Brac Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Was just reading some reviews about the UMC-200 and it is getting good marks, but no one seems to compare it to the UMC-1. I hadn't really considered one at all because I was saving my upgrade card for an XMC down the road, but I was on the Emotiva website and they now have an "upgrade for life program" So the options are: use the card for an XMC save $600 use the card on a UMC-200 save $240 (get upgrade for life 25% discount) then buy an XMC-1 with a $374 discount. Total savings $614 not to mention UMC-1's are selling for more than the after discount price on the UMC-200 so free upgrade... Thoughts, opinions, rants, raves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liebherr954 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hello Brac, I think the biggest upgrade with the 200 is the 3D pass through, I'm sure there are some other little tweaks but that one seems to stick out the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 6, 2013 Moderators Share Posted March 6, 2013 Was just reading some reviews about the UMC-200 and it is getting good marks, but no one seems to compare it to the UMC-1. I do not think the UMC-200 is much of an upgrade to the UMC-1 as it is a version that comes out of the shoot without the problems the UMC-1 was originally plagued with. As mentioned, there might be a few changes but overall, I believe it is basically the same unit. I too had considered it, but after speaking with the Emotiva rep at the Audioholics Event, he didn't give me cause to believe that it would be much of an improvement over the UMC-1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I think it would probably be worth it if you want to resell it for a profit and obtain your 25% off Emotiva products for life. I don't think it would be enough of an improvement to hold you over momentarily till the XMC-1 comes out so I'd probably keep it boxed up. Besides the lack of quirks the UMC-1 had such as slow HDMI switching, the only real improvement I could see someone getting out of this is it apparently has the second generation EmoQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Man, I was sure you guys were gonna talk me into doing it. The only other plus side is I would have 5 years of warranty on the new UMC-200. Have to think a bit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I agree it does not look like an upgrade but a mostly lateral move. It still may be worth it under the right circumstances but not on it's face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 .... I think you should definitely upgrade! The slow video switching and HDMI locks are a pain in the *** so you need this! Whats there to lose if you can sell the umc 1 for more than the cost of the 200 with upgrade cert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 +1 for "lateral" move. Called them and talked their ear off for a few hours. The main differences: 3D, Zero legacy video inputs, faster video/ audio switching, and HDMI 1.4. That's it. It has been reviewed that it sounded better, but that's always subjective. It does have a better EMQ, but using a SPL meter is "about" the same. Now, XMC, bigger difference. It does have a fully balanced XLR (BUT, its only useful with the newer amps), so my XPA-3 would "need" to be upgraded. The other main huge improvement is the new "EMQ" set up. Its not "EMQ" (forgot the name) but it constantly does room correction while playing movies/music/ media/ etc. Was told its a newer engine that's only in the upper upper class of processors. I really suggest u give them a call, they seem more than happy to talk about it. I personally wanted the XMC, but since I downgraded to 3.1, I'll get no real benefits. I did like your math earlier, the 25% off (for life) was something I never considered (the "for life" part). I think I'm going to just wait and see what comes out after the XMC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 That would be the rmc-1 which is slated to be about 3000. I don't know a lot about it but its supposed to have a slightly upgraded room correction system over the xmc, amore pure analog section and various other upgrades. It looks pretty nice. I've spent some time working with their customer service when I was having problems upgrading the firmware on my umc1 and they were an absolute pleasure to talk to. I think they rival oppo in terms of customer service. Keep in mind that if you use an upgrade card on the xmc-1, you will still receive the 25% for life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 lol, was joking about waiting. didn't really think they already have something planned. i think the "upgrade" will really come down to where you want to go in the long run. if you are happy with the umc but want it a touch better and then stay at that level for a long time, than the umc200, i think, would be the best choice. however, if at some point you want actualy balanced cables, and much better room correvtion (and all the upgraded the umc200 has) than the XMC just has to be the right option. for me, i am going to wait until the xmc is on sale and hopefully with free shipping, before i buy one. even though i don't need one now, i might need one later on down the road. good luck with your choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCSeminole Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 For those of you interested in having a professional calibration done for your home theater(audio & video), you might be interested in what an independent expert had to say about the UMC-200 after setting up a clients home theater. Personally I don't believe the move from the UMC-1 to a UMC-200 is even close to being a lateral move as the 11 band manual parametric equalization is quite a high end feature. I'll let the ISF & THX certified professional do his own explanation in the link below. http://homecinemaguru.com/?p=3622 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks for all the great input, gonna give Emotiva a call today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Personally I don't believe the move from the UMC-1 to a UMC-200 is even close to being a lateral move as the 11 band manual parametric equalization is quite a high end feature.The UMC-1 has the same 11 band EQ per channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCSeminole Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Hate to dispute you, but I have both of these units, and no they are by far not the same. The UMC-200 has an 11 band, P-EQ, ie: parametric equalizer with control over the Q factor as well as Frequency selection control, as opposed to the 11 band graphic EQ in the UMC-1. Just do a search on Parametric compared to Graphic equalizer and that will just get you started in the right direction. P-EQ's are much superior to Graphics where frequency is a set variable, not to mention being able to control, Q, ie: the width of the actual band. Being able to select a frequency is a huge advantage being that a null in a problematic room isn't always at a set frequency, and that is where the Graphic EQ's set frequency many times won't align itself to cure the null or void in your room, where you can actuallly choose the specific frequency with a Parametric. Way more to explain, so I'll let those interested do your own research. So just to emphasize again, the UMC-200 has an 11 band Parametric EQ, ie: P-EQ, and the UMC-1 has an 11 band Graphic EQ, with the emphasis being, PARAMETRIC versus GRAPHIC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Does the 200 have component input ? Super video ? More hdmi inputs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 The UMC-200 has an 11 band, P-EQ, ie: parametric equalizer with control over the Q factor as well as Frequency selection control, as opposed to the 11 band graphic EQ in the UMC-1. Ahhh, I was not aware of this feature, I just assumed they were the same. I have no experience using a parametric EQ but it sounds like it's a nice feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCSeminole Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 No the UMC-200 doesn't have any legacy video inputs. It has 4 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. All HDMI inputs are 1.4 capable and are CEC & 3D supported. There is no video processing, which I personally prefer as more and more sources and displays do a more than adequate job of video processing and scaling. So what video you send in, is what is output. The full range of features and specs are on the Emotiva main website link below. http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/umc200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCSeminole Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Equalization is often quite a mis-used and mis-understood feature, especially in the manual domain as opposed to Auto EQ softwares today, such as one of the flavors of Audyssey which is pretty much a run it and hope that it fixes your room acoustics, this is not to take anything away from Audyssey's result as I've heard some quite nice results with Multi-EQ XT32 and Multi-EQ Pro and these are fantastic for those that don't like to tweek and take room equalization measurements. A parametric EQ is quite powerful, and especially in the hands of an ISF calibrationist, will pretty much yield the best audio room correction outcome, provided you have the proper room treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasDom Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 No the UMC-200 doesn't have any legacy video inputs. You'll notice more of this on recent introductions and upcoming intros. From Audioholics website: The AACS “Analog Sunset” rule. It is well known in the industry that analog video output from component and composite video outputs for Blu-ray playback is already limited to 480i resolution on newly released models, and after 2013 analog video output will not be allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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