Hi Folks,
I wanted to do a quick review of the UMC-200. Please note, this unit includes the new .39 firmware and I’m reviewing the unit out-of-the-box. If you want to complain about the update process, please do so in the appropriate thread. Sources include a Verizon FIOS Box and an Oppo BDP-103 Player. My display is an Acer H6510D DLP projector connected via HDMI.
Ordering
I ordered the UMC-200 a couple weeks back and was notified it would ship on 5/22/13. I received notice on 5/21/13 that the units had arrived and would ship on 5/23/13 (a day later) allowing Emotiva to install the new firmware; I had no problem with this. On 5/23/13, I received an email with tracking information as promised and my credit card was charged. No real hiccups and good communication the entire time.
Packaging
The UMC-200 was double boxed and well enough to survive shipping. It arrived without any issues. Emotiva packs the unit in a cloth wrapping similar to Oppo, which is a nice touch, and better than the plastic you find with the UMC-1 and other electronics.
Setup
I pulled my UMC-1 out of the rack and put the UMC-200 in its place. Hook up was easy as I simply have three HDMI cables going into the unit and the usual items going out (trigger, preouts, HDMI out, etc.).
The menus aren’t anything fancy, but were laid out well enough for me to find my way around. I ran Emo-Q and found it did a much better job than the version included in the UMC-1. Phase was properly detected, distances were spot on, and it even nailed the crossover of 90Hz, which no system has ever done correctly in this room. The only odd thing I noticed was the LFE channel included the same frequencies on two separate bands, but it was at a frequency I know to be problematic in this room.
Emo-Q offers enormous flexibility. I didn’t realize that not only can you tweak levels and Q values for each band, but you can also tweak the frequency of the bands themselves. REW and UMIK-1 from MiniDSP will play nicely with this unit and represents a tweaker’s dream. One thing I will point out is that for some reason, the Manual EQ will not allow values greater than +3.0 in each band. This wasn’t an issue in my room as +3.5 was the highest value I needed; anymore and I would invest more into additional room treatments.
Sound
I didn’t notice huge leaps in sound quality compared to the UMC-1 using the same PEQ settings, but definitely noticed a difference with Emo-Q as the UMC-200 did a much better job of applying room correction. This version of Emo-Q had my speakers and sub rocking in about 10 minutes and it sounds fabulous! I do wish the unit had Dolby Volume; it does have a Night mode, but I haven’t tried it out yet.
Picture
Although the unit still overlays its menu on live video, I didn’t notice any artifacts being introduced as a result. Personally, I prefer the volume overlay the UMC-1 had as the UMC-200 one does get washed out depending on what scene the display is showing.
Remote
Not as nice as the metal one included with the UMC-1, but I don’t care as I use a Harmony. The Harmony database does have the codes for the UMC-200 and they appear to work fine.
Bugs
Trigger On – The UMC sometimes will trigger the amp on then off then on again. The forums mention a fix that appears to work which is to simply turn on Standby Video.
Enhanced Bass – It will show as on even though you speakers are set to small. Simply toggle back and forth between large and small to fix this.
Back EQ – The Back channels have no EQ. Not an issue if you have a 5.1 setup like I do.
Standby LED – Not really a bug, but does annoy me. The color of the LED while in standby looks reddish orange compared to the usual amber on other Emotiva products. And why the heck did Emotiva make the button itself smaller?
Summary
For $419.40 ($699 less 40% certificate), I can’t complain. Sure, you can find a receiver with preouts in this price range, but none will have the flexibility of the UMC-200 when it comes to the PEQ or the build quality. Definitely a keeper for me as the UMC-1 wouldn’t pass 3D video either and the UMC-200 has no problem doing so.
