Full Review of Emotiva MR1: Part 2 

Thank you for watching the channel my friend. I'm sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues with your Emotiva unit as well. I really wish they would get their UI and OS issues sorted out, because their units do sound excellent. For me personally, I couldn't cope with all the issues of the RMC-1L, I recently returned my unit. I will be trying the Arcam AV41 instead.

What receiver is perfect? If features are your bag, buy something else. The MR1 and MR1L are very basic. If solid operation in HDMI, and some CODEC play issues. No integration with Sonos. No built in streaming environment. It does have a massive Linear Power Supply. All discrete output stages. Class H intelligent Power Supply rail system. Class AB output stages. Some things are mental sure. But Yamaha, Denon, Marantz have their share of odditites. HDMI switching issues just to name one. Also since Emotiva does not promise the toys work, the less they have less to fix. Emotiva does not have the bottomless pit budget like some companies do. Processor Preamplifier, and Receiver design is expensive, and compliances. I always suggest people who anything auto calibration anything especially today, observe your trims, and adjust what you need, and like. ARC of any kind is not perfect. DIRAC is amazing but you have to utilize some fine tuning to get your sound your way. No such thing of too much power where the other companies fall on their face. That massive power supply, and the core values Emotiva had been doing for years. Years and years you get oddities like the muting of pops, and clicks in the digital domain. Long boot times. EARC is on.y recently becoming more solid, and Emotiva playing nice with all TVs are a work in progress. Anytime you interface a computer with another it can be a dive into the unknown. Compliances, and Standards are plenty, and hard to live up to them. The deal is this. Want performance buy it. You want functionality above all else, buy something else. I use a Emotiva XMC-1 Processor Preamplifier and Stealth Speakers for years. HDMI switching is bullet proof. The sound is amazing because of the full Differential Balanced Stages. Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and so on are not giving you that for the same money if at all. Yeah I have been doing longer than many have been alive. My bedroom HT has the Anthem MRX-520 as it front end, and Parasound, and Emotiva external amplifiers. Works great. I want the performance 1st. Ancillary stuff is all managed externally. My next venture is a streamer, and NAS for them all. The final party piece. I am in IT. Love it or hate it, you hang around some pretty smart people. I am a hardware, not a software guy. Have been since I was 5 years old. At 10 years of age on all my teachers relied on me asking all the AV go, because they didn't know how, or care. A nice relationship there. I enjoy this stuff, and Emotiva is the brand geeks want, and what hard core music people want, but sure it may just exasperate you no end. I started on their stereo products. Then multichannel. Once you get it, it does fine. If you need that wife will divorce me if the HT doesn't work, buy Denon, Sony, Marantz, and so on. Fun watching you.

Another item for the wishlist on a 50lb unit is to put the calibration mic input on the front panel.

I installed my MR1 this past Saturday. There is only one issue, which is the popping sound as you raise the volume. This happens randomly... and that is it. There are no other issues whatsoever.

This was a great review! I wish I would have seen it before purchasing the MR1L… I really hope I don’t have these same issues. They sound really annoying. I am happy to hear about the sound quality as I’m hoping it can replace my older Adcom GFA 555II for 2 channel listening since that amp is getting old and people say it could need recapping although it sounds perfect to me. I really appreciate you taking the time to make videos! 🙌🏼

Don’t feel too bad! I bought the Sony STR-AZ5000ES and it is currently in its second visit to United Radio, Sony’s approved repair center. First time unit failed to boot after a loud pop. A week later had to send the unit back for loss of the HDMI output signal to the TV. Bow waiting for my receiver to come back, hopefully properly repaired, as when it works, the sound is really amazing. BTW, my fallback is a Yamaha RX-A2A and as you said, it works flawlessly. Unfortunately its sound is nowhere close to the Sony.

I was in the market for a receiver earlier this year as I was upgrading my system to Atmos, from 5.1 to 5.1.4 setup. I decided on a Sony STR-AZ5000ES after watching Andrew Robinson review of the Sony top of the line STR-AZ7000ES and am very happy with the Sony, particularly the 360SSM processing.

I purchased a refurbished unit as well, to replace my Onkyo RZ50. The RZ50 was always just OK even after running Dirac multiple times. The Refurb MR1 has all the similar issues you had and then some. Constant popping when commercials came on, or if adjusting the volume, etc. etc. I sent it back. Even though it sounded better than the Onkyo. When new units came back in stock, and with 15%, I jumped on a new unit. I've had zero issues thus far. And the sound is still superior to the Onkyo in my opinion. For the XBOX Series X that is my only HDMI 2.1 device, I just connected it straight to my 86" LG and use eARC for game audio. Works like a charm. I would still recommend this receiver to those that are willing to tweak it and can afford it.

Are you sure your connections are correct? Some of the signal issues you are mentioning were happening to a friends AVR from Denon. When I went over to help him, I noticed his connections were not 100% correct. I've seen this with other people too. Proper connectivity is key for any home theater setup.

always remember ! modern audio devices are computers ! If you have an issue always reboot !

What amplifier or processor do you have, and how does it compare to the Emotiva MR1?

I had some of those issues but after I purchased some audioquest pearl hdmi cables (better quality) and now it’s flawless

I understand your reasoning of not recommending the unit. I have the RMC1L, if all you have to do is turn the unit off, unplug the unit and unplug the tv as well to reset the unit, then to me is just an easy fix no matter how frustrating it may be. Which I had to do myself a few times+ too. I just keep in my mind that I'm not going to spend another $4k to 8k because I got frustrated with my unit. I had the Anthem 70, it to was not user friendly. I have and it still works great a Denon AVR 4800 that's over 20 years old+, the only reason I when to separates to have more flexibility and the HDMI connection that my old unit didn't have. Please don't take my opinion the wrong way. It is frustrating I know....

So after 5 months how do you feel about the item? Are there new firmware upgrades that fixed the issues?

This channel is like taking LSD

I've been having the same problems plus a few more you didn't mention. Also you don't even have the newest firmware which made me notice a slight improvement in processing. New firmware is 1.65. Idk if I could recommend to anyone.

Is it good for a two channel music operation?

One odd individual, but i liked your video.

Lol I see what you did! The wife wins!

Tea? Trying to give Randy and his coffee a run for his money?

Don't think the Emotiva MR1 has Tone Controls Bass & Treble

The video editing is a little strange, is it done by AI? Random zoom ins that mean nothing are kind of distracting. Same with including the mistakes. You have very good information, but your editing can use a little cleaning up.

Send back the MR1 and get a emotiva basx 7 channel amp for $700, to hook up to your old yamaha receiver. The extra power of this amp going through your yamaha should make it sound just as good as the MR1. The advantages are you save money, you have a trouble free yamaha receiver which should sound much better, and now you have a 7 channel amp that you can use anytime in the future as technology changes.

Yamaha... !

please that is horrible

I can't take him seriously, sorry.