Emotiva XMC-2

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I remember they turned Gene down for an amp repair too. Guess they're not qualified to fix their own gear?

That just sounds stupid how Emotiva would not repair their own amp.

They won't repair any of their OWN amps if the warranty period is over?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

In my book, a manufacturer that doesn't support after sales service does not deserve business. period.

Did Emotiva have an official response as to why they would not repair their own amps? Maybe they send all their amps to another place like how Denon/Marantz send all their amps to Panurgy?

 

[Verdinut]

Did Emotiva have an official response as to why they would not repair their own amps? Maybe they send all their amps to another place like how Denon/Marantz send all their amps to Panurgy?

One thing for sure is that they don't seem to care for customers. In any case, their products have not had an excellent record of reliability. Why should audiophiles have continued interest in them?

 

[BriReeves629]

Maybe it’s just me, but I have never had an issue with their amps. They are good products and an exceptional value. That is why we go back. We as consumers want to stretch our buying dollar as much as possible so there is more money to put into speakers. I’ve never met anyone in my circles who doesn’t love their Emotiva Amps. That said, I don’t know anyone who owns their speakers or processors. This looks to be a very nice product and VALUE.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Maybe it’s just me, but I have never had an issue with their amps. They are good products and an exceptional value. That is why we go back. We as consumers want to stretch our buying dollar as much as possible so there is more money to put into speakers. I’ve never met anyone in my circles who doesn’t love their Emotiva Amps. That said, I don’t know anyone who owns their speakers or processors. This looks to be a very nice product and VALUE.

If your amp were to need any kind of service out-of-warranty, will they service your amp or ask you to send it somewhere else?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

One thing for sure is that they don't seem to care for customers. In any case, their products have not had an excellent record of reliability. Why should audiophiles have continued interest in them?

If EMO doesn't care for customers and doesn't service their amps, then audiophiles should NOT have any interest in EMO.

It would be nice if someone from EMO could officially respond.

It just seems ridiculous if anyone else can service EMO amps, but EMO can't service their OWN EMO amps.

 

[cgarlock]

Did Emotiva have an official response as to why they would not repair their own amps? Maybe they send all their amps to another place like how Denon/Marantz send all their amps to Panurgy?

The official response from EMO to me twice over the phone was that anything related to lighting whether it's a direct hit or power surge from a storm miles away can't be evaluated/repaired due to liability concerns. My amps were out of warranty and I'm honestly not sure about the XMC now that I think back. I get it when it comes to liability in this lawsuit happy nation we live in but it's still a bad deal to not even offer to help out on your own brand.

 

[RichB]

The official response from EMO to me twice over the phone was that anything related to lighting whether it's a direct hit or power surge from a storm miles away can't be evaluated/repaired due to liability concerns. My amps were out of warranty and I'm honestly not sure about the XMC now that I think back. I get it when it comes to liability in this lawsuit happy nation we live in but it's still a bad deal to not even offer to help out on your own brand.

Liability did not occur to me. Emotiva has moved to a new design and I suspect they no longer have the parts and possibly do not have the personnel to repair older products.

Marantz authorizes third party repairs, so I suspect they would send you to United Radio. They are not liable for a partial repair.
As far as I can tell, Marantz does not repair anything. They will pay for a third party repair when under warranty.

ATI services the amps they build and that remains a selling point. They are relatively expensive though. The best deal is to buy an ATI built Outlaw or Monoprice amp.

- Rich

 

[cgarlock]

Liability did not occur to me. Emotiva has moved to a new design and I suspect they no longer have the parts and possibly do not have the personnel to repair older products.

Marantz authorizes third party repairs, so I suspect they would send you to United Radio. They are not liable for a partial repair.
As far as I can tell, Marantz does not repair anything. They will pay for a third party repair when under warranty.

ATI services the amps they build and that remains a selling point. They are relatively expensive though. The best deal is to buy an ATI built Outlaw or Monoprice amp.

- Rich

I know that EMO said they didn't have any replacement power supply boards for the XMC any longer. Like I said it was a $5 rectifier that fixed my unit and the repair shop states that they do not assume any liability, just a warranty on the repair itself.

It's complicated for sure and two sides to every issue but you do, IMO, want to go with someone who stands behind the product.

 

[RichB]

I know that EMO said they didn't have any replacement power supply boards for the XMC any longer. Like I said it was a $5 rectifier that fixed my unit and the repair shop states that they do not assume any liability, just a warranty on the repair itself.

It's complicated for sure and two sides to every issue but you do, IMO, want to go with someone who stands behind the product.

That's not good. I suspect you could have gotten a better response by escalating the issue. I know that seems like it should not be necessary but it has been necessary, in my experience, even with ATI.

Emotiva has good trade-in program for the XMC-1 owners. If you are willing to stay with them an XMC-2 upgrade costs about $1K. The program starts in October/November. I'll bet they test that XMC pretty well when it readied for resale as factory refurbished.

- Rich

 

[lovinthehd]

Seems it would be easy enough to reduce liability via disclaimer of some sort when doing a repair contract? Manufacturers have some special liability doing repairs whereas a third party doesn't? How does that work?

 

[BriReeves629]

The official response from EMO to me twice over the phone was that anything related to lighting whether it's a direct hit or power surge from a storm miles away can't be evaluated/repaired due to liability concerns. My amps were out of warranty and I'm honestly not sure about the XMC now that I think back. I get it when it comes to liability in this lawsuit happy nation we live in but it's still a bad deal to not even offer to help out on your own brand.

Maybe what they are saying is if it is damaged from a storm, the component is like a “totaled” status with a car. Basically it’s fried.

The bigger a company gets, they have to direct their service department to be effective with time. I wouldn’t want my under warranty amp sitting off to the side while a tech is busy figuring out what happened to an out of warranty product hit by lightning... they are likely just trying to prioritize.

 

[RichB]

Seems it would be easy enough to reduce liability via disclaimer of some sort when doing a repair contract? Manufacturers have some special liability doing repairs whereas a third party doesn't? How does that work?

Marantz has no liability for third party repairs.

- Rich

 

[lovinthehd]

Marantz has no liability for third party repairs.

- Rich

Yeah, I get that part, and few of the major brands still offer a repair service facility of their own, but did that go away due to liability issues or just getting away from their core business?

 

[lovinthehd]

Maybe what they are saying is if it is damaged from a storm, the component is like a “totaled” status with a car. Basically it’s fried.

The bigger a company gets, they have to direct their service department to be effective with time. I wouldn’t want my under warranty amp sitting off to the side while a tech is busy figuring out what happened to an out of warranty product hit by lightning... they are likely just trying to prioritize.

I suppose. Then again your local repair guy seemingly has found the issue easily enough....altho that's no guarantee down the line. I remember when many of the major brands of consumer electronics ran their own facilities in major metro areas. Did they go away due to basic business reasons or pushed along by liability issues?

 

[RichB]

Yeah, I get that part, and few of the major brands still offer a repair service facility of their own, but did that go away due to liability issues or just getting away from their core business?

Honestly, I didn't think about liability until @cgarlock' s post. Clearly, cost can include liability.

With Emotiva, I suspect they did not have the parts on hand and may not have the personnel to service a board that may have numerous fried parts.
It turned out simpler than that and that's great.

These days we all own numberous devices that may be cheaper to replace than repair. Since repair is open ended, it's not an easy decision.

- Rich

 

[cgarlock]

It's easy to get upset when something doesn't go your way especially in my case where I had totally no fault in it. I really had to step back for a bit and just reset my view.

I don't want to derail this thread either. I hope Emotiva has good luck with the XMC-2 and I think they will with time.

 

[gene]

That just sounds stupid how Emotiva would not repair their own amp.

They won't repair any of their OWN amps if the warranty period is over?

It was stupid TBH. Based on this experience, and the fact I haven't had a single Emotiva product last more than 5 years that I've owned, it saddens me to say that I won't be reviewing or recommending their gear anymore on this website. I hope they re-evaluate their out of warranty service to their customers in the future.

 

[ryanosaur]

I don't want to derail this thread either.

As the OP, I don't think this is "derailing." Truth be told, I've seen very few experiences with Emotiva shared here. I know there are many fans on that other site...
When I consider the options they offer, some of it is really tempting! I don't know how many times last year I almost bought a full 7.x.4 speaker set from Emo! (So glad I waited!)
That said, the line is very fine between good and bad. We've seen it many times. I still struggle with other things like Crown XLS Amps. Yes, friends here have, and love, them... but they have their limitations too.
Towards my original reason for posting this thread, I find it to be continuously interesting that Emotiva and ATI, seemingly at the same time (in the grand scheme), came out with similar products. These Pre-Pros almost deserve to be in a special class: 16-channels with some level of assignability allowing a flexible choice between a wide variety of HT, Subwoofer, Atmos, and Multi-zone options. Perhaps the common denominator will be Dirac as the driving factor. Until the Monolith HTP1 and the ATI version drop, there is no way of know for certain what the ultimate value in this particular "Class" is, or if it will have any staying power over the more traditional offerings by our favorite players (Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Anthem, Onkyo, etc...)
On paper, this class is something that answers many questions I've had since becoming a Marantz owner a year ago. I'm not unhappy, but I am not satisfied, either! From a user experience standpoint, so much has been left on the table, it's absurd. All of these companies can do better, and should.

 

[RichB]

It was stupid TBH. Based on this experience, and the fact I haven't had a single Emotiva product last more than 5 years that I've owned, it saddens me to say that I won't be reviewing or recommending their gear anymore on this website. I hope they re-evaluate their out of warranty service to their customers in the future.

Emotiva's handling your amp failure was less than brilliant.
At the very least, they should try to identify a repair shop, provide them with schematics for all legacy products.
If that were in place, cover your repair. I hate to say it, but "in industry" does matter. I'd expect them to understand that.

Marantz: I two triggers failures and power receptacle issue (two repairs) in 6 months of owning my Marantz AV8801, repaired under warranty but annoying.

ATI: My friends and I bought 6 AT6000s. Two of us had no problem but the other hand channel and failures in both amps. ATI took care of him.
For serviceability, ATI has also serviced an Outlaw 7500 at very reasonable pricing. I don't think there anything to worry about any product from Outlaw or Monoprice for service.

Benchmark: I have owned these products for less than 6 months but so far so good. Support spent about 1/2 with me to help me configure the LA4 XLR inputs and other questions. I have not read of any failures on their ABH2 amps or other products on the boards.

I am still considering the Emotiva RMC-1 and upcoming Monolith HTP-1 processors. They have far more channels than I need but I am looking for SOA audio performance.

The only embedded streaming option of interest to me is Roon which will supported in the HTP-1.
As a software guy, I admire the Roon design, implementation, and functionality. It has been much more reliable then JRiver.
The fact that it can stream directly and control the volume for my Oppo UPD-20s is ideal for my game room system,

For other streaming options, a dedicated device is the only one that makes sense. They are small affordable and are maintained with regular software updates. My ATV4k keeps getting better.

- Rich