Post by DYohn on Jan 18, 2010 15:50:26 GMT -5
Just finished installing the Emotiva UMC-1 pre/pro in my living room system. Initial impressions:
1) A very well-made solid unit.
2) As has been mentioned in other reviews the supplied remote is very cheap and flimsy feeling, but entirely functional and for system setup indispensable. I recommend using a universal for every day control. I'm using a Harmony One and the UMC-1 is in the Harmony database.
3) Setup is very intuitive and logical for anyone familiar with setting up modern A/V systems. The inputs are fully nameable and addressable. The manual speaker control and EQ screens are a joy to use, especially for a tweaker like me.
4) Sound quality is really surprising and quite outstanding. This replaces a Sunfire TGPIV and to me sounds just as good if not better than that processor, at less than 1/3 the price. Very impressive.
5) Video quality is equally outstanding. The built-in Genesis Torino scaler is quite good on initial impression. I intend to play around with it and will report an update later.
6) I have not yet tried the Emo-Q auto room setup and correction system, and will wait for the impending software update before I do. Likewise, the unit has a few fatal flaws as it sits, not the least of which are losing all video settings on power off, but nothing obvious that has not already been reported by others. Again, these are being addressed by the software update due later this week and I will do some more thorough testing after that is installed.
Overall my first out-of-the box impression is very positive. I am impressed especially with the audio quality and the system control flexibility. Good work, Emotiva!
Attached is a snapshot of my newly revised living room setup.
1) A very well-made solid unit.
2) As has been mentioned in other reviews the supplied remote is very cheap and flimsy feeling, but entirely functional and for system setup indispensable. I recommend using a universal for every day control. I'm using a Harmony One and the UMC-1 is in the Harmony database.
3) Setup is very intuitive and logical for anyone familiar with setting up modern A/V systems. The inputs are fully nameable and addressable. The manual speaker control and EQ screens are a joy to use, especially for a tweaker like me.
4) Sound quality is really surprising and quite outstanding. This replaces a Sunfire TGPIV and to me sounds just as good if not better than that processor, at less than 1/3 the price. Very impressive.
5) Video quality is equally outstanding. The built-in Genesis Torino scaler is quite good on initial impression. I intend to play around with it and will report an update later.
6) I have not yet tried the Emo-Q auto room setup and correction system, and will wait for the impending software update before I do. Likewise, the unit has a few fatal flaws as it sits, not the least of which are losing all video settings on power off, but nothing obvious that has not already been reported by others. Again, these are being addressed by the software update due later this week and I will do some more thorough testing after that is installed.
Overall my first out-of-the box impression is very positive. I am impressed especially with the audio quality and the system control flexibility. Good work, Emotiva!
Attached is a snapshot of my newly revised living room setup.
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