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Review 1 of 15
Price Paid:
$850.00
from Speakerlab in Seattl Summary:
The Integra DTR 6.3 is quite a step up from my 9 year old Onkyo 515 Pro. The Integra is clearly the better unit all the way around, not just because it's new. It's extremely well built for a receiver in this price range and it has more than enough inputs and features to keep me satisfied for years. My Onkyo 515 was very good to me and I wouldn't have even considered replacing it had the rear amps not started to go. Oh well. But that feeling about Onkyo led me only to shop for Onkyo products, i.e. the new 700 or 800. My window shopping eventually led me to a local, higher end dealer where I laid my eyes on the Integra 6.3. It's a very tight unit with nearly the same layout as the new Onkyo consumer line. I've only had the 6.3 for a week now and I definitely still have some tweaking to do to get everything set up right, but the options and flexibility are there--my learning curve will be steep since this is a fairly advanced unit for a budding audio enthusiast. Unfortunately this unit has forced me to accept the numerous other short comings in my existing set up, but I suppose a good receiver will do that. Not having a powered sub is a problem and the ceiling hieght in my listening/HT room isn't conducive to getting the best sound out of this unit. The 6.3 is rated at 100 watts and it wants to show off its power with great clarity, but the other limitations are frustrating, especially my main speakers which will obviously be my next big purchase. Back to the 6.3. The remote is nice, but again it's full of features that will take a long time to set up and learn how to use in the best way. The inputs on the back are sweet, but plan on spending a chunk of change on good cables if you're stepping up from an older receiver. The 6.3 almost dictates that you run everything through it and it's difficult to get the set up correct to be able to use the TV and Sat/Cable without having to turn the whole theater set up on, but that's the price of the on screen display feature. The user manual isn't the easiest in the world, but I think the writers of the manual make an assumption that the owners have a better understanding of HT set up than the average Joe. Strengths:
Numerous redundant analog and digital inputs and outputs allowing for maximum flexibility with your other components. The unit looks nice and tight with minimal bells and whistles on the front panel. This thing is heavy so you know it's built well. It actually looks heavy from 10 feet away. The 3 year warranty is nice (if you buy it from an authorized Onkyo Integra dealer), so you don't have to worry about buying the extended warranties from Circuit City, etc.. Weaknesses:
The user manual is a little confusing and doesn't have a logical flow to it. I know it's old school, but I wish they put the Treble, Bass, and Balance knobs on the front panel--it's not super convenient to have to go into the menu to change it, but maybe I'm just hanging on to the past. The volume control knob has a very strange calibration, at least to me it does. Maybe it's normal in newer receivers, but I'm used to having a right-stop on the know vs. a knob that continously spins. The volume goes from min (1) to max (100), but I don't get any sound at all until I have it up to 55 or so and it's not even at a normal leasing level until 65-ish. I can easily get it up to 85-ish with a CD or DVD before it gets too loud--it would be maxed out at 100. The dealer keeps telling me to check my speaker connections or that the problem may be my main speakers themselves (admittedly a weakness), but those same speakers were screaming loud with my 9 year old Onkyo. I can't help but wonder if I got a bad unit or if the speaker calibration is normal with newer Integra units. I would love to hear back from anyone who has experienced this. Please post here if so. Similar Products Used:
Onkyo 515Pro from 1994
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