I have been considering buying an Integra 50.3 (or 50.4) for my first home theater system. Then I received an e-mail from an expert, who makes me wonder about the choice of Integra, as follows:
"I would get a Pioneer SC-57 over the Integra. Their phase processing is better and they stay in the correct audio processing mode. Onkyo/Integra does not respect the processing mode selected in the setup."
So, I called Integra technical support about this, and I learned the following. If you set THX off in the setup and then you play a blu-ray that is intended for THX (is there some code in the source that senses this?), the THX processing is automatically turned on in the Integra. I guess the same applies to Dolby and other audio processing.
Presumably one has calibrated the audio without THX and wants THX to stay disabled. Is this a valid position? My question is, is this automatic turning on of audio processing a bad thing, or should one be happy that Integra is respecting the source material in favor of the calibration setup?
Sorry if this is a stupid question. I have been an analog stereo purist to date, and I know nothing about audio processing. In general, I like clean sound and would avoid processing if I thought it had any negative impact. Comments?
FYI, I do not want the recent Pioneer, SC-65 (2012) generation because it has no phono input. So, the SC-55, if purchased, would be a discontinued or used item. Integra still has a phono input.
In a related question, regarding the Pioneer Elite SC-55, I read in the AVS Poneer Elite thread that its on-screen setup menus are poor, so setup is a pain. Certainly its users manual is poor, IMO. A few other problems were noted such as loose connector sockets. Does anyone here have experience with both brands, and can you comment on which brand you prefer, and why? After you suffer the setup, does the Pioneer Elite SC-55 / 57 sound better?
"I would get a Pioneer SC-57 over the Integra. Their phase processing is better and they stay in the correct audio processing mode. Onkyo/Integra does not respect the processing mode selected in the setup."
So, I called Integra technical support about this, and I learned the following. If you set THX off in the setup and then you play a blu-ray that is intended for THX (is there some code in the source that senses this?), the THX processing is automatically turned on in the Integra. I guess the same applies to Dolby and other audio processing.
Presumably one has calibrated the audio without THX and wants THX to stay disabled. Is this a valid position? My question is, is this automatic turning on of audio processing a bad thing, or should one be happy that Integra is respecting the source material in favor of the calibration setup?
Sorry if this is a stupid question. I have been an analog stereo purist to date, and I know nothing about audio processing. In general, I like clean sound and would avoid processing if I thought it had any negative impact. Comments?
FYI, I do not want the recent Pioneer, SC-65 (2012) generation because it has no phono input. So, the SC-55, if purchased, would be a discontinued or used item. Integra still has a phono input.
In a related question, regarding the Pioneer Elite SC-55, I read in the AVS Poneer Elite thread that its on-screen setup menus are poor, so setup is a pain. Certainly its users manual is poor, IMO. A few other problems were noted such as loose connector sockets. Does anyone here have experience with both brands, and can you comment on which brand you prefer, and why? After you suffer the setup, does the Pioneer Elite SC-55 / 57 sound better?