Post by billmac on Mar 9, 2010 9:33:36 GMT -5
I had a chance to put my UMC-1 in my system in place of my Onkyo 886. It was a little bit of a learning curve as with and new component with a totally different menu system. But I was able to get it down after spending some time with it.
I setup my Harmony 688 first before even installing the UMC-1 into my system. I plugged the UMC-1 into a kitchen outlet and used the small LCD we use in the kitchen to setup all the input parameters. I did this just in case I had trouble with the 688 setting up all the activities (Bluray, HD/DVD, TV/DVR and CD). I thought if I had issues with the 688 and it did work well with the UMC-1 it would not be a good fit in my system. With my family using the system as well the 688 is a must to keep everything simple.
Once I got the 688 fine tuned it worked quite well with maybe one or two minor miscues which were easily corrected. So I was pleasantly surprised that the 688 worked well with the UMC-1 and the initial boot up time which I thought could possibly be an issue was not a problem at all. The only setting I changed for the 688 with the UMC-1 was a delay 0f 14000 ms for the power up sequence. Now I can change activities with not a thought of any issues
.
I ran Emo-Q but it set my speaker (Ascend Sierra-1s-LCR) crossovers to 250Hz with levels and distances off quite a bit. I set the levels manually with a SPL meter and distances with a tape measure (old school
). I popped in a few Blurays (Live Free or Die and Casino Royale) and HD/DVDs (Transformers). I found the SQ to be very good but even with the sub set at 75dB it was very loud and boomy (Emo-Q off). So I set the sub level by ear with a level that was not as boomy. I was at forum member Ratmice's home to listen to his UMC-1 last weekend and the sub was also boomy but was tamed quite well by a Anti-Mode 8003.
I tried running the UMC-1 in Pass Through for video but it kept defaulting to 480p. I found that the resolution setting on my Panasonic BD30 was set to Auto and setting it to 720p as my Panasonic plasma is 768p. With the changed settings I am able to remain in Pass Through for my BD30. I will also try the Auto setting to see if there is any difference in PQ.
I have my SA 8300 cable box connected via component directly to my plasma with audio via optical to the UMC-1. With these connections I do not have any of the issues that some are having with their cable/SAT boxes connected via HDMI. When changing channels I can see the format changes from digital to analog and vice versa with no lock on delays at all.
I have experienced loss of audio several times and a video drop out with static/green screen but switching inputs and back corrected that. One time I lost all audio except the sub but could hear non LFE material through the sub which was not good IMO. I checked the crossover settings and they were all correct as far as the menu indicated.
I had a chance to listen to some 2 CH music today in comparison to my Parasound 2100. I used my Consonance CD-120 Balanced with the R&L analog outputs to the 2100 and the Coaxial ouput to the UMC-1 (using the UMC-1s DACS). Using the Stereo mode with the UMC-1 so I could have my sub in the mix. I was very impressed with the SQ of the UMC-1 when directly compared to the 2100. The 2100 has the edge in vocals (being centered/midrange) IMO but the UMC-1 is right there. The SQ for 2 CH is definitely better than my 886 with both in the Stereo mode with the gap closer with the 886 in the Pure mode. Still the UMC-1 has better overall analog SQ than the 886. It is not a earth shattering difference like a blanket being lifted off my speakers but still it is better .
As far as SQ with movies with DD5.1, TrueHD and DTS-MA I feel that the 886 was better with Audyssey engaged opposed to the UMC-1 with or without Emo-Q engaged. Of course not knowing if Emo-Q EQ is working properly leaves the UMC-1 at a disadvantage but my preference was with the 886. I have seen some reviews mentioning that the center (dialog) was clearer but I do not have any issues with the 886 so I did not notice any improvement. I always thought that if you have an issue with low dialog just raise the center level volume.
So all in all I am impressed with the SQ of the UMC-1. Hopefully the audio/video dropouts, Emo-Q and other issues can be resolved with the upcoming FW updates. I hope to spend more time with the UMC-1 to get a better feel for its operation and SQ especially with movies.
Bill
I setup my Harmony 688 first before even installing the UMC-1 into my system. I plugged the UMC-1 into a kitchen outlet and used the small LCD we use in the kitchen to setup all the input parameters. I did this just in case I had trouble with the 688 setting up all the activities (Bluray, HD/DVD, TV/DVR and CD). I thought if I had issues with the 688 and it did work well with the UMC-1 it would not be a good fit in my system. With my family using the system as well the 688 is a must to keep everything simple.
Once I got the 688 fine tuned it worked quite well with maybe one or two minor miscues which were easily corrected. So I was pleasantly surprised that the 688 worked well with the UMC-1 and the initial boot up time which I thought could possibly be an issue was not a problem at all. The only setting I changed for the 688 with the UMC-1 was a delay 0f 14000 ms for the power up sequence. Now I can change activities with not a thought of any issues
.I ran Emo-Q but it set my speaker (Ascend Sierra-1s-LCR) crossovers to 250Hz with levels and distances off quite a bit. I set the levels manually with a SPL meter and distances with a tape measure (old school
). I popped in a few Blurays (Live Free or Die and Casino Royale) and HD/DVDs (Transformers). I found the SQ to be very good but even with the sub set at 75dB it was very loud and boomy (Emo-Q off). So I set the sub level by ear with a level that was not as boomy. I was at forum member Ratmice's home to listen to his UMC-1 last weekend and the sub was also boomy but was tamed quite well by a Anti-Mode 8003.I tried running the UMC-1 in Pass Through for video but it kept defaulting to 480p. I found that the resolution setting on my Panasonic BD30 was set to Auto and setting it to 720p as my Panasonic plasma is 768p. With the changed settings I am able to remain in Pass Through for my BD30. I will also try the Auto setting to see if there is any difference in PQ.
I have my SA 8300 cable box connected via component directly to my plasma with audio via optical to the UMC-1. With these connections I do not have any of the issues that some are having with their cable/SAT boxes connected via HDMI. When changing channels I can see the format changes from digital to analog and vice versa with no lock on delays at all
.I have experienced loss of audio several times and a video drop out with static/green screen but switching inputs and back corrected that. One time I lost all audio except the sub but could hear non LFE material through the sub which was not good IMO. I checked the crossover settings and they were all correct as far as the menu indicated.
I had a chance to listen to some 2 CH music today in comparison to my Parasound 2100. I used my Consonance CD-120 Balanced with the R&L analog outputs to the 2100 and the Coaxial ouput to the UMC-1 (using the UMC-1s DACS). Using the Stereo mode with the UMC-1 so I could have my sub in the mix. I was very impressed with the SQ of the UMC-1 when directly compared to the 2100. The 2100 has the edge in vocals (being centered/midrange) IMO but the UMC-1 is right there
. The SQ for 2 CH is definitely better than my 886 with both in the Stereo mode with the gap closer with the 886 in the Pure mode. Still the UMC-1 has better overall analog SQ than the 886. It is not a earth shattering difference like a blanket being lifted off my speakers but still it is better .As far as SQ with movies with DD5.1, TrueHD and DTS-MA I feel that the 886 was better with Audyssey engaged opposed to the UMC-1 with or without Emo-Q engaged. Of course not knowing if Emo-Q EQ is working properly leaves the UMC-1 at a disadvantage but my preference was with the 886. I have seen some reviews mentioning that the center (dialog) was clearer but I do not have any issues with the 886 so I did not notice any improvement. I always thought that if you have an issue with low dialog just raise the center level volume.
So all in all I am impressed with the SQ of the UMC-1
. Hopefully the audio/video dropouts, Emo-Q and other issues can be resolved with the upcoming FW updates. I hope to spend more time with the UMC-1 to get a better feel for its operation and SQ especially with movies.Bill
. I had to lower the sub level to -10dB the lowest setting so the sub was not too loud. This is where the UMC-1 really needs correction is with the speaker level issues specifically the sub. The test tone for the sub through the UMC-1 I have is not the normal deep LFE bass I am used to with every AVR/prepro I have ever setup. 
