Should I be afraid to buy a UMC-1?

[vvv]

Hi guys,

Like many of you I believe I have been following the UMC-1 for over two years. My number has been pulled on the pre-order list and I WAS ready to pull the trigger on a preloaded UMC-1 with v6 firmware.

The worst part about this is that my gut is telling me no. I have the money, and the approval from the wife.....I am just nervous about the headaches.

Audio Dropouts, Potentially blown speakers, incorrect reporting of settings....this sounds like a big price to pay.

I am currently using a B&K receiver / XPA-5 with a Panasonic Bluray player. I have access to Tru-HD and DTS Master Audio via Analog inputs and use the receiver for my X-Box and Direct TV.

The major benefit for me swapping my B&K to the Emotiva is sound quality. Functionally, I don't believe the UMC-1 offers much benefit beyond what I already own.

Are there any UMC-1 owners out there that can help push me over the fence either way?

[jlafrenz]

I am in a similar boat as you. I have the MMC-1 which is working great in my setup and using analog for DTS-MA. I know the UMC-1 has some new features, but overall I don't think it is worth the upgrade, especially with all the issues. The way I look at it is, everything in my system is working properly and I am happy with it so there is no reason to spend the money and upgrade.

[debk]

I know how you all feel, though my number has not come up yet.
I have a LMC-1 with my Oppo Bluray hooked up via the 7.1 ch inputs, it works fine and I get all the codecs with no problem.

I a hoping that the firmware issues will be fixed by the time my number comes up. That would sure make the decision easier

Debra

[gkarracer]

Since you waited this long, you might want to ask them to hold yours until the next firmware update and then decide.

[moovtune]

Maybe you should set the money aside and keep adding to it and wait for the XMC-1 when hopefully the bug stomping going on now for the UMC-1 will make it an insect-free purchase.

[fistofsouth]

I'm in the same boat. I have struggled and struggled with this. I am in the market for both a Pre/Pro and Amp and I want, nay, need them to match for my own piece of mind. For the last two years I have been confident that Emo learned from their mistakes with the LMC-1. I mean I assumed they came up with the name change (from LMC-2 to UMC-1) in part because they were confident the UMC-1 would be wired in tight when released. They insisted that was indeed the case and then we all know what happened.

Now I know that many manufacturers are having teething issues with Pre/Pros; Cary has had issues, Outlaw canceled their project and the Sherbourn PT-7020A (same platform as UMC-1) is having issues as well. Even long time established companies have had issues with their Pre/Pros and AVRS the Marantz AV8003 seems to be straight at this point (2 years after release), but don't for get the fact that their AVRs ( SR6004 and SR5004) have the pop of death with a 46% death rate. Then we have all the issues that NAD has had with the T-175HD.

No one seems to be able to make a stable Pre/Pro in this day and age of DSP, HDMI and room correction. Those that are stable are backed by huge conglomerates (D&M Holdings with the Integra 40.1/80.1 and aforementioned Marantz AV8003) and cost considerably more than Emotiva's offerings.

In the end I struggle with waiting on the UMC-1 to get squared away, double my budget and nab the 2 year old Marantz separates or just saying forget about it and going with a standard AVR from Onkyo or some other run of the mill AVR manufacturer. My number will be coming up soon for the UMC-1 and I think for now I'll just tell them to hold it until stable firmware is ready. At that point it will be a race; will Emo get the UMC-1 squared away first or will I save up the $3,000 to $4,000 required to get the Marantz AV8003/MM8003 combo.

[raven6]

I'd wait. I just received my UMC-1 a few days ago and have already sent it back in to be repaired--it won't pass any video signal via HDMI to my Epson 1080UB proj. Like you also, the UMC will hopefully be replacing a B&K Ref, 30 preamp.

I work as a Home Theater specialist for the nation's largest independant electronics retailer and tried everything to get the UMC 's hdmi video output to work. I hope it was just a bad unit or they may have some not so good HDCP issues. let you know how things turn out!!!

[Deleted]

I want to place my order for an amp & processor and have waited to see what ver 6 does. I believe Emo will fix it.
jlafrenz & debk- thanks for the comments.

So let me sum-up as I understand them, where the main issues are with the UMC-1.
I only have 1 HDMI (from DTV HR21-700) which I connect directly to my 1080i Pioneer display. Then I watch something in HD in D.D. (HBO) I switch to Component video & Digital Coax through the receiver, as I do with DVD.
1) Running audio via toslink or d-coax will still decode properly but does not from HDMI?
2) I can NOT upscale to 1080i through Component video and will need to wait for a fix before I can use HDMI upscaling reliably?
3) When I get a Oppo Bluray, I can use 7.1 analog & Component video and use internal decoding until there is a fix?

It has been difficult to follow the threads because too may folks get off topic. Sorry folks, I understand that many of you are friends and it's easy to ramble, but it would be nice if the topic was on point. I don't have time to read 20 threads to find the answers. Please, I'm NOT attacking anyone.

[monkumonku]

Apr 22, 2010 16:33:41 GMT -5 fistofsouth said:

I'm in the same boat. I have struggled and struggled with this. I am in the market for both a Pre/Pro and Amp and I want, nay, need them to match for my own piece of mind. For the last two years I have been confident that Emo learned from their mistakes with the LMC-1. I mean I assumed they came up with the name change (from LMC-2 to UMC-1) in part because they were confident the UMC-1 would be wired in tight when released. They insisted that was indeed the case and then we all know what happened.

Now I know that many manufacturers are having teething issues with Pre/Pros; Cary has had issues, Outlaw canceled their project and the Sherbourn PT-7020A (same platform as UMC-1) is having issues as well. Even long time established companies have had issues with their Pre/Pros and AVRS the Marantz AV8003 seems to be straight at this point (2 years after release), but don't for get the fact that their AVRs ( SR6004 and SR5004) have the pop of death with a 46% death rate. Then we have all the issues that NAD has had with the T-175HD.

No one seems to be able to make a stable Pre/Pro in this day and age of DSP, HDMI and room correction. Those that are stable are backed by huge conglomerates (D&M Holdings with the Integra 40.1/80.1 and aforementioned Marantz AV8003) and cost considerably more than Emotiva's offerings.

In the end I struggle with waiting on the UMC-1 to get squared away, double my budget and nab the 2 year old Marantz separates or just saying forget about it and going with a standard AVR from Onkyo or some other run of the mill AVR manufacturer. My number will be coming up soon for the UMC-1 and I think for now I'll just tell them to hold it until stable firmware is ready. At that point it will be a race; will Emo get the UMC-1 squared away first or will I save up the $3,000 to $4,000 required to get the Marantz AV8003/MM8003 combo.

Your concerns are certainly valid and reasonable. What I would suggest is to buy the UMC-1 since assuming the bugs get ironed out nothing anywhere near that price point can come close. Plus you have 30 days to decide. BUT, I think it would be nice if Dan or Lonnie can make a post to clarify the issue about whether the 30 day trial starts now or when the firmware finally gets fixed to the point where they feel it is reasonable. Because if it is the latter, then you have nothing to worry about. You will just be out the freight if you decide to return it, which is about $20 or so.

[aboroth00]

Try it out. It doesn't cost you anything to do that. I'm sure you can sell it locally or online for 720$ easily. Or refund it and lose 20 in the shipping. You get a new toy to play with too, that should be more than incentive to at least try it since the costs nearly nothing.

[cgolf]

I bought a UMC prior to v5 and ended up selling it. That's not a slam on the product. It just wasn't right for me at this time. I have since bought & sold a few receivers to use as pre-pros and now have a Yamaha RX-V1900 and an Onkyo SR876. These will be used with my amps strickly as pre-pros until my next buy/sell whatever and whenever that is.

Could be another UMC; could be a XMC; or it could be something totally different. ;D

[htlover]

My number came up a few months ago, and I decided it had too many issues. Don't get me wrong, I would like a UMC-1 or better yet an XMC-1, but if they can't get the UMC-1 straightened out, how can we expect a bug-free (or at least one with minimal bugs) XMC-1.

My PrePro is a Parasound AVC-2500u and it is very long in the tooth, and I have been waiting for the UMC-1 to be finished to replace this unit, but with all these issues, I cannot get myself to put it in my rack. My family uses the theater, 4 to 5 hours a day, mostly HDTV, and a media center, so it has to be stable and usable.

I truly hope they can straighten this out. Maybe, too many things were added to the platform, after its design. I really couldn't care less for EmoQ, if it is that buggy, there are other ways to calibrate, but I do need to get the HDMI switching and the surround modes, and the audio to be perfect. I've been looking at the Onkyo 886, and the Denon 4310 (yes a receiver but it just works).

[klinemj]

I'm in a similar situation as the OP. My current AVR works fine, I'd like to upgrade it (and use the current one elsewhere), and my number recently came up - just before the production was put on hold to await the v6 FW. And at that time, I was on the fence as to whether the issues would be resolved or not. Add to that that I have a USP-1 and would not be able to tolerate the USP/UMC remote interference issue.

At the time my place came up in line, the production was still moving forward so I could have taken my order (but had to deal w/the USP/UMC remote interference). I asked to be placed on hold pending resolution of the remote issue, and they graciously agreed (with the committment that the intro price would still hold). (An aside: that's GREAT customer service! Most would say, "sorry, take it or leave it as is or you will risk losing your price.")

Then, the production got put on hold, V6 came out and now is being modded again.

I've not yet been contacted about getting back on track to get mine, and frankly...that's fine w/me. I do want to wait to make sure that v6.1 or v7 (whatever it is called) truly fixes the primary issues (for me, audio dropouts, lockups, not keeping certain saved settings, etc.) AND that the remote fix is included before I pull the trigger.

On the Emo-Q being a bit "wonky" as some have called it, I have NO issue w/that. My audyssey is notoriously making reco's I don't like, but I can't do anything about them. Sure, I can go into the manual setup on my Denon and start from scratch, but I can't take what audyssey does and tweak it. I would GLADLY take an Emo-Q which gives it the old college try, then lets me tweak from there and save the results I want (in fact, save 3 options I like!).

So, anyway...anxiously awaiting the next round or two of FW progress...then I will decide. I am now leaning to "yes" (but with waiting as long as possible to make sure the teething pains are mostly over...)

Mark

[roadrunner]

Should you go ahead and buy the UMC-1 when your number comes up? My answer would be, "Does the UMC-1 have the features you want and need for you current and future HT?" If the answer is yes, I say go ahead and buy it.

Many users are finding that the UMC-1, even with the current bugs, is an improvement in both audio and video performance. Most of the bugs have work-arounds that are as good as or better than than the old solution; and when the bugs are fixed will be much better than the old platform. You need not be afraid to buy because Emotiva will not start the clock ticking on the 30-day trial until a stable FW has been developed and install on your UMC-1... so there is no risk on your part. If the UMC-1 cannot be fixed to your satisfaction you can simply return it for a full refund.

My experience with Emotiva over the past couple of years is that they will do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. The few problems I have had with Emotiva products were very quickly resolved to my total satisfaction. Their customer service and tech support has been impeccable. I own one of the early UMC-1 processors and am fully confident that Emotiva will fix the UMC-1 in the near term. They are dedicated to making the UMC-1 perform to its utmost.

If you could see and hear just how great the UMC-1 is right now, with all the bugs, you would be excited to experience it once those anomalies have been addressed. The UMC-1 has the potential to be an industry leading processor with exceptional flexibility and performance... all risk free. Emotiva's track record leads me to believe that the current teething problems will be fixed and that they will stand behind the UMC-1. This is indeed a rare win/win situation. We already know the UMC-1 is capable of delivering outstanding sound and beautiful video, when it works; and when it is fixed you will own one of the biggest bargains in all of Audio/Video. ;D

[Mischief]

I have installed 4 UMC-1's for other people, I however messed up and never put myself on the pre-order list.

I have 4 happy people using their UMC-1, novice folks who couldn't program their own remote. Once I got them past the learning curve, they are all happy. One called today however and is having a drop-out issue with a DTV DVR.

If it help at all... I would be more than happy to take someones place in the pre-order list.

[avnut]

I have been on the pre order list from the beginning. I just recently canceled. I have a working theater with equipment that my wife can deal with. I have elected to wait for the XMC although I might change my mind and get a UMC at some point if there is a reasonable period of stable operations (no dropouts, no volume spikes and it does the other things it is suppose to do). If I were the only one involved, I would go ahead and get the UMC to play with. However, in my case, my wife is a major user and I can't expect her to be an AV problem solver.

[BillBauman]

I figured I'd throw this out there. Several of you mentioned wanting the UMC-1 for improved sound quality, and you also mentioned you have the high-resolution audio now via analog inputs on an AVR. Well, you can use the analog inputs on the UMC-1 and achieve the sonic improvement. When the firmware is fixed, you can switch to HDMI, but it probably isn't going to improve the sound at all, it will just clean up the cabling. If it doesn't get fixed to your satisfaction, you still have the improved sound quality, or, as others have stated, you can send it back.

[Deleted]

Bill
Thanks

So using Tos & D-coax works ok as is?

[BillBauman]

Apr 22, 2010 19:44:41 GMT -5 @texzick said:

Bill
Thanks

So using Tos & D-coax works ok as is?

As far as I know, yes. Others might chime in. I was really just referring to using the analog inputs. I haven't had a chance to personally test out the tos/coax digital, but I might in the next day or two.

[jutta]

Is anyone out there using the UMC solely hooked up to a Bluray player?
This is all I will be doing with it (I do have the ERC/USP combo too) but no PVR/TIVO type devices.
Just Bluray over HDMI.
Any of the current bugs effecting this?