Integra DTR 40.2 Receiver review
The Integra DTR-40.2 was released in the summer of 2010, as the middle to high audio receiver from Onkyo’s Integra lineup of audio equipment. This model offers 110x watts per channel in a 7.2 surround sound package. There are three models above (DTR 80.2, 70.2, 50.2) and three below (30.2, 20.2, 5.9). The Integra DTR-40.2 represents a well built, feature packed, powerful home theater receiver at a reasonable MSRP of $1,000 USD.
Out of the box I noticed that this unit is a bit lighter than the DTR 7.2 I was replacing, this one only weights 27.6 lbs, while the last unit was closer to 35 lbs. The unit is a bit shorter as well, and so easier to carry and manage.
Upon setup, I wired my 5.1 sound system and hooked the TV hdmi up to the hdmi out on the 40.2. I turned everything on and pressed the setup button for the receiver, which brought up a TV on-screen setup display. From here I was able to access the speaker setup testing which allowed me to confirm the positioning and wiring for each speaker was correct by playing a tone from each individual speaker one at a time.
I then decided to get right into the testing and hooked my ipod touch up to the front panel USB port using a standard Apple ipod cable. I hit the USB button on the remote and the on-screen menu reflected the contents of my Ipod including playlists, artists and albums. I was impressed with the speed and ease at which I could use the Ipod straight out of the box.
I proceeded to hook up my Sony BDP-S360 Bluray player via an HDMI cable, as I wanted to test out the sound quality and decoding of Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS HD audio from a variety of concert and movie discs. When using my old Integra DTR 7.2 with an optical cable, the receiver would auto-switch to the proper codec based on the format of the audio signal. It would display DTS, Dolby, etc… This time while using HDMI cables the unit would not respond to the audio input, although it would still play the audio it did not update its on screen audio format display. After playing with a few settings, I decided to switch HDMI cables, and immediately the unit began auto selecting Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD. So an important lesson I wanted to point out for home theater users new and old is that depending on age your HDMI cables may not be compatible with Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, and the higher resolution video formats of bluray. I’d like to point out the importance of getting a current spec HDMI cable that has the higher speed capabilities and is compatible with HDMI 1.3a and higher. The cable I had been using was a Belkin PureAV HDMI cable from 2008, so its very possible that other users are relying on cables that are really hampering their performance.
New audio formats and results
The Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds bluray features 5.1 Dolby TrueHD is my go to concert disc for the bluray format. My B&W CDM floor standing speakers are rated for 50-150 watt at 8 ohms. This unit outputs at 110w per channel, and although I was concerned that would be underpowered, I found that I actually am able to keep the volume at a much lower point then I had with my prior unit. This unit has plenty of power to drive the high’s and mid range frequencies clearly, quickly, and concisely. I have been truly amazed by the increased clarity and detail presented with the lossless audio format, and feel as though this unit along with the new audio codecs has really brought new life to my speakers.
I have no concern about driving these larger speakers with this unit, its not under performing in the least. I then hooked up a pair of B&W 685 bookshelf speakers and listened to those in stereo mode. I think this unit is a perfect match for those speakers. The sound imaging, quality, and price point is something I couldn’t even imagine achieving only 10 years ago.
After another two months of solid use, I’ve come to the conclusion that this was a great purchase and the benefits from HDMI switching and new high resolution audio codecs makes this a perfect time to get into a current generation receiver. I’ve received two firmware updates via the internet (rj-45 jack in rear of unit), and I’ve listened to streaming sirius satellite internet radio all through the on screen menus. I highly recommend this unit and believe its an extremely affordable yet high performing integrated receiver that can really boost a home theater into the current generation audio codecs and interfaces. I can only hope that additional bluray concerts will continue to come out and take advantage of the higher resolution audio formats.
If you are looking for a slightly less expensive, 1 year warranty, and no gold plated version of this machine, I recommend the Onkyo 708 which is currently running $549 from amazon and is essentially the same machine in many respects.
