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  1. #1
    Forum Regular pixelthis's Avatar
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    Cool INTEGRA DTR 6.9, brief review

    THE jAPANESE it seems have found the cure for unemployment.
    Put all of the unemployed to work coming up with "new" codecs, soundfields, proccessing modes, gimmicks of various kinds, and then cram them into the latest receivers.
    My "new Integra " is discontinued, but a great many similarities still exist for Onkyo and integra products still out there.
    The Onkyo 807, for instance is very similar.
    Anyway, Dolby came out with "pro logic II", VERY HANDY, then DTS had to come out with a similar suite , which does about the same thing as pro logic II.
    And now THX has their own set of proccessing modes, some of which are new, most however mimic DTS and DOLBY soundfield proccessing.
    And then theres Audessey(havent tried it yet) and their EQ and vollume functions.
    Really, I would trade it all for a decent power supply.
    I really like my Integra, great thing about Integra is their very quiet pre-amps, great
    if you want to get into seperates, just add an external amp.
    They have moved their line more upscale though, my 7.4 cost 1200$ in late 2003, a
    7.9 on 2009 not much different, but a 70.1 2010 model is EIGHTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS.
    There are more tasty bits, however.
    Integra is geared toward large HT installs, the idea being that you wouldnt want
    your fancy new HT to be powered by a plain jane Onkyo(which is very close to Integra).
    Baiscally I like my new Integra, video switching is good(hdmi1.3).
    And while THX doesnt reccomend "transcoding" I have a DVDA player hooked to component, and it comes out fine on HDMI.
    The sound is good for a receiver, but not as good as my old 7.4.
    The amps are what they are, seven crammed into a hatbox, basically.
    Onkyos new remotes are quite good surprizingly, with audio codecs grouped into four groups(and buttons)
    Programmed my Pronto remote with it and put it in a drawer.
    The new 32 bit menu is nice too, the radio easy to use, which doesnt sound like much,
    but I had a Yamaha 750 for three years and still couldnt use the radio without the instructions.
    But the best thing about this receiver are the pre-outs.
    Hook them to a decent amp and you have quite a decent system.
    With the burden off of my front two channels my remaining three sound even better.
    With my fronts hooked up to my new Emotiva amp I have both an audio and a HT system,
    although mostly I listen in "Direct" mode in stereo.
    Hmmmm, PROBABLY SHOULDA JUST KEPT THE OLD RECEIVER.
    But if you're looking for a decent receiver, can handle a 138 (!) page manuel, then you could do a lot worse than a new Integra or Onkyo.
    Even an inexpensive Integra makes for a decent pre-amp for a mid line HT.
    LG 42", integra 6.9, B&W 602s2, CC6 center, dm305rears, b&w
    sub asw2500
    Panny DVDA player
    sharp Aquos BLU player
    pronto remote, technics antique direct drive TT
    Samsung SACD/DVDA player
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  2. #2
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    And now THX has their own set of proccessing modes, some of which are new, most however mimic DTS and DOLBY soundfield proccessing.

    This information is not correct Pix. The THX processing is an overlay enhancement designed to work with Dts and Dolby digital codecs. Dts neo and Dolby PLll or PLx or z takes two channels sources and matrixes them to 6.1, 7.1 or 9.1 channels. THX processing does not do that. THX process is designed to give soundtracks that "theater" sound by dynamic decorrolation of mono signals, a THX re-equalization curve that mimicks ISO 2969 theatrical standards for soundtrack playback, timbre matches the surrounds to the fronts to account for dis-simular speakers in those positions (impossible to do in reality), includes dynamic bass loudness, and boundary contouring control for surround speakers placed close to, or recessed into walls.

    Anyway, Dolby came out with "pro logic II", VERY HANDY, then DTS had to come out with a similar suite , which does about the same thing as pro logic II.


    Dts neo and DPII hit the market at the same time, so Dts did not follow after DPII
    Sir Terrence

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  3. #3
    Forum Regular pixelthis's Avatar
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    Cool

    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
    And now THX has their own set of proccessing modes, some of which are new, most however mimic DTS and DOLBY soundfield proccessing.

    This information is not correct Pix. The THX processing is an overlay enhancement designed to work with Dts and Dolby digital codecs. Dts neo and Dolby PLll or PLx or z takes two channels sources and matrixes them to 6.1, 7.1 or 9.1 channels. THX processing does not do that. THX process is designed to give soundtracks that "theater" sound by dynamic decorrolation of mono signals, a THX re-equalization curve that mimicks ISO 2969 theatrical standards for soundtrack playback, timbre matches the surrounds to the fronts to account for dis-simular speakers in those positions (impossible to do in reality), includes dynamic bass loudness, and boundary contouring control for surround speakers placed close to, or recessed into walls.
    Still doesnt sound much different than Dolby II


    Anyway, Dolby came out with "pro logic II", VERY HANDY, then DTS had to come out with a similar suite , which does about the same thing as pro logic II.


    Dts neo and DPII hit the market at the same time, so Dts did not follow after DPII
    It wasnt by much, but I read a lot of articles on prologic II, HAD A receiver with it before I even heard about DTS neo 6.
    I dont think it really matters , anyway, both are very similar in sound if not function, with the Dolby version winning, IMHO.
    LG 42", integra 6.9, B&W 602s2, CC6 center, dm305rears, b&w
    sub asw2500
    Panny DVDA player
    sharp Aquos BLU player
    pronto remote, technics antique direct drive TT
    Samsung SACD/DVDA player
    emotiva upa-2 two channel amp

  4. #4
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Still doesnt sound much different than Dolby II
    Oh brother

    Dolby Prologic II can function with just two channels, THX cannot. PL II is a matrix format, THX is not. PL II is an enhancement for 2.0 channels, THX is an enhancement for 5.1 channels.

    They are apples and oranges and cannot be evaluated as comparisons

    It wasnt by much, but I read a lot of articles on prologic II, HAD A receiver with it before I even heard about DTS neo 6.
    That does not mean they were not announced as ready for inclusion into receivers at the same time. DTS neo was in most high end receivers and pre-pro's at the same time as DP II. The processing filtered down slower than DP II into mid and lower priced receivers.

    [/quote]I dont think it really matters , anyway, both are very similar in sound if not function, with the Dolby version winning, IMHO.[/quote]

    In better pre-pro's and receivers they do not sound similar at all. I agree that DP II sounds better to my ears than NEO:6, but they could not sound more different when compared with the same movie.
    Sir Terrence

    Titan Reference 3D 1080p projector
    200" SI Black Diamond II screen
    Oppo BDP-103D
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  5. #5
    Forum Regular pixelthis's Avatar
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    Cool

    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
    Oh brother

    Dolby Prologic II can function with just two channels, THX cannot. PL II is a matrix format, THX is not. PL II is an enhancement for 2.0 channels, THX is an enhancement for 5.1 channels.

    They are apples and oranges and cannot be evaluated as comparisons
    Dolby pl II makes a matrix outta two channel material, it is more accurate to call it a
    proccessing mode than a "format".
    DD is a "format" for instance, PLII makes 5.1 outta 2.0


    That does not mean they were not announced as ready for inclusion into receivers at the same time. DTS neo was in most high end receivers and pre-pro's at the same time as DP II. The processing filtered down slower than DP II into mid and lower priced receivers.
    I dont think it really matters , anyway, both are very similar in sound if not function, with the Dolby version winning, IMHO.[/quote]

    In better pre-pro's and receivers they do not sound similar at all. I agree that DP II sounds better to my ears than NEO:6, but they could not sound more different when compared with the same movie.[/QUOTE]

    Actually , PLII does sound a tiny tad better, but only a slight tad, a hair more dynamic.
    CERTAINLY not worth the effort to make another codec, which was my point.
    LG 42", integra 6.9, B&W 602s2, CC6 center, dm305rears, b&w
    sub asw2500
    Panny DVDA player
    sharp Aquos BLU player
    pronto remote, technics antique direct drive TT
    Samsung SACD/DVDA player
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  6. #6
    Forum Regular audio amateur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
    Oh brother

    Dolby Prologic II can function with just two channels, THX cannot. PL II is a matrix format, THX is not. PL II is an enhancement for 2.0 channels, THX is an enhancement for 5.1 channels.
    I'm pretty sure he was comparing PLII with neo 6.

  7. #7
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pixelthis
    I dont think it really matters , anyway, both are very similar in sound if not function, with the Dolby version winning, IMHO.
    In better pre-pro's and receivers they do not sound similar at all. I agree that DP II sounds better to my ears than NEO:6, but they could not sound more different when compared with the same movie.[/QUOTE]

    Actually , PLII does sound a tiny tad better, but only a slight tad, a hair more dynamic.
    CERTAINLY not worth the effort to make another codec, which was my point.[/QUOTE]

    You make your own codec so your can offer your own suite of decoding options that are optimized for your format. Dolby does exactly the same thing with Dolby Digital and DPII. Dolby PLII does not do as well at decoding stereo tracks in the DTS format as NEO:6 can, and NEO:6 does not do Dolby Stereo that much justice either. That is why each has their own matrix decoding format, because both have soundtracks encoded in their matrix forms.
    Sir Terrence

    Titan Reference 3D 1080p projector
    200" SI Black Diamond II screen
    Oppo BDP-103D
    Datastat RS20I audio/video processor 12.4 audio setup
    9 Onkyo M-5099 power amp
    9 Onkyo M-510 power amp
    9 Onkyo M-508 power amp
    6 custom CAL amps for subs
    3 custom 3 way horn DSP hybrid monitors
    18 custom 3 way horn DSP hybrid surround/ceiling speakers
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  8. #8
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Ironic that pix is talking about these audio formats and codecs creating Japanese jobs, when Dolby, DTS, THX, and Audyssey are all American companies with most of their operations in California. Other common audio processing formats like Circle7 and Neural Audio also come from U.S. companies. Yamaha's really the only Japanese receiver manufacturer that does its own DSP R&D, yet they also have a technical team in California.

    The upward pricing shift on the Integras seems to follow the trend with other companies where receiver lines move up in price, while introducing other models to occupy those former price points.
    Last edited by Woochifer; 12-10-2009 at 04:16 PM.
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  9. #9
    Forum Regular audio amateur's Avatar
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    Thanks for the review Pix, although it was more of a technical review than anything. Hope you're enjoying it

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