For a home theater, you should really consider the Onkyo/Integra processors which are excellent home theater units....or wait for the outlaw 997 (like many of us are doing). The advantage of the Onkyo/Integra units is that they have built in Audyssey capability and that really does make a significant difference in the sound in YOUR room...because it tunes the sound to YOUR room. The Rotel unit doesn't have this capability... |
Another unit that you must consider is the soon-to-be-released UMC-1. Surf on over to the Emotiva.com website and see what all the fuss is about. Pair the UMC-1 with an Oppo BDP-83 and you will have a world-class home theater front-end for under $1200. Seriously.
-RW- |
Hmmm....I forgot about the UMC-1. I've been waiting for the Outlaw 997 because I admit, I am tantalized by Trinov sound processing capabilities.
Now you have me thinking. I already own an Audyssey MultiEQ Pro unit ($2500) and I need a more current processor (I currently use a Lexicon DC-2). My needs are modest; I need to get as good sound as possible from FIOS and I need to be able to decode the latest codecs on blurays (and some older DVD's).
I wonder if the UMC-1 would be a good (and inexpensive) replacement...perhaps even an upgrade in many ways from the Lexicon. The only thing I'd lose is logic 7...I wonder if that's a problem.
The rest of the system is almost overkill....An NHT Power5 amp driving NHT 2.9's and an AC-2 in front, M5's at the side & back, a James EMB-1200 sub and the Audyssey unit to help tune my system to my (too live) room.
Anyone have any thoughts? |
Well, only problem is Emotiva putting off releasing the UMC for software bugs. This has gone on for over a year. Many people gave up and went elsewhere. I am holding on for a little while longer and then may jump ship and get the Onkyo. |
What's the story on the Outlaw 997 and UMC-1? I'm not familiar with those. |
they are both vaporware at this point....both missing their announce dates by months. The Outlaw has built in Trinnov processing which is quite different than Audyssey...so it's of interest with a price of around $1400. The Emotiva unit has no special audio processing at a price of around $700. Both have the latest HDMI 1.3 codecs although the Emotivea lacks some of the less used ones....and they are both at lower price points than the pre-pro's that are currently available. |
I would recommend the RSP 1570, it includes 1080/24p compatible HDMI 1.3 connectors, a dual chip 32-bit DSP and D / A converters, 24 kHz bits/192, also supporting the Video Options "Deep Color and xvYCC. This beautifully designed product is easy to setup and use, i would use it with no hesitation. |
The Rotel doesn't have Audyssey (or Trinov) processing....and Audyssey really makes a big difference in rooms that don't have perfect acoustics (which is almost all of our video rooms). All of the other processors that we've been recommending do...onkyo/integra, Outlaw or Emotiva. That doesn't mean that the Rotel isn't a good unit, but few are going to invest in an Audyssey MultiEQ box to improve it's sound in a real environment and fewer will really make the changes necessary to create a good/tuned audio environment, so in the real world, for HDTV, the other processors should all provide a better listening experience.
I believe all the processors mentioned have the same technical capabilities you listed.
My equipment is listed in an earlier post in this topic. There is a tremendous improvement in sound with my Audyssey multiEQ turned on. FYI, my family room has tile floors, 8' ceiling and lots' of glass/plaster with little "soft" furniture and no drapes....in other words, it's a terrible audio environment. |
"Another unit that you must consider is the soon-to-be-released UMC-1. Surf on over to the Emotiva.com website and see what all the fuss is about."
The UMC-1? What's that? Did this mythical creature ever even exist? I'm not certain it was ever intended to, honestly.
I personallly think it was mearly a marketing ploy to attract attention to the other, actual physically manifested pieces of audio gear in their product lineup. Cleaver ploy, in my estimation.
I honestly can't remember at any time over the last 20 years where a company has released press on a product, then never delivered the actual piece!. I think we've seen the first here - er, not seen.
For now anyway, we can all just pretend to have purchased such a unit, and then play "fantasy theater!"...or "virtual surround sound"...watch my "head movies"? Hey, u pick your terminology.
Even if I'm wrong, and the sucker ever actually does transpire in our life time, It's going to be trivial at best. Will you be able to download from the net on to it's platform? I think not. Will there already be newer processing technologies on more current products on the market? I believe so. Is it going to be a nearly obsolete piece on it's own merits? Surely. And then who's going to care.
I for one am quite irritated at having been allowed to be teased by the virtues of this mythical piece initially and, later, having had my patience prolonged unnecessarily. Given the above mentioned assesements, I refuse to ever touch the unit should it ever actually materialize. |
Well, i happen to live near their home office of Franklin,TN. I stopped by a couple of months ago and actually saw the mythical creature. They were just getting a beta sample and played me a scene from Transformers 2 and i was mightily impressed. Now, i am with you tho in getting annoyed at the continuous delays and promises. well see. I will give them another month or so.
I am curious about the new outlaw piece, but it is 2x the price. |
they are both phantomware items to hold the market....the companies that know what they need to offer to stay competitive (i.e. stay in business), but they apparently don't have the staff/money or engineering to deliver. I wonder if the Las Vegas odds makers are taking bets on whether either box will make it out before either company runs out of money.
However, I am patient....I have prelim orders in on both although I never expect either to appear at my door. |
Here's a marketing ploy to consider..
Some relatively lower profile upstart company anounces the tenative arrival of a product that simply sounds too good to be true! The price for this proposed product is redicoulously attractive (low) This product, of course, willl offer all the bells and gadgets. It's being played up as audiophile grade, affordable to the masses - the answer to all your av needs. And many take the hook, and decide to wait it out for it to show up on the market. And while this much anticipated and hyped product is in the process of "coming soon to a market near you", the same company up and offers a rather attractive deal to those who plan to purchasing this product, whenever it becomes available. This deal could, say, be that if you purchase one or more of our amplifiers and/or speaker systems, at some modestly discounted price (cleaverly marked down already on sale), when the piece - which everyone has been eagerly anticipating -eventually becomes available, they will offer that "leader product" to those existing customers at another 50% off the already low low price!!
The company inturn sells the hell out of all their amps and speaker systems, all to those who are expecting this "end-all-be-all" product to eventually show up!
Of course, the piece never actually materializes. The company then shuts it's doors, and re-organizes under another name, and starts the same joke all over again.
Hey, I'm just saying it could happen... |
BTW, did anyone who attended CES 2010 see this unicorn displayed (working or not) at the show? I'm curious.
If I'm not mistaken, it was touted for released over a year ago at CES 2009, when it was on display.
I'm just wondering if they had the umption to try and pitch this thing on the next go around.
Hey, maybe we'll get a chance to see it up for auction at CES 2011! You know, as an old relic of a futuristic "Protoype" that never actually reached production?
I'm just saying...It could happen. |
Queefee....While this might not be the official plan, I guess it could work out the way you describe. I know that Outlaw has been offering (questionably) low prices on their 990 and then on the Onkyo/Integra stuff while we wait for their 997, however they have not promised any discount on the new gear. I'm not aware of emotiva offering much of any special discount in preparation for their offering.
As always, never believe the "hype"...buy what you see available. For example, the NHT Controller was going to be a fully programmable, easily upgradeable processor and it was sold as such...but the upgrades never came, no support for HDMI 1.3 so it's obsolete with no upgrades ever coming. NHT did did go out of business (although they are back now), etc. Lots of reasons why this happened, but it certainly was not their plan...(and by the way it is an excellent controller for what was delivered). |
I am so sick of hearing about EMOTIVA, my God its been 2 yrs of saying its coming soon...........leaves me with no faith in this sloppy release, its got to be the worst ever! |
they are a small company...they know what they need to do and they are probably frustrated themselves at not being able to get the product out. If it does ship, we all have to wait to see if they really have a good/solid product. If it ships as described at the price we've seen, it should be a great product....but that's a very very big IF. |
Other than the Audyssey MultiEQ feature, do you think that the internal electronic components of better quality and design in the Rotel RSP-1570 compared to the Onkyo/Integra and Outlaw 997 units, or vice versa? |
Don't get too hung up on internal component specs and perceptions of quality....as a matter of fact, don't get too hung up on specs at all. The rotel and high end Onkyo/Integras use good components as do the phantomware boxes (997 and Emotiva). There will be ongoing techie fights between trinnov and audyssey, or Reon vs ??? and the fact is that the only thing that should matter to YOU is the sound in YOUR home.
You would be well advised to compare functions and major differences (Audyssey or no Audyssey) or no THX if that's important to YOU.
It's too easy to raise questions like which AC cord should I use, what speaker cables should I use, what interconnects should I use....and unless you are listening to acoustic (e.g. classical) music in an absolutely quiet space, it's unlikely that you will notice a difference. If you are a concert violinist, perhaps....but let your ears make the judgement...not your eyes and please, not the internet or this forum. |
I love my Marantz AV 8003 - You get a lot of bang for the buck and it's a great performer all trhe way around |
What is a better unit for a sorround sound Processor?
The Arcam AV9 or
The Lexicon MV5 |
I was just reading through another audio/video forum on the net, where it appears that Emotiva has bee taking preorders on UMC-1 since at least APRIL OF 2008!!!
Is this right?! Are you kidding me?! Wow. I'm sorry but that's almost 2 full years of holding onto other peoples money. Boggles the immagination...
Now there's a business model for a budding business! You take peoples money on a pre-order basis, and string the rease date out for years...then you invest the hell out of all that free cash your holding. Then, if you invested all that "house money" you're riding for free on at the right time, even doubling or tripple up your envestments (hint: Q1 2009 to now) you made a REAL killing! Then, when the public outcry gets too hot, you simply return all their money, and come up with an excuse as to why it never shipped, shut the doors, whatever.
I'm just sayin. It could happen... |
To be fair, yes the UMC-1 took a ridiculously long time to get to market. But those on the pre-order list did not have to fork over any $$ at sign-up. It was just a take-a-number system on who would be able to purchase first once they started shipping. |
From what their homepage says, I believe that Emotiva just started shipping UMC-1 orders last week, but I might be wrong. |
Well I don't believe it. I think they're gunna ship out "body snatcher units" in a box!. Then, when the decoy packages do arrive, and those who ordered open the box, they will be immediately attacked by John Carpenter's "The Thing" creatures, that will take them over, and then go online to tell everyone that the UMC-1 finally arrived, and how much they truely love it!
That's just what I think... |
Still trying to decide on a processor. Which of the Integra pieces is better for the audio in a home theater (as I don't need video processing), the DHC-9.9 OR DHC-80.1, any difference? And would you go for an Integra or Emotiva UMC-1 or wait longer for the Outlaw 997? I'm looking for the best audio resolution/detail and spatial envelopment. Thanks again |
Finally after months of deliberation I decided to get a Integra DHC 40.1. I think its a practical choice to go with my Rotel RB 1080 and 1075 amps. The reason I decided in favor of Integra is I think Onkyo/Integra are ahead of everyone else in terms of decoding and processing new HD audio formats. I don't need balanced outputs , so 40.1 is great for me. Part of me said Rotel 1570, but I am afraid of HDMI glitches . Same goes for UMC-1 as well. Other features I liked in Integra
1. Ethernet port [DLNA and firmware upgrades]
2. 2 HDMI outs
3. HDMI in the front
4 |
Cool, how do you like the audio detail, clarity, etc of the 40.1 so far? |
I decided to order the Arcam AV888. I'll let you know how I feel it performs once it's calibrated and fired-up in my theater room. |
I love the sound from the Arcam AV888, so no regrets buying the unit. |
