Integra DHC-80.3 - Page 91

No, as long as the cable runs are under a couple of meters, there should be insignificant differences between XLR and RCA interconnects. Cable quality, if they were of different manufacture, is usually a very small difference maker, but that might have been a tiny factor, though not likely as to dynamics.

I have no personal experience with Denon gear, but I read something similar in an online review of their big prepro about dynamic limitations some years ago. It might be something endemic among Denons.

I too had a Denon 4311 and it is more laid back compared to the Onkyo 5508 (Integra 80.2) so someone describing the 80.3 as more dynamic makes sense to me.

Whata a bunch of BS. Nick has helped so many of the Anthem users and people constantly comment on how helpful he is. Check the Anthem threads and see what users have to say.
John

Thanks jayray. Mitch, how this became personal is extremely puzzling because during all of the correspondence you seemed happy with how I responded, you even said so, and only unhappy with some of the features and the pricing. Sorry for making it public, something I've never done before and hope I never have to do again but my opinion is that posting such remarks here and there without giving the other person a chance to defend himself is just a little too brave.

2007 e-mails Mitch - Anthem tech support.doc 53k .doc file

People, it's just home theater...
Edited by Nick @ Anthem - 7/16/12 at 10:21am

Your marketing conspiracy theory didn't seem to convince anyone even before I mentioned that our AVRs don't biamp:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1182573/bi-amp-question/60#post_21385889

Sorry for the side topic but for anyone interested in the topic which always seems to require a multipage discussion before technical matters I try to convey are understood (and I'm happy to say that in the end most readers seem to get it), this might be the best place to start:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1414340/understanding-ht-labs-results-for-tx-sr606#post_22128367

Well Nick, I still say you shouldn't be posting your "thoughts" with your anthem tag on, if you have your tag on you should be helping people figure out anthem problems, thats it, Use a different tag without your manufacturing . Anthems AVR's not internally bi-amping makes no difference if you are adding an amp and want to go that route, which many people do. You did say you think bi-amping can make a nice difference, whether it's on an anthem receiver or not, what you are talking about is passive bi-amping and it's a crock and a marketing gimmick. It's kinda awesome that you are posting emails from a customer to you, even if it's to prove a point thats so unprofessional....amazing.

Anyways I had a half day off at work today so we got a early start on the 80.3 vs DV2. We couldn't really do a true A/B test as we didn't have enough cabling and everything is in a rack and would have made it very hard to do so. We tried the Dv2 first with a few movies, since it was already setup and ARC was already done. I brought my HDD full of flac files. I really did like the Anthem, it sounded great for music and movies, we tried it without ARC and with. The difference was substantial IMO. We watched some Tron, BHD, Battle of LA and played music from a few bands. We played the same movies and songs when we got to the 80.3. The subs were 2 x paradigm Servo 15's V2. Great subs but not HT standouts by any means (I had 4 at one point) The bass seemed well blended during the race scene in tron and I'm very familiar with the 100's as I also had them about 5 years ago just before I got my Sig 8's. I didn't have any complaints and would have been very happy with the DV2 in both HT/music with the studio 100's setup anyways.
We hooked up the 80.3. and did a 12 point pro calibration since we had some extra time. Again listening without audyssey (setup as best I could) and with pro. As most of you know, there is a pretty big difference again but I wanted to show my buddy it anyways. The first thing i noticed is exactly what Warp said, the way the bass was implemented was much more in your face in the tron race scene, it was stronger and seemed to be on edge a bit where the Dv2 was laid back (still decent though). I though the vocals were a bit better on the DV2 (keep in mind, we did the calibrations and just left everything however it calibrated it, I know we could have tweaked etc but we didn't have the time to do all that) but the subs really seemed to be blended better into the system with the pro. Music was similar, with the vocals seeming a bit stronger, more pronounced, this could have been because of the stronger bass in pro though. I'm not going to get into every little difference between them because, at least in the 4 of us that were there, there wasn't any sort of night and day difference. Just little stuff we noticed. IMO the DV did a bit nicer job in the music department, if just that the vocals seemed a bit better but the 80.3 was in all 4 of out opinions, was a HT winner. Everything seem much more alive and edgy, perfect for a HT IMO at least.
I'd be happy with either one and would be interested to see how the mx500 etc would compare to the DV2 with arc on. I dunno, I honestly believe tjhat Wingnut has something wrong or not setup right with the 80.3 as I personally just didn't hear a huge difference between the 2. Yes there were some differences like I stated, just nothing of any kind of game changer. But again, thats just me and those little things could have made a world of difference to Wingnut and was exactly what she was looking for.

Well my 80.3 just showed up and am listening in two channel direct. It opened up a bit over the course of a couple songs so I would guess any serious evaluation will be a week or so down the road. Only have the two channel amp at this point. Very good detail but it does seem a bit harsh on several tracks that have not before. I am hoping for some break-in mellowing, can I expect that? No room correction yet as waiting for the rest of the system.

Yes, I would be interested to hear your collective observations- thanks! You guys in OZ may own more Seaton goodness than we do here in the U.S. I enjoyed reading Macca350's review; very thorough. The Catalyst in my avatar is one of my LCR's which were the first red cherry veneered models Mark produced. They're terrific! When I first received them I was using a Pioneer Susano with MCACC but switched to the 4311, primarily for XT-32. It was a noticeable improvement. I'm still not sure how to account for your initial observations regarding dynamics and clarity, unless the Denon somehow degrades the signal. This should be measurable. Looking forward to hearing more...

Chris

Someone needs their medication. And a diaper change.

Thanks for your input on this. I agree 100% on your bottom paragraph! Take the power of a large company with leading edge technology and licensing clout and combine that with the audio purity focus of a specialist. Not exactly the same, but kind of like Honda taking on Ferrari in Formula One, it can be done but you have to get corporate on board first.

No problems, yeah your cherry Catalysts look awesome!. I got the black oak...but my misses wishes I got another color as it would of gone better with our house decor hahaha.

I dont think the Denon degrades the signal.......but denons have always been known to be a more on the warmer side rather than the brighter side like the 80.3. Im just waiting on my mate to finish his room and will be going there in August to demo them side by side.

Cheers,
Kevin

MIne never really warmed up.

as solid state electronics don't "break in", it's not surprising that the sound hasn't changed...

Do a quick room correction. Are you using factory settings?

That ship has sailed.

Just set to no subwoofer and full range. Not ready to run correction as only have 2 channel right now. Bit more detail than I had with the TX-NR1008 running the front end. I have been told by several that the Kef Reference 205/2s take on the characteristics of the electronics and that has been quite true. It seems slightly less edgy than yesterday but certainly not what I would classify as warm. Need to give it a couple weeks and get the rest of the system added, broke in and room corrections run.

I seen a lot of folks comment how Parasound Halo A21 and A51 start out a bit metallic if memory serves but settle in and really come around. Reviewers also let electronics run in before doing reviews. Are they all imagining things?

^^^

yes...

if a ss piece of electronics "breaks in", how does it know when to stop?

furthermore, if it "breaks in" that implies that "something" is changing... what might that be? capacitors, resistors, etc. are spec'd... you don't have to "break them in" to acheive that spec...

Ya I didn't mean to quote you, I was looking at jims and of course the new avs doesn't truly delete the post I tried to fix lol

You are becoming accustomed to the sound, It's you that is breaking in, not your gear

^^^

yup...

Maybe he got one of those super deluxe "The Upgrade Company" modified 80.3's that need about 500 hours to properly burn in I guess that's why they only give you a free 2 week in home trial

This.

You should run the room correction asap. It doesn't matter how few speakers you have -- it'll still make them sound better. Why waste the time when you could be enjoying it more? Then calibrate again when you've added the surround speakers.

HaHa, maybe. Monday night was spent much on the phone with my cable company trying to salvage my DVR. Only spent a quick zip through an audition CD I made after hooking up the 80.3 and checking settings. Since the technician is due Wednesday, last night was spent with 80.3. Still no room equalization but got my IPod classic hooked up (except for few iTunes purchases Apple Lossless) and spent over two hours listening to music. Monday night went to bed frustrated and bummed. Last night a smile returned, cable still sucks however.

Can someone tell me which setting causes the volume level to slowly increase when the 80.3 starts playing an audio source? For instance, when I fast forward my HDMI connected DVR and then playback begins, the audio level starts low and slowly increases up to the set level.

Just AAMOI, emails are copyright material and the copyright is owned by the author. Distributing copyright material is an offence. I'm taking no sides in this 'discussion' - just pointing out a legal issue and potential problem with distributing copyright material to third parties without the copyright owner's consent.

I spoke to my Electronics expert friend. He is an Electrical Engineer who used to design weapons electronics and does consumer electronics as a hobby. He confirmed today's capacitors, resistors and transistors need no break-in. Only changes will occur towards end of life. He did say the power supply, I.e transformer may need to settle in. He expected this to occur within minutes, maybe hours, not weeks. His guess was typical might be twenty minutes to fully settle in. So I guess the 80.3 will be what it is now as I am well past that point.

The emails certainly prove who was lying! Sometimes truth is more important than what you call professionalism.
John