Replacing the DSP-A1 with the UMC-1

[jaakan79]

To start off, My TV went in to the shop right before the UMC-1 shipped so I can't do a full review yet.

The UMC-1 was double boxed and since it shipped out June 29, it included the UMC-R Milled Aluminum Remote Control. Neatly packed and protected. No shipping issues from TN to MD.

I rewired and moved some things around on my rack. I plugged the UMC-1 in to my Monster Cable HTR 3600. Flipped the power switch in the back and nothing. I plugged the UMC-1 straight in to the wall and now I have an amber ring. Now it turns on just fine. My Rotel RMB1085 is also plugged directly in the wall too.

I have only played Sarah McLachlan - Remixed on my Pioneer PD-S705 CD player so far... I can play it very softly and still clearly hear everything.

I ssh'd to my HTPC and ran the following command, the UMC-1 displayed Multi Channel 192Khz, and I heard the test sounds speaker-test -Dhdmi -c8 -r192000 -FS32_LE

I'm still getting use to it. I have started to go through the menus via the front display and buttons. it's late so I'm calling it a night.

I will add to this as time goes on.

[jaakan79]

More awake now....

I setup my my speakers with the remote and front display
Front = FULL
Center = NONE
Surround = FULL
Surround Back= NONE
SUB = NONE

I know something from wrong last night, the 40Hz default cuts the bass out. Yes the Maggie spec say 45Hz ignore that and run them FULL/Large.

Pioneer PD-S705 > Opt-3 > Direct
Sarah McLachlan - Remixed - Track 4, the lower end is more detailed
Faithless - Reverence - Track 8, Dido sounds like she is between my front speakers and the front wall
Paul Oakenfold - Travelling - Track 3, there is overall more detail
RunDMC - Raising Hell - Track 1, those bells have more details
RunDMC - Raising Hell - Track 4, there is overall more detail
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon - all of it, there is overall more detail
Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club - All of it, stereo separation and imaging are better
Sting - Brand New Day/DTS-CD - Track 5, Surround channels are a lot clearer
The Police - Every Breath You Take/DTS-CD - Track 4, sound stage sounds deeper

HTPC > HDMI-2 > Direct
I used the following command to play files without having a display
vlc -I ncurses filename.ext
Solaris International - Episode 216 - mp3/128k, seems to be more there


Oh yea the firmware version is "W7.01.00.02"

[jaakan79]

Here is a picture of it in the rack from yesterday.

[jaakan79]

HTPC > HDMI-2 > Direct

Played all of the following and they all 44.1khz/VBR

Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be/Rocking That Body.ogg
BT Jan Johnston - Mercury Solace.ogg
Coldplay - Speed Of Sound.ogg
Ludacris - My Chick Bad Remix ft Diamond Trina Eve.ogg
Miike Snow - Burial.ogg
Rihanna - Rude Boy.ogg
Timbaland - Carry Out ft. Justin Timberlake.ogg

Most songs sound like there is recording studio behind my front speakers. Normal these songs would be a little flatter and the vocals would not have that much depth detail. Burial has a lot more depth, sounds like I'm outside in some coastal town.

I listened to Solaris International - Episode 216 - mp3/128k again.
It sounds more neutral and more focused.

Effects Off vs Direct

DSP-A1 doesn't have complete a Direct Mode. 2CH PCM will come out 2CH but DTS will come out the front 2 CH's only and not down mixed.
You have to hit the Prologic button on the remote to get DTS to decode as DTS if the display says "Effects Off." Newer Yamaha's have "Source Direct." Effects Off basically means 2CH Direct, even if it says DD 3/2 48khz, Yep a BUG in my eyes.


HEAT
UMC-1 + RMB1085 running straight for 6 hours put off a lot less heat than the DSP-A1 just being on with nothing connected and front amps De-coupled.

[larryfdx]

It appears that any way you slice it, the UMC wins against your Yamaha and wins big! Congrats to you.

[jaakan79]

I just got my TV back.

UMC-1 > Passthrough
OPPO BDP80 > HDMI Audio (auto) + 1080p24
HTPC > HDMI Video/Audio 1080p60

Input switching is about 2 seconds, the video shows up in less than a second

HTPC
Austin City LImits "Sarah McLachlan; Duffy" 1080i / 2CH PCM 48K -
MI-5 "Project Friendly Fire" 1080i / 2CH PCM 48K > PLII -
Shoot em up - 480p ? / 2CH -

OPPO
Avatar - Bluray - DTS-HD MA -


Overall I can't see a difference video wise. where I notice a difference is in the audio wider dymanic range and more detail.