I was hangin' around the Saloon today having a sarsaparilla when I read about the Emotive line of audio gear. Does anyone have any experience with them? Gonk, if you have read the features list of their reference model comparing to the 990 what would you think? Comments?

Emotiva's a relative newcomer to the scene. I've actually watched one of their processors very closely (the LMC-1), and there has certainly been discussions of the DMC-1 along the way.

Emotiva initially operated under the umbrella of Mark Schifter's AV123 - home of the Rocket speaker line and some other well-regarded gear. AV123 provided the customer support and sales as well as contributing input to product development, while Emotiva worked sort of in the background. Last year, Emotiva split off on their own. They're based in Nashville (just three or four hours down I-40 from me). Their amps are reportedly quite good. Prices are a bit lower than Outlaw's amp prices because they are built overseas, but performance is comparable.

The DMC-1 processor is a rebadged Sunfire Theater Grand IV, a solid and well-regarded platform from a number of years ago (the Grand V is the current Sunfire processor and has been out for a year or so I believe). It is in my SSP chart , although I don't think I've updated the price since its most recent price drop.

The LMC-1 processor has a rather convoluted history, and even now there are still lingering questions about firmware bugs and even the way the LMC-1's processing modes work. There's a long and often heated thread (now locked) at AVS that spent much of its energy looking at the LMC-1's Pro Logic II/IIx implementation, which was originally different from any other receiver or processor I've heard of up until then or since. I can go into details if there's an interest, but it's largely a historical curiosity at the moment (assuming you have current firmware). Emotiva ended up revising the firmware to allow PLIIx to work as expected, although doing so forced them to disable the triple crossover bass management in certain modes, and the inability to install firmware updates in the field meant that owners had to ship their processors back to have the update installed. The surround mode quirks and questions even re-appeared the other day (with more detail here at AV123 . The LMC-1 uses almost the exact same DSP chip as the Model 950 did (both Cirrus 49300's) and almost the exact same DAC chip as the Model 1070/970. It's apparently got a nice analog section (good sound), but the number and nature of the bugs have made me pretty nervous about it, especially since firmware updates require that it be shipped back to Nashville.

The other pre/pros and pre-amps listed on their site have not started shipping yet. The MMC-1 will be a trimmed-down DMC-1 (removed the balanced outputs and I think a couple other things) with HDMI video switching that is functionally equal to the DVI switching in Outlaw's current gear.

They've also said that they'll be rolling out HDMI v1.3 equipment by year end (some reports even point to early fall), but I have my doubts. Considering the complexity involved in HDMI v1.3, the impending arrival of a new product in their line-up any day now that would most likely be phased out in just six to nine months, and the delays experienced by the LMC-1 make me dubious of such a product launch. Of course, I've made similar comments about the possibility of Sherwood getting HDMI v1.3 hardware to dealers by early fall, too, so there's obviously some skepticism there already.

Emotiva's one of the very few internet-direct electronics companies out there - there are plenty of speaker and sub makers, but electronics are much more rare. They have some really good stuff, but they're new to the market and they've had their share of problems (the fact that the LMC-1 shipped with something called Pro Logic IIx that I still don't believe did was Pro Logic IIx was supposed to being one of the biggies for me).

First, I really want to thank you for taking your valuable free time to spend helping through this decision. I wish I could return the favor. Your knowledge base is phenomenal. I am almost done procuring my seven 2200s and then I'm looking at speakers. I was sure I wanted to upgrade my Martin Logans to the Vistas but now I am intrigued with Maggies. A long time ago I bought a set of ESS Heil AMT (Air Motion Transfer) Fives and have been fond of that speaker design ever since. I guess Oscar Heil is still in the businesws but the costs are prohibitive to me. I will probably put the pre/pro last since I can use my Denon AVR for the task. Portland (OR) has a Maggie dealer and they are priced right, a tier below the ML's. Wow, what a lot of money but I'm single so it's OK.

I haven't heard any Emotiva products but I think buying their amp by the channel is a great idea. There is a guy on the Klipsch board who has had both. He says the Emotiva amp is every bit as good as Outlaw and the 990 is better than their processor.