92 replies to this topic

[buddhamus]

Hey guys,

Thought Id chime in here and let you know what I think of the Integra and the performance it has....my thoughts pretty much echo Yoracs thoughts! and I am no way any type of professional reviewer....but I am so excited by this thing that I must write about it! lol.

I actually had until recently a Denon 4311 which I ended up selling due to the near future of building a house and wanting to go complete XLR's and no RCAs. That was pretty much the main reason and also the fact that Yorac and Stuart from SGR Audio really looked after me price wise on this absolute beast of a processor. So thank you so much guys, I really appreciate all you did for me for this!.

Setup was pretty straight forward, if you can install an AVR you can install this thing....although the Integra looked like it has a switchboard on the back of it lol.Sooo many inputs its crazy hahaha!. Weight wise it was pretty light compared to my 4311, which it should be since as it doesnt have any amplification what so ever! lol. When I unpacked the beast and put it next to the 4311........the Integra was a lot deeper and taller, almost dwarfing the 4311 .

One of my good mates Macca350 came along for the ride to help hooking it all up and moving stuff out of the way to get to the back of the cabinet. We honestly both thought that there wouldnt be much difference in sound comparing both the Integra and the 4311. We ran a 8 point Audyssey XT32 calibration and then we chucked on How To Train Your Dragon. First thing I noticed was the sharpness and clarity in the dialog scenes....I said ok so far so good! and then we put on some real dynamic scenes from the movie where that massive dragon shows up and Holy F&*^..........the dynamics were absolutely insane!!!. It blew me away including Macca too!....we were both not expecting this much dynamics and my seatons kept their composure at these levels which was -5 to 0 lol. I was so thrilled that when Macca left I chucked on other movies and the same thing and it was a completely different sound than the Denon.

The Denon 4311 is a great AVR but I did find it had a laid back sound to it, still very detailed but not as dynamic as the 80.3...I like my sound more forward and exciting!...which is what this procesor brings to the table and it brings it in spades.

I ran a Audyssey pro 12 point calibration on Friday and it even further improved the sound stage. The clarity and dynamics this thing brings is just plain awesome!. Me and the wife watched MI4-Ghost Protocol and this thing just had one of the most awesome soundtracks I have ever heard...from the LFE to the surround mix was just insane!!!!. Even the wife commented in the middle of the movie, she goes when someone gets hit...it almost felt like she was getting it because the impact of the sound was so intense and detailed, it was just dynamic as hell!...we watched it at -10 btw.

Kal Rubinson from Stereophile ranked the 80.2 as a Class A!, in his review, that's as high a rating as many other famous high priced prepros costing around 4X - 10X as much, thats a pretty awesome acheivement from Integra . The 80.2 and 80.3 are pretty much the same, the only major difference is that my 80.3 has 4k upscaling.

Overall I am thrilled to have this type of sound in my HT and look forward to the day I have my own HT room!

Thanks to Yorac and Stuart for helping me out with this beast!

Edited by buddhamus, 14 May 2012 - 12:04 AM.

[bbar]

That is excellent Kev and not surprised as the 80.2 or 3 is one great Pre/Pro!

Now you can kick back and enjoy all those kick-ass audio movies again with a big smile

[BladeRnR]

Great review Kevin - I always enjoy your posts because they exude a natural unabashed excitement which is after all what this hobby is all about and which is quite refreshing

Fantastic to see regular members such as Yorac and Macca helping out others in a real and meaningful way that again shows what this forum should be all about. It's been an exciting journey for you and it's most satisfying to see your system evolve to a state where you are completely happy with it. It seems not so long ago you sat on my couch with eyes like dinner plates experiencing the Seatons (That still brings a smile to my face remembering how excited you were - like a big kid which is as it should be!).

Frankly if I didn't have the Anthem D2V the Integra 80.3 would no doubt be on my short list of Pre/Processors. Apart from all the other 80.3 features the Internet option to update Firmware is a big winner in my eyes (The Integra DHC-9.9 I had was a little bit more fiddly). 4K Upscaling is very cool too!

Cheers

Blade

[buddhamus]

bbar, on 14 May 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

That is excellent Kev and not surprised as the 80.2 or 3 is one great Pre/Pro!

Now you can kick back and enjoy all those kick-ass audio movies again with a big smile

Hey mate,

It really has taken my HT sound to another level and Im confident that ill hold onto this processor for a very long while!...probably until 4k becomes the standard. I do plan on rewatching a lot of my movies again!. This is exactly how I felt when I heard the Seatons for the first time at Maccas/Blades place!.

BladeRnR, on 14 May 2012 - 09:07 AM, said:

Great review Kevin - I always enjoy your posts because they exude a natural unabashed excitement which is after all what this hobby is all about and which is quite refreshing

Fantastic to see regular members such as Yorac and Macca helping out others in a real and meaningful way that again shows what this forum should be all about. It's been an exciting journey for you and it's most satisfying to see your system evolve to a state where you are completely happy with it. It seems not so long ago you sat on my couch with eyes like dinner plates experiencing the Seatons (That still brings a smile to my face remembering how excited you were - like a big kid which is as it should be!).

Frankly if I didn't have the Anthem D2V the Integra 80.3 would no doubt be on my short list of Pre/Processors. Apart from all the other 80.3 features the Internet option to update Firmware is a big winner in my eyes (The Integra DHC-9.9 I had was a little bit more fiddly). 4K Upscaling is very cool too!

Cheers

Blade

Thank you for the kind words Justin,

Yorac and Macca have been a very big help to me and I am very grateful for them...bunch of great people on this forum and I am very glad to have met them and you!

I stil remember listening to the Seatons for the first time at your place!!! hahaha...you could literally feel the energy being produced from the speakers from so far back!.....AHHH ****ING MAZING!. No speaker has blown me away like the Seatons have and now adding the Integra to the system it has just taken the Seatons well beyond my expectations that I thought id never reach!. Im so happy with the sound atm, I dont know how It could get any better! lol. I never honestly thought it would be such a dramatic increase in sound quality, maybe its about matching the right avr/pro  with the right speakers I guess?.

You watched MI4 yet on your HT?....Absolutely brilliant movie!. I cant wait for The Avengers to come out on bluray LOL!!!!

[BladeRnR]

buddhamus, on 15 May 2012 - 12:53 AM, said:

  
Im so happy with the sound atm, I dont know how It could get any better! lol. I never honestly thought it would be such a dramatic increase in sound quality, maybe its about matching the right avr/pro with the right speakers I guess?. You watched MI4 yet on your HT?....Absolutely brilliant movie!. I cant wait for The Avengers to come out on bluray LOL!!!!

The right processing certainly helps - as pure a signal from source to speakers is vitally important. The higher specification DAC's in the 80.3 would have something to do with it.

I have just watched MI:4recently - it's pretty damn impressive. Incredibly dynamic which is the kind of material that makes the Seatons shine. Simon told me last night that Underworld - Awakening is the best BD he has ever heard. Big statement but he's fussy so I believe him!That view matches the reviews I've read so am quite keen to get that.

I wish Mark would hurry up with the Submersive HP 2400Watt Amplifier upgrade...."We need more power Scotty!"   

Cheers

Blade

Edited by BladeRnR, 15 May 2012 - 08:41 AM.

[buddhamus]

BladeRnR, on 15 May 2012 - 08:39 AM, said:

The right processing certainly helps - as pure a signal from source to speakers is vitally important. The higher specification DAC's in the 80.3 would have something to do with it. I have just watched MI:4recently - it's pretty damn impressive. Incredibly dynamic which is the kind of material that makes the Seatons shine. Simon told me last night that Underworld - Awakening is the best BD he has ever heard. Big statement but he's fussy so I believe him!That view matches the reviews I've read so am quite keen to get that. I wish Mark would hurry up with the Submersive HP 2400Watt Amplifier upgrade...."We need more power Scotty!" Cheers Blade

I think your right about the DAC's. They must certainly make a difference.

I actually posted on the Seaton Review thread a few weeks ago that I watched Underworld - Awakening and thought it had a awesome bloody soundtrack too!. I will rewatch some scenes this coming Friday, when the misses aint home so I can have it up loud

I hope Mark does hurry up with the 2.4kw amps, even though I dont need them!, but for the price they arnt that of expensive upgrade and not to mention its nice to know we have lots of head room!

[yorac]

Just jumped online and checked for and then did another firmware update, once again great to see the product is well supported with updates.........

[yorac]

Happy to say we have another member of the the Integra club, won't steal any thunder but early reports are that the member is extremely impressed...............

[Quark]

yorac, on 23 December 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

Happy to say we have another member of the the Integra club, won't steal any thunder but early reports are that the member is extremely impressed...............

Well who's going to 'fess up????  Don't be shy!

[beejay76]

Yeah, I bought one but I'm of the opposite view....functionally it's a nightmare, sonically it's nothing outstanding....

[yorac]

beejay76, on 24 December 2012 - 12:07 AM, said:

Yeah, I bought one but I'm of the opposite view....functionally it's a nightmare, sonically it's nothing outstanding....

clearly just not to your taste mate, my 80.2 is now paired with the Elektra HD and for mine it's grown again over and above where it was at.........

you would have no problem selling yours here if you wanted to do so mate and I can put you in contact with a couple of prospective buyers if you want, that being that all parties could agree on price................

[bbar]

beejay76, on 24 December 2012 - 12:07 AM, said:

Yeah, I bought one but I'm of the opposite view....functionally it's a nightmare, sonically it's nothing outstanding....

As per Yorac, there are buyers here so you should have no difficulty in selling and going to something else. NAD or  Marantz possibly.

[beejay76]

...I just want something simple, that works, and sounds great....the Integra is none of that

[minty]

Quark, on 23 December 2012 - 09:26 AM, said:

Well who's going to 'fess up????  Don't be shy!

Very happy to say it's me, Santa came early, hooray for Santa!

Had it 3 days and best summed up this way -

[minty]

beejay76, on 24 December 2012 - 09:25 AM, said:

...I just want something simple, that works, and sounds great....the Integra is none of that

Words fail me

[Quark]

minty, on 24 December 2012 - 09:39 AM, said:

Very happy to say it's me, Santa came early, hooray for Santa!

Had it 3 days and best summed up this way -

Congratulations!  Enjoy!

[beejay76]

minty, on 24 December 2012 - 09:42 AM, said:

Words fail me

I can't imagine I'm the only DHC-80.3 user here who's under-whelmed with it?
What about the sound, compared to what I upgraded from it is mediocre...
What about video, it's completely screwing with the color gamut even in pass-through...
What about functionality, sometimes I just want to throw a brick at it!!!

I would sell it if I could afford to, but at it's price point it's probably the best thing going at the moment despite all the issues I have with it.

[yorac]

beejay76, on 24 December 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

I can't imagine I'm the only DHC-80.3 user here who's under-whelmed with it?
What about the sound, compared to what I upgraded from it is mediocre...

well obviously you're entitled to your opinion but I cannot seriously know how you could fault it on sound quality as I've heard stuff in home at 3 times the price that isn't close to sounding as good, as for video can't comment as I will never use it for video.......

what has got me buggered is why did you buy it in the first place if you don't like the sound or why not go back to what you had if you are that underwhelmed mate, I as stated have two buyers who would consider purchasing immediately if the price was fair and right, means you may take a hit on $ but you can then move back or forward as you like.............


please note I am not trying to knock or question how it sounds and looks to you but I also reckon you've made your point per your dislike and time to move on and yes thus far on these forums you are the only person who has declared a dislike for it.......

[minty]

yorac, on 23 December 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

Happy to say we have another member of the the Integra club, won't steal any thunder but early reports are that the member is extremely impressed...............

Just want to say a huge thank-you to Yorac and also Stuart (SGR) for the fast response and great price, absolutely stoked thanks heaps guys!

Early days i know, but extremely impressed is an understatement, this thing rocks big time, i'm almost more excited than the day my Seaton gear turned up!

There's not much i can say without sounding exactly like Buddhamus in his review at the top of this page, pretty much i've experienced the exact same things and hardly surprising as we are running very similar gear in similar sized rooms. It would be remiss of me not to thank Buddhamus also for his review, delivered in his usual heart on the sleeve unique way, for it was reading this that really got me thinking Integra may be the way to go, so thanks Buddhamus

I'll post a much more detailed "review" after Xmas sometime. That will give me a better chance of more time with it and a more thorough write up. For now all i'll say is i'm stunned by the increase in dynamic range, at reference levels i have sound bordering on frightening. As happy as i've been with the Seaton gear i'd never been able to recreate the sound out of them as i'd originally heard at BladeRnR's home, easily the best movie sound i've ever heard. Something just wasn't there with my set-up. I eventually just put it down to the difference in rooms. Well turns out it wasn't the rooms limitations, but the limitations of the Denon 2809 AV receiver. Even before i ran Audyssey the Integra sounded different and better straight out of the box. After Audyssey - *%#*@#*** crazy!!!!!!!!

Thanks again Yorac, i couldn't be happier. Cheers and have a great Xmas

[minty]

beejay76, on 24 December 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

I can't imagine I'm the only DHC-80.3 user here who's under-whelmed with it?
What about the sound, compared to what I upgraded from it is mediocre...
What about video, it's completely screwing with the color gamut even in pass-through...
What about functionality, sometimes I just want to throw a brick at it!!!

I would sell it if I could afford to, but at it's price point it's probably the best thing going at the moment despite all the issues I have with it.

All i'll say is the same as Yorac, why the hell did you buy it in the first place?

Edited by minty, 24 December 2012 - 12:59 PM.

[bbar]

minty, on 24 December 2012 - 12:52 PM, said:

Just want to say a huge thank-you to Yorac and also Stuart (SGR) for the fast response and great price, absolutely stoked thanks heaps guys!

Early days i know, but extremely impressed is an understatement, this thing rocks big time, i'm almost more excited than the day my Seaton gear turned up!

There's not much i can say without sounding exactly like Buddhamus in his review at the top of this page, pretty much i've experienced the exact same things and hardly surprising as we are running very similar gear in similar sized rooms. It would be remiss of me not to thank Buddhamus also for his review, delivered in his usual heart on the sleeve unique way, for it was reading this that really got me thinking Integra may be the way to go, so thanks Buddhamus

I'll post a much more detailed "review" after Xmas sometime. That will give me a better chance of more time with it and a more thorough write up. For now all i'll say is i'm stunned by the increase in dynamic range, at reference levels i have sound bordering on frightening. As happy as i've been with the Seaton gear i'd never been able to recreate the sound out of them as i'd originally heard at BladeRnR's home, easily the best movie sound i've ever heard. Something just wasn't there with my set-up. I eventually just put it down to the difference in rooms. Well turns out it wasn't the rooms limitations, but the limitations of the Denon 2809 AV receiver. Even before i ran Audyssey the Integra sounded different and better straight out of the box. After Audyssey - *%#*@#*** crazy!!!!!!!!

Thanks again Yorac, i couldn't be happier. Cheers and have a great Xmas

Have to agree with your analysis and welcome to the "In" Crowd...lol

[bbar]

beejay76, on 24 December 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

I can't imagine I'm the only DHC-80.3 user here who's under-whelmed with it?
What about the sound, compared to what I upgraded from it is mediocre...
What about video, it's completely screwing with the color gamut even in pass-through...
What about functionality, sometimes I just want to throw a brick at it!!!

I would sell it if I could afford to, but at it's price point it's probably the best thing going at the moment despite all the issues I have with it.

There was a firmware update in August which fixed the video colour decoding and passthrough now works perfectly!

[beejay76]

bbar, on 24 December 2012 - 01:52 PM, said:

There was a firmware update in August which fixed the video colour decoding and passthrough now works perfectly!

I've got the current firmware and it's definitely screwing with my colors, and the aspect ratio control goes whacky from time-to-time...

The video flaws I'm not so concerned about because all my video will be taken care of by a Lumagen Radiance Pro

Edited by beejay76, 24 December 2012 - 04:11 PM.

[beejay76]

minty, on 24 December 2012 - 12:58 PM, said:

All i'll say is the same as Yorac, why the hell did you buy it in the first place?

I bought it "sight-unseen" from a dealer in Melbourne because there were none available in Perth at the time, and I bought it after I sold what I had before so there was no going back after that point.

[beejay76]

yorac, on 24 December 2012 - 12:21 PM, said:

well obviously you're entitled to your opinion but I cannot seriously know how you could fault it on sound quality as I've heard stuff in home at 3 times the price that isn't close to sounding as good, as for video can't comment as I will never use it for video.......

The noise floor of the DHC-80.3 is very poor (in my installation), I'm hearing noise in my speakers with the system at idle, and at low volume settings, with background noise that is not present in the original content. The noise is made even more obvious when you go to run an Audyssey Pro, because as soon as the calibration process starts up the noise that was present is no longer there. That tells me the noise is on the output of the DHC-80.3 and is not something that is being picked up in the cables or somewhere else in the system. With a system at playback idle it should be quiet, mine is not (it used to be quiet with my previous processor, nothing else has changed except a direct swap of processors).

For high resolution multi-channel content I am just not getting that "hairs standing up on the back of my neck" feeling that I used to get, it is just lacking that element of imersiveness and cohesiveness.

The bass management is all screwy, my 8-year old daughter only said this morning that "the sound doesn't sound right", and I said "yeah, I know". However I'm not blaming this on the Integra just yet....all I can say is my bass response and sub integration was much better in my previous setup compared to what I have now. It might need a little more work, although I have run Audyssey Pro and the EQ response showing on the chart appears to be excellent, although it just isn't agreeing with what I'm hearing.

Edited by beejay76, 24 December 2012 - 04:32 PM.