Guys, I really don't have upgraditis, really I don't. WELL
I always wish I had a better system, want the best I can get, always reading and dreaming, wishing.
Who doesn't?????
But I am basically happy where I am now.
There is all this talk about 4K UHD and HDR with Dolby Vision, all that means a new TV and Blu Ray player.
I was looking at that, but when OPPO went belly up on the players, that put a real damper on that idea. AND I honestly
have not seen a 4K TV that has a much better picture than my 64 inch Sammy Plasma. A little bit of improvement, but not that much and I would only go that way IF it was at least a 75 inch if not an 84 inch. That would be a great upgrade, but then what would I watch on it????? There is hardly anything out in 4K UHD, especially over here.
And I am happy with what I have.
DACs, well, who wouldn't like to experiment with a new and improved R2R DAC????? But I have not heard of a multi channel DAC of any consequence or highly regarded for less that $8-10K. Certainly not in my ball park.

HOWEVER I am having problems with my Emotiva XMC-1 pre-processor. It keeps hanging up on me, every night. I use it daily and a lot, and have to change the inputs, volume, etc. by remote control (the XMC-1 is connected to my home network by a LAN line and that internet connection is used by the remote control app on my phone to control the functions of the XMC-1).
All of a sudden it seems to get tired of me going from watching TV to checking my email, to watching a movie, to listening to music. Or changing the volume, it just stops working. Hangs up and then nothing can be done by remote control (phone app or real remote) nor by walking over and pushing buttons. It has to be rebooted, at the very least once a day!!!!!
This is getting old.
I am trouble-shooting the problem now, seeing if I can fix it. I REALLY hope I can.
But in the meantime, I have begun looking at reviews online of surround sound pre-processors.
Does anyone have any suggestions of great sounding ones that I might be able to afford? In other words, not a stratospheric price.
I am looking for great sound, music and movies, and don't need more than 7.1 channels.
I know several of you like and probably will recommend the Anthem AVM 60. Here I have a question for you. I cannot find on any of the reviews nor on their website whether or not it will decode and play native DSD music????? Will it, and how good a resolution? Surely it must.
Any other recommendations? I am even thinking that I may pick up one for a little less since I don't need ATMOS or DTS-X, etc. But I might as well get one which will pass through 4k UHD, that just makes sense.
OK, IF you have bothered to read this far, I would love to hear your ideas/recommendations.
Thanks and God Bless,
Wayne

After a lot more research, I found that the Anthem AVM 60 does not support native DSD.
The good news is that I may have found what was hanging up my XMC-1, perhaps the same thing that is not working all that well for streaming from the internet, my newish router.
When I unplugged the LAN line from my XMC-1 last night, so far I have had no more issues. Course that means my phone remote control app that works by network connectivity no longer works, so I had to get out the horribly big, heavy, unlit remote control that came with the XMC-1 and start trying to figure out what button does what again.
Still, IF it works well, I will stop looking at processors.
But any thoughts, recommendations would be welcome.
God Bless,
Wayne

Hi, Wayne

I'm glad you found a solution, even if it's a bit cumbersome to use!!!!

Yes, routers and streaming can be troublesome. I recently upgraded a single band modem/router here in NH to a newer, better dual band, and have been pleasantly surprised at all the streaming problems it solved. Also upgraded an older network extender to the newest TP Link top of the line extender (Amazon, $122) and now have seamless coverage everywhere, even outside. I stream to high data use devices like Amazon Firefox;s on tv's via the 5G band and leave the 2.4 G band for iphones, etc. No issues anywhere. Plenty of bandwidth for everything, including when family arrives with their phones and ipads. Who woulda' thought.

You said you have a fairly new router...but protocols re connectivity and security keep changing. I wonder if there's a weird interchange going on or not happening with your LAN and router???

Keep at it!

Rick

What about Marantz? 7704 or the 8805
Both do DSD. 7704 is way cheaper and I have heard good for music as well which might fit your needs


www.qualifi.com.au/index.php?page=shop.p...rtuemart&Itemid=1049

www.qualifi.com.au/index.php?page=shop.p...rtuemart&Itemid=1049

Rick, I am totally ignorant about these things, I looked on Amazon and found the wi fi extender. That makes sense, probably would be helpful for other situations, I will see if I can find one over here that works on 220 V.
But what about the "dual band" router you mentioned. Sounds like something I may need, any links to info on that? What one do you recommend?
Steveo, I upgraded from the Marantz AV7705 when I got my XMC-1, at least I feel it was an upgrade.
The Marantz line is very well respected to me, and is about all that is in my price range. I do NOT like their Audyssey Room Correction. AT ALL. But the 8805 does have a higher level of room correction than my old 7705 did. Not sure at all which one, the 8805 or the XMC-1 has the better DACs and implementation, ie the best sound?
For sure Marantz has more bells and whistles.
Probably my old ears cannot hear the difference anyway, but I like to think they do. ha ha
Will see as we go along, so far, going on two days now after unplugging my LAN line from my XMC-1, so far, fingers crossed, it has not hung up again.
Maybe I am good.
Thanks Guys,
God Bless,
Wayne

Hi, Wayne

I think maybe your issue is some kind of router/LAN connectivity mismatch. Can your internet service provider provide a list of compatible routers? With fiber optic feed, you should be getting blazing fast download speeds.

Re my router, dual band in general, the new model is a Hitron dual band MTA, I.E. a modem/router/phone combo with battery back-up. It was recommended by my service provider when I talked with them about download and streaming issues I was having. I picked it up at their local office. The advantage of dual bands is that it can relieve traffic congestion on your wifi network. Plus 5G is faster. The net benefit is you can have more devices downloading data and not competing for the same bandwidth. I don't know if that's your issue, or some weird connectivity or security protocol mismatch.

Re the TP Link extender, it expands the area getting good wifi signal. I was getting buffering, even dropped connections at the furthest distances from the router. Not anymore. Good for areas where you're getting a weak signal, if that's happening to you.


Re best routers, TP Link, Netgear, Linksys all seem to get good reviews.

Re best extenders, The TP Link AC2600 is by far the best extender I have ever had. Top notch.

Rick