Emotiva UMC-1? How is it compared to Onkyo/Integra/Marantz processors?

ViperZ

Hi all,
So it's driving me crazy that I am wasting my Onkyo TX-SR805 as just a pure pre/pro, and not using its built-in amplifiers. I really like how the Rotel amp and B&W speakers sound together, and I was thinking about going to a simple pre/pro instead of a receiver.

I did some research and ended up with this short list:

- Emotiva UMC-1.
- Onkyo PR-SC885/886 (or even Integra DHC-9.8/9.9).
- Marantz AV7005 (wouldn't go as high as 8003).

Emotiva got great reviews, has all the features that I'd like in a modern processor, and priced at 699...

I've seen Ricardo's thread regarding poor quality control on another unit that he bought, but that thread grew out of proportion and completely off topic...

- Is UMC-1 really that great?
- Are there any owners of UMC-1 on this forum? How does it sound in your systems?
- Would it be an upgrade from TX-SR805?
- What makes Onkyo's PR-SC885 more expensive? How is it better, if it is better?
- Which (moderately priced) pre-pro would you pick? I want a "basic" one with 4 HDMI inputs, that can decode DTS-HD MA / Dolby TrueHD. That's pretty much it. Upconverting video is somewhat important too.

Thanks!!

P.S. Oh yeah, when considering pricing, I don't mind buying a used unit or a B-stock one.

cstmar01

There are several problems with the UMC and I guess the only thing that fixed it was the latest firmware which is a pain in the butt to update.

And then again users still had issues with the UMC even after the firmware and also the bass managment system is terrible and so is the EMO-Q their auto calibration stuff.

I would go with the Marantz honestly or even maybe a used Integra depending on your budget. There really is nothing wrong though with using an AVR as a pre/pro but its your choice.

WilliamM2

I'd avoid the UMC, too many bugs. I did have the 885 for a year, was never too happy with it. It had a few issues, but rather than fix it, Onkyo came out with new firmware and just called it the 886, leaving 885 owners hanging. I'd go with the Marantz.

ViperZ

According to the latest review on the agon, they fixed most if not all bugs by now. How did it sound compared to Onkyo?

leroyjr1

ViperZ wrote: »

According to the latest review on the agon, they fixed most if not all bugs by now. How did it sound compared to Onkyo?

I would check out the Emotiva forum. There's alot more owners and much more info in detail on that unit.
What kind of budget did you have in mind?

Love that Rotel/B&W combo myself.

EndersShadow

hehehe...just ran across one for sale in a Goodwill in Indy...

nooshinjohn

EndersShadow wrote: »

hehehe...just ran across one for sale in a Goodwill in Indy...

Emo's at Goodwill?

EndersShadow

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Emo's at Goodwill?

Yup I laughed and then checked my wallet . Its online to bid on. Current bid is 334 so its not a massive deal, but never seen anything Emo at goodwill before


http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Emotiva-8-Channel-Reciever-7455935.html

ViperZ

EndersShadow wrote: »

Yup I laughed and then checked my wallet . Its online to bid on. Current bid is 334 so its not a massive deal, but never seen anything Emo at goodwill before


http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Emotiva-8-Channel-Reciever-7455935.html

It's an old DMC-1 btw, not umc.

Budget is fairly low, around 6-700.

The main reason I want to ask here first is to avoid a lot of biased people who don't even own the processor. It's like asking about Polk speakers on club Polk

zingo

I bought a used Lexicon for my last pre/pro and loved it.

nguyendot

EndersShadow wrote: »

Yup I laughed and then checked my wallet . Its online to bid on. Current bid is 334 so its not a massive deal, but never seen anything Emo at goodwill before


http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Emotiva-8-Channel-Reciever-7455935.html

Most of the girls that work at my Goodwill are emo...

oh wait you mean amps

EndersShadow

ViperZ wrote: »

It's an old DMC-1 btw, not umc.

Budget is fairly low, around 6-700.

The main reason I want to ask here first is to avoid a lot of biased people who don't even own the processor. It's like asking about Polk speakers on club Polk

Gotcha. Think there is a thread on Emo gear over at AVSFORUM if you want to read up on it. Its a couple hundred pages long so it should answer most of your questions.....

if not here are some other Emo related threads:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/search.php?searchid=17063663

olilugo

leroyjr1 wrote: »

I would check out the Emotiva forum. There's alot more owners and much more info in detail on that unit.
What kind of budget did you have in mind?

Love that Rotel/B&W combo myself.

If it was me I will be looking at the new rotel. I read somewhere that the new rotel is very good but the new rotel amps were not as good as the old 10x versions..

There is one rotel unit in Audiogon for abot 1600. again don't know your budget.

EndersShadow

olilugo wrote: »

again don't know your budget.

ViperZ wrote: »

Budget is fairly low, around 6-700

Now we do.

Polkie2009

At first, the UMC-1 sounded like it was a really nice,full featured pre/pro at a sweet price.After reading in various forums about the problems with the Emotiva UMC-1, I too,___ quickly lost interest. Too bad so many people paid their hard earned dollars for them and it sounds like the things still__ don't work properly??? I'd be sick about that. PS: Great, and now Onkyo has left people hanging with their 885's?????WTH???

98Badger

I have a UMC and I'd be about 50/50 recommending for/against getting one. I have had very few issues with mine. The only annoying thing for me is the remote will stop responding once in a while and I'll have to hit the power switch on the back of the unit. I'm very happy with the sound quality and most of the functionality. The many assignable inputs are convenient. I will say that emoq is pretty much useless, but I set mine up manually anyway. Updates are a pain because all settings are erased and you have to reset everything. It does everything I need it to and works well for me, but I know others have had numerous issues.

LessisNevermore

ViperZ wrote: »

I've seen Ricardo's thread regarding poor quality control on another unit that he bought, but that thread grew out of proportion and completely off topic...

I don't care one way or another, but you should know, that whole thread was started as a bad joke. Ricardo never bought anything from that company.

danz1906

Integra DHC 9.9 gets my Vote!

geebolt

I have a UMC-1 and for me, it works beautifully. Sounds great too. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat if I had it to do over.

Polkie2009

Wow, I guess the real question would be ,would you buy another UMC-1 for a backup in case the one you have now went south?

geebolt

Polkie2009 wrote: »

Wow, I guess the real question would be ,would you buy another UMC-1 for a backup in case the one you have now went south?

No, but I'm not concerned about that. I would have more fear of my flat screen going south, and I'm not gonna buy a backup fot that....

Polkie2009

Lol, I hear that geebolt, that's a big Sony TV.

ViperZ

After spending several days of reading reviews and forums, I finally figured that it wouldn't be worth the money to make a lateral move in processor selection . I will go audition Integra 40.2 and Marantz AV7005. No money for those right now, but I'll be aiming for one of those two in the near future...

rtart

I have owned an 885, a UMC-1 and an 886. I have a friend that just bought a 7005.

I was excited about the UMC-1, got on the pre-order list , bought XPA-5 and UPA-2 amps, and waited,

and waited,



and waited,



and waited....you get the point.


I finally bought the 885 when they were closed out. I paid about $750 for it. It compares more closely with the Emo XMC-1, not yet even announced, because of its balanced outputs. The UMC-1 was finally available, never got an email about my 'number' coming up. Saw that the UMC-1 was now available to anyone, was P.O.'d , but bought one anyway. Sent it back after firmware issues (I mean, really, the delays were supposed to be to fix the issues before it was released!).

Found a deal on an 886 locally about a month ago and decided that the Audyssey Dynamic volume feature might be worth the $150 difference it cost me to upgrade. (Sold my 885 for $650, paid $800 for the 886.) Worth twice the price! I REALLY like the Dynamic volume feature, and was surprised that I did. Really adds a lot of presence at lower volumes.

I considered the Onkyo 40.2, 80.2, (80.2 has xlr outs) and Marantz 7005 (and 8003). Of the bunch I would probably do the 7005, but can't see a single reason to upgrade. No features are offered that are not in the 886. The 7005 sounds great, but so does the 886. No real difference to my ears. The 7005 is butt ugly, BTW. That big round eye in the middle and the curved front make it hard to rack mount. And the 886 is a mature product, so you are not paying extra to be a beta tester. My advice, find a used 886, pay $750 to $850 (instead of $1200-$1400) and be happy.

BTW, I use an ATI 200 x 7 amp, fully balanced, now instead of the Emo amps. Got a good deal on it and it doesn't have that big blue 'eye' staring out at me all the time. It's a 105 lb. black box with a tiny LED and sounds great. Sold my Emo amps for what I paid for them in 2008, though, which made them a great deal.

ViperZ

Thank you for a very informative post.

The main reason why I decided on not getting Emotiva is that I cannot find a single place locally to actually listen to it, and compare it to the other preamps. It can be the best processor in the world for the price, but I just can't make myself buy something for several hundred dollars without hearing how it sounds first. On the other hand, there are several dealers in my area that carry Marantz. Integra is harder to find in Canada, but surprisingly, there is a dealer within 10km drive from me that carries Integra products.
Talking about 886 vs. 40.2. The only reason why I'd prefer to get a 40.2 or 7005 is that these two processors have all the latest bells and whistles (such as HDMI 1.4, even though I'm not planning to go with 3D TV in the foreseeable future).
I also did consider 885 vs. 886, but couldn't figure out the major differences. So 886 has the dynamic volume, and 885 does not?