2. home-theater
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Pre/pro upgrade

I have a home theater system with 5.1 at this point..looking at gradual upgrade and moving to 7.1. Currently, I have an Outlaw 7500 amp, Outlaw 990 pre/pro driving front channel B&W Matrix 501's and center channel small B&W (not sure of the model). Rears are Magnepan MMG's and the sub is Outlaw LFM1. I have an old pair of Aragon 4004's that I am selling to help fund a move to a new 7ch. amp with balanced inputs (that's why I'm not just using one of the 4004's)and want to upgrade to a pre/pro that has HDMI instead of DVI. I am considering among others the Integra 9.9 or the new 40.1 but I have also seen ads for a Sunfire TGP5 7.1 in this price range. Thoughts on the pre/pro choice or other suggestions please?
jocdocnh
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shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
I replaced a Benchmark DAC1 + Bryston BP-26 analog preamp with the Integra 9.8 and I don't believe I've given up anything.

Interesting. I guess this suggests (if you cannot hear a difference) that the jitter handling of the Integra is excellent - did you carefully A/B against the DAC1 ?

I use an Anthem AVM 20 and will eventually need to upgrade (perhaps to the D2) at some point and the Integra looks like great value. I find the Anthem 20 adequate for movies and DVD's but there is some slight audible jitter (disappointing but not surprising) and hence I prefer DAC1 as the source for music.
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kr4's avatar
kr4
3,676 posts
 
Bob-

I am curious to find out what speakers you are using that will do "the typical auto setup stuff (level matching, phasing, time delays and room mode correction)."

Kal
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larryski2
37 posts
 
My thoughts are that the Integra is great for HT, however IMO, it falls considerable short in processing digital or analog music. In my journey down the HT/HiFi path, I was initally intrested in HT, however, as I became more involved, music became more important to me than HT, I went from 80/20 HT to 80/20 music, and found that the Integra which was initally great for HT fell short on the music end, necessitating a change in my system.
What I'm recommending now is that you take a leap, instead of a step and purchase a processor that will satisfactorily handle both HT and music. Anthem immediately comes to mind, but I'm sure there are many others that would also fint the bill.
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dbphd
1,628 posts
 
What I meant was Integra 80.1, not 40.1.

db
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dbphd
1,628 posts
 
Larry,

What do you mean by analog DACs? Do you mean DACs for processing analog input or for the output of digital input? I'm trying to decide whether to replace my Proceed PAV/PDSD with an Integra 9.9 or 40.1. I have a DVDO Edge for video processing and a Velodyne SMS-1 for sub management, but both could be replaced by an Intera. But I fear losing the sense of soundstage the PAV/PDSD generate.

db
larryski2
37 posts
 
Integra is great, and I have the 9.8 however, I'd recommend that you step up to Anthem or another higher end brand. As you progress with your system, you will ultimately want better analog DACs. Do it now, and save yourself the future problems and regrets.
ton1313
272 posts
 
Great deals on the Integra 9.9. It's last years model, has great reviews, and can be found new in the box at 30% off.
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chazzbo
1,007 posts
 
Your Outlaw stuff was good when you bought it but time marches on.I'd go Onkyo.Like Yamaha back 15 years ago they have decent sound quality and keep ahead of curve with processing and chips.
Chazz
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