I'm flattered. Someone remembered my post! I have been
relentlesly researching prepros on AV123, AVS, and other places for the past few weeks. I consider myself an 'armchair expert' on the subject of cheap-but-good prepros, at the moment.
Yes, I had the UL combo. I kept my LPA-1, but returned the LMC-1 because of the software quirks. It was a close call. I can't stress that enough. The LMC-1 seems to be a nice little prepro, but it has some frustrating features. I won't re-hash it all, see my
review for all the gory details.
Here's my advice: Buy the UL combo. It'll sound great. If you have more patience than I (or have a more patient wife
), and can deal with the 'quirks', keep it and be happy. If it's too annoying, send it back under their 30-day policy. They won't give you any hassle. Return shipping on the LMC-1 was $12.
If you want something that sounds
maybe just a bit better (slightly upgraded DAC), but has a few more features (one generation newer DSP chip) but without the quirks, check out the Outlaw 970/7075/LFM-2 combo for a $1298, then sell the LFM-2 and you'll be right around the same price point as the UL combo.
Want the truth? I am actually still debating
re-ordering the LMC-1 to give it another shot. Yeah, really. I need help. I miss the SQ compared to my Pioneer AVR, but can't quite jutify the $1k+ to move up to the MMC/DMC or Outlaw 990. Yeah, like a bad puppy that wet the rug, I actually miss the little booger.
It's rumored that Emotiva is coming out with an 'LMC-2' sometime this summer, and maybe a new 'DMC-2' this fall. Based on their track record, I'd wager it to be a Fall '07 & Spring '08 kind of thing. If you like Emotiva, purchasing any of their current generation of prepros gives you 40% off on their future stuff, which is a nice little bonus and an easy way to get a loyal customer base.
