Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater RMC-1 & going beyond 16 channel surround

Hmmmm ... seem that emotive's RMC-1 is somewhat stable now and that their channel expansion card will be done soon ... at least they have shown us a picture of the hardware and claim (think) they will be done with its software by years end ... (in emotive's speak that maybe a very long time).

If true I may need to think about expanding my speaker/amp count sooner then I thought ...

I'm sure Axiom wouldn't be unhappy if I bought more stuff ... hmmm, I haven't even setup my 7.4.6 HT and I'm already dreaming about a 11.4.8 or yikes 13.4.8 ... I'll need 6 more M5's with FMBs and another ADA1250 ...

It's the techie in me speaking ... In reality I'm not sure I could justify it sound wise ... but if I could and if and if emotive really delivers ... hey, a guy can dream.

I'm sure you have thoughts on this ... even if it's just who needs more than 5.1

Dunno…. If set up right 7.4.4 is pretty seamless. I think your 8805 maxed would be plenty. I “matrixed” channels for a pool install for coverage and can say paralleling channels works pretty well. Great in fact. Might be an option with your extra roughins.

I dont think its a bad idea to hit high channel counts for object based audio, but why wouldnt you go with a pro cinema solution at that point? Price?

I dont dislike emotiva, but I definitely see them as treating their customer base as voluntary beta testers. Seems like most fans of the brand are Ok with this however, as their products eventually work.

Emotive is not a company I’d trust on a first release or second for that matter
I figure that once the user base stops complaining about a product it might be safe to try it … Given that next option in the 24 channel space is crazy money the less stable options start to look palatable.

Only real reason for a higher channel count is to get that seamless experience to more seats
(and the fact I find it intriguing)

I should state that I agree with you Trevor. The 8805 7.4.6's should be enough. Especially considering that most of the time only two seats will be filled. Still ...

Emotiva definitely has their fan base. They are cheap and when things work they are worth the cheap price. I have a pre-pro on my main floor. It isn't as seamless in some ways as the old Cambridge, but then again the Cambridge wasn't very quick compared to my 20 year old Onkyo or the current Denon.

I'll go with Trevor on this one though. If you are contemplating that much, then don't go to cheap on the electronics. My Emo is fine, but if i had an extra $3k for kicks, i probably would have gotten something very different even though i would not have used a tenth of its abilities.

I think some of the hardcore DIYers are going for QSC Core setups. I dont know much about it except it is pretty flexible for setup for structured media installs.

No idea if it is cheaper than a trinnov or datasat option. JBL has an option too. Sdp-75.

Food for thought, but not giving them away.

I have two thoughts on this:

1.
Emotive and Outlaw are two small companies which are trying their best to provide a quality products for a reasonable price. I believe they have talented engineers who are often a bit overoptimistic on how easy or how much time things will take. I trust Outlaw a lot more than I trust Emotive although they have pulled similar versions of stringing you along (moving release dates of products for years). Emotive, goes beyond this, knowingly releasing products before they are done. I can only guess they need to ship it in order to have enough money to finish it. This is not a great position to be in and it is especially telling that they have done this multiple times. This does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling ... but

2.
The RMC-1 promises a 16 channel surround processor which can be expanded to 28 channels. I'll guess that a 28 channel unit would run just under $10k. If I was going to purchase one it would not be till I knew it was working and that people were reporting mainly happy things. I expect that will take a while but, in the meantime, I enjoy keeping an eye on it.

Now, to your suggestion ...
At this point in time, going with a higher quality more main stream company would mean a Tinnov Altitude32 or a JBL SDP-75 (basically a repackage Tinnov). Either would be well over $30k with the same number of channels. So, I'd love to take your advice (if you'd be kind enough to pay the difference)


The reason I created this thread was because I was excited that Emotive actually had a real channel expansion card. I was starting to think that I'd never see one. So, If they do pull it off, and people are happy, and I see no other competition in it's price range that i think is better ... I might buy one.

This seems like a control system thing. You can attach as surround processor but not make it into a surround processor ... at least that's my 3 minute take ...

More channels good, I think!

Someday, I have to dial in my 8805 and 7703 systems. If any of you end up in Orange County, I'd sure like the company.

My exact impressions based on all the reading/research i did over several years looking at amp and pre-pro options.