Emotiva UMC-1 Pre-Processor Video Review

[bikemig]

I've been thinking of buying one. At this point I have a 2.1 set up with powered speakers (audioengine A-5 plus a sub) and it would make a life a heck of a lot easier if I had a quality preamp in the chain. It would be easy enough to add an amp and (passive) speakers down the road if I want to do that. In the meantime, having a sophisticated AV switcher/processor like the emotiva would be very useful.

 

[Jsmith2011]

"Minimalist" - YES! Finally.

Why do every **** and Harriet nowadays make their av preamp look like a crunky receiver? Grrrrrr.....

Not too crazy about the 4-quadrant navigation buttons, can't think of what I want in its place at the moment, and please can we get rid of that dimple on the volume knob? No marking at all will be fine with me. Other than that, am interested.

 

[Jsmith2011]

Brother! after reading the few posts here, u guys made it sounds like a white elephant. Mhhhh... I've never been a fan of "upgradable hardware" It's been so far a gimmick to me. And I have to agree with the comment, direct download from the Internet is the way to go, it only cost cents to set up a server these days right.

 

[majorloser]

Brother! after reading the few posts here, u guys made it sounds like a white elephant. Mhhhh... I've never been a fan of "upgradable hardware" It's been so far a gimmick to me. And I have to agree with the comment, direct download from the Internet is the way to go, it only cost cents to set up a server these days right.

The hardware was complete upon initial shipment. There has been no upgrades to hardware.

They just had some software (firmware) issues that were not initially known but soon came to light once the unit was hooked to various equipment. I had no problems with my unit till I started to update the firmware. Then I started to see alll the problems others were seeing. Now I wish I would have left it alone, but the tweaker in me can't help myself.

When the unit was released they were very clear that the early adopters would have to be patient with firmware updates. But that's why they released it at a significantly lower price for those of us on the pre-order list.

Hey, I didn't have a problem with being a guinea pig for Emotiva with this particular item. Yeah it was damn frustrating at times getting my firmware to load until I finally got the kinks worked out with the process and switched to my older laptop. For some reason I couldn't get my Win 7 64-bit laptop to work right.

Right now I'd recommend getting this unit for somebody wanting to break into separates at a budget price. You'll be receiving a unit with the final firmware release. You'll also have a lot more resources and information available on how to properly load firmware releases if a newer version should come out.

 

[LAB3]

I was really thinking about going with the UMC1 and a 5X200 amp but after all the firmware issues I decided not to. I want a plug and play and forget about it. My Onkyo HD AVR TX-SR805 was great for several years and it quit a second time so I started looking at seperates but I went back to a Yamaha AVR with HD decoders. It's a shame Emotiva did not do their own Beta testing before releasing the UMC1. I really liked the looks and features of the unit but I do not have time to mess with all the problems with loading firmware. I would have paid a little more for it if they had fixed the problems first.

 

[cpp]

I agree with LAB3, I also was looking at the UMC-1 but these issues cause a rethink. I wonder if Emotiva knew of these problems and released the processor just to get a hand into the market and then taking the stance, fix the issues later, hope not as they were quick to respond to the issues with fixes (updates).

 

[Mysticwizard]

Non3d ?

No 3d. That's an immediate deal breaker.

Nearly all the new display stuff I am buying is 3d.

 

[LAB3]

I have done my best not to go experience a really good 3D for the home.
No place for projector to mount without electic needing to be wired. I have read good and bad about the 3D so waiting for this format to grow and see if they drop in price and really jump out at you like Avator did at Imax 3D theater. I wear glasses so this bothers me for long term use (retired) watch a lot of HD TV (HD FOIS) and we have a nice collection of Blurays and old 5.1 DVD. Next TV that goes.. ummmm I just got a smokin deal on a new/used (still has 1 year Best Buy warranty we transfered to my name) Yamaha RX-V1900 HD AVR and I like the HD A/V but no 3D so I would need 3D AVR,TV and 3D Bluray player... can't afford all this right now at one time.. I need to wear out this TV and AVR first.

 

[Mike Ronesia]

I guess I've been lucky as my UMC-1 has never experienced the problems that others have had. The SW/FW load is not plug and play but it's not rocket science either. When I did the last one which I got early, I got an email from Lonnie (Emo engineer) asking how it went. I told him it took 15 minutes and I had to switch USB ports on the laptop at one point and he apologized. For me 15 minutes was no big deal and fell well within the "sorta easy" range. Could it be easier, Oh yes, but was it hard, no... With the final version out it should not be an issue for new users.

I have to tell you that I love this thing. It is supper easy to set up and sounds great. I've heard some people have issues with its base management and maybe it could sound better if it was different, but as it is, it sounds better then any AVR I've ever owned. One thing not mentioned is the 40% off coupon you get for a future pre-pro which is a nice thing to have even if it's never used.

Happy UMC-1 owner

 

[GranteedEV]

not having 5k words is fine, but i'd appreciate it if the review analyzed whether the bass management works properly yet or not.

 

[Choirbass]

Ordering a b-stock umc-1 was pretty much a no brainer really. Being only $600.. analog usage mainly, the occasional hdmi usage, and 7.2 preouts.
Though firmware issues that might crop up. It's certainly better than spending up to $3k for the same thing. I may have some money to spend, but not 'that' much, lol.

 

[majorloser]

I loaded the last firmware into my UMC-1. It would appear they finally got it right this time. There is no more loss of the center channel or switching between audio modes that has been a past complaint for many. It also appears the surround processing is working better.

I would say it's a good time to buy one since it will come already loaded with this firmware. You'll get a great processor for not a lot of cash. More importantly, you'll have waited us early adopters out and not had to deal with any of the firmware loading learning curve.

EDIT: They're running a good sale over the Forth of July. $629 + free shipping
http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm

 

[engtaz]

Thanks for the update.

 

[majorloser]

Disregard everything I said above. It's acting up again.

It's started to lose the Dolby Digital signal when skipping through DVR programming on my Dish ViP722 receiver. I read on the Emotiva forum that others have the same problem. It's like the unit is losing the HDMI handshake and doesn't know what to set the audio processing.

At the same time the remote control stopped working. I changed the battery and checked to verify that there was DC voltage at the IR-LED when buttons were pressed. It appears to be working properly.

The only thing I know to do now is try reloading the firmware. DAMN IT

If that doesn't get it, Lonnie gets a phone call tomorrow.

 

[LAB3]

So SORRY, I was worried not enough new owners posting up with Happy results. Glad I purchased another HD AVR now. I will keep waiting maybe someday the UMC-1 will work.

 

[majorloser]

The remote issue got fixed by simply powering off the main switch in the back and letting it reboot. It still drops audio programming when switching between material on my Dish receiver. Can be quite irritating at times when all I'm doing is skipping a commercial in a DVR recording.

 

[Merton]

Major, I updated to 7.01.00.14 several months ago. I was working on a music tour that departed Nashville every week, so I knew if I had problems, I could just drop it off in Franklin for a few days. The update solved the dead remote issue. The dropped audio issue still occurred when I switched to or from and HDMI source. I changed my audio connections to optical, which solved the problem. Of course this will prevent decoding Dolby TrueHD, but I can always reconfigure to decode that. Otherwise, I've had very few problems with it

One of the great things about the UMC-1, besides great sound quality, is the ability to configure the inputs.

BTW, I can't add a signature yet, but I'm running the UMC-1 with an Emo XPA-5 amp, Emo Ultra-12 sub, and Kef 104.2 speakers. LOVE the XPA-5! I use an old Denon DVD-2200 for SACD and DVD Audio. Waiting on a pair of LSA-1 Statements that should arrive this week.

 

[utopianemo]

Bass anger management

Hey guys,
I'm on my way to slowly upgrading my entire system. Audioholics turned me on to Emotiva and I had basically been planning to go all Emotiva, from processor to speaker to amp to sub.
Majorloser, I have been following your posts since the UMC-1 came out, and they've been immensely helpful. Here's the thing: the buggy firmware is a turn-off for me but not a deal breaker. The deal breaker for me is the flawed design principles used in the bass management. For me, I don't care if you can EQ down the hot bass, the issue is the processor shouldn't be sending duplicate signals to the sub in the first place. Quite frankly, I'm surprised Audioholics didn't point this out, given their proven track record for meticulous testing.

 

[Jed M]

As someone who still uses their LMC-1 for my family room's two channel system I could never recommend an Emotiva processor, and quite frankly I would have a hard time recommending them as a company anymore. They make great amps (have one, parents have one also), but there is a limit to who I want to support. The LMC-1 still stops making sound every once in a while and needs to be shut down for about 20 minutes. I have followed the UMC saga, and while every other company decided to cut their losses and not release it to their customers, Emotiva releasing a product that clearly still isn't ready for prime time speaks volumes to me about how they view profit over morality. I could have bought the UMC for $350 from day one, and still I won't do it. They absolutely promised they would never, ever stick their customers with another LMC-1, and in fact, the UMC-1 is even more buggy. Fool me once...

And cue the fanboys blasting HDMI and my agenda in 3...2...1...

 

[LAB3]

As someone who still uses their LMC-1 for my family room's two channel system I could never recommend an Emotiva processor, and quite frankly I would have a hard time recommending them as a company anymore. They make great amps (have one, parents have one also), but there is a limit to who I want to support. The LMC-1 still stops making sound every once in a while and needs to be shut down for about 20 minutes. I have followed the UMC saga, and while every other company decided to cut their losses and not release it to their customers, Emotiva releasing a product that clearly still isn't ready for prime time speaks volumes to me about how they view profit over morality. I could have bought the UMC for $350 from day one, and still I won't do it. They absolutely promised they would never, ever stick their customers with another LMC-1, and in fact, the UMC-1 is even more buggy. Fool me once...

And cue the fanboys blasting HDMI and my agenda in 3...2...1...

No blasting from over here. Friend has the UMC-1 and 5X200 amps. He has had nothing but problems from day one with switching problems from Bluray back to FIOS HD TV or from any mode to CD etc. Sent it back 2 times.they were very nice but still it does not switch from Bluray to CD etc without issues or it just will not complete the command. He has changed firmware and still acts up....sigh. Emotiva sent me a email lowering the price for the UMC-1 to $399.. for $599.00 retail ( I think I could be off on the amounts)
but it was for Much less then last year when I signed up at their site as I was sure I was going to back to seperates after a 10 layoff.....not got another Yamaha HD AVR and happy. Shame I really liked the looks and all the options it had.