UMC-1 speaker levels resetting to 0 on startup

[vietmedic]

Just got my UMC-1 today from my friendly neighborhood Fedex guy.

I have it set up with an Oppo BD-83, Dish Network 722, Emo UPA 7, and an EMO EMC-1. The UMC-1 is replacing an Onkyo 706. Everything is hooked up via HDMI except the EMC which is connected via analog.

Picture quality is fantastic and I am not noticing any abnormalities with the satellite box. But I am having an issue with surround sound.

My side and rear surrounds on my 7.1 set up sound non existent. I've tried everything from auto EMO-Q to manually setting up the speakers myself. I've even gone so far as to copy the speaker settings that Audussey gave me on the Onkyo. I popped in The Golden Compass and it was very front sound stage heavy. There was no action behind me or next to me. In other words I didn't feel enveloped in the movie as I was with the same set-up using the Onkyo.

I've double and triple checked that the UMC-1 was getting a DTS-HD 7.1 signal from the Oppo.

Has anyone else seem that their surround sound is lacking with the UMC-1?

[titch]

Im guessing that you dont have a spl meter then?

[flamingeye]

That is what I would suggest as well get a rat shack SPL meter , but you never know you could have a faulty unit it happens unfortunately even to the best of them

[vietmedic]

yes I do, every thing is at 75db and that is why I feel something is lacking with the umc-1

[bootman]

I take it you have already tried troubleshooting your cable connections.
(speakers and RCAs)
Disconnect a set and set the UMC for 5.1.
Still the same sound?
Swap the set and try again, still bad?

[klinemj]

When you say that all 4 surrounds were "non existent"...do you mean no sound at all...or just very little. And, whichever it is, have you tried various DVD's to make sure it's true on all?

If no sound at all...that is when I have usually done something really stupid and that I hate to admit...like, switched my pre/pro into stereo by accident. I hate to ask...but did you confirm that you did not accidentally do that?

If it's not something simple like that, I would call Emo tech support.

Mark

[flamingeye]

Strange I would call Emotiva first thing in the morning , I do not have a UMC so can`t really help sorry but maybe you mist something in the audio setup/HDMI settings but a call is definitely in order

[snodog]

What are your fronts set at vs your surrounds? There really shouldnt be that much of a difference if they are both set the same. True HD and MasterHD should be somewhat close even on the two different units. I have had mine since Monday and finally got it dialed in or at least very close now,,,it takes some time to do but worth it in the end.

[osogovo]

I have the same problems when watching dvd's with ds es descrete tracks Just go trough the modes in the menu.I know,it is realy annoying and I hope this bug is going to be fixed with the future software update.
P.S. I've never had this problem when I watch blu ray movies just the dvd's or sometimes when watching something on my Dish HD DVR 622

[vietmedic]

Here's what I've done so far:

-Set speaker levels to read 75 db at the listening position. This resulted in having rear surrounds set all the way up to 10 and the side surrounds up to 7.

-Checked all sources (Blu-Ray, Satellite, Music) and all sound the same.

-Checked and made sure I don't have any of the modes set to Stereo. Direct seems to sound the best. DD, Neo 6, PLIIx sound horrible. I get very little action from the surrounds. There is sound, but it seems like the front sound stage and the SW over power the surrounds.

-Banged my head against the wall and cried.

[doobie]

Don't Cry...

I was a tad disappointed when I powered mine up at first. Some have said how easy it is to set up, but I would suggest you have a beer and relax. Take your time and don't expect it all to snap together..I have been playing with mine for a while and still would like to try some new things.

Spend some time with it and get used to how things work and I think you will let that bump on your forehead heal. It does really sound very good ;D

[vietmedic]

Thanks to Red5ive I've got an answer to my problem. And I feel better knowing that I wasn't going crazy.

Here's what he told me to try:

1. Turn off the UMC, then turn it back on.

2. Set the volume so that it isn't too loud, maybe a medium listening volume.

3. Go to Setup / Speaker Setup / Level Calibration

4. Navigate to your surrounds and backs and adjust each one down .5 db and see if you notice them get louder. If they do, then they are actually defaulting to 0 db when you turn on the unit, even if they say SR / SL = +7.5 db and BR / BL = +10.0 db.

This is what's happening with mine every time I turn on the unit. I happens on all channels except the center. Every time I turn on the UMC I go into the parameter menu then toggle each channel -/+ .5 db to get them to play at the right levels. If this is happening with your surrounds, that would explain why there's no "enveloping" of the sound.

Let me know how it goes.

It seems like another firmware update is in order. Can anyone else try this and see if its a common problem?

[red5ive]

Ok folks, I PMd vietmedic because this issue sounded familiar to me. It turns out his UMC is having the same issue as mine where the channel levels are actually playing at 0 db when first turning on the unit and not at the specified levels in the speaker/channel level settings. Going into the parameter menu or speaker/channel level settings and toggling them +/- .5 db will trigger the affected channels to play at the specified level.

So it looks like for vietmedic his surround and back channels are affected by this problem. On my UMC, it happens with the FL/FR and SL/SR, but not the center (I'm running 5.1). So every time I power on my UMC I have to toggle these channels +/- .5 db.

edit: Sorry for repeating the same info, but this issue has been driving me nuts as I haven't seen anybody else report it!

[doobie]

I have a similiar issue with my L/Rs but haven't done the update yet. I'm hoping it goes away when I do.

[red5ive]

Feb 18, 2010 22:31:17 GMT -5 doobie said:

I have a similiar issue with my L/Rs but haven't done the update yet. I'm hoping it goes away when I do.

Although I do hope it goes away for you, mine was there before and after the update. I ran the update twice just to be sure, and reset to factory defaults both times.

[stormchaser]

well, well....had this happen to me tonight with my L/Rs. There have been a couple of times in the last few days where I noticed that what was normally outstanding sound quality out of the UMC seemed to fall apart. Perhaps now I know why...will monitor and call Emotiva if it happens again.

[majestyk]

Odd how a bug like that can go unnoticed in the testing stage.

[rskarvan]

For reasons above, I am beginning to be grateful that I am further down on the 2nd pre-order list and have not yet received the opportunity to provide my CC info. Hopefully, these issues will be resolved with the next firmware update.

[bobbart]

My center channel and lt surround did the same thing, couldn't figure it out. One of the reasons I rma'd my unit.

[diskman]

I received My unit yesterday!! I hope this problem is a firmware issue !! If it's hardware issue, we will have a problem ... I will test it this weekend.