Rudy81 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I just finished installing my new Integra DHC 9.9. What a great unit, especially for the price. I am replacing my Parasound HALO C2 and have found this unit a goof fit for me. Very nice to have full HDMI switching, upscaling of all sorts, HD audio codec, Audyssey EQ etc. I was very concerned with it's 2ch performance vs. my HALO. When I say 2ch, I mean listening to stereo but NOT from an analog source. I use my HTPC to store all my audio in .flac lossless files. So, DAC's are in play. The HALO is just a little warmer, but imaging, soundstage, depth and clarity are very good on the integra and it can hold its own. I am enjoying being able to switch HD sources and all sorts of audio inputs easily. My HALO gear is going on eBay soon. Tonight is the Blu Ray movie debut. More to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Very, cool. I look forward to your "goof" fit or gear in the DHC9.9 LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I have contemplated something similar since my current pre/pro does not support HDMI switching. I have to have my Sony Blu-Ray and DTV HD Receiver feeding the TV directly via HDMI and have the digital inputs feeding the pre/pro. I don't want to have an outboard component to handle the HDMI swithing. I thought about another pre/pro with HDMI switching but if that is all I am gaining it's not worth the expense. I can playback the DD-HD and DTS-HD soundtracks via the 7.1 analog inputs on the pre/pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Congrats!!! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Saw the newTransporter last night in Blu Ray. The sound field produced by this thing is amazing. I previously had the Panasonic BD-50 do the HD decoding and sent via analog to my C2. Sound produced by the Integra is so much more enveloping and full of impact it does not compare with the Blu Ray analog out. I am now sending the bitstream signal via HDMI. The Integra has 4 HDMI inputs and 2 outputs that can be used one at a time. My previous switching system was a major pain. Since the Integra upconverts all incoming signals to HDMI out, I have a lot fewer wires behind my gear. On the fly switching between sources worked perfectly with all but one of my sources. My old Denon DVD has some of the first HDMI hardware and it did not do well with the HDMI or DVI interface. I ended up keeping that unit on component and upconverted to HDMI. The Denon has SACD capabiltiy, so it is also sending 5.1 ananlog out to the Integra. The Audyssey system is very impressive and does a very accurate job of judging all speaker size, distance and volume. Although, all my speakers are set at the highest attenuation level, -12 dB. The efficiency of the Khorns, La Scala and Cornwalls shows here. All speakers were automatically set to full size by the system. So far I am very pleased with the Integra. It will take more listening and playing with the many features to get really acquainted with the unit. If you are thinking about a new HDMI capable unit, the Integra DHC 9.9 deserves to be on your short list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 Doing more research into Audyssey, I realize the Klipsch Heritage are so efficient that my first measurements are not good pegging out at -12dB on all speakers. I moved the amp connections from balanced to unbalanced RCA in order to take out the 6dB gain added by the balanced section. That worked. Now, the largest attenuation is for the Khorn mains at -11.4dB. Still working on a few setup issues, but the sound produced at low to mid volumes by the Dynamic EQ is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Just read the review in HT magazine on this receiver. Long story short, they said it kicks some serious *** in all catagories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 14, 2009 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 The DHC 9.9 is not a receiver, it is only a preamp/processor. As of now, I tend to agree that it is one great unit, particularly when you factor in the price. It has a lot of bells and whistles. I'm still learning all the things it can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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