UMC-1 & XPA-3

[beast2815]

Hello All,

This is my first post on these boards. Ive done some research on the UMC-1 and was surprised of all the negative feedback surrounding the piece. Considering I have had my XPA-3 for several years now and aside from going into protection mode on occasion (which was from loose connections) it has been an awesome amp.

That said , I went ahead and bought the UMC-1 anyway... got a good deal on a very lightly used one...  I at least have to give it a try.. (its en route)

I have 2 listening areas....

My plan is to move my HK AVR3600 to my secondary listening area and use its amp section to power my older Infinity IL-40s (yes, Ithey still sound great), a Polk Audio SW10 sub and will also be using a Cambridge AXC-35 CD player for music listening and then a cheap Sony BR player for the occasional movie I may watch in there... mostly for the grand childs Disney blu ray selections...

For my main listening/movie watching I have an Oppo BDP-103 which will be for both BR & 2 ch CD listening. Ill have the UMC-1, the XPA-3 going through Klipch RF82 Left & Right then an RF62 center, HSU Research MK4 12" sub and the monitor is a Sammy 8000 series 65"

I realize I will no longer have surround speakers, which is ok for now. We will be doing a basement addition later next year and I will add an entirely different AVR set up down there. For now, I have a couple of questions....

1. Through the UMC-1, can the surrounds be shut off and still let the L/R & Center work for blu ray playback with any kind of processing involved?
2. Will I simply be able to switch to stereo plus sub with no processing from the UMC-1? 

Thanks In Advance!

[creimes]

1. You can turn the surrounds off in the speaker setup and just use LCR
2. Stereo Mode on the UMC-1 should give you L&R and sub, what do you mean no processing, as in no EQ ??

Chad

[KeithL]

The short answer to your questions is "yes - mostly".

When you set up the UMC-1 you will want to tell it what speakers you have.

This means setting the Surrounds and Back Surrounds to NONE.

When you do this the UMC-1 will automatically play content through the speakers you have - and nothing will be discarded or lost.

Surround sound content has a separate LFE channel (often called "the subwoofer channel" - although that is not technically correct).

As long as you have your Sub NOT set to NONE the LFE channel from surround sound discs will play through it.

However the sub will only be used for stereo content like CDs if you set your front speakers to SMALL.

("Small" really means "use bass management".)

So set your fronts and center to SMALL and leave the default 80 Hz crossover frequency.

Bass management means that you get to set a crossover frequency....

And all content at frequencies below the crossover frequency is diverted to your sub.

(If you set your fronts to Large then stereo content will simply play through them in stereo.)

The answer to your last question is technically not.

Using the sub requires "processing" - because Bass Management is processing.

Also, incidentally, since you're buying it used, you'll want to do a Factory Reset

(that will wipe out any settings left over by the previous owner - which you really want to do.)

I would NOT recommend updating the firmware... unless it is acting oddly.

Updating the firmware on the UMC-1 can be tricky... and, if it fails, can leave you with a non-working unit.

Sept 23, 2020 14:22:44 GMT -5 beast2815 said:

Hello All,

This is my first post on these boards. Ive done some research on the UMC-1 and was surprised of all the negative feedback surrounding the piece. Considering I have had my XPA-3 for several years now and aside from going into protection mode on occasion (which was from loose connections) it has been an awesome amp.

That said , I went ahead and bought the UMC-1 anyway... got a good deal on a very lightly used one...  I at least have to give it a try.. (its en route)

I have 2 listening areas....

My plan is to move my HK AVR3600 to my secondary listening area and use its amp section to power my older Infinity IL-40s (yes, Ithey still sound great), a Polk Audio SW10 sub and will also be using a Cambridge AXC-35 CD player for music listening and then a cheap Sony BR player for the occasional movie I may watch in there... mostly for the grand childs Disney blu ray selections...

For my main listening/movie watching I have an Oppo BDP-103 which will be for both BR & 2 ch CD listening. Ill have the UMC-1, the XPA-3 going through Klipch RF82 Left & Right then an RF62 center, HSU Research MK4 12" sub and the monitor is a Sammy 8000 series 65"

I realize I will no longer have surround speakers, which is ok for now. We will be doing a basement addition later next year and I will add an entirely different AVR set up down there. For now, I have a couple of questions....

1. Through the UMC-1, can the surrounds be shut off and still let the L/R & Center work for blu ray playback with any kind of processing involved?
2. Will I simply be able to switch to stereo plus sub with no processing from the UMC-1? 

Thanks In Advance!

[beast2815]

Thank you Chad & Kieth. I appreciate the info... I was reading more and past owners are saying not to use HDMI ports on the UMC and only use RCA connections... Whats the real issue? Is it a handshake issue?.... 

[beast2815]

I DL and printed the manual and searched for the reset procedure... Its not clear what the actual process is... I read to hold the power button for 5 seconds, and then another member here said it simply turning off the rocker switch on the back of the unit... these are 10 year old posts, so which method is the correct one?

[beast2815]

Ok, so after actually hooking up my new to me UMC-1, I found the reset in the menu... easy. Something really strange happened where I was getting random digital beeps through my speakers on all sources... Never experienced anything like that before with any manufacturer.... Did the reset and it stopped. Listened to music and sampled a couple of BR discs over the course of about 4 hours last night... You can really dial in the audio with the EQ features... The difference in sound between the UMC-1 and the HK AVR 3600 is definitely apparent. The UMC provides a much warmer and richer sound to my ears. The HK was brighter and combined with the Klipsch RF-82's which are inherently bright could give you ear fatigue for sure. Now the music experience seems much cleaner and smoother if that makes sense. As of this minute, Im glad I bought this pre/pro. I even like the remote. Its nice and heavy and doesnt feel like a plastic piece of junk like most you will get with anything you buy these days. For what I spent, I got a very nice, high quality piece of equipment added to my set up.

[beast2815]

Bought a trigger wire and hooked it up. Sure is nice not having to get up and power on & off the XPA-3 anymore. So far the UMC-1 is working well. Ive been using it everyday and enjoying it. On another note, I now have my secondary listening area set up and running. I bought a refurbished Cambridge ACX-35 for music listening. At the $230. price point its a bargain. Nice sounding and I never knew a CD drawer could open and close so quickly!

[beast2815]

Just to update... my UMC-1 has been working very well. Use it every night for Blu Ray or Hulu movie watching.