Emotiva Audio Corporation is now preparing the XMC-1 preamp/processor for Summer 2012 release.
As the first product of a new generation of high-performance digital audio products developed under the guidance of digital systems architect Ray Dennison, the XMC-1 represents a technological milestone for Emotiva.
At the heart of the XMC-1 are two powerful 32 bit, dual core, floating point digital signal processors controlled by an advanced ARM processor running under custom Linux software, providing enough processing horsepower to decode all of the latest high-resolution multi-channel audio formats, with true 7.2-channel decoding, including separate level, distance, and EQ controls for stereo subwoofers and summed LFE.
To ensure that every one of those 7.2 channels sounds its best in any room, the XMC-1 also features the TacT TCS 3e Theater Dynamic Room Correction system — a proprietary version of the advanced room correction system found in TacT’s TCS Mk III surround sound processor, developed exclusively for Emotiva. The TacT TCS 3e allows listeners a perfectly adjusted and personalized audio experience at the push of a button. Also included is the ability customize the systems frequency response and characteristics “on the fly,” while listening to music or watching movies. This feature allows the customer to compare the before and after results and make adjustments to personal taste.
The TacT Theater Dynamic Room Correction system adjusts the system response to a specific target curve and then applies a sophisticated loudness compensation algorithm that dynamically adjusts the tonal balance of the system based on volume.
Along with the advanced TacT Theater Dynamic Room Correction system, the user has the option to manually set independent crossover frequencies for the center, fronts, surrounds, back, and subwoofers channels, select independent or global multi-band parametric equalization, independently variable EQ frequency and crossover slope rates by channel groupings – all of which are accessible on a computer-based user interface accessible via the XMC-1’s back-panel Ethernet control port.
“The inclusion of TacT Dynamic Room Correction is a beautiful example of what we set out to accomplish with the XMC-1,” said Dan Laufman, president of Emotiva. “Rather than settling for ‘good enough’ by merely taking what we had developed in the UMC-1 and building upon it, we went back to the drawing board and designed a truly original, world-class instrument, that will stand the test of time, with features and capabilities never imagined at this price point.”
In addition to seven HDMI 1.4 inputs and one HDMI 1.4 output (3D and 4K compatible), the XMC-1 also boasts four optical and four coaxial digital audio inputs; balanced and unbalanced stereo audio inputs, two USB Type A ports, which facilitate FLAC, WAV, AAC, and MP3 audio streaming, a USB Type B port for high bitrate lossless audio streaming, and a 3.5mm headphone output driven by a dedicated Texas Instruments DirectPath Stereo Headphone Amplifier.
The multi-channel and streaming audio processing capabilities of the XMC-1 are counterbalanced by features such selectable pure direct audio pass-through with no additional processing of 2.0-, 5.1-, and 7.2-channel audio sources, as well as pure direct audio processing of SACD’s DSD audio.
The Emotiva XMC-1 will be available this summer for $1499, exclusively at www.emotiva.com. Customers who participate in Emotiva’s Processor Upgrade Program can buy their XMC-1 for 40 percent off when it goes on sale. Those who buy the XMC-1 will also receive a new Processor Upgrade Certificate good for 40 percent off a future generation processor.
