Emotiva XMC-1 owners....

Jon, how many Rotels and Classe's have you owned? Did you compare the sound directly or are you comparing from years old memory? The reason I ask is, most people do exactly that, using memory and not considering the effect of new purchase bias.

Anyway, I'm sure the $2000 XMC sounds good. But so do many $1000-1200 AVRs. I got a Denon AVR 4520 for 1200 and it astounds me at the improvement in sound quality over my old Flagship Onkyo. Plus it has may bells and whistles that the XMC doesn't have and I don't need an amp as it has 150 watts for each of 9 channels.

And Denon's sibling, Marantz, has a processor for the same price as the Emotiva, and again, twice the features including 11.2 channels and Atmos, plus a dealer network if you ever need service instead of spending large dollars to ship it to Emotiva for service. Your choice of course.

They make cheap entry level gear and claim it's as good as anything out there. I've tried several of their products and researched others. They're nothing special at the prices charged.

No manufacturer is "needed". They either get people to buy their stuff or they don't.

All manufacturers do not claim they make the best gear, and that is not what I said. But if you think that they don't make a big margin off of each sale, you are mistaken. Their products are built to a price point, just like any other maker. They use budget parts to meet that low price, don't kid yourself.

Which is why they don't come close to a Mac or Bryston. Besides which they don't have the knowledge, people or organization behind them to build some of the best gear out there. They are a small minded company that can't keep up with demand during promotions. Lonnie? He's a figurehead, not a John Curl. Big Dan is a businessman with electronics connections in China.

I'm sure they do a tidy business and that's fine. But I get a kick out of Emo fanboy owners who say it's as good as the big boys.