Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Emotiva LMC-1 & LPA-1 review.

Hi everyone,

Here are my impressions of the LMC-1 and LPA-1, which I have been running in my HT for the past two days.

Review of LMC-1 bugs posted online.

1. Missing channel with Dolby 5.1:

I have yet to exhibit this issue. According to Lonnie it was rectified in the latest firmware. FIXED.

2. No DTS ES or NEO on DTS 5.1 sources:

I can confirm this is a bug. If you try selecting either ES or NEO, it reverts back to regular DTS.

3. Signal Acquisition delay:

I have to say mine takes 2-4 seconds, and rarely over 3. FIXED.

4. Dolby EX is displayed when the LMC is in fact only decoding 2.0 or 5.1

I have only a 5.1 setup, so I have not fully tested this. What I can say is that my unit properly displays and decodes 2.0 and 5.1 sources.

5. The unit gets “confused” when switching sources. It does not remember which processing to apply.

I have tried to confuse the unit, and I haven't been able to. I had my cable box running a DD 2.0 feed, and then my DVD player running a DTS feed. Switching between the two was faultless. It played the DD 2.0 as such, and DTS as DTS.

I then tried the following. I put the LMC on the DD 2.0 feed from my cable box. I switched the DVD source from DTS to DD EX. I switched the input back to DVD, and it properly displayed and played back in DD EX mode.

6. Inability to switch processing modes on DD 2.0 or 5.1 sources.

There really is only one problem with this unit, and it’s with Dolby Digital sources. There is a Dolby button on the remote which allows you to toggle between DD modes (PLII music, PLII movie, AC-3, etc). But it often does not work properly.

For example: You are watching TV and the feed is 2.0, and you set your LMC to play it back in PLII movie mode. Then, you switch channels to a 5.1 feed. You want to set your LMC to play in DD mode, but when you press on the Dolby button, it often does nothing. It will stay stuck on PLII music. You have to do a few button presses to go into a sub menu to select either DD or DD EX. Lonnie from Emotiva said its inability to make the change was due to the processor not being able to do so, but obviously it can, it just takes a few (6 or so, depending on situation) extra button presses. This absolutely must be fixed in the next firmware release.

General review.

I am extremely impressed by the LMC-1’s sound quality. It is far better than the Yamaha, HK and Denon receivers I have used with my Axiom setup (M80’s, VP150, QS8’s). Movies both in DTS and DD have a much better soundfield than previous. 2 channel stereo imaging in incredible. My M80’s truly disappear. Highs are crips, midrange is smooth, and bass is tight and punchy. SACD and DVD-Audio also sound great.

I won’t write anymore about the sound quality, since there seems to already be enough online ranting and raving about it. It really is superb.

I have coupled the LMC-1 with the LPA-1. I absolutely adore the LPA-1. Even at extremely loud volumes, the sound remains clean and it controls the Axioms very, very well. It’s an absolute beast at 63 pounds. It’s also a very pretty unit, and the LMC-1 looks great sitting on top of it (yes, they can be stacked). It does not generate nearly as much heat as I thought it would – a sign of a really good amp, considering the low impedance of the Axioms I own. At $499, I think it’s a steal. You’d be hard pressed to find a better amp than this at this price, brand new, backed with a 5 year warranty.

Overall, I would give the LMC-1 an 8/10 (maybe 8.5 due to superb SQ), and the LPA-1 a 10/10. If Emotiva can fix the LMC-1 bugs with DTS and DD modes as described above, I will give it a full 10/10.

But will I keep the LMC-1? I am not certain. I will see over the next few days. If the bugs really bother me, I’ll return it. If I can live with them, I’ll keep it. I’m really 50/50 right now. I will also be contacting Lonnie about these bugs, and depending on whether or not I think Emotiva will fix these issues in a forthcoming firmware will also weigh heavily on my decision. There is also the %40 discount on future generation pre/pro’s to factor into the decision, however, that might be at least a year away, so I’ll have to decide whether or not I can live with the LMC-1’s quirks for that amount of time. It is also assuming that the next generation will not exhibit the same problems.

Would I recommend its purchase? I would most definitely recommend the LPA-1. I can’t say yes for the LMC-1, though. It’s really a personal decision of “do I want to live with quirks for outstanding sound performance at its price?” Outlaw Audio’s least expensive pre/pro is just slightly more expensive (roughly $180 USD more) than the LMC-1, but apparently it is bug free, and its performance and build are nearly identical.

I think I'll have to go for the LPA-1 at some point. It sounds like it would be the right amount of amplification for me, and not overspending on something would be a nice change of pace. I just don't know how much of a difference it will make over the $1699 Onkyo receiver I'm looking at.

Curious how you have found the support at Emotiva. I have sent 2 emails and received no response so far. It's been 2 days. I called yesterday and got voice mail. Left a message but no one has returned my call. Today, I can't even get voice mail. The system just goes into a black hole. Maybe I'm just not supposed to buy from them.

Dan, Robert, and Lonnie are the only people that answer the phones. Normally they answer within the first few rings. Back when I had an MPS-1 I had better luck calling than email. They get hundreds of emails a day.

Overall, I was very pleased with their CS support, to bad the amp didn't work out with my 80's.

Sounds like my experience with Swan. Except I gave them a lot longer than 2 days and tried faxing as well.

cgolf,

from my experience, emails to Emotiva often end up in their Spam / Junk email box. Lonnie has told me that when I emailed him from both of my addresses, they both often end up in there.

When I call I generally get an answer right away. If not, I get called back on the same business day.

I’ve lived with the Emotiva Ultra Theater Combo LCM-1 (pre) & LPA-1 (power) for the past week…Wow, what a one\two knockout punch!!!

SOUND:
This Ultra separate pair BLOWS Away my Sony DE885 receiver (100w X 5) in sonic purity and sheer dynamics! I’ve gained At Least 6db of Clean, undistorted dynamic audio output that is far clearer and cleaner than I heard -at any level- on the Sony! The sound stage has become more detailed and defined with much greater spatial clues and nuancances, creating a lucid 3-D effect I didn’t have before! The extended bandwidth of the combo reflects in absolutely totally effortless highs and lows that seem to have no boundaries! There is so much “air” around every note and sound, I become completely immersed in the clarity of details and subtleties that I never heard before!! If I would describe the overall sonic presentation in one word, it would be “Pure”!!! I am thrilled with the fidelity increases these electronics have made to my HT audio system. The fact that these very notable improvements have been realized using a humbling Bose Acoustimass 15 system as my main\surround speakers (please, no flames…came with the house) is a strong testament to the Emo engineering!! The sound of this electronic pair is Superb, Especially considering it’s delivery “total cost” of less than $900!!!

FUNCTION:
Basic, simple and uncomplicated comes to mind while I setup and tested the Ultra Theater pair! The LMC-1 has shown no bugs or quirks during my trials, but I’m a newbie when it comes to all of the DD\DTS codes and applicable functions…seems to work well for me! I’m running a simple 5.1 surround and getting great separation and clarity of DD\DTS mixes…no complaints! The LPA-1 is a high current, wide bandwidth, low impedance, low distortion amp that I’ve not been able to drive into clipping…it just seems to have no audible headroom limitations! It has Never gotten above 95degf (barely warm to the touch), even after being on all day and cranking to super-clean loud theater volumes in action HD-DVD movies! (BTW, my HT room is 5300cf with a large opening to another 2000cf space!)

LOOKS\BUILD:
FANTASTIC on Both accounts!

EMOTIVA CS:
A+

RECOMMENDATION:
If you have the space, this pair appears to be very competitive (performance & price) when compared to other separates, specially when considering other all-in-one \ middle-of-the-road receivers!!!
IMHO, considering it’s $$$ value, superb sonic attributes and future 40% upgrade discount, I don’t believe you will find a much better pre\pro\amp combination!!! I'm sure the A1400-8 amp will be a beast in comparison to the LPA-1, but at 6X the price, it should be!

Hope to find out in the near future how this Emo combo drives the Epic 80 HT system...can't even begin to imagine the Auditory Improvements this will have over the Bose system!!!

Ted

I have to say, the LPA-1 is looking more attractive all the time.