EMO UMC-1 popping in right surround speaker

[josko]

Guys, I need some help - my right surround speaker is popping when playing in certain configurations.
Here's the system: OPPO BDP93, HDMI to Emo UMC-1, RCA to EMO XPA-5.
I get chirping (only) in the right surround speaker when playing 2 chan. (Blu-ray or DVD) source music and mapping it to NEO:6 or PLII DSP processing. I get a pop or chirp out of the right surround about once a minute. It sounds almost like a very short 'bleep', and not like a skipping LP.
This does not happen when listening to 5.1 source music or when listening to 2.0 source with UMC1 in direct mode. I can only get it to happen when the UMC1 is in the PLII or NEO:6 DSP modes.
I did the following to no effect:
1 Change the RCA cable (for rear surround) from UMC1 to XPA5
2. Change the channel on the XPA5
3. Swap the left and right rear surround speakers.
4. Used brand new DVD and Blu-Ray disks

I contacted Emotiva; their response was to do a master reset on the UMC-1, and that stopped the problem, but at some point as I redid the system setup, DSP mapping and EmoQ it started again.

Has anybody had this happen or happen to have run across this or something similar? Any clues on what I ought to do at this point?
Thanks in advance

 

[agarwalro]

Oh man! Contact them again and best of luck... You might have to send it in for a service.

 

[rnatalli]

It's digital clipping. This is a known issue with the UMC-1 so another unit will likely not fix the problem. I suffered from this and after some serious tweaking, found settings that work. Try these steps:

-Write down all the EQ settings for each speaker you got when you ran it this time.

-Reset unit three times and switch it off from the rear panel after each reset.

-DO NOT RUN emoQ!!! Doing so will set an offset somewhere that can't be tweaked.

-Manually adjust the EQ for each channel using the settings you wrote down.

-Make sure none of your speaker levels exceed 0. If so, adjust them all so they stay relative to each other.

-Adjust the Source Level Input to -10 on every input (in use or not)

-Set volume to 37.5 and run level calibration on the left speaker.

-Repeat this step until your SPL meter reads 75db. Once it does, write down the volume level it took to reach 75db.

-Take that figure and subtract 50.5. For example, if your volume read 45.5 when you reached 75db, the result is -5. If your volume read 52.5, the result is +2.

-Go to the Parameter menu and adjust the Dolby Volume Offset with the result in the previous step.

-One additional step you can try is ensure none of your EQ bands show wild swings like +9, -8, etc. If so, adjust the levels a hair up or down so they're closer to 0.


Keep messing with it for a few more days to see if you can get it to stop. The three settings that seem to affect this distortion are: Dolby Volume Offset, Speaker Levels, and Source Input Levels. All this said, my distortion would stop if I disabled Dolby Volume so if your unit is doing it with Dolby Volume off, you may have defective unit.

 

[josko]

Is it possible Emotiva customer support doesn't know anything about this issue???? They are focusing on my HDMI cable as the source of the problem!!

And thanks, matalli; much appreciated. Does this mean that EmoQ and Dolby Volume are essentially useless on the UMC-1?

 

[rnatalli]

EMO support wasn't helpful on this issue. EQ and Dolby Volume work fine on my unit after messing with it, but I learned never to run the auto EmoQ after a reset. You can use the EmoQ curve, but just be sure to reset the unit and then apply those settings manually after writing them down. You can also use a receiver with Audyssey, YPAO, or whatever you like and use that curve more or less on the UMC-1.

 

[josko]

I've now verified that popping does not occur with Dolby Volume turned off - can't thank you enough for this tip. I'll work on ensuring all speaker trims are <0, turn off EmoQ and see if I can get it into a state that will support DV, but if i have to live without it, so be it. I set up my sub with REW and BFD, so I don't really need EmoQ.

By the way, does EmoQ actually set up a set of parametric equalizers when it runs? I find some vague reference to '11 equalizers per channel', but nothing really concrete in the manual or EmoQ setup procedures.

IMHO, it's unconscionable for Emotiva to sell a product with such a blatant problem. I have a repair ticket into them, but so far, it hasn't come up with anything even remotely enlightening.