[cytokinesis]

So I'm upgrading all of my home theater equipment, and I'm at a quandary about the pre/pro.


I'm looking for something under $800, and I'm pretty much set on getting Emotiva's UPA-5 amp. The UMC-1 seems like the natural choice for preprocessor. At $700 with $100 emobucks it seems like a great deal, but the more I read about it, the more complaints I see about bugs and glitches.


Looking at other units in the same price range, I seem to be stuck with an AVR with pre/pro outputs. Of these, the most attractive seems to be the Pioneer vsx1120, especially since I can get a new one for around $500 (it sells for about $750, usually). The 1120's lack of a trigger-out kind of sucks, since I'm using a separate amp, but it's not a deal breaker, given the price.


Still, I can't help but feel like a tool spending $400 on an amp and when the AVR has one built in. The UMC also has a nicer form factor and trigger outputs.


I primarily use my setup for movies and gaming, music is secondary, and I don't really use internet radio much, so that's not really an issue. I'd love any anecdotes or advice on the sound quality, usability, etc. of these two sets. Any good alternatives would be great too, anything that'd help me reach a good conclusion.

 

[redline65]

Do you need 3D? I was in the same situation as you, the Pioneer looked good but the lack of a trigger output turned me off since I use a separate amp too. I tried the UMC-1 but sent it back and got a Denon AVR-3310CI for around $530. UMC-1 was too buggy for me. The Denon works much better and has a lot more features than the UMC-1, with the internet radio, media streaming, HD radio, Sirius-ready, etc... It lacks 3D capability, but has a trigger out and plenty of inputs.