The Best of Both Worlds
Flexibility and performance characterize Integra’s
high-end system.
Integra’s DTR-10.5 receiver is a build-to-order component, meaning you can
tailor its back panel to suit your connection needs. In its basic configuration
($3,800), it’s still a fully-featured receiver with THX Ultra2 certification,
three component video ins and one out, a whopping 13 digital audio ins and four
outs, plus various surround processing modes like Dolby Digital EX, Pro Logic
IIx, and DTS ES.
It weighs a beefy 71 pounds, with an amplifier that sends
150 watts each to seven channels. Here’s the real kicker, though: The back panel
sports two sets of speaker terminals for each channel, affording you many
potential speaker configurations—you could power two complete 7.1-channel
systems in separate zones (you can’t play both zones simultaneously) or set up
one multichannel system for movies and a high-end stereo system for music in the
same zone. You can configure different speaker parameters for each set, and you
can dedicate some channels from either set to be used in another zone. I didn’t
have nearly enough speakers on hand to exploit this receiver’s full potential,
nor do I have space to list all of the ways it lets you tailor the speakers,
sound modes, etc. Let’s just say that the manual is 151 pages of informative,
clearly-written instruction.
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| The Integra DPS-10.5 is a universal disc player that can pass both DVD-Audio and
SACD signals through an iLink (FireWire) connection to the receiver. Like Arcam,
Integra uses HDMI primarily for passing video, but future downloadable software
upgrades could easily change that. |
To enhance the receiver’s digital functionality,
you can add HDMI and iLink (FireWire) modules, as well as the NetTune module
that lets you access Internet radio and a digital audio server such as Integra’s
NAS-2.6. The HDMI module includes two inputs and one output, while the iLink
module gives you two S400 FireWire ports. Beyond simply including the digital
connections, the DTR-10.5 kindly lets you view the on-screen display through
HDMI and transcode all analog signals, including component video, to HDMI. That
means you really can send one HDMI cable to your TV and be done with it.
The
DPS-10.5 universal player ($2,500), meanwhile, comes standard with iLink and
HDMI with video upconversion to multiple formats, as well as multichannel analog
outputs with bass management. The player has good image resolution, and its
deinterlacing processor picks up the 3:2 sequence in film-based signals quickly,
rendering clean, detailed DVD movies. Its video processor doesn’t do as well, so
you may see a fair amount of image artifacts or distortions in video-based
signals.
