It Sounds Amazing, BUT There Were ISSUES! Emotiva RMC-1L 16 Channel Processor 

I bought the rmc IL 2 years ago at full price and haven’t had one issue with it absolutely love it sounds great with movies and music l would highly recommend it.

"as long as it's working properly" that's the key. I hate bashing on companies. I currently own multiple Emo amps and have for years and love them. Unfortunately after going through 3 RMC-1L that had many issues from DOA to locking up, I bought a Anthem and have no issues (knocking on wood).

Your videos are always spot on!! It amazes me how Emotiva puts out all these new products when their current products are still to this day not working properly. I feel like that's a slap in the face for all those existing customers that are still having issues that paid thousands. You would think they would take care of existing units before putting out more. smh 🤔

I always enjoy your videos, particularly your candid thoughts. It is a rare thing in the world of RU-vid presenters to be so upfront. Excellent work, very ,very well done 👏.

Pretty happy with our Emotiva RMC-1L overall. Especially with the latest firmware release, which has been a very solid effort. No major bugs, and just really does sound sooooooo good. Appears many of the early issues people ran into have (admit slowly) been fixed. No show stopper bugs, or other issues, so very thankful of that. Hopefully Emotiva can fix any remaining issues experienced by others.This is still serious money for most people, so should hopefully eventually live up to it's promising potential for all owners. Sound quality definitely competes with much higher cost units I have used and heard. Seriously amazing sound quality, both for 2 channel music, and the various surround formats. Definitely shocks with just how very good it is. Really is honestly a giant slayer in this regard. Cannot praise Emotiva enough for offering this, especially in this market place, where processors can run to $15,000 plus. If they can speed up its operation (mainly boot time low power mode, hdmi lock on, general UI), fix the last of the other minor issues hurting some, it will definitely be a genuine giant killer! Looking forward to the upcoming RMC-1-L+ upgrade to see what it can offer. Web based setup is a very good start, hopefully they keep status and volume OSD though. Too many other processors have lost even basic volume onscreen display! The new more powerful chips, and care with the UI should hopefully get it working at a level that pleases most. These unit can really be amazing with just a little more care and polish, I am hopeful they can do it. Would love to see more use made off those dual oleds front of unit, maybe channel use indicator, VU aka Storm audio and other high-end units. A move to quality colour display oleds would be even more exciting, and help it stay modern. On another note always found Emotiva staff great to deal with when needed, go above and beyond. Not a guarantee in today's world. Hopefully they can come through, they deserve to be successful, and in the end it will only benefit all of us, the consumer. We need these small manufacturers being competitive with the big guys. Brings amazing things. Thanks heaps for the thorough and honest review. Always look forward to your excellent videos, some of my favourites on RU-vid.

Great review - fair and honest to point out the bugs while leaving the possibility for Emotiva to share a solution to the bugs. Hopefully there is a simple fix for it and it is not too common an issue, but at that price customers have a right to expect it to work properly and consistently.

I appreciate your fairness and objectivity here. I have been closely watching Emotiva's evolution with their processors as I'd really like to give them a try. If I had to choose between user friendliness/reliability and sound quality however, I think I'd sacrifice a small drop off in the latter in exchange for a better user experience. Maybe one day Emotiva will get there but at the moment I simply don't trust their QC for a unit I'd expect to keep at least 5 years.

I appreciate the review, thank you. My lcr, rear and 2 height speakers are Emotiva (2 SVS subs) and have their BasX 3 and 4 amps with an Anthem AVM 60 processor. Very happy with this setup. I do like the look of the RMC-1L 16, but when I was first itching to move away from receivers and reading reviews, Emotiva wasn't getting the feedback you'd expect for putting out processor money. Purchased the Anthem used, and in my small space has been stellar. Currently don't have a music streamer but am considering, so the Anthem AVM 90 would be a great review if you haven't done one already. Cheers!

Alright Barrett!!! I'm glad that you decided to go the Emotiva route!!! I'm waiting on their new RMC-1+, RMC-1L+, and XMC-2+ processors to come out sometime between next month and september!!! Then I'll make a move to my end-game processor.🙂

Very good review! I like your format (how you organize the sections) and style. I will cite this video in my next video where I review the MR1. Hopefully I can get the few viewers I have to check out your channel too.

I have the xmc-2 and they just released the newest update 3.2 last week I think. Emotiva does have bugs but they sound so good. The latest update made a better improvement but they still have a little more work to do. I also had issues with Dirac!

Great review as allways!👍🏻 I have an AVM70 and regarding build quallity the Emotivas look soooo much more premium on the back. This is one area where Anthem really need to improve. E.g. the connectors on the Anthems look kinda cheap without the gold plating and my RCAs squeek and feel like the will break off when I use more expensive cables...

21:25 i appreciate Barrett's transparency and objectivity. Another superb review❤❤

As always, great video❤

Nice video as always. A honest reviewer will hopefully give Emotiva the additional feedback necessary to make it better. I have had a love/hate relationship with the Emotiva processor and its early predecessors and the sound has always been its best attribute followed by the understated looks. Many bugs have been slightly resolved over the life cycle however its just taken too long to correct many of them and the larger software update process seemed to be a bit much for the uninitiated user . I initially had multiple source devices connected through it and that was one of the worst experiences however once I configured it for 1 hdmi source and split my audio and video it really started to shine operationally and add a hard reset occasionally to address the sound stage drifting or bass anomalies. The Gen4 processor is in the works and hopefully they take the experience from G3 and build on it and don't debut until its ready for the masses. The mid to high processor market offers so much opportunity for growth before anyone considers going full tilt for Trinnov ,Storm etc.

Agreed, have had mine for 5 months and its like an old car with personality. I should name it betsy or something. Dont care, sounds incredible! Ill upgrade to new one eventually and hopefully the bjgs will be fixed. Always appreciate your friendly videos.

Good review I was considering the rmc 1L a year ago but I think I'm going with the AVM90

Well done as usual, appreciate the honesty, I've been an XMC-1 and XMC-2 processor owner for quite some time and agree with your assessment as far as referring it to the masses for simplicity and ease of use. Set it and forget it customers are not the target buyer at this point, and yes if you have some know how or experience with setup and calibration it's not that difficult. Sound and separation are amazing, however I have not experienced the center channel issues you have with music or movies. Also there has been an update earlier this month which you may already been made aware of and implemented. Definitely interested in your full assessment of the product if you choose to further review it after speaking with Emotive and maybe the update possibly helping at all with your particular issue if at all possible .

Great review. I appreciate the passion you have for this hobby. I’m in the process of considering an upgraded processor to support a 9.2.4 configuration. I looked at emotiva but just don’t want to be frustrated by bugs, glitches, etc. if you want a direc live processor that supports 9 bed layer, 4 Atmos channels and have 2-4 subs, the options are limited

I believe the center sub XLR connector can be use for something else then a sub as per manual? I may be wrong. they did release the 3.1, but I had issues spoke to Brent and he sent me the 3.1.2 which fix all issues, not they release the 3.2 which updated many things in the unit. Now I am very happy with it. Even compare to my McIntosh MX180 in my audio/media room. As for Dirac, I had the same issue also a very metallic sound in the treble, and affected the volume as well , (was a big difference) so I finally realize after reading all instructions that my Laptop was not set up properly to work with the microphone and created all this weird issues, after I set up proper;y all that was gone in my case

Tool many issues and lacking HDMI 2.1 kills this for me as a choice. Thanks for being honest and forthright - not many like you out there !

I have one and love it ..there a few bugs with all AVR out there they nake great stuff so I knew I had backup for any problems in the future but so far so good thanks for the video😊

I loved Emotiva, their Power amps are great ( not the BasX line thou ) but tried their pre-amp/receiver line and they were very, very bad. Stick with their power amps and even then I would now go to the Tonewinner.

Been running this unit for 6 months. Did not experience your issues with left side imaging etc.; however when streaming music (Apple TV) or use of CD - sometimes the initial second or two of sound is skipped so not a clean start to a song. Also, no issues with switching inputs (using digital and analog sources) - switching it is very long/clunky but accurate. For music the “stereo mode” with sub has produced incredible stereo sound - whether streaming, cd or turntable. And 5.1 cinema sound is outstanding. All this sound quality without DIRAC implemented.

Full disclosure, I was the one helping Barrett compare the two amplifiers. I appreciate your honest review and hope emotiva can reftify this issue with a firmware update. As far as centre image, its importatnt to know that this listening was done in two channel and we are reffering to a phantom centre image. Not the centre channel itself as this was turned off. Im also wondering if what you heared in the Dolby Demo on the left side was perhaps due to the imaging issue favoring the left side!

Does it support CEC control. Like if I used my ATV remote to change the volume or turn it off or onz would that work?

I really wish I can give u a demo with the IL I have it hooked up with the emotiva dr3 and xpa 5 they really do make great products.

Good honest review. How was your experience with Dirac? Was it stable and bug free with the add-on kit? Do they have Dirac Bass Control available yet?

Great video! as always. I have never owned an Emotiva product. Have owned many other AVR's and Processors. My Gem was the NAD M17v2. The Emotiva looks really nice, a high quality piece, feature rich, and a highly regarded brand. Really too bad that it does not function properly. The big brands, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, ect are pretty much bullet proof. As I understand there were some issues with the first new 2.1 HDMI's that came out, but the Emotiva has the older 2.0 which should be perfected. I recently purchased a Onkyo RZ50 for my family room. Flawless operation, a breeze to set up, Dirac, and sounds really good, especially with the Paradigm X15 (thanks Barrett!)👍. Seems Tech these days is hit and miss. One would expect a product (any) simply work as advertised. Too many problems for me. My fuse is short regarding functionality. Great job relaying both the good, and the not so good! I cant wait "till the Mcintosh vs TW AD1PA heavy weight fight airs! as a AD1Pa owner, it will be very interesting for sure. Cheers!

Did you flip the AVM90 or you keeping that one? What would be the next stop? Any consideration for the AV10? Thanks for the great content!

I had a rmc1L. i bought it when they had just released the new firmware late last year. definitely sounds great with movies. It was too buggy for me to keep. it would hang up switching between hdmi inputs. i would have to reset it. if it just sat in a dedicated home theater maybe i could overlook those things. i returned it for the avm90

My rmc1L goes into fault mode @ -15db. Running Tyler T2, S, and Dr2. Asked Chandler to exchange it for me as opposed to trying to Chase bugs and being with out my Prosser.

The fix for your problem is there impending board upgrade. Myself I am holding off for a solid year after that comes out to see if it holds up. It's definitely time to wait on Emotiva and probably buying a new processor at all. Because if the new hardware is successful and brings the units to what they were originally imagined to be than these could become a kickass product right around the corner.

That is what I always read and hear is Emotiva sounds incredible WHEN, keyword WHEN, it decides to work right. I will gladly sacrifice some sound quality I won't notice unless I A/B or never experienced and/or money to have a consistent reliable unit. When I come home from work and want to listen to music or watch a movie, I want to do just that instead of fiddling with the the processor or worrying that it is not going to work.

Hello Barrett I am thinking about buying the Emotive RMC 1L which is on sale now for $2710, but I would like to get your input as how good the AVM90 is compared to Emotiva RMC 1L for music. Is AVM90 really worth the extra 4-5K?

I hope they land on a reliable unit someday. I have no idea where they get their processors made or parts but their avr looks alot like a Tonewinner. Maybe that is more reliable?

I am looking at the XMC-2. Would you suggest buying something else? If so what?

Combability, HDMI, dated ergonomics. Slow response to request of action. Has to be reset more than say others out there. This is for somebody who has been around. The DACs are a small part, big part is the Fully Differential Balanced topology. It sounds great. So if wonky is okay, Emotiva will do fine. If you are looking for an automatic consistent performance and functionality, you want to look elsewhere. I have an XMC-1, and for me it has been great. Sound, and HDMI switching works great. My Oppo, and Sony BluRay worked great. My computers work great too. I have the 4K UHD upgrade board too. It just works great. I have friends that had like the basic pre pro with issues. Tonewinner and Emotiva have much in common. Not a coincidence either.

Any update from Emotiva on the center channel issue?

Would you ever consider the Marantz AV10?

With the center image is based on the first Mike placement on running direc set the Mike away from the back wall and the chair and it should be locked in

Good review. Always seem like this bands has more issues than others…

Question for you. Did you set your levels back to zero before you ran Dirac? If not I would recommend you do that then rerun Dirac. I only ask you that because you said you set your levels and distances. Also are you on there new firmware 3.2 fixed a lot of my issues. Lastly changing distances within the processor doesn’t do anything after Dirac is run. It sets the impulse response automatically within Dirac.

Thanks Spec! You're taking one on the chin for us bums looking at this equipment. This IS a premium product regardless of Emotiva's heritage of being a value brand. I believe it's their flagship product and it's reliability should reflect as such. I remember you having similar buggy issues with Anthem's AVM series processors back when they came out and I ranted against that in the comments. I am just extremely disappointed that brands promote these high cost products and yet send them out half-baked with channel drift and crooked displays. I'd just get a ToneWinner because all the components come from China anyways, why pay an American premium??? Again thankful you're so upfront and it makes me question a lot of the other Audio YTber's gushing about this company. Plus you're Canadian, so gotta support the local bros.

Turning off Dirac will change everything especially if the Direct correction session was before speaker toe-in. They are working on a Plus / G4P. All the Anthem features.

Sir try to review the Arcam ✌🏼

My EMOTIVA RMC-1L have problem from the beginning, but it is a big problem, Noise like shooting from one or more speakers when start songs on TV, not always but most of the time, I updated to 3.2 firmware a long time ago and it didn't help, it's a serious glitch.

How would you compare the RMC-1L to the AV10? Is it worth the upgrade?

In the past year I've been thru no less than 7 processors, (2 different companies) due to malfunction. What a pain!!! Currently waiting for #8. Pray for me.

What firmware version did your RMC-1L come loaded with ? v3.1 ? v3.1.2 ? or v3.2 ?

Just a quick comment on the two bugs you have experienced as both are known. There is no fix for volume and profile changes ATM and it is still present in 3.2 FW. AFAIK the volume drops only for C channel when it happens. They only recently learned how to isolate it for testing so probably it will take some time to be solved but as long as you don't change profiles you should be grand ;) The drifting center image I remember reading about for quite some time. I am not sure what is the fix or if it was sorted in 3.2. But yeah bugs are real, so is the SQ :), but you know all that first hand by now :) It is very interesting to read that you find AVM90 a bit better on SQ department. That is impressive of AVM. So that would mean that Trinnov is even better? Thanks and i hope you will keep :)

I have a lot of Emotiva product and I love their amps and even their stereo preamp, but each time I try any of their Dolby products there are issue. This is the mean reason I send them Back each time and I still don’t have any of their Dolby PreAmps. The issues seem to be in the software not the Hardware and they have already solved a lot of bugs throughout the years. But still it doesn’t feel complete without good working software.

I’ve been looking all over to see if any emotivas do 4k 120hz. Can anyone answer that for me ? Can’t seem to find the answer. Debating between one of these and a marantz cinema 50.

Yes yur right and yur evaluation for the emotiva processor is correct ,their soft ware has lot of issues . As i had mentioned bto you earlier that although bthe sound is nice and crisp on basx mc1 but it never had Bluetooth EQ software in it ,when I called up emotiva they sent me an apk file and i had to upload it on the processor later ,even now when I switch inputs there are times I don't get sound immediately infact I don't get sound so i have to rtn back to the original input signal and switch back to the new input signal to get sound out of the processor...or sometimes i have switch off the processor as well and then restart it . Now I and having issues with tearing sound when I pause skip or even change the the movie title frm atmos to any other multi-channel sound .....this is very irritating and emotiva dose not have any solution to it .u have a non biased opinion and i love that .

At 11:02, what he is trying to say is "If you want a stable product that works well, without bugs and with a clean, usable user interface, buy something else" (full disclosure).

For me DIRAC was a lot quieter than manual, don’t know what could be the reason.

I have long been considering going separates with Emotiva, but I've just heard over and over about how buggy their stuff is. In the end, if I'm paying multiple thousands of dollars for a component, that's just not acceptable. I'd actually rather pay a bit more and have a flawless user experience with another brand. This will be equipment I plan to have for many years, and I don't want to constantly have to fight with it just to make it work how it's supposed to work.

Does it sound better than Marantz 7705 or 76?

The led light ring around the power button, and the big selector are a no-no straight away. Nothing more irrating is large lights in your face catching the eye. Rotel does the same. What makes manufacturers think that is what people want. If you can turn them off, that is OK. The tiny dim led that shows the unit on or in standby is more than enough.

You should rethink high end. As in, maybee I should just save up and get a storm or trinnov and be done.

I purchased a Processor From Emotiva and the processor keeps Looping will not turn on. I call Emotiva and there response was the unit is discontinue and we no longer support or repair that unit. I left a review on the website and they did not post it. IF you go to there website all you see is 5 star reviews (Bull Crap) My best advise is DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON EMOTIVA EQUIPMENT. Better company with better support.

Im so glad i didnt buy this. 6 months ago i had this in my cart. I did more research realized Went for buy once cry once & spent $4000 for Anthem 70 8K. Its been a beauty. I use Emotiva & now Tonewinner Amps thanks to you 😂

I don't care for this trend of companies releasing new products and the customer having to wait for an update so it can operate ideally. It's not just Emotiva, and it's not just in audio.

I've missed something here. I've watched this twice. Other than the left-leaning soundstage, what was the other major "issue(s)" you had with this? I don't own one. I have no dog in this fight. I still own and use a first-generation (2012) XPA-5 power amplifier, which has never given me a problem. I used to own an XMC-200 preamp/processor, which stopped working properly in early 2019. Emotiva told me that parts were no longer available and that it could not be repaired. Did the promised follow-up review of the RMC-1L ever appear? I was unable to find it.

Let me know if ya sell this processor

How does a $4000 preamp only have HDMI 2.0 and only arc?? How do you do Atmos without eARC?

Sounds like tooo many bugs for me!

Please pin an update in the comments when you get feedback from Emotiva regarding these issues!

No more Emotiva for me. Have been trying them for the past decade and there are always bugs.

Everyone says the same thing too many issues 😢

I have the RMC-1. It sounds good. But it’s a buggy peace of shit. Also where is there channel count upgrade module? Spoke to them and told them they have falsely sold a processor that has the possibility to upgrade channel count. I realise there was going to be a wait for the add on card but the wait has been perpetual. Oh and to add to that there bringing out a plus version. Shall we take that as admittance there 1st version is just hardware flawed. Thought I bought the bones of a receiver that was going to be built upon not replaced and made obsolete.

lol with Taxes it's about four thousand dollars why would I buy one if it has issues.

My biggest problem is too many companies today, releasing incomplete products that do not work properly wanting people to spend thousands of their hard earned dollars in hopes of a fix someday down the road that either takes way too long to come or in some cases never comes at all This trend has got to stop with companies abusing customers like this and this is not just an IMO Teva problem there are tons of companies doing this crap today vote with your dollar people stop buying these products until they complete it and make it work properly out of the box That is what they have a team of engineers that are supposed to do before they release a product and on something you are spending multiple thousands of dollars on there is no excuse at that point

I loathe Emotiva. Releasing products that aren't yet ready for primetime. Using paying customers as unpaid beta testers. No way that first unit should have ever been shipped in that condition.

I definitely would not have recommended this receiver at all. It’s too expensive to be this incomplete not $3000 even at $1000 it would be horrible. Hell I would be scared to sell this crap to anyone else. It’s outdated appearance doesn’t help this is a definite NO GO 👎. Elevated price does not make this a good bye.

Emotiva is the worst buggiest garbage. Buyer beware!

I love there amps . I have xpa amps running my whole home theater 7.4.4 but you cant pay me to own one of there processors! Unfortunately.... i d love to have all my equipment match. They look great , i hear sound pretty good when they work. But to spend thousands of dollars on something that has that many probs is out of the question, for me . I plan to go from my marantz to the anthem , because well they just work !