Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2013 0:52:14 GMT -5
The UMC-200 at $499 is a huge no-brainer for you. It comes with a 5 year transferable warranty and a 25% upgrade in the future to a new generation pre-pro.
I just bought one and it replaces my Sony ES AVR and will go with my XPA-5. The difference between a pre-pro like the UMC-200 and an AVR receiver is that the pre-pro has no amplifiers. I agree that a 5.1 system is fine for most. Look at 7.1 only if you have a very wide or deep room. The pre-pro consists of a preamp, surround sound processor and a radio tuner. The AVR adds relativity wimpy built-in amps, many times 7 channels. If you decide in the future to go 7 channel you can use the Emo mini-X a-100 (now $169) amp with plenty of power for channels 6 & 7 (even 4 ohms).
The quality, build and sound of the UMC-200 will be as good or better than any AVR costing $2000 or even more IMO (less the amps). The Emo-Q auto room correction is a good tool but you must read the directions in the owner's manual very carefully. Don't be sold on any pre-pro or any brand of AVR just because of a name brand room correction. They are all OK if used carefully. Some folks like me prefer to manually override these room systems which frequently make errors (many are pilot error). The reported sound is 5 star/excellent. The UMC-200 doesn't have all the bells and whistles that 99 out of 100 folks never use like 3 different versions of the simulated surround sound at the XYZ theater in New Yawk, just the common Dolby surround sound DSP's, etc. plus the super versions for Blu-Ray discs. It does include an amazing 11 band/4 band sub parametric EQ system. This alone is worth $500 to many. The purists might think it is heresy and won't use it. That's why the +8dB sub's bass peak at 60Hz booms you right out of their room. I normally use the video processing in the Blu-Ray player or my plasma.
Read the owner's manual here
emotiva.com/resources/manuals/umc200_manual.pdf
and pro reviews here
www.soundandvision.com/content/emotiva-umc-200-preampprocessor
hometheaterreview.com/emotiva-umc-200-71-channel-av-preamp-reviewed/
www.audioholics.com/av-preamp-processor-reviews/umc-200-a-v-processor
accessories
shop.emotiva.com/collections/accessories/products/btm1
