Review of Emotiva Processors

My reasoning to go for Rotel Processor and Emo amps was mainly to avoid the bugs of their UMC-1.

Instead of buying used Rotel amps and a new Emo Processor, I would rather buy new Emo amps and a used Rotel processor. Purely price point based logic. Most forum reviews I've read haven't really stated much of a difference between the SQ of these two amplifiers.

You probably won't get a decent Rotel processor for $700 like the UMC-1, but could get away with maybe $1,200 for one with updated features.

I just got the UMC-1/UPA-7 from an Onkyo TX SR906. Moved the 906 to the bedroom and the UMC-1 and UPA-7 will go into the family room.
Though the UMC-1 was a bit buggy at first, Emotiva has put out a few updates that have corrected the issues. What is unbelieveable is that through the forum, owners have requested additional features(like all channel stereo) that have been added as a feature AFTER the design of the unit through software updates.
Big difference between the Onkyo and the Emotiva operation is the POWER!
There are a few reviews from HT reviewers on the Emotiva website. Check it out.
IMHO, the build quality is excellent and it sounds great for SS. But not like my COnrad JOhnson 2 channel tube gear though.
Hope this helps.

Yeah as much as I know about the differences between what you get from a stand-alone AV pre/pro vs using an AV receiver as the pre/pro -mated with outboard amplification - I would much rather opt NOT to have do deal with faulty product with glitches, personally. In fact, I can't imagine most would agree with me on this stance.
While you traditionally haven't gotten the dynamics, power, channel separation, and refinement from using AV receivers vs separates based systems,the difference in what you'll get using a good quality, fully featured AV receiver as you're pre/pro, mated to outboard amps, is not going to be so great, really.
I think using some HK, Yamaha, Denon, or Pioneer as your pre would still likely give you pretty nice results for your application, even using the pass through feature to some used 2 channel stereo pre for 2 channel dubties, if you must.
Basically, I don't think I'm going to opt fot the UMC-1 in it's pressent state. Like others said, maybe the XMC-1 will be better. If it is much improved ergonomics and functionality, I'll probably jump on it as well. Otherwise, I'm quite affraid of the UMC-1 issues.

In my experience, finding an affordable, used processor that will pass HDMI, upconvert/upscale analog video, and decode high-def audio formats is a myth for under $900 or so. I didn't want a processor that did not have HDMI 1.3; I don't want to buy the ICs going from my blu-ray player's pre-outs to the processor, then from the processor to the amp.
Before I broke down and bought my Denon 3310, I was crawling the internet looking for the most affordable unit that would decode high-definition audio through HDMI and had at least 5.1 pre-outs. I found the Yamaha RX-V665, it has 7.2 channel pre-outs and it is $549. I seriously considered buying a 5 channel amp from another Agon'r (Emotiva Audio UPA-5 for $500 today looks good) and mating it up with the Yami. It has an on-screen GUI, room correction, it upscales and upconverts analog video to HDMI 1080p. In the end I decided to go with the Denon, mostly b/c I was a bit concerned about the Yami's proprietary room correction, and the Denon had some features I wanted, like the internal HD radio tuner. For the same price (+/- $1000), I am sure the Yami/Emotiva combo would sound better than the Denon I bought, better amplification. My Denon does not impress for 2-channel listening, and I am on the hunt for a 2-channel amp for the fronts.
Don't forget about the ICs to the amp in a HT system - entry level Audioquest @1m would have cost $140, not including the sub cable, for my 5.1 system.