AT-500 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Cinema 8K - 16 Channels Processor (Ship Now)!

Great sound but be prepared to spend some time for setup

I've had the AT-500 in use now for approximately 6 weeks. I am quite pleased with the sound performance. It provides a noticeable improvement from the Denon X4700h I previously used for my preamp-only processor. I recommend it with the caveat that you understand this is not like a Denon or Marantz processor where you just plug it in, follow a simple setup routine, and play. The pro's are the excellent sound processing, compatibility with all different source materials I've thrown at it, and great value for what you receive. Also it looks really nice sitting on the top shelf of my equipment rack. The con's are not insignificant however. 1) the menus are not especially English-friendly and took some time to understand and navigate. The user manual is not useful. Terms/abbreviations for the different channels in both the manual and on the back of the unit will not correspond to what you may have called them in the past. 2) it does not help that the remote can be quite fickle and unintuitive until you get used to it. Sometimes multiple button presses does nothing at all, and there is no indication of what is going on - for example, is the processor too busy to complete the command? I now navigate it successfully but it took some practice, trial and error. After setup I only used to switch input sources, so I can live with it. 3) the built in auto-Eq and supplied external microphone may as well be tossed in the garbage. I was a bit shocked at how bad it sounded after running the Auto-EQ setup process. After looking at how it chased high-Q EQ adjustments, I was not surprised. I then took a shot at setting up EQ's using REW measurements through my UMIK microphone with better success, but I was still not happy. Finally I purchased the MagicBeans app (at Aamir's suggestion) for $200 and achieved a result that required only minor tweaking to sound perfect. I would recommend you plan on at minimum using REW and UMIK. MagicBeans just helped me find a near optimal solution much more quickly and with zero frustration. The good news is that you get 11 bands to tweak on most of the channels, 5 on the subs as I recall. It would be great if Tonewinner would allow some flexibility on what frequencies it tries to adjust, and Q limits. 4) Don't be like me and 'assume' a phono input is included. A Schitt Mani 2 solved the problem for me but now I have another piece of hardware. (I don't listen to records that often, so a built in MM phono stepup would have been adequate for me) 5) Ditto for music streaming. I went with a Wiim Mini that sounds very nice for the money - it uses the internal AT-500 DAC. But again, another piece of hardware in the mix. Not an issue for many I realize who have high-end DAC's. 5) Why only one balanced sub output? I believe most people interested in this type of product are running multiple subs like me. I have my largest sub amp connected to the balanced output, and the smaller via an RCA > XLR cable which works fine actually, but it's frustrating that I had to downgrade my connection and limit what sub amps I can use. 7) Support. I've never needed it before with electronics, but you may with this product. Support for this product means calling and leaving a voicemail for Aamir at Summitt, and then hoping you can catch his return phone call when he calls back. He is knowledgeable and helpful when you do speak to him, but be prepared for some phone tag is you don't keep your phone close by to answer his call. He does not seem to like using email or messaging. I am difficult to reach live sometimes, so I would prefer online or live help. 8) Performance wise, the only bug I have encountered (besides the fickle remote) is that on some source material the center channel is completely disabled when I first switch to that source. Netflix or HBO for example. I have found that by switching to another source, and then coming back to what I want to play, the center channel activates. It's not consistent - I'm still trying to figure out what conditions cause it to occur. The amp is on for that channel, so I believe it is just not receiving a signal temporarily. To summarize, I do like the AT-500 overall, and would indeed buy it again, but the adaptation curve was higher for me than with other electronics I have purchased. Full disclosure I am pushing 68 years old, so that likely affected my patience/tolerance/speed level of the adaptation.

AWEsome AT-500

Well, i must say i do love this processor. The build quality is top notch back vault level. And the screen is excellent compared to being on the my TV.. I do hav Pros & Cons. No matter what all good.. Pros: Tank like build quality. I already hav the AT-300 excellent as well. Sound quality is well above my Ex-AVR. I do my own calibrations manually. No Mic!! Using the screen is great very nice feature.. A very Beautiful piece i'm glad i brought two AT-500. Cons: Even though the remote is nice and made of metal. It is quite smooth to the point of almost slippery. But the edges feel kinda sharp but hav a smooth feel. But Not sharp to cut skin No.. It's almost better to hav the the old big long remote from the AT-300. I would greatly Recommend to anyone to buy this affordable processor. It will give those Super High Processors a run for their money. I really don't see the need to spend more..

Has some minor video switching issues, small kinks that have to be figured out in order to sometimes get a picture when turning the unit on, other than that superb picture along with excellent surround.