Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Review

[Timmy]

Front panel and knobs are plastic I guess?

 

[pogo]

Is it still possible to do a reactive load test and why is it not part of the standard measurements?

 

[amirm]

Is it still possible to do a reactive load test and why is it not part of the standard measurements?

I need to ship the unit back. That load testing is a series of manual steps, filling in spreadsheet, and plotting. The automation doesn't work due to limitations in the way AP works. So I reserve it for certain products where the extra work is merited.

 

[Inertiaman]

I think brands like this are going to get some brutal competition from Wiim Professional CI Series products when (if?) they eventually hit the market.

 

[GXAlan]

The video capability is what is amazing. It renders 24 fps without hardly pausing. This makes it easy to move around with low latency. The other one I had would produce half a dozen frames a second, with a ton of lag. And constant dark frame capture pause (used for noise reduction). The thing is also amazingly small, smaller than a US quarter and has a magnetic macro lens for really detailed view of PCB SMD parts.

Yeah, the FLIR ones lag that way. Although I wonder if that’s intentional for export controls or if it’s because they just take their cooled sensors that didn’t meet spec and use them in the consumer one.

It will be really interesting to see how the similarly “sized” JBL Class D AVRs perform both from an audio standpoint and a thermal standpoint. . Wink. Nudge.

 

[amirm]

Yeah, the FLIR ones lag that way. Although I wonder if that’s intentional for export controls or if it’s because they just take their cooled sensors that didn’t meet spec and use them in the consumer one.

I do recall some restrictions like this. Which then gives an advantage to InfiniRay as it is from Taiwan I believe.

 

[michaelahess]

So do these companies just keep getting 2nd rate engineers? Why do their products always suck so much? Can't pay for the good ones, or like GM, great engineers, terrible accountants?

I honestly don't want to know where my tx–nr1009 and vsx-307 lie! Ignorance is bliss.

 

[sam_adams]

I am glad you see value from it. It is a newer higher resolution thermal camera from Infiniray called the P2 Pro.

 

[amirm]

So do these companies just keep getting 2nd rate engineers?

I think the problem is marketing. They get their marching orders from what the retailers/distributors want and those people have yet to wake up to what measurements mean and what is good.

 

[GXAlan]

I think brands like this are going to get some brutal competition from Wiim Professional CI Series products when (if?) they eventually hit the market.

Companies like Onkyo/Integra have a leg up for things like Apple and Sonos integration though.

I think the problem is marketing. They get their marching orders from what the retailers/distributors want and those people have yet to wake up to what measurements mean and what is good.

There was a rumor in the pre social media age that Allan Devantier’s team behind the HLS-610 was given a very tough set of constraints (in terms of BOM) for the speaker and the HLS-610 was such a stellar implementation, he was moved to the higher end product development. The HLS-610 if I recall correctly had a very simple first order crossover and utilized a horn with a standard tweeter (not a compression driver).

What I want to see are the teams in this big conglomerates doing the same. The original Sonos Roam might be one of those products where the entry level product ends up having a really impressive spinorama, but at least for electronics, we haven’t see a budget product punch way above its class from a major manufacturer yet. Maybe the Apple USB-C dongle.

 

[Chrispy]

I've mostly known Integra as just a different branding of certain Onkyo products fwiw. Some units may have been more installer friendly, but....

 

[Videopac]

It is apparently identical with the 100$ cheaper Onkyo TX-8470

In the eighties Integra was the the Onkyo label for real quality. Another label that went down the marketing drain.

 

[Haskil]

These performances are generally mediocre, except for the power. And it's a real shame, because this type of device is ideal for anyone who wants to listen to music in very good conditions and television and films also in the best conditions but in 2.0 or 2.1. I notice with a lot of people around me... that the rear speakers are not connected to their HC... And missing Audyssey, or Dirac... which happens on very expensive sound bars...
And the performances that can be achieved from such devices. But hey, in practice, it is almost certain that this Integra will be satisfactory despite performance limits and an incomplete design in my opinion. But 900 dollars...

 

[Haskil]

Je pense que le problème vient du marketing. Les distributeurs et les détaillants leur donnent leurs consignes, mais ces derniers n'ont pas encore compris ce que signifient les mesures et ce qui est bon.

And distributors and retailers often condense all the idiophilic bullshit of the moment... But not only them, the YouTube influencers, the influencers on certain forums continue to propagate the same idiocies and some express themselves like demonstrators - store salespeople and knock on objective measurements... and on those who believe them to be more advantageous when it comes to electronics than the delusions of subjectivists who tell you about the veil that is lifted, much clearer mediums when they change the mains cable that powers their amplifier...
And all this combined means that the distrust towards objective performances is great... especially since major brands, Marantz for example, base their marketing on the "voicing" of their electronics and on the copper anodizing of the interior of their box... They thus accredit the worst bullshit that there is... And even Denon comes to it: in the description of their new flagship integrated amplifier we admire the incredible care taken in the development of the circuits and the magnificent printed circuits multi-layered, etc. and we cry with rage when we read the designer talking about the sound which changes with the tightening of the screws... (unless Google translate is derailed...)

 

[Timmy]

In the eighties Integra was the the Onkyo label for real quality. Another label that went down the marketing drain.

I’m really wondering how the brands Onkyo and Integra can still exist at all. And this certain model, the Integra DTM-7.4, with its obscure »multi-channel like« name and its ridiculous price tag, doesn’t stop me wondering.

 

[DoctorRobert]

My impression is that these AVR-like stereo amps are not the most 'sexy' devices on the market but I would easily recommend them for anybody looking for a basic stereo setup. They have a high swiss-knife index. However, I would always look for one with at least a basic room-correction feature. The other specs will typically fall in the ' nothing great but perfectly serviceable' category. Room-correction can really make an audible difference. You don't see Integra on the EU market but given the absence of room-correction, I don't care.

 

[peng]

I voted "poor" because of the price. My brand new Denon AVR-X1800H has all the same features plus the extra channels, for about US$510 based on exch. rate at the time, from an authorized dealer. If I were anywhere near Amir I would have sent it in for measurements, but without that, I am confident it will measure about as good as this Onkyo.

 

[rank]

Thanks for the review. I voted poor given the crazy sale price, three times that of an entry-level AVR.

 

[JDS]

I am glad you see value from it. It is a newer higher resolution thermal camera from Infiniray called the P2 Pro. It is worlds better than my old Seek Thermal which stopped working with its app.

Seems better than the more expensive FLIR consumer product. (Wish I had known before I bought mine...)

 

[billou5767]

Not terrible considering everything it does, but 900 bucks for this ? I don't know...
It would be cool to also see its direct competitors measured : Marantz Stereo 70 & Denon DRA-900H.

and the onkyo clone 790e under 700 probably time to time ..