If Emo wants to be like ATI, Bryston, Anthem, etc., and they are able to repair their own amps under warranty, then they should repair their own amps out of warranty.
If they want to be like Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Sony, etc., then they should have authorized Emo repair centers for both warranty and out-of-warranty amps.
Now if they just absolutely cannot repair an amp due to unavailable parts, that’s not their fault and everyone would understand.
But to FLAT-OUT refuse to repair their own amps out of warranty (when they do repair their own amps under warranty) is unsound.
They’re telling the world that they don’t even trust their own products and don’t care about service. Period.
I think the ground has been well covered.
Emotiva has moved to assembly (and some manufacturing) to the US and changed from classic transformer based A/B to lighter SMPS based A/B.
I suspect they have neither the parts nor the expertise in house to repair Gene's amp.
Still, I agree that they should have a 3'rd party repair relationship for their customers.
I have noted that your "dead 8 YR old Denon AVP-A1HDCI" was not repaired. Doubtless, you could have found a repair shop but it is an open-ended repair.
This is more troubling for amps since they should last longer. I have a Sunfire Cinema in another location that is running fine after 20 years.
I don't expect that from most products, but perhaps my AHB2's but perhaps. I think I might expire in less than 30 years
I have had my XMC-1 for about 5 years. The trade-in credit is approximately $2000 credit for an upgrade to an RMC-1 or RMC-1L. Not bad.
The XMC-2 and RMC-1 have a Reference Stereo mode which is excellent but I don't need because have a Benchmark LA4 for 2-channel.
The architecture good with separate DACs per channel fully balanced. I like using hardware for performance and not for legacy features and extra zones.
In reality, there are much better ways to have multizone audio than running wires from a central processor. Roon and J River both provide multi-zone streaming.
Denon/Marantz has HEOS.
The HTP-1 has Roon and is reported to be fully balanced as well.
The designer has from transformer PS back to using a SMPS to reduce noise.
This is good to hear as it is an indicator that the goal is SOA performance.
We are days away from CEDIA and their will be additional announcements concerning the HTP-1.
Honestly, if this unit is fully balanced, cold-boots in 30 seconds or less, has S/N > 100 dB with processing engaged, I am going to give it a serious look.
Hopefully, Emotiva and Monoprice will include published specifications that include: S/N and bandwidth with and without processing, output voltage measurements at 2.0 volts RCA and 4 volts XLR, etc.
- Rich
