in Asia, but did an about-face and opted to spend slightly more to have the entire unit manufactured in Nashville, Tennessee. The company says that domestic production allows for greater ease in changing and adapting the product during the manufacturing process, not to mention exacting quality control.

The XMC-1 is priced at $1,999 MSRP; UMC-1 40-percent Upgrade Certificate holders can buy the unit for $1,199 while Upgrade for Life members can buy it for $1,499. To pre-order the XMC-1, visit *Emotiva’s Reserve a Product page*.



_Image: Emotiva_


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## andy_c

*Re: Emotiva Says the XMC-1 Will Ship Soon with HDMI 2.0*

The claim of HDMI 2.0 compatibility turns out to have been an error. See this post by Dan Laufman for clarification. It is actually HDMI 1.4b


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## HDMan

*Re: Emotiva Says the XMC-1 Will Ship Soon with HDMI 2.0*

Dirac sounds cool, lets see the reviews.


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## Todd Anderson

*Re: Emotiva Says the XMC-1 Will Ship Soon with HDMI 2.0*



andy_c said:


> The claim of HDMI 2.0 compatibility turns out to have been an error. See this post by Dan Laufman for clarification. It is actually HDMI 1.4b


Thanks pulling up the link!


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## Chucka

It is on my short list because of the Dirac, as it seems it will have a lot of flexibility in setup. On its own, I expect it will sound at least as good or better than anything else in this price range + it is made in the U.S.


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## Kal Rubinson

*Re: Emotiva Says the XMC-1 Will Ship Soon with HDMI 2.0*



HDMan said:


> Dirac sounds cool, lets see the reviews.


Let's see the product.


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## typ44q

Really looking forward to reading reviews of this unit especially the Dirac 7.2 live. I have a feeling that there will be nothing in its price range that will be able to compete with it.


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## chashint

typ44q said:


> Really looking forward to reading reviews of this unit especially the Dirac 7.2 live. I have a feeling that there will be nothing in its price range that will be able to compete with it.


Time will tell.


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## fschris

Please take my money EMOTIVA!!!!

want

:bigsmile:

I have the UMC200 now. Its pretty awesome.


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## fschris

people need to give props to these guys for building these in the USA as well. I know lots of the chips etc are overseas but the customer service and price and quality are a good value for joe 6 pack.


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## duder1982

I really hope this unit turns out as great as it sounds.


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## Todd Anderson

fschris said:


> people need to give props to these guys for building these in the USA as well.


I agree with this 100%. It's great to see them moving their assembly to the U.S.


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## tonyvdb

I think with all the issues they have had in the past they want to ensure that it's done right this time. I don't think they can afford another blunder like it's predecessor.


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## LCSeminole

tonyvdb said:


> I think with all the issues they have had in the past they want to ensure that it's done right this time. I don't think they can afford another blunder like it's predecessor.


The fact that Dan brought in Momentum Data Systems and DIRAC to implement the various systems together, and moved to a Texas Instruments based DSP platform instead of Cirrus says a lot about this platform(I know Dan/Lonnie/Ray along with these guys put in many a long nights). I'm really looking forward to putting this processor in the mix.


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## adickerson0

I think part of this story is that MiniDSP is doing a partnership with Dirac at least as much as MiniDSP has an upcoming line of Dirac driven processors and Dirac has the UMIK-1 mic from MiniDSP as one of the prefered mics for EQing Dirac.

From the MiniDSP site: "A combo with UMIK-1 + Hardware platform + Dirac Live License for a plug&play experience. Once the Dirac measurement/tuning process finalized, up to 4 filter sets can be stored on the miniDSP processor for operation of Dirac processing without a PC."

So it looks like the Dirac group is getting lots of interesting relationships going.


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## TheLaw612

tonyvdb said:


> I think with all the issues they have had in the past they want to ensure that it's done right this time. I don't think they can afford another blunder like it's predecessor.


This. I really do give them props for designing and building everything in the USA but based on the past I'll believe everything when I see it. Hopefully the reviews come quickly and are honest and positive. At that point I'll wish I had the money for it because the spec sheet looks amazing.


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## smurphy522

Hopefully this product delivers all it is capable of - as far as the technology it is built around. The early adopters will have their woes as does all in this niche product market. Kudos to Dan for bringing it into the US for assembly! Really looking forward to detailed reviews.


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## rkeman

It would be wonderful if the XMC-1 lives up to its potential. Many have been on the waiting list for years and have high expectations. Emotiva appears to be shifting some production from China to the United States with the introduction of the XMC-1 and early indications are that the majority of their gear will eventually be made domestically. It is a good trend to see!


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## Ken tuckie

Interesting, May have to drive down to Nashville


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## brwsaw

Looks like I'll need a second amp.


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## Picture_Shooter

*Re: Emotiva Says the XMC-1 Will Ship Soon with HDMI 2.0*



Kal Rubinson said:


> Let's see the product.


Or lets see the software updates


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## Moviehound

I am an Emotiva UMC-1 owner who has been on the XMC-1 waiting list for over a year. I applaud Emotiva for building the unit in USA. I hope it's a great success that will cause other companies to shift production back home. I suppose Emotiva is trying to make the XMC-1 as bug free as possible before it's release to avoid the same problems that customers had with the UMC-1 early on.


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## duder1982

Well middle of March what's the word, or did I miss the exact date its suppose to ship.


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## Moviehound

I'm looking forward to getting mine. I've been on the XMC-1 waiting list for over a year. I can't wait to see if the XMC-1 lives up to the hype. Kudos to Emotiva for building the unit at home rather than overseas. I hope other companies will follow Emotiva's lead and start manufacturing more products in the US.


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## chrapladm

Look forward to the in hand reviews of this product. SO far Dirac is way ahead of anything with the exception of Trinnov. SO I look forward to this product. Out of my price range for now but I cant think of anything that even comes close. Even double the price.


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