990 vs. Emotiva

Hi all,

I own a 950/750 combo and have been happy with it for years. Recently I picked up a Sunfire signature grand cinema amp (400 x 5) for a good price and this has sparked an interest in upgrading the pre/pro as well. A 990 would be the natural choice but I see the Emotiva DMC-1, MMC-1, and LMC-1 have also entered this space as "big sound, big value" pre/pros. On paper, I have a hard time telling if one of these is better than the others.

So how do the Emotivas and Outlaw 990 compare? I have zero interest in video switching of any kind (DVDO VP30 does all that), and only a mild interest in the new HD-DVD sound formats (I consider them in a state of extreme flux.) I would love to get True-DVD or whatever it's called, but if I have to buy an Anthem AVR-50, forget about it.

So really what I want to know is how do these products compare on: sound, features, ease of use?

I'm going to be lazy and post this link to a recent thread where I wrote on this subject at some length.

At the moment, I have an e-mail in to Emotiva asking them for some official clarification of issues with the LMC-1 (resulting from an ongoing debate on the forum at AV123, whom Emotiva used to be affiliated with). There are some issues with the LMC-1 that I consider serious surround processing and user interface problems (briefly summarized in this post at AV123 ). The overall opinion of the LMC-1 is that the sound quality is quite good, but the issues that I've seen reported are difficult to dismiss.

The DMC-1 is a clone of the Sunfire Theater Grand IV, which is a good platform dating to a couple years before the Model 990. Sonically, it is a close match with the Model 990 (perhaps a slight edge to the DMC-1), and the 990 has the edge on features. Originally, the DMC-1 sold for $2500 to $3000, although the price dropped drastically to around $1700 last year.

The MMC-1 is supposed to start shipping any time now (they've missed several projected shipping dates, but the last I heard was that the first batch of units were on a freighter somewhere in the Pacific). It is a scaled-down DMC-1, so features are still close to comparable to the 990 (although the 990 would still have an edge). The MMC-1 does have HDMI inputs, but they are purely for video switching - functionally identical to the 990's DVI inputs, although the 990's DVI inputs are actually a bit more flexible since they can be assigned to any video input (the MMC-1's HDMI inputs are permanently assigned to the DVD and SAT inputs, similar to the way the Model 970's inputs are assigned to DVD and Video1).

Emotiva is new to the internet-direct market. All indications are that they are good to talk to on the phone, but e-mail responses have sometimes been slow coming and some people have been disappointed in the way the LMC-1 has been supported. Outlaw is one of the early arrivals in the internet-direct market, especially when it comes to electronics, and their customer service track record has a bit more history behind it. Outlaw also has this forum, which is a great place for customers and potential customers to talk with each other and get support on all manner of issues.

Of course, all this is being said by someone on Outlaw's forum who has owned a number of Outlaw products, so there may be some inevitable bias. Seriously, though, the DMC-1 (and presumably the MMC-1) is a quite nice piece of gear, as is the Model 990. I'm very leery of the LMC-1 because of the operational issues that have been reported, moreso because Emotiva seems to have decided not to pursue corrections for them.

If you want some good info on the HD-DVD/Blu-ray audio formats and the format war, you might want to take a glance at my HDMI FAQ ...

That's great info gonk. I saw a thread you were writing in over at the av123, but it wasn't a direct head on comparison which is what I was after.

That answered a good deal of questions for me, specifically that for HDMI they are both equally hobbled (not a criticism, just what I'm reading into those links.) And that sonically the 990 seems to have the edge.

I'll probably get a 990 and wait a few more years for the HDMI hub-bub to sort itself out.

Thanks...

A guy on the Klipsch forum has owned both. He says the Emotiva is very good but the 990 beats it sonically. Obviously, features are subjective.