This past October, my 2013 home theater surround processor refused to boot up. I'd already had warranty work done on it in 2015 for the same problem. Now it was out of warranty and I was out of patience. To replace it I wanted something that would sound better and last longer. Current high-performance AVPs (audio video processors) usually cost north of $2,000 and beyond, while the ones below $1K are noticeably limited in versatility and sound quality. So I decided to try accessories4less.com, a website that sells home audio in the forms of regular new stock, new factory refreshes, and new old stock. They back their products with full factory warranty and a reasonable return period.
I soon ordered a factory-refurbished and warranteed Onkyo Integra DHC-80.2, originally released in 2011 as a state-of-the-art product for $2300. The refurb unit at acccessories4less was on sale for $399. It arrived Nov. 1. Inside a a 24"x24"x16" shipping box was this behemoth:
That looked daunting enough, but check out the 109 jacks on the back panel and the buttons on the remote control:
My previous processor back panel and its remote control look like this:
That sort of froze me in my tracks for awhile. I knew I could hook it up and get it running, but it was going to take awhile: the user manual is 129 pages long (at 8-1/2"x11" page size). Plus I was alone most of the day watching a very curious and chewing-prone 1-yr-old Shepherd-Husky mix who could have chewed up interconnects, the remote, and other things lying around as I attempted to hook it up properly.
The Integra AVP sat in its shipping box unopened until Dec. 23--seven weeks--and the main reason I started to work on it was because we anticipated Christmas guests for the next day and we usually watch movies. Plus my wife and stepson were home all day to dog sit and keep my installation safe.
Oh, another "encouraging" thing: It turns out that the Integra brand is not only Onkyo's premium line, this AVP is targeted at custom home theater installers who install and configure these several times a week for a living. My confidence was sinking fast. Also, the new unit was so big I had to remove the feet and replace them with cardboard cutouts so it would fit on its shelf. It also weighs about triple what the old processor weighed, which is a bitch when you have to slide it forward off the shelf to plug in the HDMI cables and analog interconnects.
Well, one thing at a time, make sure the interconnects are all labeled and I started hooking it up bit by bit. The main stuff took me about four hours, but I "missed a spot" and got no sound. It didn't break anything and a little later I fixed it quickly and got the sound I needed.
I went to bed and slept well, probably for the first time since, oh, Nov. 1.
I have calibrated the speaker distances and crossover points by ear, but I still need to run the Audyssey software that measured everything from a microphone and adjusts accordingly. I have to find some time when there are no dogs around to run and bark, because that would totally mess up the measurements at the microphone.
So how is this fancy thang?
In a word, Incredible. Now I know why it was originally so expensive and why it's so big and heavy. It turns out that the various internal components are shielded and isolated from each other. That explains why the sound quality is both precise and incredibly smooth and organic. With the previous processor, I often had to turn on the subtitles because my wife couldn't make out the dialog--and sometimes neither could I. Since this new unit has been installed, my wife has not once asked for subtitles.
I've run several movies through it including The Hateful Eight, the Polar Express, Black Dynamite, and True Grit (John Wayne version). Hateful Eight is set in a stagecoach way station during a severe blizzard in the Rockies. The surround placement is very precise. I could hear the wind blowing back and forth and alternately swirling around me. I never had that sensation with my previous unit. The Integra offers a long list of surround schemes that bring out the best depending on how the source material is encoded, even if it's an older scheme.
So...I understand why these things were around $2400 new, but I couldn't have bought one at that. But at $399 it was a stone cold bargain. It's so good it would easily be worth hiring the Geek Squad or similar to have professionals install it (assuming you also have the speakers and sub(s) you need for a complete surround installation.
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JohnnyB
This past October, my 2013 home theater surround processor refused to boot up. I'd already had warranty work done on it in 2015 for the same problem. Now it was out of warranty and I was out of patience. To replace it I wanted something that would sound better and last longer. Current high-performance AVPs (audio video processors) usually cost north of $2,000 and beyond, while the ones below $1K are noticeably limited in versatility and sound quality. So I decided to try accessories4less.com, a website that sells home audio in the forms of regular new stock, new factory refreshes, and new old stock. They back their products with full factory warranty and a reasonable return period.
I soon ordered a factory-refurbished and warranteed Onkyo Integra DHC-80.2, originally released in 2011 as a state-of-the-art product for $2300. The refurb unit at acccessories4less was on sale for $399. It arrived Nov. 1. Inside a a 24"x24"x16" shipping box was this behemoth:
That looked daunting enough, but check out the 109 jacks on the back panel and the buttons on the remote control:
My previous processor back panel and its remote control look like this:
That sort of froze me in my tracks for awhile. I knew I could hook it up and get it running, but it was going to take awhile: the user manual is 129 pages long (at 8-1/2"x11" page size). Plus I was alone most of the day watching a very curious and chewing-prone 1-yr-old Shepherd-Husky mix who could have chewed up interconnects, the remote, and other things lying around as I attempted to hook it up properly.
The Integra AVP sat in its shipping box unopened until Dec. 23--seven weeks--and the main reason I started to work on it was because we anticipated Christmas guests for the next day and we usually watch movies. Plus my wife and stepson were home all day to dog sit and keep my installation safe.
Oh, another "encouraging" thing: It turns out that the Integra brand is not only Onkyo's premium line, this AVP is targeted at custom home theater installers who install and configure these several times a week for a living. My confidence was sinking fast. Also, the new unit was so big I had to remove the feet and replace them with cardboard cutouts so it would fit on its shelf. It also weighs about triple what the old processor weighed, which is a bitch when you have to slide it forward off the shelf to plug in the HDMI cables and analog interconnects.
Well, one thing at a time, make sure the interconnects are all labeled and I started hooking it up bit by bit. The main stuff took me about four hours, but I "missed a spot" and got no sound. It didn't break anything and a little later I fixed it quickly and got the sound I needed.
I went to bed and slept well, probably for the first time since, oh, Nov. 1.
I have calibrated the speaker distances and crossover points by ear, but I still need to run the Audyssey software that measured everything from a microphone and adjusts accordingly. I have to find some time when there are no dogs around to run and bark, because that would totally mess up the measurements at the microphone.
So how is this fancy thang?
In a word, Incredible. Now I know why it was originally so expensive and why it's so big and heavy. It turns out that the various internal components are shielded and isolated from each other. That explains why the sound quality is both precise and incredibly smooth and organic. With the previous processor, I often had to turn on the subtitles because my wife couldn't make out the dialog--and sometimes neither could I. Since this new unit has been installed, my wife has not once asked for subtitles.
I've run several movies through it including The Hateful Eight, the Polar Express, Black Dynamite, and True Grit (John Wayne version). Hateful Eight is set in a stagecoach way station during a severe blizzard in the Rockies. The surround placement is very precise. I could hear the wind blowing back and forth and alternately swirling around me. I never had that sensation with my previous unit. The Integra offers a long list of surround schemes that bring out the best depending on how the source material is encoded, even if it's an older scheme.
So...I understand why these things were around $2400 new, but I couldn't have bought one at that. But at $399 it was a stone cold bargain. It's so good it would easily be worth hiring the Geek Squad or similar to have professionals install it (assuming you also have the speakers and sub(s) you need for a complete surround installation.
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