AV Receiver Reviews

The Integra’s analog video outputs are always enabled. But you can only use one of the two HDMI outputs at a time. If the Monitor Out control is set to one of the HDMI outputs (HDMI Out Main or HDMI Out Sub), the onscreen menus will be visible only from an HDMI output. If the Monitor Out control in the setup menu is set to Analog, however, you will see the menus from the analog video outputs, but the HDMI outputs will be disabled. (The setup menus can always be seen and adjusted from the front-panel display screen, but only one line at a time.)

Room Enough?
As a THX Ultra2 Plus–certified receiver, the Integra also offers all the available THX modes. There’s also a new THX feature called THX Loudness Plus, which may be defeated by the user if desired. THX Loudness Plus is designed to compensate for tonal and spatial changes that occur at reduced volume, “enabling the user to experience the true impact of soundtracks regardless of the volume setting.”

While you can set up the Integra manually, as I mentioned earlier, it is also equipped with the latest Audyssey room-compensation features. When you use the Integra’s furnished microphone, MultEQ XT takes readings from as many as eight different listening positions. It then averages them and automatically adjusts the level, distance, and appropriate crossover settings for each speaker in the system. It also calculates the appropriate equalization for each channel, including the subwoofer, in both the time and frequency domains. The whole process takes little more than half an hour.

The AVR also provides manual multiband graphic equalization, although it’s much less sophisticated than the Audyssey system.

The new Audyssey features in the Integra are Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume. Dynamic EQ “selects the correct frequency response and surround levels moment by moment at any user-selected volume setting,” which compensates for the ear’s progressive loss of sensitivity at lower sound levels. Dynamic Volume (available in both Light and Heavy settings) is designed to normalize the volume levels between television programs, commercials, etc. In other words, it’s sophisticated volume compression. Because these technologies are all interdependent to a certain degree, you can only select MultEQ alone, MultEQ plus Dynamic EQ, or all three features together.

Since both THX Loudness Plus and Audyssey Dynamic EQ perform similar functions but do so quite differently, the AVR’s menus don’t let you engage both at once.

The DTR-9.9 will cross-convert one type of video input to another (within limits). The most practical application is for the conversion of composite, S-video, or component inputs into component or HDMI outputs.

The Integra offers highly flexible multizone operation. It will provide, with some limitations, a wide variety of options for three zones, including the main system.

The receiver is iPod and XM or Sirius satellite radio ready with optional accessories. In addition it supports audio playback from its USB port and can handle streaming audio from PC and Network Attached Storage drives over the Ethernet port. I did not evaluate these features for this review.

The illuminated remote is a jumble of small buttons. I found it easy enough to use over time, but that may be because I’ve been living with an Integra surround processor in my system for months. The remotes for the two products are virtually identical.

Getting Down to Business
I performed all of my listening tests through the Integra’s digital inputs. I used coaxial for two-channel playback and HDMI audio for surround sources.

Through the years, AVRs have received a bum rap from audiophiles as being sonically inferior to separates. I did stack the Integra receiver up against Integra’s own DTC-9.8 surround processor and a Parasound Halo A51 power amp—a combination almost twice as powerful. It shouldn’t be surprising when I say that the Integra receiver sounded just a bit less consistently transparent and sometimes very slightly less tolerant of bright program material or at ease with the most aggressive soundtracks. But what might surprise you is how close it came, for less than half the price. It definitely held its own.

Well-recorded two-channel music sounded very sweet on the Integra. A trace of low-treble excess sometimes joined the party, but it was never enough to spoil the fun. Its low bass and midbass were tight and detailed, and its midrange was clean and open. The receiver produced a superb soundstage as well, both in width and depth.

I briefly listened to multichannel music from SACD, played back on a Pioneer Elite DV-58AV universal player connected to the Integra over HDMI. It sounded superb. On one stretch, the receiver refused to lock on to DSD for unknown reasons (the lock-on is automatic, and you can’t select DSD mode manually). But this could just as easily have been a player or HDMI issue. Most of the time, the player and receiver linked up perfectly for DSD playback.

On to the movies. I obviously have a high tolerance for really bad popcorn flicks, which definitely includes Eagle Eye (Blu-ray, Dolby TrueHD). Its plot is one long, incredibly paranoid, privacy-intrusion delusion. It’s so ridiculously over the top that it just might be (unintentionally) one of the best comedies of the year. No matter. The audio on this soundtrack is explosive, with gunfire, shorting and sparking high-tension power lines, shattering glass, jets taking off, car chases, and powerful bass. In short, it has stuff blowing up, shorting out, taking off, running amok, breaking up, and in general doing it all real good. As Stereophile magazine’s founder, J. Gordon Holt, often said (sort of), the worse the movie, the better the soundtrack. Through the Integra receiver, Eagle Eye was a two-star film, but the audio was a four-star guilty pleasure.

Transformers (Blu-ray, Dolby TrueHD) offers more than its fair share of mayhem, but my favorite demo sequence in this movie is much quieter. It starts from the beginning of chapter 11 and extends through the flashback showing the discovery of Megatron in the ice cave. The soundtrack here is full of both overt and subtle sonic details, deep bass, and, most impressively, a superbly cinematic score. The Integra didn’t disappoint me on any of it.

It also didn’t fail to make the most of the title sequence from Serenity (chapter 3, Blu-ray, DTS-HD Master Audio). This scene starts out with a shot of the tramp steamer—er, spaceship—Serenity, enhanced by a superbly sweet-sounding and poignant string score. But a tremendous musical crescendo underscored by the raucous sound of rocket engines under full thrust quickly breaks the peaceful scene. The Integra retains the clean integrity of the music and the combined dynamism of the music and engines. There is similarly superb-sounding music from chapter 19 to the end credits, which the Integra captures beautifully.

For a music recording on Blu-ray, it’s hard to beat the soundtrack to One Man Band on the Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1. This selection ranges through a wide variety of instrumental sounds, both individually and in combination. Transferred to disc in uncompressed 24-bit/48-kilohertz PCM, it tells a lot about a system’s ability to do a great job on surround music. The Integra handled it beautifully.

I made all of the above observations with the Audyssey and THX enhancements turned off. But I did try them both separately as well. Audyssey MultEQ XT tightened up the bass still further, and Dynamic EQ subtly but noticeably enhanced the sound without adding artificial-sounding coloration. Of course, below a certain sound level, Dynamic EQ’s preservation of fully balanced audio can’t completely compensate for the sheer visceral thrill of higher SPLs. But you can back off on the volume somewhat and retain the same impression of loudness as before—which might make a worthwhile contribution to domestic tranquility.

For me, however, THX decreased the sound’s transparency, even with Re-EQ defeated, to the point where it sounded a little bland and homogenized. Your preferences for any or all of the Integra’s features and which to use will depend on the program material, your room, system, and personal preferences.

Conclusions
Like most of the receivers we test, the capabilities of the Integra DTR-9.9 can be intimidating. But it’s worth getting to know them better. And even without all of its gee-whiz features, the Integra sounds exceptional on great soundtracks and equally stunning on music, either multi- or two-channel. That may be all you really need to know. Highly recommended.