I just purchased the 103 myself, and have it set up as a processor straight to my amp. Seriously impressed, I can't hear anything lacking as the OP found, perhaps it is system dependent? I also have the Oppo 95 in a 2 channel system and I have to say, Oppo rocks!
I'd hold off on the XMC, every single processor that Emotiva has released in the last 4 years has had bug issues, some really quite stunning. Give it some time to see how things shake out.