Buy:mward
06-25-01, 11:08 AM
Hi,
I just upgraded my home theater in the past week and thought I'd share my impressions so far on some recently released equipment.
Here's what I bought: Sony 700 DVD player ($349) and the Integra 6.2 Receiver ($700).
Here's the rest of my setup: Older Sony 29" Trinitron with very good picture quality, it was the top dog Sony had at the time and expensive for the size. The surround sound speakers are considered "large" including the center channel and there is no sub woofer. The front speakers are JBL LX-55's and the others are good but nothing to brag about here.
Sony 700 DVD Player review:
There's been a lot of debate about this player recently and a lot of the comments had me a little nervous. Quite a bit of talk about noisy play mechanisms and poor picture quality including the dreaded Chroma error which causes high color saturation to appear with streaks. I can only comment on my player (the one sitting in my living room) and no other Sony 700's, but with that disclaimer in mind, this machine does not have these problems. There is no drive noise when playing DVD's. None. I put my ear right up to it and am still not sure I could hear anything. The drive operation is smooth, the tray is sturdy and the overall construction is solid. It's everything I'd expect from Sony for that amount of money. But drive noise wasn't what I was worried about. I was worried about the claims of a soft picture and the Chroma error. I had the box and the receipt on hand and was ready to return this unit and buy the Panny, so believe me I was looking for these problems. There is no Chroma error! My machine is hooked up to an admittedly small 29" screen with an S-cable running on Interlaced mode, but I looked and I looked hard for the streaks in the color saturated areas and there simply were none. I rented 5th Element and freeze framed the red panic button, I freeze framed the ZORG sign, I pressed my nose to the glass of the screen and I will testify in court that there was nothing but sharp, vivid color. It was a relief. But I didn't stop there. I popped in A Bug's Life and must have hit freeze frame 100 times. Anywhere there was massive color saturation and contrast I played and replayed. I continued on thru Traffic, X-Men and Crouching Tiger. No Chroma error and the picture was sharp. Others out there say they have detected the Chroma error on this player, but I couldn't find it, and I knew what to look for.
Integra 6.2 Receiver:
My old receiver was the Onkyo 727 with Dolby Pro Logic as it's only true surround mode. This was a pretty sweet receiver back in the day and I hated to part with it, but I just can't have a DVD player and not be able to hear the Dolby Digital and DTS capabilities. (Can you say upgrade fever). So, I called my Onkyo dealer and began talking to them about Onkyo's Integra line. Turns out they have some fairly new receivers on the market in the $500-700 price range. I had to choose between the Integra 5.2 and the 6.2. As usual, I went with the more expensive choice but that's also what I did with the 727 and it has produced a self satisfied smile on my face every time I've powered it up. So hey, you only go around once. The Integra's are beautiful looking units and the setup was a breeze. During setup you're asked to input the number of ft (or meters) from each speaker as well as indicating speaker size (large or small). There are lots of other functions that I won't go into, but I enjoyed having these options. The sound quality from this receiver was amazing. Startling and jaw dropping. I really couldn't believe the difference between the new 6.2 and the old 727. Night and day. I could hear every "P" and "T" on the characters lips. The definition was excellent, I seriously believe I could hear a pin drop during an explosion. The sound was rich and refined and had an indescribable quality to it. It's a noble machine. I'm very pleased. Another very nice feature of this receiver is Dolby ProLogic II which is supposed to give simulated 5.1 surround quality to broadcasts/tapes/music etc. that aren't in that format. My satellite broadcasts did seem to have new life as well as some older VHS tapes. I'm still studying PLII, but so far it seems cool and is definitely a bonus. I feel like the money was well spent on this receiver. It was a pretty big investment for me, but has completely reenergized my HT. I'm an enthusiast again.
Questions/comments? I'll try to check the board frequently and special thanks to the people helping me with my decision on friday. Keep in mind that these reviews are specific to my situation and aren't meant to be a comparison to other equipment. In this price range, I'd expect most equipment to be high quality. I'm only attesting to my satisfaction being 100% and giving these pieces the thumbs up to others looking to upgrade.
-peace
[Edited by mward on 06-25-01 at 08:44 AM]
I just upgraded my home theater in the past week and thought I'd share my impressions so far on some recently released equipment.
Here's what I bought: Sony 700 DVD player ($349) and the Integra 6.2 Receiver ($700).
Here's the rest of my setup: Older Sony 29" Trinitron with very good picture quality, it was the top dog Sony had at the time and expensive for the size. The surround sound speakers are considered "large" including the center channel and there is no sub woofer. The front speakers are JBL LX-55's and the others are good but nothing to brag about here.
Sony 700 DVD Player review:
There's been a lot of debate about this player recently and a lot of the comments had me a little nervous. Quite a bit of talk about noisy play mechanisms and poor picture quality including the dreaded Chroma error which causes high color saturation to appear with streaks. I can only comment on my player (the one sitting in my living room) and no other Sony 700's, but with that disclaimer in mind, this machine does not have these problems. There is no drive noise when playing DVD's. None. I put my ear right up to it and am still not sure I could hear anything. The drive operation is smooth, the tray is sturdy and the overall construction is solid. It's everything I'd expect from Sony for that amount of money. But drive noise wasn't what I was worried about. I was worried about the claims of a soft picture and the Chroma error. I had the box and the receipt on hand and was ready to return this unit and buy the Panny, so believe me I was looking for these problems. There is no Chroma error! My machine is hooked up to an admittedly small 29" screen with an S-cable running on Interlaced mode, but I looked and I looked hard for the streaks in the color saturated areas and there simply were none. I rented 5th Element and freeze framed the red panic button, I freeze framed the ZORG sign, I pressed my nose to the glass of the screen and I will testify in court that there was nothing but sharp, vivid color. It was a relief. But I didn't stop there. I popped in A Bug's Life and must have hit freeze frame 100 times. Anywhere there was massive color saturation and contrast I played and replayed. I continued on thru Traffic, X-Men and Crouching Tiger. No Chroma error and the picture was sharp. Others out there say they have detected the Chroma error on this player, but I couldn't find it, and I knew what to look for.
Integra 6.2 Receiver:
My old receiver was the Onkyo 727 with Dolby Pro Logic as it's only true surround mode. This was a pretty sweet receiver back in the day and I hated to part with it, but I just can't have a DVD player and not be able to hear the Dolby Digital and DTS capabilities. (Can you say upgrade fever). So, I called my Onkyo dealer and began talking to them about Onkyo's Integra line. Turns out they have some fairly new receivers on the market in the $500-700 price range. I had to choose between the Integra 5.2 and the 6.2. As usual, I went with the more expensive choice but that's also what I did with the 727 and it has produced a self satisfied smile on my face every time I've powered it up. So hey, you only go around once. The Integra's are beautiful looking units and the setup was a breeze. During setup you're asked to input the number of ft (or meters) from each speaker as well as indicating speaker size (large or small). There are lots of other functions that I won't go into, but I enjoyed having these options. The sound quality from this receiver was amazing. Startling and jaw dropping. I really couldn't believe the difference between the new 6.2 and the old 727. Night and day. I could hear every "P" and "T" on the characters lips. The definition was excellent, I seriously believe I could hear a pin drop during an explosion. The sound was rich and refined and had an indescribable quality to it. It's a noble machine. I'm very pleased. Another very nice feature of this receiver is Dolby ProLogic II which is supposed to give simulated 5.1 surround quality to broadcasts/tapes/music etc. that aren't in that format. My satellite broadcasts did seem to have new life as well as some older VHS tapes. I'm still studying PLII, but so far it seems cool and is definitely a bonus. I feel like the money was well spent on this receiver. It was a pretty big investment for me, but has completely reenergized my HT. I'm an enthusiast again.
Questions/comments? I'll try to check the board frequently and special thanks to the people helping me with my decision on friday. Keep in mind that these reviews are specific to my situation and aren't meant to be a comparison to other equipment. In this price range, I'd expect most equipment to be high quality. I'm only attesting to my satisfaction being 100% and giving these pieces the thumbs up to others looking to upgrade.
-peace
[Edited by mward on 06-25-01 at 08:44 AM]