I've never heard the Emotiva UMC-1 but I know it has had ample issues with firmware and other bugs and quirks. They took alot of heat from their own customers and reviewers for releasing this product with so many bugs. I have owned an Emotiva XPA-3 amp. I upgraded to a 7 channel Outlaw 7075 and realized that I am an Outlaw guy not Emotiva. Those cheesey ass blue lights were god awful. I personally don't trust these guys at all. Even Audioholics found some specs on their amps were stated incorrectly on their website. There have been debates on whether their amps can truly produce the power they say they can all over the internet. You never seem to hear that about Outlaw, Bryston, Parasound or any of these other amp manufactures.