Xmc-1?

[Ironman129]

looking for a processor or reciever to go with my XPA-5. I know people have had some issues with the UMC-1, but with the XMC-1 coming out in the beginning of 2112 for $999 I was wondering if anyone had any info on this processor. Right now the UMC-1 is on sale for $500 and with their upgrade policy I would get 40% off the XMC-1 when it comes out. That pretty much covers the cost of the UMC-1 especially is I could sell the UMC-1 for $100 when the XMC-1 comes out. My other option would be to use a yamaha rx-1000. Any thoughts?

 

[jcl]

The roll-out of the umc-1 was a long and torturous process. Read through the many threads on various audio forums on it. The previous preamp offering, the LMC-1, I believe was similar. When all was said and done they still didn't get the bass management right and instead of admitting a mistake they declared it working as designed. Here's a link to a review that discusses the bass management : http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/home-theater-receivers-processors-amps/38483-emotiva-umc-1-processor-review.html

Given their prior track record I think it would be foolish to expect anything different of the XMC-1. If you enjoy doing firmware updates and testing then you might enjoy it. On the other hand if you want to enjoy music and movies, I'd pass until the bugs have been worked out by someone else.

Even then, I choose not to reward a company that operates that way with my business. Working in software I have my own opinions on what Beta vs. Release means and it differs from Emotiva.

Emotiva offers matching aesthetics to your amp. Otherwise the feature set is comparable to AVR's on the market. For sound quality, at this level there should be no difference - forget all the anecdotal nonsense you read about deeper soundstages, airiness, etc. The only differences you should hear would be the room correction and I think you'll find that the room correction offerings from other vendors are more advanced.

 

[darien87]

Emotiva offers matching aesthetics to your amp. Otherwise the feature set is comparable to AVR's on the market. For sound quality, at this level there should be no difference - forget all the anecdotal nonsense you read about deeper soundstages, airiness, etc. The only differences you should hear would be the room correction and I think you'll find that the room correction offerings from other vendors are more advanced.

I definitely noticed a difference between the UMC and my Yamaha 661 receiver. But I'm sure that receiver was one of Yamaha's lower level offerings. The bugs in the UMC have been a pain in the *** no doubt about it. But I also can't deny that it's a great sounding piece of gear.

 

[Ironman129]

...The bugs in the UMC have been a pain in the *** no doubt about it. But I also can't deny that it's a great sounding piece of gear.

With your experience with the UMC-1 would you say it's worth the $500? If you manually set the crossovers and bass management will that alleviate some of the headache?

 

[majorloser]

....but with the XMC-1 coming out in the beginning of 2112....

I know it's a typo, but I still had to laugh my butt off at that one.

(Sorry Dan and Lonnie.)

 

[Ironman129]

I know it's a typo, but I still had to laugh my butt off at that one.

(Sorry Dan and Lonnie.)

My bad! that's supposed to say 2012!

 

[dad311]

I bought the 499.00 UMC-1, sounds great and Im very happy with the purchase. 499.00 with a 40% off coupon towards the XMC-1 was a deal-maker for me.

Below are my initial thoughts/issues:


Emo-q detected my speaker distances correctly and the test tone levels matched my SPL meter within +-1 db. Also the EQ settings were right in the ball park with what I expected.

Input setup was straight forward, no real issues.

I found a distortion problem in stereo mode. I call Emotiva support and they requested I do "load defaults". After loading defaults and redoing the setup, the distortion was gone. Overall the sound is outstanding!

The remote control had a leaking battery. Emotiva replaced the whole remote, no questions ask.

The only real issue I have is the pop when the receiver is first turned on. Not a big deal, but it should happen.

Several forum posts have commented on the great Emotiva support . I would have to agree. Support was friendly, helpful and very sincere about resolving my issues.

 

[darien87]

With your experience with the UMC-1 would you say it's worth the $500? If you manually set the crossovers and bass management will that alleviate some of the headache?

I paid full price for mine, so yeah I think $500 is a pretty good deal. Depending on how complex your system is you might not have any issues with the UMC. I do think the way the bass management is handled is indeed stupid.

If you have the ability to manually EQ your system then you should be fine. I used the Rives disc and a ED eQ2 to tame a bump I had at about 30hz. It is lame that you have to resort to another piece of gear to do what the UMC-1 should be able to do itself.

 

[j_garcia]

I've been thinking about picking up a UMC-1 also, in anticipation of the XMC-1. I have two spare amps sitting around in boxes for surrounds, so I am ready to go. I asked them about the pricing a while back as well as what the pricing of the XMC would be and I didn't get an answer at the time.

 

[Ironman129]

...I asked them about the pricing a while back as well as what the pricing of the XMC would be and I didn't get an answer at the time.

That's funny, I saw posts that you get 40% off when you upgrade, and when I emailed them about the release of the XMC-1 and to confirm the upgrade policy, I got an email back with 24 hours.

 

[Ironman129]

... Depending on how complex your system is you might not have any issues with the UMC. I do think the way the bass management is handled is indeed stupid.

If you have the ability to manually EQ your system then you should be fine. I used the Rives disc and a ED eQ2 to tame a bump I had at about 30hz. It is lame that you have to resort to another piece of gear to do what the UMC-1 should be able to do itself.

Well, I'm going to be starting with a 2.1 setup. I am in the process of auditioning and deciding between the Paradigm S6v3, Synchrony Ones, and the Philharmonic 3s. I will probably combine them with a Rhythmic sub, and start from there. I eventually will have a 5.2 setup but want to spend as much as I can on my fronts and first sub and add additional speakers as the budget allows.

 

[Theresa]

I've had a UMC-1 for a year and cannot recommend it. Promises of a firmware fix have not materialized. I would save up and get the Marantz AV7005 if I were you. The XMC-1 will still use EmoQ and I'm certain it will be useless. I am a big fan of Emotiva amps and their surround speakers the ERD-1s.
I've not had the chance to hear the Marantz and Onkyo so cannot say how they compare with the UMC-1. Do they indeed sound inferior to the UMC-1? Is it subjectivist snake oil as I expect?

 

[Crackerballer]

I've had a UMC-1 for a year and cannot recommend it. Promises of a firmware fix have not materialized. I would save up and get the Marantz AV7005 if I were you. The XMC-1 will still use EmoQ and I'm certain it will be useless. I am a big fan of Emotiva amps and their surround speakers the ERD-1s.
I've not had the chance to hear the Marantz and Onkyo so cannot say how they compare with the UMC-1. Do they indeed sound inferior to the UMC-1? Is it subjectivist snake oil as I expect?

I just did a ton of research and this is all I read too. Everyone loves the Marantz but it's like $1300.

 

[Theresa]

Yes, me too. I cannot afford the Marantz right now and the UMC-1 is just adequate given my needs. I don't need the equalization or EmoQ as I use miniDSPs for those functions. But I absolutely do not recommend it. People these days expect automated room EQ and expect equalizers to work while the UMC-1s do not.
Every day I am tempted to order the Marantz though just because the UMC-1 is buggy with center channel drop outs.

 

[cpp]

I have had two UMC-1's each had issues, tired of waiting on fix after fix so I sent them back and purchased a Marantz AV7005. No issues at all with the Marantz AV7005.. Emotiva I feel makes great amps for the money but their UMC was well just so, so.

 

[Ironman129]

I have had two UMC-1's each had issues, tired of waiting on fix after fix so I sent them back and purchased a Marantz AV7005. No issues at all with the Marantz AV7005.. Emotiva I feel makes great amps for the money but their UMC was well just so, so.

The Marantz looks like an awesome processor, the problem is it's 3x as much. Since I've been on the forum, I've realived that the only piece of equipment that really needs upgrading is the processor. I good amp, speakers, and subwoofer will last decades, whereas a processor may need to be upgraded every 5 years or more depending on new technology and encoding. I'm ok with paying $500-$1000 for a processor, but for $1500, plus a good amp...

Any other good preamps in that range?

 

[Theresa]

Some of the time you get what you pay for. Considering the UMC-1 is an outlier with other budget pre-pros about $1,500 and above that high end ones, its not surprising the UMC-1 has problems. Is it worth an additional $1,000 to avoid aggravation (drop outs etc.) and have functioning features (Audyssey, equalizers, streaming etc.) rather than ones that are worthless/unusable? A big sacrifice is made when one buys a $500 pre-pro.

 

[GranteedEV]

I definitely noticed a difference between the UMC and my Yamaha 661 receiver. But I'm sure that receiver was one of Yamaha's lower level offerings. The bugs in the UMC have been a pain in the *** no doubt about it. But I also can't deny that it's a great sounding piece of gear.

I think a lot of receivers have really weak pre-outs. to the OP I recommend the Marantz SR6004. The Pre-outs were measured at 7vRMS which is almsot four to seven times the pre-outs of most receivers.

 

[Ironman129]

I think a lot of receivers have really weak pre-outs. to the OP I recommend the Marantz SR6004. The Pre-outs were measured at 7vRMS which is almsot four to seven times the pre-outs of most receivers.

Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like I can get the SR6005 for $600, SR6006 for $1000, and SR7005 open box with full warranty for $1200. Using the pre-outs I obvioulsy don't need the extra watts per channel, but other than the Airplay, any other reason to go with a higher model?

 

[GranteedEV]

I said 6004. The x005 is a total redesign of which i have npt seen any measurements.