cgolf
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Post by cgolf on Mar 4, 2010 11:06:31 GMT -5
The music sounds fantastic-clear, crisp and detailed. Even the TV sounds OK. My biggest issue right now is the way movies sound. They are muddy, unclear and sound like they are almost semi muted or covered up. That may not make sense but it's the only way I know to describe it. I've checked all my ssettings in the blu ray player as well as the UMC and can't find anything that is wrong, at least s far as I can tell. So, I'll keep tweeking and changing settings. Right now I have mixed feelings about the UMC-1. It does sound great and seems to be a good processor. My trust level and confidence level in it is still low so I need to decide before my 30 days are up. I was having the same issue. If I ran it in direct mode from my oppo then it sounded very good. If I sent the dts hd or dolby hd signal then it was muddy sounding. I found if I turned the dolby volume off then it sounded very good also. I don't fully understand dolby volume but turning it off made a huge diffrence for me. Great comments. When I play music or have the TV running on stereo or direct, the sound is great-crisp and clear. Both on CD music and TV. It's the movies-DD-DTS and the newer codecs where I get the muddiness. I thought my dolby volume was turned off but I'll check it again. It would be great if that was all it was. What a simple fix!! ;D |
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Mar 4, 2010 11:40:39 GMT -5
Your point about the speaker level change is interesting. I was under the impression that the OSD displayed to change so this raises a new concern for me. How do you confirm it has gone back to zero? Its a relatively simple check.... 1. Go into the speaker level set up and set all of the speaker channels to +10. Note: I'm not talking about the trim buttons on the remote or the levels in the Parameter menu. 2. Power off then onn your unit. 3. Go back into the speaker level calibration menu to play the test tones. (Don't blast yourself by having the main volume too loud!) 4. All of the channels will still say +10. But go to each channel with the test tone and decrease the channel level by -.5Db. If the test tone volume drops ever so slightly your UMC is saving the levels. IF, after you try to lower it a touch, it actually jumps significantly in volume the UMC was not applying your 10Db boost. The reason the volume jumped was because after the UMC was powered on/off it was applying 0Db correction for that channel..but then when you toggeled it by trying to lower it it jumped back up to the +10 setting. Question: When you say "power on/off" are you talking about placing it into standby using the blue/yellow lit button on the front, or literally powering it off using the rocker switch on the back? |
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Post by rickrbyyy on Mar 4, 2010 12:31:32 GMT -5
I called emotiva last week on the muddiness issue and explained my setup and the issues I was having to Vince. I am still waiting for a return call as he had to research what the problem might be. Meanwhile I played around with the settings and came across the dolby volume. Turned it off and it sounds much better. Hope you have the same results.
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Post by moodyman on Mar 4, 2010 13:41:45 GMT -5
Its a relatively simple check.... 1. Go into the speaker level set up and set all of the speaker channels to +10. Note: I'm not talking about the trim buttons on the remote or the levels in the Parameter menu. 2. Power off then onn your unit. 3. Go back into the speaker level calibration menu to play the test tones. (Don't blast yourself by having the main volume too loud!) 4. All of the channels will still say +10. But go to each channel with the test tone and decrease the channel level by -.5Db. If the test tone volume drops ever so slightly your UMC is saving the levels. IF, after you try to lower it a touch, it actually jumps significantly in volume the UMC was not applying your 10Db boost. The reason the volume jumped was because after the UMC was powered on/off it was applying 0Db correction for that channel..but then when you toggeled it by trying to lower it it jumped back up to the +10 setting. Question: When you say "power on/off" are you talking about placing it into standby using the blue/yellow lit button on the front, or literally powering it off using the rocker switch on the back? Just power it off via the front panel or remote. |
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DYohn
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Post by DYohn on Mar 4, 2010 13:55:56 GMT -5
Question: When you say "power on/off" are you talking about placing it into standby using the blue/yellow lit button on the front, or literally powering it off using the rocker switch on the back? Just power it off via the front panel or remote. OK, thanks. I can confirm that my unit does not exhibit this behavior. |
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Post by visiter555 on Mar 4, 2010 14:52:18 GMT -5
OK, I've had a few nights with this thing now and here are a few more comments. I went from a Yamaha 665 to the UMC. I always thought the Yamaha sounded great and I never had any issue, not one, with it!! Bottom line, I trusted it and had total confidence in it. It is now currently for sale on ebay. After playing with the UMC for about a week, I am still nervous. I love the way it sounds and it SEEMS to be working OK but I still need to test it and play with it. My setup is simple and basic and I may not have everything set exactly right so I'm still playing and tweeking. I have an OPPO 83 and a Uverse cable box both hooked through HDMI. The music sounds fantastic-clear, crisp and detailed. Even the TV sounds OK. My biggest issue right now is the way movies sound. They are muddy, unclear and sound like they are almost semi muted or covered up. That may not make sense but it's the only way I know to describe it. I've checked all my ssettings in the blu ray player as well as the UMC and can't find anything that is wrong, at least s far as I can tell. So, I'll keep tweeking and changing settings. Right now I have mixed feelings about the UMC-1. It does sound great and seems to be a good processor. My trust level and confidence level in it is still low so I need to decide before my 30 days are up. As a backup plan, I bought an Onkyo RC180 from another forum member here in case I decide to return the UMC. I really don't know anything about the RC180 but it should work fine as a prepro until I decide what to do. ;D Have you checked your UMC to see if it has any of the known bugs?? There are a lot of reports of the UMC not saving channel levels you set. i.e...you set your center channel to + 7DB and your mains at +1DB and it sounds great. You power off your unit and the next day it doesn't sound good. What has happened is the UMC has set both of the channels back to 0Db.. EVEN though it still says +7 and +1 on the setup screen. Emotiva has said that this will be addressed in the next FW update... I think a lot of buyers are willing to wait for the fix, but are stuck with Dan's 30 day normal return policy then the "..we will even cover the freight..." expiring and the 30 days not being extended beyond the initial firmware "fix" release date. Unfortunately like many current purchasers who have their UMC-1, I have seen the original 30 days being extended to be 30 days post first firmware fix, but nothing since and a lot of discussion has been on Emo's commitment to fix the "bugs" that Emo identifies as bugs, not what users may think are bugs and are not Emo bugs, but design decisions (getting dizzy yet???). I honestly believe that Emo will work to fix these items, some successfully and possibly some not successfully. I am someone who believed Rotel would fix the bass management issues in the RSP-1066. They did "fix" it by discontinuing it and releasing new models. I was a rare lucky one who Rotel gave a HUGE discount on the 1570 pre/pro and didn't want the 1066 back. I am waiting (personally) for the second firmware fix to see what is "left" on the list and then decide if I can live with the compromise... |
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Post by man4mopar on Mar 25, 2010 9:55:05 GMT -5
Cgolf could you explain what you find you preffer about the UMC-1 over the RXV665 and vice versa? I am assuming you have ran both the RXV665 and UMC-1 through the XPA5 amp. Do you hear improved differences in movies, music with either one?
I ask because I am researching a possible replacement of my NAD T762 that is having digital input problems. And I am leaning towards either a XPA5 or UPA7 amp and using the RXV665 or some other receiver as the preamp.
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Post by oppman99 on Mar 25, 2010 15:31:37 GMT -5
man4mopar, I also have a UMC and XPA-5 combo and have owned a couple Yamaha AVRs. In my opinion, the sound quality of the UMC is leaps and bounds above Yamaha 665. Mine is running without most of the glitches posted so far, probably because I only have a 5.1 setup and only a few inputs. I do think it takes more time and knowledge to set up compared to the typical AVR. I find myself listening at louder volume levels because the sound is much "cleaner" and it makes the dynamics stand out. To be fair, some of this may be due to the XPA-5 compared to the internal amps in the Yamaha. It is a different sound, not necessarily better or worse. The thing I find I really appreciate is being able to adjust the trim levels on the fly with the remote. In your position, I would wait to see if the next firmware fixes most of the major issues and then make a decision.
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