Information on Emotiva

i can only opine as to, and heartily endorse, their power amps, but emotiva registers as a really solid company with vg customer service. i really like their business model--make it in china, sell it direct w/o the inflated middleman, and build a buzz by cultivating an active customer base. on the evidence of their amps, it appears that they're able to sell product at a significant discount to their competitors--their $260 2 channel amp is certainly on a par with the twice-the-price NAD and Rotel. ergo, i'd rationally expect their umc-1 to be comparable in quality to much pricier gear. for what it's worth, emotiva is all the rage on audioholics and other HT-oriented ilk; you might browse there for more input.

Ya,
I live in Nashville and am going to pick one of these up when they come out. They are based out of Franklin,TN, and have a showroom there. I will go to their showroom next week and report back on the new UMC.

I have heard a lot stronger buzz about their amps than their Pre's and CDP's. Here is a suggestion:

Outlaw Audio Model 990 - $699 (a proven performer)
Emotiva XPA-3 - $599 or XPA-5 - $799, depending on how many channels you need to drive. All that power should be a good combination with the Revels.

The 990 is a good pre but it's seriously outdated compared to the UMC-1. That's why it's $700 and not $1200 like it was originally priced. I'm waiting for the UMC-1 to put in my preamp's HT bypass.

If you need the latest video and audio processing in your pre, then the UMC-1 is probably necessary and an economical choice. If you just want to preamplify multi-channel analog sound from your player, the older Outlaw would be a safer bet. Outlaws new 997 processor will cost double the current 990 and listed UMC-1 price of $699. But who knows, the UMC-1 may sound as good as or better than other processors costing double and more - just have to wait and see...