I have an AnthemMCA5 power amp, to drive my M80, VP180 & QS8 speakers.

I recently purchased an Integra DTC9.8 used for $450 only to find out that the surround right channel is blown. I've sunk another $40 to get a quote for getting it fixed. It's a board on the unit that is shot and will cost another $250 to get it replaced.

For $675 I can buy a Pioneer receiver that has RCA pre-outs, and a built in AMP. Multi Zone, AirPlay, DLNA etc.. I probably could sell the Integra for $350~400 on kajiji

If I fix the Integra, i gain better Audacity room correction and XLR connectors to my amp. and THX

The cost of going either way is about equal. What would you suggest?

Not selling the integra lest ye have no integrity.... Its got a dead channel.

Fix it is my vote.

A 675$ pioneer is junk compared to what you have.

The pioneer elite is last years model that actually is better that this years that replaced it. The newer SC1228 sells for $1300, but doesn't have any pre-outs on it.

I could also look into getting the bigger 9.2 unit (SC1527K) for $950 again because it's last years model rather than $1800 for this.

Matt, I'd suggest getting the 9.8 fixed for the Audyssey processing and other features. If you would really have a significant use for the internal amp in the Pioneer, this would of course be something to weigh.

I too would vote for fixing it since it is a nice piece of gear. On caveat though is that I myself have shyed away from Onkyo/Integra because of their flaky hdmi boards. I have myself been eyeing a separate pre/pro and looked at Integra but I found many cases of failed HDMI boards with them on the internet. I am now saving my pennies in hopes of finding a Marantz AV8801 with Multi EQ XT32 I can afford/justify. Still if you can fix it for 250 you will likely get top dollar for it.

Then there's me. I'm a big fan of the upper end Pioneer Elite. And I prefer the sound quality of MCACC over Audyssey. There's a hugh fan club of Audyssey users here. But, after using a Pioneer Elite, then switching to a Denon, I got spoiled with the Pioneer sound, and could never get the Denon to sound right. Was always weak on the bass and too bright on the highs.

Cat , I have never tried Pioneers MCACC but I have been a long time Pioneer supporter. When I bought my Denon I got caught up in the whole room correction BS and thus bought a Denon. I Also have a Yamaha and YPAO seems to work quite well. The room correction software seems to improve every year and I am sure they are all quite good now. In my room I find that it sounds just as good with or without RC. I now have separate amplification so I am sort of in the market for a pre/pro and the Marantz is as close as I can get within my budget to check all the box's. Next up is a Krell at 6 grand or the oh so elusive Emo XMC-1 but im not sure it will do front heights. If Pioneer made a Pre/Pro I would definetly look at it. It looks like Pioneer is selling its AV to Funai so I don't see a pre/pro in the future. If I were buying considering an AVR purchase like matt is I would get the pioneer since I really don't think there is a huge difference in RC software .

After looking on the internet, I have seen several posts about the Integra/Onkio with HDMI failures. It's also hard to gauge if this is because there are a whole lot of units shipped and thus the number of reported failures will correspondingly be high? or because of a badly designed product.

I think that everyone is correct in getting the unit fixed. I have seen on the local kijiji this DTC9.8 selling used for 7-800 in perfect working condition. It may be no indication of what I could get, but I am pretty sure I would at least break even after the cost of fixing it. maybe even a few extra $$ in my pocket.

My plan was to wire the room for 7.2 or even 9.2 with extra speaker placements for Surround Rear and Front W/H. The cost of running extra cables is really small when the room is being built compared to trying to do it after the fact when drywall is all installed along with sound proofing etc.

In my old house, I originally had 5.1 with my lower cost directional small speakers. When I got a Yamaha 7.1 amp I put two more speakers in the back but that was still pre-bluray days and so they were not discrete. it did sound better but it was little more than enlarging a sound field due to front firing speakers in a rather small room.

As far as the Pioneer goes with the extra amps. Yes I could use them. Right now my power amp only has 5 channels, so if I have more speakers, then I need to power them in some fashion. The DTC9.8 can support 7.1 channels, so I would need a second 2 channel minimum power amp.

If I got a 7.1 or the bigger 9.1 Pioneer, then I could use the built in amp to power all the surround channels. The kicker part to it is that all the amps don't let you re-direct the main front left/right out to another zone. So if you plan on using the extra zone controls, you need another spare amp/receiver for that zone to power the speakers, or you give up one of the surround channels for that purpose.

As my current amp has 5 channels, I can use 3 of the to offload the L/R+C from the receiver, and have the 2 remaining for zone 2. Then have the receiver cover all the surround channels for maximum speaker coverage.


Thinking it through and looking back in hind sight, the Integra purchase wasn't all that smart of a buy.

A few months ago, I purchased the new Pre-Pro from Yamaha, CX-A5000 and I compared it the Marantz 8801, ultimately picking the Yamaha because like you, I have owned Yamaha stuff before, liked it alot and in this comparison specifically with comparable features it was overall a significantly better value for the money AND a full FOUR year warranty.

I have come close to buying the CX but it doesn't do front wides or heights and I don't want to/cant change my speaker arrangement. I agree it is a great value considering what a av8801 is going for. There was one on ebay last nite for auction with buy it now and I hesitated and during the night someone bought it with buy it now for 2g which is half price. I was going to follow the bidding and see if I could get it cheaper and lost out.

I have a now 4 yr old Oink AVR. It was their totl when I bought it. The HDMI circuits never worked consistently. It was always cool with the TV, but often couldn't recognize any other units plugged into HDMI ports.

Chris (Lampshade) found web info about a patch to fix it @ an auth sev ctr. A year earlier, I'd have had to ship it to Rochester, but a new auth rep place opened 50 miles away.

They did it overnight and it cost $125. (Well, that and 200 miles worth of driving.)

It worked great---for about 2 months. Then, the entire HDMI board STB. Another $125 for labor and $425 for the new (redesigned) board. Why'd I do it?

Its orig list (I paid way less) was $2400. It's current version was just under $3000 (18 months ago, +/-). It has great amps. I've liked every Oink (integrated 2-ch amps) I've ever owned since 1983. I have also paid way more for stuff that was better. Was it 5 time$ better? Bluntly, "No", but it did hold up for 30 years (w/ one repair in its 12th yr), which was longer than the company existed.

BTW, 18 months now w/ the new board and no problems. The original was fussy from day one.

And here's another reason; the video processor is noticeably better that the one in our Panny plasma, not by much, but we did miss it when Ms. Oink was in the shop.

I could not have replaced it, at the time, recon'd, for less than around $2k, if I remember correctly. My M100's are very, very happy with my decision to have kept it.

Good luck with whatever you decide, Matt.

Your friend,
Dumbass

I have an Onkyo 5508 prepro and it started changing modes repeatedly about six months after I bought it. The problem was around a ten dollar fix but I had to send it to Vancouver and was covered by warranty.It has been a couple of years now and many,many parties(cranked up)and works like a dream.

It wasn't the board itself but the cheap ribbon cable that they used, I think since then they wised up because there were alot of units being fixed under warranty.

I would personally get the Integra fixed if it was me.

Fix, sell, 11.2.
(13.2 if it was me)

In my case the front wide speaker deal was never much of an interest to me anyway. Obviously a matter of taste, however, I, myself, have always preferred the Yamaha DSP "presence" set-up(mine is 9.2 channels,front elevated speakers)because unlike the front wide/height kind of "faux" extra channels in the Onkyo/Marantz units, the fully adjustable "movie theater" programs in particular in the Yamaha, even in a relatively small room, can provide the listener the perception of a much larger movie theater size experience. Also, with the CX-A5000, if I wanted to utilize all 11.2 channels, I can have all the channels working at the same time.

Since I have a large, yet, pretty dead sounding room the Yamaha gives me a sound I realistically couldn't achieve with any of the other set-ups, (i.e additional speakers and channels, yet, most importantly, still limited by the size of the space).

Incidentally, if I quoted your numbers correctly, when it first was announced, the MSRP of the CX-A5000 was $2999 not $4000. I bought mine when it first came out brand new in the box for $2400.

I actually was saying there was a AV8801 I found on ebay. I may still give the cx some consideration.

I ended up selling the unit for $420 as is. The gentleman who bought it just wanted it for doing dual channel bi-amping.

I have a Poineer SC-1528K on the way, but I am seriously considering getting the previous years model as it's a good $300 less and is pretty much the exact same unit only doesn't have spotify.

It looks like the basement sound room will be done around the end of the year. I am mid way through building the bathroom downstairs, and have the plans set out for the storage and open room. Once those are done, then I am told that I can made my listening/HT room.

Jeepers you are a fickle one. glad to hear you got rid of the integra without a headache. Onward ho!