Listening to the UMC-1

[moe]

I hooked up my UMC this evening,rather complicated set up compared to Rotel,Outlaw etc...I don't mean that as negative,it has many options,only the BK ref50 I had was as daunting.I also presume it gets easier as I get more familiar,but I can see some having setup issues.

But the reason for this thread is to tell the music lovers how much I've enjoyed the past several hrs listening to dvd audio and sacd.I"ve had lotsa different units from BK,Rotel,Oultaw,S/N,Parasound etc..The UMC compares very well with those great prepros,well ahead of the LMC it replaced.The detail is very precise,separation spacious and imaging very close and vocals where you can almost feel their breath.I view way more concerts and listen to music much more than movies so musicality is 1st (after cost)for my prepro needs.

I've only listened to a few high rez audio disc and a dts master concert(Ted Nugent)but I'm feelin good about audio portion potential.I'm sure the issues known or to be known will be resolved but as is I've improved my audio substantially and removed 50lbs of cable.

[mdanderson]

Congratulations on getting your UMC-1. I look forward to hearing sacd and dvd audio as well once I get one. Have you tried listening to any sacd and dvd audio through the 7.1 analog inputs yet?

[moe]

Jan 12, 2010 0:29:36 GMT -5 mdanderson said:

Congratulations on getting your UMC-1. I look forward to hearing sacd and dvd audio as well once I get one. Have you tried listening to any sacd and dvd audio through the 7.1 analog inputs yet?

Thanks,and yes,I'm listening to Eric Clapton sacd right now,Slow Hand.The drums snap and piano has more life than I've previously heard through several units.I've also never heard quite as much bass through my surrounds,but I like it.

[snodog]

Thats great to hear moe, I hope you can pop in a bluray disc and let us know how the truehd sound is too

[moe]

Jan 12, 2010 0:57:18 GMT -5 @snodog said:

Thats great to hear moe, I hope you can pop in a bluray disc and let us know how the truehd sound is too

I listened to/watched several true hd a/v tracks today,(aix)stunning.The umc lit right up,"true hd" and display scrolls channels playing.Currently Elton John Madman Across the Water SACD,the best presentation I've ever heard,the detail and things I've not heard was surprising.

The listener fatigue factor on this unit is non existant,I could/have listened for 6 hrs or more,I can't even check the news.

[snodog]

Cool

[orange5814]

The Dolby True HD is amazing when watching Blu-Ray movies!

[fishhead]

Moe,
How do you rate the sound compared to the BKref50 you had?
I know that has a reputation as a great sounding pre-pro.

[moe]

Jan 13, 2010 10:04:34 GMT -5 fishhead said:

Moe,
How do you rate the sound compared to the BKref50 you had?
I know that has a reputation as a great sounding pre-pro.

I would rate the musical aspect as very close.The umc has given my speakers the formula that's perfect for them,fantastic clarity and off the chart dynamics,and dead silent.This itself is quite a compliment for the umc,and takes nothing from the BK s2,at least for me.Without having them both here there is only one way to compare,that is,how much I enjoy listening.I have never been more satisfied from a "musical presentation" in my house on my speakers,and they've been through many prepro/amp/avrs,including the BKs2.

We all have different needs but for me it was a prepro that can do music pretty well.The Outlaw 990 was a great musical prepro but lacked many features of the umc and I never could live with the grey look.The umc is as good as I had hoped it would be musically,that would be a deal breaker for me.

[TUBEHEAD EL34]

Would love to hear how it compares to the USP-1 for two channel.

[Nemesis.ie]

Jan 12, 2010 21:04:41 GMT -5 moe said:

I listened to/watched several true hd a/v tracks today,(aix)stunning.The umc lit right up,"true hd" and display scrolls channels playing.Currently Elton John Madman Across the Water SACD,the best presentation I've ever heard,the detail and things I've not heard was surprising.

The listener fatigue factor on this unit is non existant,I could/have listened for 6 hrs or more,I can't even check the news.

Hi Moe,

Perhaps you could list the rest of your gear in your signature.

Thanks!

[77gators]

Agree with all of the above...the audio is tremendous.

I was using a HK 7200 as my pre and it was impressive but with the UMC the immersion when you are watching blu-ray HT is exceptional and the first time I have ever experienced that with my system.

I too spend way longer than intended listening to music...I was even getting great sound from the music channels from my cable.

[moe]

Well,today I set up my mega cd changer that I usually just use for zone or workin' around the house mode.I started listening and was amazed at how good the changer sounded through the UMC.Joe Satriani "The Extremist" sounds comparable to my Joe Satriani sacd.I've never used it for critical listening but now I may be able to just pick a cd and push a button vs taking it out and puttin' in my a10 or 83.

The low notes and drums really stand out,instruments are so clearly articulated.I've only been used to this kind of musicality from my old analog set ups.Congrats to Emotiva for making my musical prepro on the cheap a reality.

[rooster]

does the umc decode DSD over hdmi? i'm assuming not since it looks like my sony is automatically sending a multichannel pcm signal, unless there's a setting i'm not aware of.

[NorthStar]

So Moe, musically speaking, the UMC-1 is everything you dreamt of and more?
About other aspects from it? Are you satisfy enough to recommend it to your best friends?

* And myself too, I would like to know if it accepts SACD directly from it's HDMI inputs, unprocessed to PCM, but straight DSD bitstream?

[roadrunner]

Jan 29, 2010 3:37:26 GMT -5 rooster said:

does the umc decode DSD over hdmi? i'm assuming not since it looks like my sony is automatically sending a multichannel pcm signal, unless there's a setting i'm not aware of.

When I asked Lonnie this question last year, about including DSD, he said that they were talking with Sony, but he did not think Emotiva would license it because Sony was being totally unreasonable and inflexible with their demands in the Licensing Agreement. The Cirrus chip natively supports DSD, so the UMC-1 is fully capable of decoding, if Sony changed their stance.

Since nothing is mentioned in the Product Page for the UMC-1, it is highly doubtful DSD over HDMI has been included in the list of codecs licesned and supported. Sony has a long history of being hard to work with when it comes to their intellectual property.

[jmilton]

Yes the UMC-1 will take native DSD. I am using now with my Oppo.

[Porscheguy]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the UMC-1. It only makes me want to get mine even sooner!!

[lonewolf]

Jan 29, 2010 7:24:13 GMT -5 jmilton said:

Yes the UMC-1 will take native DSD. I am using now with my Oppo.

Just for my edification because I have an OPPO too. How do you know you are sending DSD over HDMI. Is there an indication somewhere on the UMC or OPPO. Do you just select it in the OPPO?
I 'm curious to if there is a difference using DSD.
Thanks

[jmilton]

In the Oppo. It has a setup menu that asks if you want to send via HDMI: LPCM or DSD. Select DSD and you are good to go. I tried both and hear no discernible difference, but I figured the DSD to LPCM is getting better conversion with the UMC-1 chipset.

The Oppo will send DVD-A as well, of course. DSD will be at 88.1KHz and displayed as Multichannel PCM:

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