How much is the UMC-1 worth?

[dad311]

I updated because Dolby Volume wasn't correct. Now I seldom turn off Dolby Volume.

[carbon summit]

Is it still a "great deal" when it doesn't work correctly no matter the price?

This in a nut shell is why I sold my UMC-1. It sounds great listening to music, and not as great for HT (in my opinion). For me the great deal was a used Onkyo pre/pro that I bought for UMC-1 money. I regretted selling my UMC-1 before the last firmware came out because I still had hope it would be the Holy Grail fix that the UMC-1 needs. But I know that Emo upgrades are never on time and I decided that since I had found something that worked why wait around and see if the next upgrade for the UMC-1 fixed what the last few didn't.

But after reading the comments over at the Emo Forum its obvious the last firmware upgrade has worked great for some and caused problems for others. I said it at the Emo Lounge and I'll say it here. The UMC-1 is a YMMV pre/pro. Some people have great luck, others have problems. It seems to be based on what firmware you're using and what equipment you have hooked to it.

Why play Russian roulette with the UMC-1 when you can buy a main stream used pre/pro for about the same money and know its been properly R&D'd. As far as the used the 886 I own, it was developed after the UMC-1 was. The UMC-1 should have been released when the 885 was so really I didn't take a step backwards at all.

The positive is the UMC-1 is very musical. For what I sold it for I should have probably just kept it and hooked it up to my Cornwalls for a two channel receiver but for how seldom I use them I figured I'd sell it and let someone else enjoy it. Yes enjoy it, it is a great pre/pro but it only works for some well. Again YMMV!

[carbon summit]

I would love to be able to buy from an american company.

The UMC-1 and other Emo products are made in China. Emo is very open about this fact as they update over at the Lounge when Lonnie or Dan are flying over to China to try to fix the problems they are having. So really the owners of Emotiva live in the US but I'm not sure the Emo products are any more American than any other A/V products you might identify as not being American.

[Youthman]

Why play Russian roulette with the UMC-1 when you can buy a main stream used pre/pro for about the same money

Just curious what pre/pro's are out there that have the same features for $499? The downside to the Onkyo is it isn't very musical. Guess there is a tradeoff.

[Fish]

For some the UMC works great.I think it requires a little more dedication from owners than mass mrkt.For me it saves a lot of money from high dollar prepros which can do good music and HT.I have owned the mass mrkt, they work great usually but I just can't listen to them for long.With the UMC I look forward to listening to new releases or rereleases just like the days of old.If you look at just about any upper mid range prepros they lack the bells and whistles of much less expensive gear.They almost always excell in sound.

[JasonJCarney]

I think he was talking about a used onkyo 886. Why are we only comparing pre/pro's to the emo? Why can't the regular avr's with preouts be compared as well? For example what does the emo offer that the onkyo 709 not offer? Or the Pioneer 1121?

[Youthman]

Fwiw, I think you are asking the right questions but what else are you considering for $700?

It's actually $499. []

[Youthman]

Why are we only comparing pre/pro's to the emo?

Not trying to be argumentative but maybe it's because the UMC-1 is a Pre/Pro. [:^)] To compare apples to apples, since the UMC-1 is a dedicated Pre/Pro, it's only natural to compare it to the other Pre/Pros. The "bargain" is the fact that bar none, there is no other New Pre/Pro that comes close to their price point. The OP's question was how much is the UMC-1 worth? As far as value, IMO, it's easily worth the $499 I paid for it.

I agree with Dad's statement, "It seems most issues are related to what is being connected to the UMC.
If you can avoid the problems source componets, the UMC should perform
great.". As I have stated in other threads, I have not had any major issues with the UMC-1 but I do not have a cable box hooked up to it (which seems to be one of the major issues). It definitely is not a perfect machine and there are known quirks but as I have stated, not deal breakers to me. IMO, for what it offers, the features it has, the solid build quality and the sound quality it provides, I just don't see anything near it's $499 price point with a 5 year warranty.

[JasonJCarney]

Youth, I get the apples to apples thing. But if you want to really compare apples to apples we need to compare price points as well. I mean a Toyota carolla and a Lexus LS are both cars but comparing the 2 wouldn't be fair either. Seems like a regular avr and the emo in the same price range (like the 709 or the 1121) is fair. Although the the avr's in that price range also offer an amp as a bonus! Lol

[Youthman]

I see your point there. I'm so far out of the loop on current AVR's I couldn't tell you what sounds good anyways. I've only owned a few myself. Onkyo TX-DS555, Harman Kardon AVR55, Onkyo TX-SR703, and a Yamaha RX-V1800. The UMC-1 is my first Pre/Pro. So in fairness, my knowledge of AVR vs Pre/Pro is very limited at best.

[Zen Traveler]

Fwiw, I think you are asking the right questions but what else are you considering for $700?

It's actually $499.

[] The bottom line is for $500 to $700 and the need to purchase another piece of equipment (or more) for the rack could be a good deal for folks who have the room and want to "tweak" the settings themselves...Otoh, spending $800 to $2,000 for a single unit with state-of-the-art processor, EQing, and amp (with the possibility to add an external amp) is a good deal for those that own efficient speakers and want an all-in-one unit.

[Youthman]

Otoh, spending $800 to $2,000 for a single unit with state-of-the-art processor, EQing, and amp (with the possibility to add an external amp) is a good deal for those that own efficient speakers and want an all-in-one unit.

And for those who can afford it but are just too plain cheap to pay that much for an AVR (ahem Youthaman), that just isn't an option, thus another reason for me deciding to go with the UMC-1. []

[Zen Traveler]

..And for those who can afford it but are just too plain cheap to pay that much for an AVR (ahem Youthaman), that just isn't an option, thus another reason for me deciding to go with the UMC-1.

Keep in mind that one person being "cheap," is another persons cost effective decision. []

Fwiw, in my Home Theater listed below I couldn't benefit from an external amp and given my shrewdness paid less for my original Denon AVR-4802r which lead me into getting the AVR 4806 for less than $1800 combined (and have the benefits I mentioned above). .

[Fish]

To answer the prepro vs avr ? I have a friend that runs(did) an mid/upper end audio store.They sell most popular avr brands and Lexicon/BK/Adcom etc...We have tried most every mass avr released over the last 12 years, I never heard one that could do music like a dedicated prepro.It's just my, and his, and everyone that worked there's opinion, ymmv.

[nezff]

IMHO, Im glad I bought my 5508. Main reason for upgrading from my 876 was Audyssey XT32. It does wonders. The fact that I can add Audyssey Pro to it for another $550 is also great. With pro, you can actually see what your room is doing and adjust the filters for each individual speaker.

I can understand some people buying the UMC because it is cheap. The clearance price is even better and mostly why people are scooping it up currently. I myself never liked it because it is plagued with bugs and has a terrible room correction.

Granted my 5508 cost $1499 when I bought it, but was definately worth the money in my opinion. Leaps and bounds better than my 876(XT).

These are just my opinions UMC owners, sorry if I offended anyone.

[shake777]

tk, No, I mean its got an 11 band equalizer for all seven channels plus the sub and that gives the kind of control that few can boast of...I love it and never would have thought to use one had it not been a part of this unit. In another section I was saying how pleased I was to have someone who tours with Guns and Roses come over and school me in the art of EQing because previously I had no clue how; As much as it might be intuitive for others. Nic

[carbon summit]

Why play Russian roulette with the UMC-1 when you can buy a main stream used pre/pro for about the same money

Just curious what pre/pro's are out there that have the same features for $499? The downside to the Onkyo is it isn't very musical. Guess there is a tradeoff.

What I found in the same price range was my used Onkyo 886 for $620. The UMC-1 is $500 so for $120 more I got (in my opinion) a better room calibration system with Audyssey MultEQ™ XT vs EmoQ. That alone is worth the $120 for me. The video chip set in the Onkyo is better IMHO, etc. I could go on and on but for me it was worth it. I understand what you mean about being tight, I could afford a new 5508 but don't see the point, for my set up the 886 works just fine. For a little bit more money than the UMC-1 I got a pre/pro that gives me a better sounding HT and has been problem free. Set it and forget it.

As far as the Onkyo not being musical a fellow 886 owner who also owned a UMC-1 and when back to his 886 gave me this tip that I have not had a chance to try yet:

If you ever get into 2CH or MCH music try using the 5/7.1 analog input of the

886 if your Bluray player has a 5/7.1 analog output. Since trying the 5/7.1

analog input for music I feel it rivals the SQ of the UMC-1 for music. I use

HDMI with Audyssey for movies but use 5/7.1 analog for listening to MCH

SACD/DVD-As.

I'll report back when I get a chance to try it if I hear an improvement. This tip might be helpful for a number of AV receivers and pre/pros if you feel the sound of music isn't as good as it could be.

[shake777]

J, It woudn't surprise me if I made 50-75 calls to Denon Tech Services trying to figure out their manuals which are pretty tough for me to understand both on the 4306 and 4810. I was up and down with my satisfaction because I couldn't get the control over the sound that I wanted and now have with my U. The 4810 had to go in for service twice which meant I had to drag it all the way into NYC and then P/U. Denon is not cheap. I loved my Denons when I had them but I found something else that makes me much happiier. Emo has a direct to the customer business and free shipping which cuts out the middleman and responsive Tech Service (maybe not better than any of the others). Sometimes they have sales especially the Holiday sale when I saved seven hundred dollars on amps that were already well priced. Now I'm trying to sell my 4810 for a very good price and have not had one response. N

[Youthman]

I just think it's great that we get to share our experiences with SO MANY options that are available to us. Just consider how far we have come from Dolby ProLogic. I'm glad we all have different setups too. If we all had the same, it would be rather boring and we would have nothing to talk about. LOL

First I've heard of Audessey Pro. Sounds pretty cool but pricey.

Carbon, I agree the EmoQ doesn't offer much. There is no doubt Audessey is a far superior room calibration software than EmoQ is currently. I'm curious what Emotiva is going to use for the XMC.

[Zen Traveler]

...We have tried most every mass avr released over the last 12 years, I never heard one that could do music like a dedicated prepro.It's just my, and his, and everyone that worked there's opinion, ymmv.

Fish, I value your opinion but feel the above must be an overstatement given how long an accurate comparison would take...Heck, I've a/b'd 2 units for over a couple of days and realized how different even a setting or two makes...I also have visited alot of high-end stores with a critical eye/ear and appreciate that they also spend more time setting up their higher end items with larger profit in the best scenario possible...Not to mention how hard it is to run all of the new fangled EQ programs after different speakers and AVR comparisons. []

EDIT: If you were comparing AVRs without separate amplification to Pre/pro with and not level match that would throw the listening results in a fair comparison out completely, btw.