What's the latest word on the Emotiva UMC-1?

user reviews are in the emotiva processors/preamps section of the forums on their site.

I am on the pre-order list for the UMC-1. I have an audyssey multiEQ stand alone box, so I don't need any room Eq in the processor.....and even thought the UMC-1 has room equalization, I'm hoping I can bypass it because the price is terrific. Dolby Volume plus my audyssey unit should be a great combination.

Having said that, I think that the jury is out on room EQ on the UMC-1...no one knows. Audyssey in the Onkyo/Integra/Denon/Marantz/.... is pretty proven and in most cases it significantly improves the sound. The worse your room is acoustically, the more Audyssey helps. Will the UMC-1 do as well.....who knows?

As far as repairs and support, I wouldn't count on any company...all have horror stories. This type of equipment either works or it doesn't...and you'll know within 7 days. I wouldn't make any decision based on my estimate of support/repairs/locality.

You won't go wrong with an Onkyo or Integra....you can wait for the Outlaw 997 or you can give the UMC-1 a try and if it doesn't work, I'm sure EBAY will be your friend.

Wow! You must have a bone to pick with Emotiva. I have little interest in HDMI 1.4...in fact 1.3 is one of the worst standards because devices just don't work well together due to the looseness of the standard. I'll be happy with 1.3 working (and almost all mfg's have problems by the way).

The UMC-1 is on it's third beta and there are still some bugs being worked out. For the $'s, if they get it fully working it's one of the bargains in the HiFi world today.

I wonder how many folks had to buy a TV with Deep Color....even though there is no content published today in deep color. How many have 1080p HDTV's and only watch HDTV over cable which is at most 1080i.

Don't get all hung up on the latest and greatest.

If you are in the market for a pre/pro you could do far worse than an Emotiva UMC-1. And for lots more $'s, you could do better.

First, I have loaned money to Emotiva..if it doesn't work the way I want in the final release, I can return it for full money back (30 days from when the software is final).

There are many companies who have used "early announcements" to hold potential buyers from buying a competitive product...Emotiva is no different. (think microsoft; Sony; and let's not forget the infamous Outlaw 997) The nearest competitor I know of today is the integra DHC-40.1 at $300 more, and it has it's own problems with HDMI sync.

So..if they get the software sorted out, I'll gladly keep mine and I will have a bargain at $699. If I decide not to wait, I'll return it and probably buy a 40.1. If it weren't for the heat output of the last Integra/Onkyo processors, I'd probably already own one of them....Lot's of choices, lots of trade-offs.

oh please....

The UMC-1 has very primative room equalization when compared to an Audyssey capable processor. The EQ implementation of the sub (which is the most critical speaker to EQ) is especially primative using fixed EQ bands that are too wide to tame room anomolies.

I have to take your word that all the other problems are fixed...the sound dropouts, the center channel dropout, the random quieting of tv commercials and then not returning the volume to normal when the show starts. All those still existed in the "final production code" and I was running that when I decided I'd had enough and I returned my UMC-1.

Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to my UMC-1 or the others that were returned. I've never noticed an Emotiva refurbished sale??? interesting question....

No...I wouldn't recommend a UMC-1. I'd recommend an integra 40.2 (processor) or a Denon 3311 (receiver) over the UMC-1 as a better solution for anyone who doesn't have an audio tuned room...which is the vast majority of buyers. Tune them with Audyssey and you'll have a far better, far smoother sounding installation with far fewer problems, unless they have all been solved by Emotiva since the "final production software".

Robbob: Your world is a dedicated, acoustically tuned theater....and it's easy to say that you don't believe in or use room equalization. I would love to have that luxury as would most buyers of processors and amplifiers....but that's not our real world. we have real rooms, we have spouses opinions, we have large picture windows, etc. In an untuned environment, I will take a mid-fi Denon over an Emotiva UMC-1 every time...and yes, I had a UMC-1 for many months. I have heard an audyssey tuned room vs EMOQ because I have an Audyssey Sound Equalizer and I could compare the two....there was no comparison in my lousy to average acoustically family room. I now have a denon 4311 on order with Audyssey xt32 which will allow me to equalize multiple subs as well....and I'll sell the sound equalizer since it's no longer needed with Audyssey XT32.

Yes, the UMC-1 sounded quite good when it worked....I sent it back when the return period ended and Emotiva still had a number of outstanding problems that were driving my wife and I nuts. Perhaps they fixed them since then, but I wasn't going to take a risk of wasting my money on a buggy processor. But keep in mind that I was using it with the Audyssey Sound Equalizer...and I doubt that any UMC-1 user is going to buy a sound equalizer and pro install kit for $3000 to make their $699 processor sound good in THEIR real room.

I believe that an Onkyo, Integra, Denon,.... box with Audyssey multEq and certainly one with the more powerful Audyssey Multeq XT will sound much better in the average room than a UMC-1 using or not using Emoq.

Just for completeness, all my tests were done with an NHT Power 5 amp, James sub and NHT speakers all around (2.9's, ac2,L5's)