cobalt

Just curious how many are into it? What interests you more the sound picture or both?

A.Wayne

I do , I have ... not a big deal for me , the other half and family for sure , balances the house ...

Our setup is 12 yrs old and because it is built in to the wall , still using a picture tube in the main room. I'm planning on upgrading to a flat screen which will involve a remake of the wall unit and also to Emotiva instead of the current Denon stuff..

Emotiva processor/amps will power the current speaker setup of In Walls ( infinity) and (2) 12inch powered subwoofers...( probes)

Emotiva:

http://emotiva.com/umc1.shtm

cobalt

Never heard of it but seems interesting for the $$. the old Denon stuff was very advanced for the time. IIRC they came out with one of if not the first HT processor. My first Denon was in 1990 and it was a 4.1 channel unit. I think the unit was better than most of the LD players and recordings. My Panasonic LD-1000 did a decent job but nothing like the players today.

I have 2 5.1 systems. One with built in ceiling speakers and the other with dali's. I really like Arcam processors. Their early DVD players were pricey but did a fantastic job upscaling the picture and had fantastic sound. BD is nice but somewhat overrated IMO. A quality recording is fantastic most anything pre HD days is just OK unless totally remastered although the sound is improved.

Mother

My system is 10yrs old except for the Samsung 55" LCD TV, using top of the line Yamaha Rec/Amp driving Bose Cubes (5.1) and separate Klipse's (6th channel) and extra Polk sub. The reason on going with Bose as primary speakers is it is a nice marriage between both sources of music and DVD movies with a small footprint since or Home Theater room is rather small. As far as DVD players is they never last very long for me ... I have a Sylvania Blue Ray "yes I know" Sylvania but has been reading discs for a year, however No fiber Optic out for dolby sound.

A.Wayne

Cobalt,

Money aside the Emotiva performs well , at current direct price, it's a no brainer...

Mike in CA

I have to say that both the sound and picture are equally important; if either is substandard it's a big distraction. That said, I refuse to go overboard; a $15000 front projector may look better then $3-5K one, but it's an incremental difference and not worth 3-5 times the money to me. My current Epson 1080P projector has good light levels and color; blacks could be a little better and it's something I'll look for next time as great blacks really make the picture.

I've had my Def Tech speakers and Adcom amps for a while. The Integra 9.8 pre/pro is more recent. I wanted a unit that could handle HD video and all the current HD audio formats. I had Lexicon gear for quite a while, but their HD eq was overpriced IMO so I decided to go a different direction. The Integra got great reviews, was THX certified, and had all the features, including 7.1 capability, that I wanted for just under $2K.

As for BD, there are some mediocre disks out there, but the good ones can be exceptional. The BD of Avatar, for example, is simply outstanding. While on vacation we went back to see Avatar at an IMAX theater one evening. After watching it on my home system, the theater experience was somewhat disappointing; 3D aside, the sharpness and especially the color were better at home!

Mother

And the pop corn was cheaper.

Juan Lopez

Lexicon MC1 pre/pro, 2 Sherbourn 5 channel amps, Snells + Aerial, Carver signature sub. Sony ES + tweaked DVD/SACD, Sony (el cheapo) blue ray, Pioneer Laserdisc (for some special concerts) and JVC SVHS (seldomly used anymore). Stewart 110 screen with Panasonic projector (currently).

When on my own, mostly used for concert dvd's, with the family regular movies. I have a computer connected to the setup running IRacing !

cobalt

I agree the Integra stuff is quite nice. One of the first units i recommend to people when asking. Avatar is a for picture and sound quality so is the release of Blade runner. Movies like Stargate which I purchased for my son to watch were so bad I couldn't watch it. Grainy and artifacts throughout. Pisses me off because if they are going to release it on BD it should always look good. I find DVD's to be more consistent and properly upscaled to look quite good. My BD player uses the Anchor bay processor which is quite nice.

I was lucky and stepped into an Arcam AVR 600 for what you payed for your Integra. An outstanding unit all around. Have no need for 7.1 although the room is quite large 27 x 40 feet 8 foot ceilings. I am using 5 full range Dali speaker and sub which really brings the sound to life and concert video sounds phenomenal. My previous Dynaudio speakers were very nice but the full range of the Dali's made a huge difference.

n2cars

I have separate rooms for each. My stereo equipment is roughly 20 years old and still sounds great. I'm running Krell amps and preamp with Apogee Diva speakers. My video room is always in a state of flux.

cobalt

I also like having the stereo and HT separated. You buy quality and are happy with it than what more can you ask for.

A.Wayne

Ahhh, a Diva .. good speaker !!!

Mike in CA

BD can definitely be problematic both in terms of spotty quality and compatibility. It's frustrating to get a disc that doesn't live up to the formats expectations. Teething pains, I guess.

The Arcam is a very nice piece. It wasn't on my radar as I didn't need the amplification from a receiver. I'm pretty satisfied with my Adcom 7805 which is rated for 300/450 watts/ch into 8/4 ohms for 5 channels. For my rear channels I'm using an older stereo Adcom GFA-555 with 200/350 watts per channel. I just needed the pre/pro to upgrade to HD and the Integra fit the bill.

cobalt

I wasn't considering it either but my older AVR 350 locked up and Arcam offered me a deal I couldn't refuse vs repairing the 350, which I am grateful. The dali's are 4 ohms it is a very powerful unit and at 40% volume it is comfortable listening at 50% volume it is outstanding and 55% it is true theater volume. Anything above that for most applications is too loud. The surround processing is as good as I have heard.. True multi directional surround vs many systems which don't seem to offer the same involvement. I was amazed how much better the sound was over their previous 350's processor.

The Adcom amps are perfect for HT. I use one in my second system along with a Niles 8 channel amp for my zone 2 which powers outdoor and other speakers. I would have probably done the same thing you did if I had the amps. The Integra is the logical choice.