# Emotiva UMC-1 Official Thread : User Reviews and Discussion



## Steve.

UMC-1 preorders are apparently shipping. I hope to buy one as soon as they have them in stock in their shopping cart. As a casual movie watcher it makes no sense to spend twice as much as the UMC-1, it's going to replace a Sony receiver in my pre-amp's HT Bypass loop.


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## mobileusa

*Re: Emotiva*

Anyone have a UMC-1?...


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## dyohn

*Re: Emotiva*



mobileusa said:


> Anyone have a UMC-1?...


Mine arrives Monday.


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## Jon Liu

*Re: Emotiva*

Do let us know how you like it ASAP, David! I'm really curious how good it will be!


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## Jungle Jack

*Re: Emotiva*

Hello,
So glad to hear that the UMC-1's are finally shipping. Hopefully, considering how long it has taken to come to market, it will be a faultless. Certainly looks like a fantastic value. I too look forward to reading your findings David.
Cheers,
JJ


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## dyohn

*Re: Emotiva*

I'll be sure to post my impressions. Judging from the chatter on the Emotiva forum the early shipments do have some faults, but they say they're preparing a software update for users that will hopefully address all the identified issues.

I am hoping for a great value product.


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## mobileusa

*Re: Emotiva*

The software issues are tremendous!! You might as well sell it to me...:whistling:


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## dyohn

*Re: Emotiva*



mobileusa said:


> The software issues are tremendous!! You might as well sell it to me...:whistling:


Sure! I'll accept offers starting at... say... $5K?


 Just kidding. They expect to have them up on their site for general sale by the end of February.


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## Jeff Aguilar

*Re: Emotiva*

I received my UMC-1 today! I had to go into work, so I have not been able to mess with it at all. I hooked it up, but did not power it on yet. It's exciting to get it finally. I have been on the list a long time. 

I am replacing a Marantz 5003. I had the Outlaw 950 (I got one when it first came out) and it served me really well. I wanted the new formats, so I signed up for the UMC-1 but after 6 months of waiting I bought the Marantz and have had that a year and 3 months. I hope that the Emotiva is an upgrade over the Marantz because I really liked the Marantz. I just wanted a dedicated Pre-Pro like I had before.

I am also really looking forward to the SW updates and discrete codes for my remote.

I can't wait to get home and try it out. Too bad one of my son's have a band concert tonight! I guess we all need priorities and my family has to come first. It's going to be a late night!

Jeff Aguilar


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## Jungle Jack

*Re: Emotiva*

Hello,
Very cool. Definitely is fun to have a new toy waiting for you when you come home. The UMC-1 looks like an awesome product that many have been waiting for with great anticipation.
Cheers,
JJ


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## dyohn

*Re: Emotiva*

Here's my initial impression of the UMC-1:

1) A very well-made solid unit. Front panel buttons are a little "clicky" but I/O connectors are great.

2) The supplied remote is very cheap and very basic, but entirely functional and for system setup indispensable. I recommend using a universal for every day control. I'm using a Harmony One and the UMC-1 is in the Harmony database.

3) Setup is very intuitive and logical for anyone familiar with setting up modern A/V systems, but for a novice used to plug and play it will be a challenge. The inputs are fully nameable and addressable. The manual speaker control and EQ screens are a joy to use, especially for a tweaker like me. Speaker crossovers and levels are independent setting for all channels, as is the muitl-band graphic EQ. There are seven bands of subwoofer EQ!!

4) Sound quality is quite outstanding. This replaces a Sunfire TGPIV and to me sounds just as good if not better than that processor, at less than 1/3 the price. Very impressive, but not all that surprising since Emotiva (the house brand for Jade Designs) is known for outstanding audio quality.

5) Video quality is equally outstanding. The Genesis Torino scaler is quite good and video modes are also very customizable. Video settings are universal, however.

6) I have not yet tried the Emo-Q auto room setup and correction system, and will wait for the impending software update before I do. Likewise, the unit has a few fatal flaws as it sits, not the least of which are losing video settings on power off and a maddening loss of audio input from time to time. Again, Emotiva has said they will have a software update later this week and I will do some more thorough testing after that is installed.

Overall my first out-of-the box impression is very positive. I am impressed especially with the audio quality and the system control flexibility.

Attached is a snapshot of my newly revised living room setup.


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## Sonnie

Very nice David... :T

I moved the UMC-1 posts to a thread of its own.

Sounds like the UMC-1 is going to be a promising and long awaited addition to many setups.


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## dyohn

Thanks Sonnie!

And before anyone asks the speakers are a design I did as an experiment and liked so much I ended up using them.


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## Jon Liu

Very nice! I'm glad to hear that it is a worthy contender to even Sunfire products! Also, nice set up, as well!


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## recruit

Great setup david and I love the speakers, it's great to finally see the UMC1 released and it looks like it's going to be a killer processor at the given price :T


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## legion1capone

This was posted by Dan Laufman just the other day about the UMC-1 problems. I love how down to earth this company is. When the customers have problems or questions they answer them! I can't say that for some other companies I've had to deal with. especially when it comes to admitting when they did something wrong, and are doing everything they can to fix it promptly. 

"Gentlepersons,
I asked Cathy to lock the original UMC-1 status page on the forum as it had grown to monstrous proportions and some of you were having difficulty wading through the hundreds of posts just to find out what the latest info. was. More disturbingly, it was starting to feel to much like a certain forum that we strive to be very different from; a place that I do not even look at anymore. It seems to me that some people from that other forum have decided to park themselves here and make everyone unhappy, not just themselves. They must think it's sport. Apparently, misery knows no bounds....

Anyway, on to more productive discussiuon... The UMC-1 status as of 1.29.09.

1. We have resolved all known issues save for one item that we feel will be cleaned up this weekend. The UMC-1 is working beautifully. Now some may wish to twist my words and add a dose of negativity and cynicism to this, but I know facts of the matter. And as always, I stand behind my statements, my company, and it's products. You can judge for yourselves who has more credibility when reading other peoples opinions; especially those who do not even own this product. 

2. We have nearly completed work on the software upgrade utility that you will need to easily update you unit. This had taken a bit of work and it was originally planed to come out in a month or two, but the SW issue made it take front and center. It is essential that we have an easy method for you to upgrade you SW. We will be posting the specifics of this item very soon, RIGHT HERE.

3. We have acquired a Rovi/Macro-vision license that will allow us to open up more of the transcoding features inherent in the UMC-1, but that were originally restricted. Frankly, we here have pretty much given up on analog video, but it seems that some of you are still using analog inputs on your projectors and displays, and this was causing you pain. So, I decided to cough op many thousands of dollars on this, even though in our opinion, it's a dead end technically. I hope you understand that when you speak (politely and without unnecessary venom), we do listen. 

4. We have received ONE unit back for a refund, and this is from a gentleman who wanted to use the unit on his composite input on this TV. At the time, the Macrovision limitations was a deal breakers for him. But, we think he'll be back now! Again , if any of you who own the UMC-1 want a refund, please call us on Monday and you will be given a prompt refund of your purchase price and freight. We will also pay the return freight.

For those of you looking to criticize us, have fun . For those of you looking for the facts of the matter to understand where we truly are and to make informed decisions, I hope this is helpful.

To all of our customers and friends, our most sincere apologies for the inconvenience and our thanks for your trust and patience. We truly believe that the UMC-1 is a fantastic product. 

Best regards,
Big Dan

P.S. for the record, here are my previous posts on the subject in order of appearance.


Hi All,
Well , you know something had to go wrong! We seem to have a small issue with the UMC-1 software and it is causing quite a bit of excitement on the board... first off, let me state this fact; we are not using our customers as Beta testers, as some kind persons have suggested. 

We have spent thousands of man hours on this product and have done extensive testing on it in many systems and configurations all around the world. We would not have released it if we were aware of any issues. I've made you wait this long, would another week or two have made any difference? We thought that we were in great shape. I authorized the release, so the buck stops here.

Prior to the final code release, we made a very minor software adjustment, checked its operation and released the final SW for production. It appears to have caused some unintended side effects as have been noted by some early users. Of course it couldn't have happened at a worse time; Lonnie, myself, our senior software managers, and support staff were all at CES when the reports started coming in. 

We believe there has been a corruption of the code when the latest change was compiled and we are working to resolve this issue. We did not have these problems prior to the final release.

The issues that I am primarily aware of have been noted on other posts, so I won't repeat them here. Some are confirmed and others are not. 

The important fact is that there are some functional issues to correct and we are addressing them with all possible speed and diligence.

I would request that UMC-1 owners contact us directly if you have any issues so that we can document them properly and resolve them for you. This will help all of us get the UMC-1 settled in quickly.

Anyone is who uncomfortable with their purchase will be given a prompt refund of the purchase price, including freight. 

If you are essentially happy with your UMC-1, please know that we are going to have these issues resolved as quickly as humanly possible. Lonnie and the team are working on this as I write. The unit is completely flash upgradeable and we are 100% confident that there are no hardware issues.

If you have been contacted for a shipment of the UMC-1 and wish to cancel or hold your order, please let us know by email ([email protected]) or phone.

Again, the issues that have been reported by users and confirmed in additional testing that we have done on our side are being addressed! 

The UMC-1 is essentially fine, and I'm sure that most of you believe this.

On behalf of myself and the entire Emotiva team I apologize for this error and the inconvenience it has caused you, our friends, and clients. Please know that we are fully capable of resolving these minor issues and will make this as easy and painless for all of you as possible.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Big Dan and the Emotiva team

Next...

Good morning everyone.

OK, Lonnie and the team in China seem to have addressed 99% of the problems we were experiencing.

Here is a list of the main items resolved yesterday. 

1. DSP modes have now been fixed.
2. ARC test tones were lowered by 4.5db 
3. Microphone correction file has now been re-corrected.
4. ARC sub levels have also been fixed
5. Stereo mode has been changed from all channel stereo to only 2 channel stereo.
6. PLIIx modes have now been fixed.
7. 7.1 analog input has now been fixed.
8. DTS-MA is now working on all channels as it should.
9. NEO-6 is locked within the Cirrus chips to apply to 2 channel only. Need to follow up with Cirrus about applying this to other formats.

In addition to the items that were found to be corrupted and corrected we are adding the discrete input codes to the unit and will publish them in a day or two. When you upgrade your SW you will also be able to add direct input commands to a learning remote.

We are still testing all aspects of operation and will keep you posted. 

We have not gotten to the bottom of the video output resolution lock issue but we're on it, and the India team will get it corrected quickly. On some systems it's fine and others it can forget settings on turn on and default to 480p... interesting to us, but annoying to you. Don't worry, we've got one of the best video teams in the business working on this.

So all in all, we're looking pretty good today.

I'll keep you updated on this thread as news comes to me. I would imagine we'll have a SW update ready for you next week.
Best to all,
Big Dan

Next...

Good morning!

Today's update from Lonnie and the video team:

We've gotten to the bottom of the video issue. This problem had nothing to do with data corruption of the compiled code, which is what happened in the audio subsystem. The audio subsystem is now working perfectly. (although I'm sure someone will find a bug ) 

It was an operational decision made by our video team and is really a matter of interpretation of how the system should operate. We've had a discussion outlining how the system behaves in the "real world" and have come up with the following correction for the video resolution setting and defaults:

You set video output resolution. System will store the HDMI output resolution on turn on.
- Whenever the sink is connected to the AVP, system will try to apply the previously set HDMI output resolution.
- If previous output resolution is not supported by current sink, then resolution mode will be changed to “Auto” and output will be set to preferred resolution of sink. 
- If HDMI sink connection is lost, the component output is enabled, AVP will output will be switched to 480p. 

This should take care of the problem. If your system is set up and nothing changes hardware wise from turn off to turn on, you'll be right where you left off. If you change monitors (the sink device) it'll try to make it work as described. If it doesn't support your setting, it'll default to auto and give you the preferred resolution of the new device. Worse case, it will revert to the 480p "limp home" mode to give you video on component to get you back in business.

So there we are! We'll test all new code throughly and then merge the audio and video codes into the main operating SW and compile. We'll test this all out and when satisfied we'll put the update on the site for all of you to flash your UMC-1's.

We'll be in a deep, deep state of AV bliss. We may not be able to come back to the real world... although, it's a risk I'm willing to take! 

Heading to Anaheim this morning, so I have to pack! 

Best regards,
Big Dan 

Next...

Good morning all,
Greetings from sunny So Cal!

Well, we seem to be in very good shape this morning. We've addressed all known issues on both the video and audio side. Lonnie and the team are now testing, testing, and testing.

I'll have more news and specific advice on updating your software once they give me the green light.

Best regards,
Big Dan

Next...

Saturday's update...

We're doing very well with the extended testing and verification. We found one bug in the system that caused excessive HDMI time to lock issues under some very specific conditions and this has been addressed and corrected.

More testing going on now. I still believe we'll release the update next week as planned.

Heading home from Anaheim tomorrow. I'm still working at NAMM, but Cathy and the girls are having fun at Disneyland... 

Talk to you on Monday,
Big Dan 


Next...

Gentlepersons,
As you have seen from my previous posts we are working to resolve all known issues. We are very close to releasing the update.

Please do not worry about the minor glitches you are experiencing, the update will address them. Again, if anyone is worried or dissatisfied and wants to return their unit, you may do so. Just call for an RMA.

I want to point out one issue relating to HDMI. The UMC-1 is designed to automatically associate the selected HDMI input audio and video feeds together . This is not a defect or a bug. You cannot ask for audio from the HDMI stream and video from another source. This is not a valid selection.

Also, due to ever increasing limits on what can be ported out on analog video outputs, it is get getting more and more difficult to use the UMC-1 to down convert the HDMI video to component video. These are not technical limitations of the UMC-1, but rather limitations on what we are legally allowed to to port out on copy encoded source material. Some of you may have seen the warning flag on component video when trying to down convert a Macrovision encoded source.

The content owners are moving us all to a fully "secure" media stream (HDMI) in order to save us all from our evil selves. Heaven forbid we use an HDMI source to send the down converted analog (ie "unencrypted") output to the component input on our older projector or display! We might start making illegal copies in our bedroom and undermine the industry.

These are all recent developments and I'm sorry to say this is the way things are heading. In the next generation of processors, we will not even bother with this feature as the content owners are making it useless.

It's all going to HDMI and encrypted streaming, so let's get used to it, for good or bad.

Keep the faith, we're almost ready! 
Best regards,
Big Dan 


Next...

Happy Friday everyone!

Well, we've had a very busy week here. We seem to have sorted out 99.9% of all known issues. 

The platform is working beautifully! Everything that we know of is addressed and the improvements are really noticeable. We not only repaired the corrupted link that caused the first "major" malfunction, but Lonnie took advantage of the occurrence to fine tune some parts of the SW some that were slated for a future update.

We are working on one last bug; this is an audio interrupt that occurs once in a while, particularly on DVR's as you jog back and forth interrupting the HDMI streaming. Also, we have been able to make this occasionally occur when pausing and then starting HDMI streams. It appears to be an EDID (handshaking) issue. Not always, but once in a while. The problem with this is it makes you have to change inputs to re-acquire the stream. Annoying, to say the least.

We think we know what is going on here and the team is working on this bug. We believe we'll have it ironed out by Monday or Tuesday. 

So, we should have a download for you next week. We've taken the approach that we should carefully sort out all of these issues and give you one update the really address the known bugs instead of a never ending series of updates.

One of the cool things Lonnie added was velocity sensing for the volume control, now you can turn up or down very quickly if need be, or rotate slowly for fine adjustment. Sweet.

All in all, more of what is already a very good thing. I think you will all be VERY pleased.

By the way, I have put a hold on shipments until I have the final SW as we are going to load it in the units before anymore are sent out. We'll resume shipments next week.

Thank you all once more for your patience and support.
Best regards,
Big Dan

Next...

Hi,
In reference to the UMC-1 and USP-1 IR code overlap issue...

No excuses here. We screwed up, some of the codes overlap and control the units simultaneously. I know, I know, this should have never gotten past us, but it did.

We've got a fix for those of you who are running UMC-1's with USP-1's in the same system. We'll be sending you a new remote with a separate IR code stack. This will get you fixed up.

I'm sorry to say that it'll be a few weeks until the new remotes arrive. Stay tuned and we'll follow up on the forum and the product pages with an announcement. We'll also be looking for those of you who have purchased both products from us and we'll send this remote and instruction's to you without your needing to ask... but I'm sure you will anyway 

Best to all,
Big Dan"


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## Oleson M.D.

How is the video processing on this unit?

It's my understanding that it will take legacy inputs and upscale them to 1080P.

And on the audio side, is this pre/pro considered to be in the same league as the units costing 2X or 3X it's price?

I'm a value shopper and always look for the best bang for the buck. Don't mind spending cash, but if a product is available at 1/3 the cost, and will perform as well as the competition, I'll buy it!


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## Oleson M.D.

Update: I just watched the tutorial for this on the Emotiva website.

All I can say is......"WOW"!

How can they sell this for $699?


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## Jon Liu

I think you have your answer! At $699, Emotiva really made a unit that is well worth the money.


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## recruit

It does seem to good to be true but proof is in the pudding and it looks like it is the real deal :whistling:


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## Oleson M.D.

Yes, well worth the money, indeed.

If it came from Parasound, B&K, NAD, Rotel, (pick your favorite company), it would have a MSRP of at least $2000.


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
I am so glad to hear that the initial issues with the UMC-1 have been resolved and that full functionality is now available. Certainly a unbeatable price for a quality SSP.
Cheers,
JJ


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## Jeff Aguilar

I got my update done on my UMC-1. I am really impressed with this unit.

I ran the Emo-Q and it did a good job of setting all of my distances. I adjusted the crossovers that it had automatically set to almost all the speakers. Just my preferences. It had my main speakers set to 70 htz and my rear centers at 250 htz. I set my mains to 80 and all my rears to 120. I like the ability to be able to go into all the settings and tweak them. Emotiva has stated that the Emo-Q is just a starting point and then you can fine tune the system from there. I like the ability to do that. I haven't played with eq for each speaker. I will play with that when I get the chance. 

The video and sound through my HDMI is locking faster than it was before the update. I especially like the fact that the sound locks onto the signal faster. I am using a PS3 for my blu ray player. The Marantz 4003 locked onto the audio really quickly so I was kind of spoiled by that. The UMC-1 allows you to have a customized audio processing depending on the source. This has come in useful. I noticed for my movies, I got the sound dialed in really well. But when I use those settings for my TV playback, there is too much bass. I assigned a different set of sound parameters for the TV settings! That is WAY cool! 

One of the bugs that were exhibited on the initial release was the fact that the video settings were lost once the unit was turned off. That was fixed. I do not lose the video settings now. 

It is really nice to have a dedicated pre pro back in my system. I really enjoyed the clarity of the Outlaw 950 but I really wanted the new sound formats. That is why I got the Marantz 4003, and it did sound good. But there is a difference in sound quality going from the Marantz 4003 to the Emotiva UMC-1. A definite difference in my room with my equipment! I am not running expensive speakers, like the Martin Logan's I had a few years ago that showed what good quality equipment could do for you. I am running some very affordable PSB speakers now and I could tell how much of a difference the UMC-1 has made in my system. Makes me wonder what my Martin Logan's would have sounded like. Oh, the compromises we make in life...


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## dyohn

Ditto. The software update corrects most of the issues with the unit. Sound quality is absolutely outstanding and the flexibility of the EQ is in a class far above what one can normally expect at this price point. Also, a little known fact is that all the analog audio inputs can be set to "analog direct" which bypasses the EQ and bass management functions and allows the UMC-1 to function as a direct analog volume control, which is pretty cool. Also, apparently Emotiva has paid the fees to macrovision for enhanced HD analog trans-coding from HDMI sources, although the UMC-1 will not allow both HDMI and analog component video outputs to be active at the same time. Still, for those of you with 1080i analog displays, this will work for you.


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## Bobbart

Well I'm glad some of you guys are having luck with the umc. I sent mine back for repair yesterday, but with all of the problems people are reporting still I might just ask for a refund. Here is the list of problems I sent in the box when I sent my umc back:

1. When running emoq when it gets to the center channel it sends my amp into protect mode. Tried different cables, different speakers and hooked the umc center output to different amp channels to make sure it wasn't the center channel on my amp and the umc still sent the amp into protect mode. I have had no problems manually calibrating the center channel and no problems watching movies at loud levels.

2. I ended up running emoq with center channel disconnected. When it gets to the second section where it checks the subwoofer levels and crossover, it finishes. The results page shows up, then the test tones for the subwoofer continue running for a second time even tho the emoq has finished and it has already showed the results.

3.After the emoq is done, I checked the graphic eq for the speakers to see what changes the umc made to the frequency bands and all of the speakers had changes except for the subwoofer. I went into the manual eq and manually adjusted the subwoofer eq while running test tones and it made no changes to the subwoofer. I then ran test tones for the speakers and that worked fine. It seems as if the subwoofer eq does not work manually or with the automatic emoq.

4. I don't have back rear speakers, just running 5.1. On the first part of emoq is says back none. On the second part it is actually setting a speaker level and crossover for the back surrounds that I do not have.

5. Emoq never set a frequency for my subwoofer it was always 0hz and it set the subwoofer level to -50db.

6.On the level calibration menu it would randomly stop outputting test tones to some of my speakers. It happened on both of the surround speakers and the right speaker. Turned the umc on and off several times and loaded defaults several times and it started working again, at least right before I boxed it up.


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## dyohn

Bobbart, I followed your posts over on the Emotiva forum and I really suspect your issues are unique to your unit as I had none of those problems, nor anything even remotely like them even before I installed the software update. I honestly think your issues are probably hardware related.


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## Bobbart

I think they might be hardware related also. I'm hoping they just send me another unit. I'd gladly take the one in their theater, at least I'd know it was working properly.


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## zductive

*Technical Issues with UMC-1*

I am trying to determine how to make the best of the UMC-1 Emotiva processor.

1 - I am not having success using the EMO-Q function. In particular, the subwoofer level is high by at least 15 dB. The distances are measured correctly and the levels appear to be correct. I am trying to debug the operation and have not found a way to send test tones through each speaker path while equalization and bass management are enabled. The equalization function appears to work quite well and I will be happy with the performance if i can get test tones to work. I am not talking about the pink noise calibration tones. I am talking about being able to inject a sine wave at a specific frequencies. Following that, I would like to be able to run REW through one channel at a time. My PC does not have an acceptable SPDIF output.

2 - When I use the speaker level calibration function, I see unusual behavior. The level is quite high when each speaker is selected. After I click the amplitude down button once, the level returns to a more normal level. Which level is actually being used by the instrument?

3 - I lose audio if I tell the Directv HR21-100 to fast forward a few times or skip forward several times. To get the unit to work, I must change inputs and then return to the original input.

4 - does anyone know what the calibration curve is for the mic that is provided with the unit?

Sorry that some of this is a cross post. I haven't gotten rational responses from the other forum.


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## dyohn

*Re: Technical Issues with UMC-1*



zductive said:


> I am trying to determine how to make the best of the UMC-1 Emotiva processor.
> 
> 1 - I am not having success using the EMO-Q function. In particular, the subwoofer level is high by at least 15 dB. The distances are measured correctly and the levels appear to be correct. I am trying to debug the operation and have not found a way to send test tones through each speaker path while equalization and bass management are enabled. The equalization function appears to work quite well and I will be happy with the performance if i can get test tones to work. I am not talking about the pink noise calibration tones. I am talking about being able to inject a sine wave at a specific frequencies. Following that, I would like to be able to run REW through one channel at a time. My PC does not have an acceptable SPDIF output.
> 
> 2 - When I use the speaker level calibration function, I see unusual behavior. The level is quite high when each speaker is selected. After I click the amplitude down button once, the level returns to a more normal level. Which level is actually being used by the instrument?
> 
> 3 - I lose audio if I tell the Directv HR21-100 to fast forward a few times or skip forward several times. To get the unit to work, I must change inputs and then return to the original input.
> 
> 4 - does anyone know what the calibration curve is for the mic that is provided with the unit?
> 
> Sorry that some of this is a cross post. I haven't gotten rational responses from the other forum.


Hi there. I can tell you what worked for me.

1) The Emo-Q setup routine is definitely not functioning the way they intended. The easiest thing to do is to run Emo-Q and then ignore some of the phase reports, and manually correct things like crossovers and levels to what is more reasonable for your speakers. Some people have gotten good results from changing the direction of the calibration mic while it is running, such as pointing it toward the center channel rather than toward the ceiling, but I have not tried this. The EQ works pretty well but it tries to add up to +10db of boost in areas outside the channel's response curve or crossover setting. This is a bug and must be corrected manually. The only way to send actual test tones through the unit yourself would be to connect your PC to the 7.1 direct analog input for each channel.

2) I have not seen this behavior.

3) This (and the periodic audio drop outs during live viewing) appears to be an issue with the signal quality from the DirectTV receiver, and an incompatibility with the UMC-1 in that it is looking for a stronger, more stable signal. According to the DTV forum, this behavior began in many DTV receivers and DVRs after the Jan. 27 automatic software update from Direct TV and with many more processors than the UMC-1. DTV is supposedly working on a fix with their next software download.

4) Emotiva has not supplied this although it is embedded in their recent firmware update if you know of a hacker. 

Realize a couple of things: there is no reason to use Emo-Q if you don't like how it's working as everything it does is accessible manually through the user interface. Also, the main issues with the UMC-1 all seem to be software related and this is still very much a first-generation product. I suspect the software will get better and there will be additional updates as Emotiva figures out how to correct issues. The functionality of the device is superb IMO once you figure out how to work around the current software glitches.


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## zductive

I agree with the performance. It is a nice unit.

It seems like the company is not acknowledging that a second Fe Rev will be necessary. Lonnie's musing about whether the eq should be visible disturbs me greatly. The cirrus Irc never worked all that well. 

Does avia or anything else have the multichannel test tones that I need?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## chadnliz

Wow for a unit that had so many delays and hype seems it is still an ify product, there shouldnt be so many bugs IMO. I really wanted one for a friend but cant in good faith tell him to buy it, maybe the issues will get resolved but if this was Rotel, Classe, Lexicon, Anthem or the like folks would be calling for their heads. Yes its a good price but its supposed to be glitch free.......................right?


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## recruit

I'm sure that any problems/bugs will be sorted with firmware updates, my Arcam has had many bugs but it is getting better and it costs a lot more than the UMC-1, but the sound quality certainly makes up for any issues the AV888 has had...as it is sublime.


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## Jeff Aguilar

I wanted to report back on how my experience with my UMC-1 is going.

I was able to borrow a boom mic stand and run the Emo-Q. Wow, I am really happy with the results. My measurements (distances) were right on; I did need to tweek some of the crossovers, my sub is showing out of phase but what it produced is nothing short of outstanding! It has been a long time since I have been so satisfied with a piece of equipment! My system sounds outstanding with the UMC-1 in it. I remember how excited I was when the Outlaw 950 was introduced into my system and when I put the twin SVS subs, this processor has me excited once again. The big soundstage, clarity and dynamics it produces is far above the Marantz 5003 that was in my system. The Marantz is a great receiver but the UMC-1 is a big step up in sound quality and performace. I am so glad that I took a chance on the UMC-1. In my system, besides some of the tweeks I had to use with the Emo-Q, I have not had any bugs since the update.

Jeff Aguilar


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## recruit

For what it costs and what you get it really does seem to be a bargain, I bet these are selling by the bucket load...


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## raylock

recruit said:


> For what it costs and what you get it really does seem to be a bargain, I bet these are selling by the bucket load...


They are still fulfilling pre-orders. They are not accepting any new orders yet. I have been on the pre-order list for two years but I will not see my UMC-1 until the end of March. I am really looking forward to getting this unit.

Ray


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## Bobbart

Well they have had mine back for repair since Monday. Called on Friday and they said they were still working on it and it would be shipped sometime this coming week. If it comes back with any of the problems I sent it in for it is going back for good. The only problem I see is that there is no acknowledgment by emotiva that their eq system is not working properly even tho there is a bunch of people having problems. Your paying for that feature and it should work correctly. If more people would call support and rma their units maybe emotiva would get a clue.


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## dyohn

I understand your frustration Bob, and it is justified. But in my unit the EQ works properly, so it seems to me there may be some defective devices among the first generation shipments, but it's not a universal fault. Please don't make it sound like one: a dozen failures among the first couple hundred units is an unacceptably high defect rate, and you can be assured that every single early adopter who gets a defect will post loudly about it on the web. But it's not an indication of a defective product design. They will get it sorted out and corrected, of this I am certain.


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## Bobbart

Well I am glad yours works well. You said:The Emo-Q setup routine is definitely not functioning the way they intended. Sounds like a universal problem to me. I find it interesting that when people post a problem emotiva blames them for doing something wrong and when they post back saying they are doing it right and several other people have the same problem emotiva quits responding. With the last firmware update they said: We have resolved all known issues save for one item that we feel will be cleaned up this weekend. Yet lots of people are still having problems and the more they ship out the more problem posts you see. I am confident emotiva will eventually work out the bugs, but how long is that going to take? This is my first emotiva product and I am far from impressed.


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## Jeff Aguilar

Now that the 'Production' Software has come out, and for me some of the problems still exist in my system I decided to send my unit back and get a refund. I am now doing some research as to what I will get to replace the UMC-1. Loved the sound, just had a hard time with some of the glitches.

Jeff


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## recruit

What was the main problems caused by Jeff, was it HDMI?


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## Andre

I was seriously looking at the UMC. However the prospect of the possiblity of having problems turned me off..sigh. I have been looking at the new Denon 4311CI


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## bambino

I would seriously consider the Denon over the UMC-1. It offers alot more features then the UMC and still leaves you with the option of adding outboard amplification.:T


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## Jeff Aguilar

The HDMI handshake didn't cause me to return the UMC-1. It did take a little while to get the picture synced from like a trailer to the main movie to the movie. The thing that made me return it is the center channel drop outs. I think that may also be the HDMI syncing, but the audio would drop out sometimes from one movie preview to another or from the preview to the main menu. I also had an audio burst watching Hellboy II in DTS Master Audio. That was the only movie that did that, but everytime I would watch a DTS movie I was scared that it would repeat. I did not have this problem before the last upgrade. Also, sometimes when I powered down, it would not completely shut down. Not huge problems, but consistant. I decided to just go in a different direction.

I did really like the sound of the UMC-1, I just wanted it to be a little bit more stable.

Jeff


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## recruit

Its a shame when something like this happens as it looks to have all the features you could want, and the DTS MA thing sounds like the problem that plagued a lot of AVR's when the HD formats were new( DTS Bomb), all that you are describing sounds like firmware issues and I'm sure they'll get there in the end...


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## Jeff Aguilar

I am hoping that they will be able to fix all of these bugs through software fixes too. I have had the unit for 8 months now. I have lived with the small inconsistancies with the hope that it would be fixed in the next update. I am only returning it now because the 30 return period has started with the new 'production' code (the last firmware update). It is still showing some of the bugs it had when I first got the unit and with the last update, I had two new bugs pop up. The DTS pop and my mic would not not work properly in Emo-Q. I had to rub my fingers above the mic to get it to pass the ambient noise test. I know several people had to do this to get their mics to pass this test, it's no big deal but I have not had to do this before this last update. It just makes me uncomforatle that there is more going on here than what it appears to me. 

I hope they are able to get every bug worked out, it really would be a great product at a great price. I would buy it and keep it if it was all worked out. But, after 8 months I just don't want to wait anymore.

Jeff


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## recruit

I can see where you are coming from but most processors do suffer from early teething problems with some worse than others, HDMI being one of the biggest hurdles to get right and that has not been helped with the versions changing each year :rolleyesno:

But I have been reading a lot of other forums and similar frustrations from users just not happy, lets hope they get it all sorted soon before they lose more customers.


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## bambino

I had a situation with some of there XPA amps all dealing with status lights and nothing to do with bad amp channels. I went through 2 XPA-5's and 2 XPA-2's. There customer service is great and there whole team seems dedicated to helping. So because i was plagued by 4 amps with bad status lights i reccomended (in a nice way) that there quality control seems a bit lacking and the kind sir i talked to agreed and was personally going to have these particular units checked out to see where the problem lies.

If they got there quirks worked out and i'll assume they will then i wouldn't hesitat to buy from them again as i have never heard such a big impact in sound improvement untill i got a couple of outboards and there price to performance ratio is one that can't be beat.:T


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## recruit

I'm sure in the end they will Iron out all the problems that have been mentioned and it will be a great value product and gives the chance for a lot more people to jump into the pre/pro fun and quality, it looks like all there feedback on other products have been 1st class so I'm sure they will, there is also another processor coming out with 2 HDMI outs which is a big plus for people with 2 displays HDTV and PJ.


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## bambino

I'm sure you are right john as the Gentleman that i talked to was very concerned and wanted nothing but the best.:sn:
I still have tossed around just getting a couple more products from them, the situation i had was not enough to take me away from them all around. The amps sounded awesome and tottaly gave my system a new life. I also agree that there products do live up to there reviews.:T


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## Ray in Kingwood

My first one I had problems with and no center channel coming thru. Sounded muffled. Sent it back, emo sent me a new one with all new firmware and even set it up based on my HT setup....preconfigured as close as they could determine. It came in, doggone thing worx perfect so I left it alone. I am a very happy camper and glad I purchased it.


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## Deane Johnson

Would anyone get on an airplane that they knew had as many problems as the UMC-1?


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## Sonnie

This is really a silly question... absolutely no offense intended. Who would want to get on an airplane that had any bugs period?

You can say that about nearly any processor. Go to the gargantuan threads of nearly any processor or receiver and you will find numerous issues with all of them. The forums can (and in many cases do) bring out the worst of any piece of equipment and it does not account for the hundreds, possibly thousands who never had one issue with their unit, of which you rarely hear about. Case in point is the two NAD T785's I had. The first one I had was buggy... there was a run of them that had issues and there were quite a few complaining about the same issues, however, there were those who had no issues whatsoever. Of course NAD did make it right, but for some owners it took two or three updates to get it right... and in a few cases units had to be sent to NAD. The second unit I had was perfect, but there were several with the same firmware that purchased after I did who had issues with their unit. And these are NOT cheap units... they are VERY expensive... even at dealer cost.

The bottom line is I would would NOT want to get on an airplane that is based on the engineering of any audio equipment. Those engineers are not looking out for the benefit of life in their audio engineering.


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## Deane Johnson

Hi Sonnie:

It was intended to be a humorous comment, but apparently wasn't a good idea given the reaction it got. Sorry about that.

The fact of the matter is that I'm hoping Emotiva gets the UMC-1 issues to an acceptable level. I admire what they are trying to do, and am particularly impressed with the many postings about the super sound quality the unit apparently possess.

I'm sitting on the fence, watching the UMC-1, thinking of it and a Emotiva 5-channel 200 WPC Amp. If that proves to not be a good idea for whatever reason, I'll probably have to settle for a receiver.

Anyone trying to get a full featured unit on the market at an affordable price point deserves support.

Deane


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
That and the fact that the FAA requires extensive testing of even small Airplanes before being Certified as airworthy.
HDMI Processors/AVR's are very complicated Components for an Manufacturer to build.

In truth, the most reliable have been the Japanese Brands. They have the R&D and huge Product Lines to offset the investment. 

For a Boutique A/V Company to release an HDMI AVR/SSP, unless it is directly based off an OEM Japanese Design, is a gargantuan effort. Arcam literally wrote millions of lines of Code for their AVR-500/600 and AVP-888 and spent years in Development and it still required FW Updates to address bugs.

For a Company that is bringing to Market an SSP that costs less than many AVR's, Emotiva has worked quite hard at resolving the glitches that have been causing problems.

Deane, I would not be concerned about the XPA-5 as their Amplifiers have proven to be quite reliable. Moreover, Amplifiers do not present the myriad of challenges that a SSP does. 
Cheers,
JJ


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## mechman

Jungle Jack said:


> That and the fact that the FAA requires extensive testing of even small Airplanes before being Certified as airworthy.


Jack - you really don't want to bring the FAA into this! That would drop consumer confidence significantly. :rofl: I should know. I work for them. :T


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## Jungle Jack

Touche


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## bambino

Emotiva has got to get credit for there products there may be a few bugs here and there but what company doesn't experiance those. I still think they have a great product at a price that simply can't be beat.:T


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## recruit

bambino said:


> Emotiva has got to get credit for there products there may be a few bugs here and there but what company doesn't experiance those. I still think they have a great product at a price that simply can't be beat.:T


I honestly do not see how they can make a profit for such a product at the price, or they are less greedy than other manufacturers :bigsmile:


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## bambino

recruit said:


> I honestly do not see how they can make a profit for such a product at the price, or they are less greedy than other manufacturers :bigsmile:


I agree with the less greedy part and they don't have any middle man to deal with.:spend: My experiance with the 2 amps i had was simply amazing, i could not believe the build quality and ruggedness of them when i unpacked them. They do live up to the reviews that i have read.
Really good product at an unbelievable price, can't beat that.:T


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## phat_tshens

I'm a newbie here so first off a quick 'Hello' to everyone!
I have a question to Sonnie since in an earlier comment he mentioned that he owned a NAD T785 at one point.
I wonder if also had first hand experience with the Emotiva UMC-1 and if he could briefly compare the sound quality of the two.

Thanks,

Steve


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## Jungle Jack

recruit said:


> I honestly do not see how they can make a profit for such a product at the price, or they are less greedy than other manufacturers :bigsmile:


Emotiva is a Chinese Company that renamed itself. I cannot remember their prior name, but they were an OEM for many Brands who Outsourced their Manufacturing to China. The combination of being a Chinese Owned Company and the much lower Labor Rates there and being ID makes it possible .
Cheers,
JJ


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## recruit

Jungle Jack said:


> Emotiva is a Chinese Company that renamed itself. I cannot remember their prior name, but they were an OEM for many Brands who Outsourced their Manufacturing to China. The combination of being a Chinese Owned Company and the much lower Labor Rates there and being ID makes it possible .
> Cheers,
> JJ


Thanks Jack, it just seems like such a good product for the money and a stepping stone for those wishing to step up to having just a pre/pro ability


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## neomatrix_23

Having used a variety of midrange receivers from H/K and NAD, I thought it was time for me to go separates so I can get my Dynaudios to "sing" properly. I did a lot of reading here and got a lot of positive reviews from Emotiva so I got their UMC-1 and XPA-5 last week.

I played a few hi-end CDs and initially really hated the sound (I was using a cheap Pioneer DVD player) and thought what's the fuss about them? I then used my NAD T532 player (and later a Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD with upgraded firmware) and boy I was amazed of how that opened up the soundstage. Way, way, better than what midrange (and maybe even higher end) receivers can give you. To get separates sound for the price of a hi-end receiver, I'm very happy with my purchase.

The UMC-1 though has some bugs that they need to sort out (I have the latest 7.2 firmware I believe). Nothing really serious but I hope gets fixed in the next release(s).


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## Sonnie

phat_tshens said:


> I'm a newbie here so first off a quick 'Hello' to everyone!
> I have a question to Sonnie since in an earlier comment he mentioned that he owned a NAD T785 at one point.
> I wonder if also had first hand experience with the Emotiva UMC-1 and if he could briefly compare the sound quality of the two.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Steve


Hi Steve and welcome to the Shack... and sorry for the delayed response. 

Unfortunately I have not heard the UMC-1, but hope to soon... I am about ready to trade up for a processor over my current Onkyo 906. The UMC-1 seems admirable and a reasonable pairing to my XPA-1 monoblocks.

As far as comparing it to the NAD, that might be hard to do because it has been so long since I have heard the NAD. I am not sure I could really be objective unless they were side by side and setup identically. I have never been one to be able to hear a lot of differences in "good" components as long as they have had ample power to drive my speakers (currently MartinLogan). Where I have heard the biggest improvement for me was going from dynamic to electrostatic speakers... and I can testify that a typical receiver will compress at louder volumes trying to push my ML Prodigy speakers. The newer powered model ML's (I owned the Spire's previously) are typically fine with just about any quality receiver. Otherwise... I can not claim to have ever heard much difference between processors, amps and/or receivers from Sony, Denon, Sunfire, McIntosh, Adcom, NAD, Onkyo, Earthquake, Anthem, Lexicon and I am sure some others I am forgetting. They all seem to sound about the same to me... the speakers is where I noticed a real difference. This is not to say there is not a noticeable difference for some people... just that I have never experienced any.


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## bambino

I have no experiance with the UMC-1 but i had an XPA-5 for awhile and boy oh boy what a differance seperates can make. The sound was just more open and natural as compared to the amps built into my Denon, truly a great product for the money.:T


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## loupy31

Hi,
I am placing on order for the umc-1 and was wondering, if some one can let me know what the current issues are with the unit, so i can work out what I will be doing 

Peter


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## Deane Johnson

loupy31, there are a couple of FW issues left that Lonnie is working on. Off the top of my head I don't remember what they are, but they should be eliminated soon according to Lonnie.

If you haven't found the Emotiva forum yet, you should be able to get a better idea there.

http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?

I just took delivery of my UMC-1/XPA-5 yesterday and watched my first movie last night. I can't compare it with anything yet as I was upgrading from a 5.1 80wpc receiver and there is little to compare with something that old. The difference in my upgrade was significant.

The only issue I personally encountered is one where if I pause the movie, when I restart it, there is about a 3 or 4 second delay before it locks in on the sound. I'm hopeful this is one of the issues they are working on.

I'm impressed with the broad range of adjustments and features available on the UMC-1.

Bottom line is that there are still a couple of issues to be worked out according to Emotiva.

Deane


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## nholmes1

Well I was asked if I wanted to evaluate the umc from a co-worker/forum member and I will be throwing into my system now. I have previous experience with processors from lexicon, anthem, rotel, Crestron, parasound and marantz. I have previously just been using software on my htpc as the processor for my current setup with a 5x200 sunfire cinema grand as my amp. Will post some impressions later today. Build quality looks good so far and packaging is solid.


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## Deane Johnson

I have no other experience with Processors, only an old receiver, so I will be looking forward to your thoughts.

In evaluating the UMC-1, one should never lose sight of the extremely low price point.

Deane


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## nholmes1

I absolutely agree and should quantify a few things, I work in the industry and most of my experience with the processors I listed was thru installing them for other people. I've had the Crestron dap8 and a lexicon dc1 in my system previously as well as multiple different denon and hk receivers. 

I am actually very hopeful the umc will meet my needs as I would rather save the money by going with it versus the marantz av-7005 which is the nearest processor I have seen with features I want.


Lol edit for my iPhone autocorrecting denon to demon, fixed.


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## nholmes1

Ok so initial experiences are mostly positive with the exception of the EmoQ, I couldn't get it to provide anything close to correct settings on distance or phase. The ambient test would really have annoyed me if I hadn't already read about the finger trick. 

Anyways, I simply bypassed the EmoQ setup and performed a basic setup of the unit, hooked up a denon BD-1800 blu-ray via HDMI and my htpc via analog 5.1 connections. Sound quality is excellent, sound stage was greatly improved and channel separation was more than adequate. Video quality seemed impressive though I haven't hooked up any test patterns to the unit to see how well it tracks. I did play a few scenes from iron man 2 and was pleased with the picture. 

Build quality was excellent, layout is good and the on screen is nice and simple which is a concern if the unit is to be remotely located in a closet or cabinet. I will have to break out the crestron system as well as I would like to see how well the control works but all in all I am impressed with the initial run through with it. 

Finally the remote is good for a weapon but I would get annoyed with it quickly if I had to use it every day, so I would definitely recommend a good universal remote to go with it. It does have a few nice features such as direct channel level and the discrete inputs and power commands, but the ergonomics would prevent me from using it regularly.

Hope to have more detailed information soon as I start to recover from the minor concussion I received yesterday.

Cheers!


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## Deane Johnson

I hope it wasn't one of Emotiva's power amps falling on your head that caused the concussion. I swear, they probably can only load one of those on a 747 to get it over here.

Your observations on the UMC-1 looks pretty objective to me, based on my experience.

I both like and dislike the remote. Nothing cheesy about it's construction, but there are a lot of buttons to find. I programmed the basics I need into my Pronto TSU-2000 and it works significantly better than the Emotiva remote. That is usually the case with the Pronto and any manufacturers remote.

Right now, my big issue is that I can't get the IR to work with my USB-UIRT and my PC controlled Elve software. The UMC-1 just doesn't know it exists. I haven't been able to isolate where the breakdown might be. I've used both the OEM and my Pronto to teach Elve the code, and I've cut and pasted the hex code from the Emotiva site and it's no go any way I do it.

I had fairly decent luck with Emo-Q being accurate on distance. Mic placement might have something to do with that. I also remember something about early microphones not being right and having to be replaced, but I don't know the exact status of that.

I, for one, will certainly be interested in hearing more on your experiences with the UMC-1. My initial feeling is that the price point is so favorable for a full featured and quality sounding unit, that I'm willing to work through the issues since Emotiva is working hard to resolve them.

Deane


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## nholmes1

Well my experience with emoq was definitely not the best but that's not entirely unexpected with a first gen product. When audessy was first released in denon avrs there were problems with regards to phase, crossovers and activation. However when it showed my fronts and center at 1.4ft and the surrounds at 30ft I kind of figured it wasn't going to work so well. That said I haven't updated the firmware which is supposed to improve the emoq. I also experienced and issue with a bluray being pauses for a while, upon restarting having a corrupted audio stream, switching inputs did resolve the issue which would point to a handshake loss.

Now even with these issues the value of the unit is hard to beat and I could see putting one in use in my system permanently, or the new pro version with built in control4. More details later.


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## nholmes1

Just an update, I did all the current firmware updates last night and will get a chance to test it tonight and tomorrow and will give more opinions then.


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## Jeff Aguilar

I am really curious as to your findings with the UMC-1. I had one for quite a while but ended up giving up on it. I would really like to see it succeed. Even though I really liked it, I had a hard time living with it's issues. 

I am glad I had it to test it out, but it is really nice to know that now I have a unit that just works in my system. It's been nice to not have to worry about what problem is going to creep up when I watch a movie.

Jeff


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