|
The Short Form
|
| $2,000 / INTEGRAHOMETHEATER.COM |
|
Snapshot
|
| Integra's pre/pro offers some unique features for serious audio/videophiles, along with superb performance and value |
|
Plus
|
| • Top-tier audio and video performance • Accurate auto setup, calibration, and room correction • Useful Audyssey and THX low-volume listening compensations • ISF-certified video-calibration controls |
|
Minus
|
| • Onscreen interface a bit slow and blanks both video and audio • Somewhat dated remote control • No streaming input for audio or video |
|
Key Features
|
|
• THX Ultra2 Plus certified • Four HDMI v1.3a inputs, two outputs • Transcodes component, composite, and S-video to HDMI • Upconverts lower-rez video to 1080p • 7.1-channel line-level out (balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA), 2-channel XLR input • Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and DSD (SACD) decoding • Audyssey MultEQ auto setup/equalization DSP with supplied microphone • Audyssey Dynamic EQ and THX Loudness Plus level-correction DSP, 15-band user equalization • Audyssey Dynamic Volume source/ program DSP • ISF-certified calibration controls by individual video input • HD Radio AM/FM tuner with 40 presets • Assignable Zone 2 and 3 video outputs and stereo-plus-subwoofer audio • Two IR inputs and outputs, three 12v triggers, RS-232 serial port, Ethernet (TCP/IP control) port • 17 1?8 x 7 5?8 x 17 1?2 in, 29 1?4 lb |
Whatever your circumstances, Integra's DHC-9.9 A/V pre/pro can roll with them. Its HDMI 1.3 connections are ready to handle forthcoming video features like Deep Color and xvYCC color space. It has 7.1-channel preamp line outputs for connection to whatever amplification you provide. And it has up-to-date audio decoding, including the high-rez Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats. It also has a full suite of audio DSP (digital signal processing) alchemy from Audyssey and THX, including Audyssey's MultEQ auto-setup/room-correction calibration and equalization, Dynamic EQ/loudness correction, and Dynamic Volume source-to-source (or TV channel-to-channel) leveling. THX Ultra2 Plus contributes the usual array of music/cinema/game surround enhancements plus the new THX Loudness Plus, which does much the same thing as Audyssey Dynamic EQ. (The two modes are lockout linked so that both can't be active at the same time.)
Another feature making its debut with the DHC-9.9 is ISFccc Video Calibration. The Imaging Science Foundation "custom calibration controls" in the DHC's Custom video-adjustment mode extend beyond the usual brightness, contrast, and color/tint settings to encompass parameters for edge enhancement, mosquito- and block-noise reduction, gamma, and RGB brightness and contrast, all of which can be individually adjusted by input. That's a lot of tweakability — and a lot of potential for screwing up the picture, especially if you manhandle the RGB adjustments without proper TV-measurement gear. Probably wisely, the DHC-9.9 also supplies preset ISF Day and Night modes, best-guess settings that, unlike Custom, can only be modified by an ISF-certified technician.
SETUP
Setting up the DHC-9.9 was a simple matter of plugging in cables and running the auto-setup routines. The Integra provides pro-style balanced XLR outputs in addition to conventional RCA outs for each channel. Since my power amp includes balanced inputs, I dutifully used them on my front channels. (I'm not convinced that, given reasonable-length cable runs, balanced connections make any difference — unless you have unusual induced-noise problems, like a spouse who likes to arc weld while you listen to plainchant.)
Audyssey MultEQ is by now an old friend. I plugged in the supplied mike and ran the procedure for the maximum eight mike placements, reaping the rewards of a certain spatial "opening," low-treble focusing, and mid-bass toning that I've heard from previous trials.
MUSIC & MOVIE PERFORMANCE
There's really not much to say under this heading beyond that the DHC-9.9 produced impeccable audio and video from virtually every source I plugged into it. Integra uses HQV Reon-VX video processing, and it delivered the same top-shelf deinterlacing and format upconversion I've learned to expect from that bit of silicon. Standard-def DVDs boosted to 1080p rez by the Integra were perfectly watchable even on my 102-inch-diagonal front-projection screen, and high-caliber HDTV programs like Lost looked outstanding. (By "high caliber," I mean visually. I make no reference to the total psychotic breakdown of the show's writers during the 2009 season.) In comparison, standard-def TV looked grotesque on my big screen, though it must be said that the DHC-9.9's Reon-VX-powered noise-reduction palette was able to help — kind of like slathering makeup on a cheap . . .
well, you get the picture.
The Integra's Advanced ISF video controls for the Custom setting proved a wonderland, allowing me to tweak my Blu-ray Disc player's picture for a clear improvement on my projector. Of course, attempting such tuning without test equipment (and training) was a bit like throwing darts in a dark basement, with a climb up the stairs (the trip back to the DHC-9.9's menu) after every throw to view the results. But with a little foreknowledge and considerable patience, I got excellent proof of concept when watching Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna on Blu-ray. While this flick proves that Spike the cineaste is not infallible, it's smashingly photographed (and very much a visual homage to Fellini). Exploiting the Integra's video tweakbility, I was able to maximize shadow detail in the many dim stone-farmhouse interiors while simultaneously counterbalancing my projector's tendency to push red in dark scenes.
 |
And then there were all those "extras." It's impossible to compare Audyssey Dynamic EQ and THX Loudness Plus directly, since the latter is only available for the THX listening modes (Cinema, Music, Game) with their attendant other enhancements, which themselves defeat the Audyssey process. Nonetheless, I can say that in my system, Audyssey's loudness processing was more dramatic at very low late-night listening levels; THX's processing had a lighter, more musical touch at medium-soft volumes; and both Audyssey and THX performed about the same at around –10-dB reference level. (Since Audyssey's Dynamic EQ is calibrated to actual in-room levels at setup and THX Loudness Plus isn't, this point will differ in every system depending on amplifier gain-structure and speaker sensitivities.)
Dynamic Volume, the remaining Audyssey mode, can only be engaged "on top of" Dynamic EQ and MultEQ. For casual TV viewing, it's a treasure, clearly taming the burst-through commercials (which are compressed to deliver average levels as much as 10 dB higher than regular programming) and the 6-dB level differences among cable and broadcast channels. But it doesn't do so without cost. I found that Dynamic Volume increased the degree and incidence of audible "pumping," which I had only heard at very low master-volume settings with Dynamic EQ alone.
ERGONOMICS
Unavoidably, the DHC-9.9 is like any modern A/V pre/pro or receiver: complicated. But Integra has done a good job of managing the complexity, and I found the unit eminently usable even without recourse to the manual.
One gripe of mine has to do with the Integra's dual HDMI monitor outputs. Only one can be active at a time, and switching between them requires a trip to the setup menus, a potential annoyance to anyone who would route these to a projector and a direct-view TV with about equal frequency. (An HDMI-output select key on the remote would have been nice.) It's also a shame that there's no fast-displaying, transparent pop-up screen to detail basic parameters like input/output signal formats, current volume, and surround settings.
The supplied RC-691M pre-programmed learning remote is a fairly old yet very capable design, despite its button density. But it was easy for me to maneuver since I've used versions of the same handset with at least a half-dozen earlier Integra and Onkyo test subjects.
BOTTOM LINE
Clearly, Integra's DHC-9.9 is one highly capable A/V control center, although it's still not my blue heaven of a preamp/processor. Unlike several pricier competitors (both Audyssey-based and otherwise), it doesn't store multiple setup calibrations and EQ curves. It wouldn't let me tweak auto-EQ curves or view the results graphically onscreen. It lacks the "instant-up/down" high-def graphical interface increasingly found among top pre/pro and receiver models. Finally, it doesn't accept streaming audio or video from a PC or hard-disk server — the Ethernet jack is meant for connecting advanced third-party system controllers.
From a value perspective, though, the DHC-9.9 stands alone. It delivers truly outstanding audio and video performance, and it has a thoroughly usable interface, a valuable feature set, and a price that's far better than fair.
The only other things I could ask for would be the aforementioned streaming capability and eight channels of on-board amplifier power. (Screw the balanced-XLR outputs.) All of these things can be found in Integra's $2,600 DTR-9.9 A/V receiver, which is otherwise, as best I can determine, substantially the same as the DHC-9.9.
Heads, you win; tails, you win — definitely a tough call.
TEST BENCH
DOLBY DIGITAL PERFORMANCE
All data were obtained from various test DVDs using 16-bit dithered test signals, which set limits on measured distortion and noise performance. Reference input level is –20 dBFS; reference output 200 mV into 100 kohms. Volume setting for reference level was +2. All level trims at zero, except for subwoofer-related tests, all speakers were set to "large," subwoofer on. All are worst-case figures where applicable.
Distortion ref. (THD+N, 1 kHz)
0.004%
Noise level (A-wtd): –75.8 dB
Excess noise (with sine tone)
16-bit (EN16): 0.2 dB
Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +0, –0.15 dB
MULTICHANNEL PERFORMANCE, ANALOG INPUT
Reference input and output level is 200 mV; volume setting for reference output level was +2.
Distortion (THD+N, 1 kHz,): 0.004%
Noise level (A-wtd.): –101.2
Frequency response: <10 Hz to 200 kHz +0, –2.5 dB
STEREO PERFORMANCE, DIGITAL INPUT
Reference level is –20 dBFS for 200 mV output; all level trims at zero. Volume setting for reference level was -+2.5
Distortion at reference level: 0.003%
Linearity error (at –90 dBFS): 0.04 dB
Noise level (A-wtd): –75.6 dB with 96-kHz/24-bit signals: –90.1 dB
Excess noise (with/without sine tone)
16-bit (EN16): 0.1/0.3 dB
quasi-20-bit (EN20): 6.1/6.2 dB
Noise modulation: 0.0 dB
Frequency response: <10 Hz to 20 kHz +0, –0.15 dB
with 96-kHz/24-bit signals: <10 Hz to 44 kHz +0, -1 dB
BASS-MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE
Measured results obtained with Dolby Digital test signals.
Subwoofer-output frequency response (crossover set to 80 Hz): 24 dB/octave (approx.) above –6-dB rolloff point of 80 Hz
High-pass-filter frequency response (crossover set to 80 Hz): 12 dB/octave below –3-dB rolloff point of 80 Hz
Maximum unclipped subwoofer output (trim at 0): 7.3v
Subwoofer distortion (from 6-channel, 30-Hz, 0-dBFS signal; subwoofer trim set to 0): 0.02%
Crossover consistency: bass crossover frequency and slope were consistent for all sources and formats
Signal-format consistency: consistent for all applicable formats
Speaker size selection: all channels can be set to "small"
Speaker-distance compensation: available for all main channels.
Given the excellent performance of previous Integra designs, it was not too surprising that the DHC-9.9 approached, equaled, or bettered previous benchmarks on virtually every single test. Noise results were particularly outstanding: the Integra pre /pro delivered an impressive -90.1 -dB signal-to-noise ratio with 96/24 PCM stereo input, effectively perfect linearity to -90 dB (and beyond), and was the first component I can remember to have yielded no noise modulation whatsoever on our repetitive fade-to-noise test. Crossover filter behavior was also exemplary, delivering near-perfect curves and "knee" points with both digital and analog signals. Simply put: state of the art.