BEST. BARGAIN. PREAMP. PERIOD. | Emotiva BasX MC1 Cinema Processor Review

The wait is over. I finally got to hook up an MC1 cinema processor to run it through its paces in my theater. And it did NOT disappoint. Sure, it has some quirks and limitations, but pound-for-pound, it is a beast! Check out my full review and let me know your 2023 home theater goals in the comments!

Get your BasX MC1 Cinema Processor today by clicking on the affiliate link below, which helps support this channel AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU! WIN-WIN!

And while you're at it, get yourself some BasX Amps, too!

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MY HOME THEATER SETUP
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Valencia Oslo Luxury Home Theater Seating

65” LG C1 OLED TV

Marantz SR7015

IOTA AVX17 Preamp Processor

Outlaw Audio Model 7000x Amplifier

Aperion Audio E7 Energy External Amp

Peachtree Nova300 Stereo Integrated Amp

Emotiva BasX A3 Amplifier

FRONT LCR
Aperion Audio Theatrus T80 Cinema/Studio Monitors

Aperion Audio Verus Theatrus T65S Slim Design Cinema/Studio Monitor

FRONT WIDES & VOICE OF GOD
Aperion Audio Novus Slim N6SC LCR

SURROUNDS
Aperion Audio Theatrus T65 Cinema/Studio Monitor

SURROUND BACKS
Aperion Audio Novus N6T Tower Speakers

ATMOS HEIGHT SPEAKERS
Aperion Audio A5 Height Module

LG UBK90 4K Blu-ray Player

2022 AppleTV 4K WiFI + Ethernet (3rd Gen)

Nintendo Switch

14 AWG Copper Speaker Wire

Monoprice Low Profile 22 Lb Capacity Speaker Mounts

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MY VIDEO GEAR
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Audio Interface – Focusrite Scarlett 18i20

Sennheiser MKE600

Sony A7 II Full Frame Mirrorless Camera

DJI OM 4 SE

Shure KSM32 Cardioid Condenser Microphone

XLR Male to Female Microphone Cable

JOILCAN 81" Tripod

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LINKS
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Everything you need can be found at the link below! Woohoo!

#hometheater #emotiva #dolbyatmos

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DISCLAIMERS
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[ryanschipp]

No hdmi 2.1 or hdcp 2.3 support?? It's 2023. Lame choice by Emotiva.

[ryanschipp]

You praise the remote..just fyi, membrane buttons have a much higher failure rate than physical buttons. I've got 16 years experience with them. They didn't provide them because it looks sleek. It's cheaper to make for them.

[mohannair]

There just isn't enough of a discount on these products to make them preferable to a denon 3700 or something like that. The software is just too janky. I guess unless you desperately needed to drive 13 speakers on a budget.

[htenthusiast]

Although I appreciate the company that designed the base pre amp platform that allowed 3 companies launching low cost pre amps, I still think that we’re a generation away from greatness. If they succeed bringing out a next gen without bugs that kicks ass, perhaps with a hint of Sony immersive surround at a great price, then the big guys will feel a strong pinch from these 3 companies. We’ll see mainly a huge rise from Emotiva who’s been offering audiophile quality to the masses. Great honest review as always 🖖🏻🙌🏻😃

[feiyulu]

I'm personally running separates (built over time with a mix of new and used products), but unless you really need to run 13 main channels, the total price is hard to justify compared to a RZ50 or 3800H. If you already have the amplifiers, it MAYBE makes some sense to swap an older processor with this, but RZ50 as a processor at almost the same price with DIRAC? I guess that is just the lack of economy of scale for HT processors.

[SpankyMcdouche]

I did own one! Stay far, far away. The buggiest product I ever owned. HDMI would cut out and freeze, audio signals would be sent to the wrong speakers, arc control was hit or miss. I had many emails with Emotiva, software updates etc. eventually they sent out a new unit. Surprise ! Same issues. Emotiva then refused a refund. As an Emotiva fan I’ll probably never buy anything from them again.

[SlotHits]

every time those little pop sounds creep up, usually indicates lack of shielding. Use shielded cables. The biggest issue Emotiva has is its need to be power cycled every so often to fix a glitch issue.. They need to address that.

[Music.Movies.]

Thinking of just getting a Marantz Cinema 70s AV Receiver use its Preouts to add power amps as l am only interested in 7ch speakers in my home more than enough for me, don't want to end up deaf

[SeanPowell-pv]

I love the fact that Emotiva is trying to deliver great sound at affordable prices. However, if the product is buggy, I’d rather have a reliable receiver that I know when I turn it on it works! If you had a car that had a great engine, but the transmission didn’t always shift into the next gear smoothly, it kind of ruins the whole driving experience. Full disclosure, I don’t own an Emotiva amp or processor. I’m basing my opinion on reviews I’ve read so there it is for better or worse. I may be full of crap but even if it sounds great it’s got to work every time bug-free. There are receivers that can’t do that and honestly I agree with the fact that good separates will outperform receivers. I’m merely talking about reliability, not sound quality.

[nathanwhitmore]

I'd love to see a full manual set up with REW and the Spatial Audio Disc. It would be great to know how far this little box can go

[senyonjobrian]

Thanks for the bought it last year after watching ur first waiting for your hands on review

[pl]

I'm not sure how 1600 CA$ is considered a "Bargain" ? WIIM is a bargain, yeah. It's like saying a GLE63S AMG is a "bargain" at 197 000 CAD cuz it's as powerful as a 600k car.

[anone]

Lack of a proper working EQ such as even Audyssey XT32 on this is a major problem - I thought Audyssey was not needed or doing much on my own 7.1 system which uses a mixture of various surround and front speakers until I tried testing using one of the TechnoDads Dolby test videos where he moves his voice around the room and comes out of one speaker at a time... without EQ the sound of his voice was VERY different out of many of them, and sounded terrible... but with XT32 turned back on, then his voice sounded *exactly* the same out of all the speakers... perfect tone matching! It is 100% needed and impossible to "manually" do.

[Goose_Lord]

Don't see the big deal about HDMI 2.1...
1) 8k content is almost non existent
2) The vast majority of projectors do not support hdmi 2.1 so it doesn't affect most dedicated home theater users.
3) Competetive gamers are playing at 240hz with 1080P or lower resolution. I doubt most casuals will notice 60hz vs 120hz.

[johndaddabbo]

Sorry, but the Manual EQ option NOT having individual speaker adjustability is an absolute GAME OVER!!! Seriously Emotiva, what were you thinking? A seriously powerful manual EQ "if" not for this one FLAW.

[GingersKing]

$1k and it doesn't even have HDMI 2.1 ports? Seems like it would make more sense to buy an AVR and just use an external amp.

[jonaschristensen]

Not correct ACR will normally preform better than XLR if cable length are shorter than 600mm, the extra component in the signal way of a XLR connection colors the sound more thany you benefit from XLR. BUT in long cables XLR are better....

[Uziavenger]

The pops and blips were also common in the older UMC200 which is what I have. I spent a ton of time researching how to get rid of it. Audio from my PC had to be sent through USB as opposed to through the HDMI in order to avoid the blips. I wonder if their more expensive processors have the same issue

[TECHNDJ]

So what about 8K or 4K120 gaming with upcoming consoles? So should we expect next gen consoles with two HDMIs for audio and video? 😂 You will be doomed if your GPU does not have 2 hdmis then😑

[brandonandrews]

Lack of individual channel PEQ control is a complete disqualifier, since I have an asymmetrical room.