92 replies to this topic

[yorac]

Hi guys have just had the guys at SGR (Stuart and Harry) well and truly look after the install on this beastie for me and intend on posting some thoughts over the next few weeks as we fine tune it, in the interim my thanks to SGR (again) as they really are total pro's to deal with whether you are buying or not and a few specs below to give a taste of what's to come.........


DHC-80.2

9.2 Channel Network A/V Controller


Features..........

Edited by yorac, 23 December 2012 - 12:24 PM.

[com5984]

Great choice mate, look forward to reading your impressions.

[Quark]

Very nice - also looking forward to your review.  

[Drizt]

Quark, on Sep 14 2011, 10:39 PM, said:

Very nice - also looking forward to your review.  

I concur, and I also look forward to reading your thoughts on the unit.

And pics are a must

[buddhamus]

Congraulations on the awesome purchase Yorac!....are you planning on doing a pro cal on it hahaha

[MRCRIST]

Quark, on Sep 14 2011, 10:09 PM, said:

Very nice - also looking forward to your review.  

Yorac reviews are most valued. No nonsense and refreshingly honest.

[yorac]

Update: Night mode is enabled on certain DTHD discs, Integra sets it to Auto.....


My thanks for the kind words guys, want to just do this review a little differently so I hope you'll all allow me a little latitude at the start......

The journey to getting this 80.2 has been an interesting one and as many here know due to through some misfortune with my health some time ago I was forced to sell off the majority of what I deemed to be my dream system and as annoying as that was material things can be replaced, family and health come first and foremost and always will......

That said I just want to as part of the journey back to better health and a quality HT system want to say a special thanks to BBar, Roachy, Matt Walker and Al, not just for your generosity in my HT rebuild but for the warmth and friendship you have not only provided myself in difficult and not so difficult times but also my GLW, it is noted, appreciated and gives me great heart that along with yourselves there are so many many good people on this forum that so heavily outweigh those very few negative people here that only ever seek to harm others rather than contribute the wealth of knowledge they have acquired over time............










So let's get to the 80.2, the word flagship is tossed about by so many marketing people nowadays that it is always with a touch of cynicism that you approach anything that mentions the word anymore, I know the Integra brand and have an avid admiration for the all round capabilities of the product be it for music or HT and simply put I have no time for products that don't live up to the hype and will say so very quickly......

Now my initial intention was to get an Onkyo 5508 after hearing Roachy's and put feelers out here and Singapore and quickly came up with no joy, the 5509 is not hitting here until at least Feb 2012 and pricing is not attractive from what I've heard, the Marantz AV7005 is due November but the I need it now factor killed that also......

Things weren't actually looking to crash hot for a few days when out of the blue Stuart from SGR emailed me with some availability of the 80.2 and said they could do the install within a day or two (this unfortunately killed plan C which was John A's 80.1, sorry John), if you have never had the pleasure of dealing with Stuart or Harry from SGR then you are missing out on something really special from guys that deal in genuine customer service and high quality product that is second to none in this country and that is a fair compliment given how highly I rate the late Colin Whatmough and Scott from his staff at A1 Audio......

Alright let's get to it, the one thing I had to have was XT32 as I've heard so many good things about it and let's say that it brings a whole new dynamic and accuracy to Audyssey and the like, never been a fan of Audyssey but certainly am now (ask Bryan)......

At just on three weeks with the 80.2 I have mainly played movies thus far but have more recently used it for SACD and music blu ray, now this unit is something special for movies, it really is but musically it is unbelievable no matter what you seem to throw at it and it does it with such ease, at this point I use -15db as my standard listening level for all with the odd crank on favourite music tracks and it just brings so much clarity, depth and all round quality to the sound field over and above what I've heard previously........

Even today with Celine's A New Day the GLW went in to the HT room and said I've never heard that sound as crisp and concise from all 5 speakers before and when the GLW is noticing the HT gear something very good is going on, we went through all Star Wars movies without a glitch or DTS bomb and though I haven't put Iron Man on as yet I have not seen it switch to night mode on a True HD movie/disc as yet.......

I have not noted any heat issues thus far but as many here know I run my systems well and truly ventilated so I don't expect problems, at this point I will close of with saying that flagship may well be an understatement for this model, I am more than excited with what lies ahead as we get more hours into the 80.2................


My Current system set up as below:

Integra DHC 80.2

Elektra Theatre ( )

Oppo 83 CHT modded (thanks Juddy)

BenQ W6000 Projector (Matt)

Whatmough C32 Fronts - Opus II Centre - CFX Rears

JL Fathom F113 Subwoofer (Roachy)



previous to the Integra the Denon 4310 (Bbar) and partial system calibration also by BBar, an Oz Theatre screen yet to be decided will add to the PQ side of things.....

Disc used for this review include

SACD - DSoTM - Invisible Touch - Ultimate Mancini (thanks Chops)

Blu ray - Music = Celine Dion  A New Day - Roy Orbison Black and White Nights

Blu ray movies - Casino Royale, Tron Legacy, Unstoppable, Star Wars Episodes 1 to 6, Hanna, X-Men First Class, Star Trek 2009, Source Code, Fast Five, Flight of the Phoenix (of course) and Dark Knight plus a few other here and there......

will soon put all LoTR's back through and have Tranny 3 and Thor inbound plus a myriad of other stuff to enjoy.....


welcome any and all questions regarding this outstanding piece of equipment if anyone has them............

Edited by yorac, 26 November 2011 - 10:41 AM.

[JohnA]

thanks for the review mate.
The integras are indeed great units and glad to read the new 80.2 has lived up to expectations.

As for heat issues, doubt you will have any. Have never had my 80.1 get hot, just warm

[Quark]

Good to hear that you're so pleased with the 80.2 yorac.  

Agree with JohnA, the Integra pre pros don't run hot - my 9.9 never raises a sweat.

[Drizt]

Thanks for the review, it sounds like you are really happy with the unit.  Congrats.

[yorac]

Cheers guys, the one thing I did probably forget to say was just how beautifully it handles anything you throw at it, at times a bit likely having a car with more accesories than you need with all the bells and whistles it does have on board maybe you'll use them, maybe you won't but nice to know they're there...........



Disclaimer: edited after letting some of my own exuberance (sure I'm not the first or the last to do that here) in trying to describe things get out of hand............. , one hopes I have better conveyed it this time around..........

Edited by yorac, 03 October 2011 - 05:14 PM.

[MRCRIST]

yorac, on Oct 2 2011, 10:08 PM, said:

Cheers guys, the one thing I did probably forget to say was just how much grunt it has, bit likely having a car with more power than you need and the 80.2 clearly has plenty under the bonnet if you want it or need it........

will post more along the way...........

Always enjoy your reviews simply straight and free of BS. Enjoy your new kit .

[bbar]

Sounds great and I knew the 5508 or the 80.2 would be hard to beat coupled with the Elektra and the JL Fathom.

Great review and once you get the Oztheatre 120" screen let me know and we can do a Cal on the 6000!

See you at the GTG !

[:)]

Good review Yorac, and good to hear it's all working nicely for you to great result

[BladeRnR]

Great review! Although...

Can somebody help me with this statement:

...the one thing I did probably forget to say was just how much grunt it has, bit likely having a car with more power than you need and the 80.2 clearly has plenty under the bonnet if you want it or need it........

The question. The Integra DHC-80.2 is a Pre-Processor is it not? How does one Pre-Processor have more "Grunt" or "Power" than another exactly? It is a "Pass-through" component after all...it has no amplifiers to convey "Grunt" or "Power" unless of course we are talking about the "DTR-80.2" and not the "DHC-80.2"?

Being a notable contributor to the forum, I do value technical accuracy above all else

Blade

P.S *NOTE* - For those that don't know, Yorac and I are forbidden by the Forum Mods to speak to or address one another so I cannot ask this question directly. I will rely on a proxy for an explanation.

Edited by BladeRnR, 03 October 2011 - 12:32 PM.

[yorac]

Above post noted with thanks and will edit my post so as to provide accuracy and better describe  my point in hand......

[BladeRnR]

Many thanks

Blade

[roachy]

It's funny how threads can be cleaned up nicely overnight. Was a bit concerned it was going bit OT.

But back on topic. Congratulations Yorac. As you well know I'm rapt with my Onkyo 5508 which for all intentive purposes is identical to your Integra. I'm glad I was able to help in some way with your decision. I know you've always held Integras in high regard anyway. I'm a lot like you, never really thought much of Audyssey, but the Audyssey XT32 is another beast all together and has nicely smoothed out my room. I'm sure you will get many years of enjoyment as I plan to.

[BladeRnR]

roachy, on Oct 4 2011, 10:54 AM, said:

It's funny how threads can be cleaned up nicely overnight. Was a bit concerned it was going bit OT.

But back on topic. Congratulations Yorac. As you well know I'm rapt with my Onkyo 5508 which for all intentive purposes is identical to your Integra. I'm glad I was able to help in some way with your decision. I know you've always held Integras in high regard anyway. I'm a lot like you, never really thought much of Audyssey, but the Audyssey XT32 is another beast all together and has nicely smoothed out my room. I'm sure you will get many years of enjoyment as I plan to.

The Integra DHC-9.9 I had was a great Pre-Pro. I'd be curious to hear what Audyssey have done with XT32 even compared to the Audyssey Pro Kit I had. The DHC-80.2 is certainly a Pre-Processor I would have considered if Anthem hadn't lowered the price of the D2V. As far as stability and lack of serious operational issues go Onkyo and Integra Processors are virtually peerless.

As Yorac indicated in his modified post the number of features (Even if one does not utilise them) on both Integra and Onkyo are market leading.

Blade

Edited by BladeRnR, 04 October 2011 - 10:49 AM.

[roachy]

BladeRnR, on Oct 4 2011, 11:46 AM, said:

The Integra DHC-9.9 I had was a great Pre-Pro. I'd be curious to hear what Audyssey have done with XT32 even compared to the Audyssey Pro Kit I had. The DHC-80.2 is certainly a Pre-Processor I would have considered if Anthem hadn't lowered the price of the D2V. As far as stability and lack of serious operational issues go Onkyo and Integra Processors are virtually peerless.

As Yorac indicated in his modified post the number of features (Even if one does not utilise them) on both Integra and Onkyo are market leading.

Blade

I'll have to have you around one day mate and you can check out the CAT-8Cs with the dual submerisives through the Onkyo

Edited by roachy, 04 October 2011 - 10:59 AM.

[BladeRnR]

roachy, on Oct 4 2011, 11:58 AM, said:

I'll have to have you around one day mate and you can check out the CAT-8Cs with the dual submerisives through the Onkyo

Absolutely mate I'm very keen to hear the CAT-8C's and the Onkyo.

Cheers

Blade

[roachy]

Taken the conversation to PM to free up the thread.

[yorac]

roachy, on Oct 4 2011, 10:54 AM, said:

It's funny how threads can be cleaned up nicely overnight. Was a bit concerned it was going bit OT.

But back on topic. Congratulations Yorac. As you well know I'm rapt with my Onkyo 5508 which for all intentive purposes is identical to your Integra. I'm glad I was able to help in some way with your decision. I know you've always held Integras in high regard anyway. I'm a lot like you, never really thought much of Audyssey, but the Audyssey XT32 is another beast all together and has nicely smoothed out my room. I'm sure you will get many years of enjoyment as I plan to.

Cheers mate, yeah that listen to yours was certainly the deal breaker and certainly agree the XT32 does the job exceedingly well, will work out a catch up soon for us mate............. .

[bradp51]

yorac, on Oct 4 2011, 07:57 PM, said:

Cheers mate, yeah that listen to yours was certainly the deal breaker and certainly agree the XT32 does the job exceedingly well, will work out a catch up soon for us mate............. .

Hey Neil
Congrats on your purchase and for the review you took the time to write.  Sounds like a great beast.  Never had an Integra but my 1992 Onkyo is still powering my second system.

[buddhamus]

Congrats on the purchase Yorac, i have always loved Integras...build quality is always outstanding on all of their products. Glad ur happy with your purchase mate.

I'm also glad you have become a fan of Audyssey, last time at the GTG ur opinion was the opposite though....can I ask why? Did you hear it on someones system and you didn't like it?...Just curious!