EMOTIVA Thread Q&A [TECHNICAL TALK ONLY] - Page 514

Very good advice IMO.

Bill

It all comes down to what the customer needs.
I totally get the low to no frills approach.
Not everyone wants or needs Internet streaming or air play especially if he already have something that does that well and usually better than most avrs.

I also get those that want those things and more.

It is good to have choices.

Yes, it was a tube design. I've thought of getting a "Schiitt." (sp?)
Edited by Theresa - 1/22/13 at 2:32am

IMHO a receiver with pre-outs is a better deal than the UMC-200.

Are you joining the Schiit head club?

Yes, I have thought of getting a Schiit headphone amp. Possibly the Valhalla.

Theresa, I think that was a joke. Say that sentence out loud phonetically.



Max

It was a bad joke so I ignored it.

 

 

 

+1

that's a great idea . can you show me a receiver for 600.00 with pre -outs?

Ok
So it looks like an XPA 500 with a $600.00 AVR with Pre Outs is a better road to go down.
Any AVR recommendations. I currently have an Onkyo TX-SR608 , but I am open to other brands.
Thanks again for the input.

I think this is true for some but it would also depend on the AVR. If someone is looking for a processor with a good auto EQ system then the UMC-200 is not a good choice IMO.

Bill

You can search the product pages of the many AVR manufacturers such as Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha. This will give you an idea which AVRs have preouts then search for the best possible prices. The one big positive of using an AVR as a prepro is if your amp craps out you can use the amps in the AVR till you get the amp repaired. The other positive is many AVRs are less expensive then comparable prepros (features and build quality).

Bill

It depends. Like I stated before, what features are important to you?
If you want say ipad/itunes integration, the UMC-200 doesn't do that.
If all you want is basic audio/video because all other needs are taken care of externally, the UMC-200 or the outlaw 975 would fit the bill.
You will have to decide what is important to YOU.

I agree you do get more features in an AVR for the price point. I've looked at AVR's with pre outs my self, they are hard to find under $700., and than I wonder if the quality will be there for sound quality,(what DAC processors are being used and so on) or if the money is being put in to the seven amps that I wont need. A bare bones processor would work for me since I don't have the Sony play station or other gaming systems. just a Tv, DVD, turntable, Tuner, and some day a blue ray player. And sorting through the reviews to figure out which ones are done for advertising money, and which ones aren't....It can be confusing some days.
Another item to point out here would be room treatments. As with Vinylfreak, I don't think Im getting the full sound stage from my system. And after reading through so many comments from others, I have come to relize just how important room treatments can be. Getting great sound out of a pro pro, or an AVR is #1 on my list out of an up grade.

DACs are a commodity item these days. They cost a couple of dollars and the technology is now good enough that there are no differences in SQ between them. You make a good point that you are paying for amps you won't use but because receiver sales vastly outnumber pre-pro sales, the economies of scale still make them better value.

 

 

 

 

i bought the onkyo 809 for 429$ on amazon. also before xmas they had the 818 for 649$ they have pre-outs and multi XT and XT32 respectivly

it can be done

Thanks for the info on room treatments.

Bruce

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1453209/onkyo-tx-nr809-brand-new-unopened-box

here is one in the classified...

I think you need to realize that just about every mainstream AVR puts out 80-120 wpc and that this is only a few dB less than the 200 wpc basic amp that many seem to be totally fascinated with.

It takes 10 dB (10x the power) to create the perception of twice as loud.

Unless you have very inefficient speakers 100 wpc is more than enough.

You will be able to get around 110 clean dB SPL out of L & R speakers with average efficiency and 100 wpc.

If you make a reasonable investment in subwoofer(s) you will be able to get room shaking sound without the extra size, weight, and expense of the outboard power amps.

I just picked up a "refurbished" (that is brand new as far as I can tell) on Ebay from OneCall for $650.
It has Preamps out and they even mangaed to implement max volume and power volume settings.

It sounds very good and has Preamp outs.
Do not buy it for AirPlay though, it sounds like it is playing through my couch pillow.
DLNA Rendering is a nice feature though, I can use J River to play music.

- Rich

Rich,

Which AVR did you buy from OneCall? Are you still getting the 8801?

Bill

I bought an Yamaha Aventage TX-A820 for my game room from the *bay/Onecall.

I bought a Marantz AV8801 processor for my main system that should arrive on Friday.

- Rich

I beg to differ.

110 dB? At 1 meter, maybe. You loose 7-10 dB at average listening distance. And clean? A $600 AVR just doesn't do 100 Watts even it the specs claim otherwise. And if it does, distortion will be an issue at that level.

Now if the speakers are high efficiency, say 95 dB/Watt, then 80 real Watts would be plenty. The speakers of the OP are 91 dB, so 200 Watt would make up for that difference 100%.

Pick one and lets see how close they get to rated power with all channels driven.

...and I assume you only listen to music or movies with less than 10db of dynamic range?

+1

So how many good prepros do they have to make until you are comfortable?
(and what was the issue with yours when you had it again?)
But then again, does it really matter since you are not buying one anyway and those that have (200s) apparently are happy with them?

I had a UMC-1 and now I don't. But I do not automatically count them out as an option.
(If I did that with every gear I owned that had an issue I think I would run out of manufacturers and just give up on this hobby. )
If someone wants UMC-1 advice, I feel I can honestly give them some.
Sometimes my advice gets them by, sometime I flat out tell them to try something else.
It all depends on the situation because everyone's setups/tastes/situations are so different.

Sorry to single your post out, no personal attack intended, just a point I'm trying to make.

Al

I agree with Keith. I only need to have been burned once and if someone learns from others experiences and there by avoids getting burned more power to them.

The track record of the UMC-1 can be traced by its original MSRP of $699 - last selling price of $499 - and current used prices which are all over the place. I've seen used prices (without upgrade card) from $265 shipped on the Emo Emporium about a week ago to $400-425 on ebay without upgrade card. There are probably 6-7 on ebay at any one time. I bought two of them - and sold them both. I also sold the upgrade cards that came with them. The NR818 I have now works.

Thats the 'editorial' of the UMC-1...

For me, let's start with one.
There are plenty of people who have issues with their 200. Pop noises, motorboating, loss of surround preferences, etc., that you have seen for yourself at their forum. These may all be normal teething issues we see with new prepros. If these sorts of issues are all buttoned up in, say, 6 months, that would be then be a solid product IMHO. I'm willing to give them time to see how it plays out.