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With Intregra’s latest A/V receivers, even the low-end models are high end

By Kris Wouk Jun 5, 2016 5:00 AM

For the average home theater enthusiast, the Integra name may not mean much, but for those looking for a true theater in their home, Onkyo’s high-end brand is instantly recognizable. Now, the company has unveiled four new feature-packed 7.2-channel A/V receivers aimed at the custom installation market.

As with any A/V receiver worth its salt these days, each model in the new line includes support for both 4K UHD and HDR, including 4:4:4 color space, BT.2020, and HDCP 2.2. For those with a 4K TV that doesn’t feature built-in upscaling, the DRX series features a built-in upscaler.

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On the audio side, the DRX line supports Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound in a 5.1.2 configuration at launch. As with many recently released receivers, DTS:X will also be supported with a firmware update planned for this summer.

At launch, streaming via AirPlay, Spotify, Pandora, and TuneIn radio, as well as internet radio, is supported. A planned future firmware update will also reportedly add support for Tidal, Google Cast, and FireConnect for multiroom playback. High-resolution in formats like DSD 11.2 MHz is supported out of the gate, with MQA support reportedly to be added in the same future firmware update.

The highest-end models of the DRX line are the DRX-5 and DRS-4, both of which are THX Select2 Plus-certified and offer HDBaseT output. These models also feature a Zone 3, which offers housewide synchronized audio in whole house mode.

The DRX-5 is the more powerful of the two units, offering a claimed 130 watts per channel, but the DRX-4 is no slouch at a claimed 110 watts per channel. You’ll pay for that power — the DRX-5 has a retail price of $1,700 while the DRX-4 retails for $1,300.

The DRX-3 and DRX-2 might not offer all of the features aimed at the custom installer included in the higher-end models — it has a total of seven HDMI ports compared to eight on the more expensive models — but they still pack major features and power. The DRX-3 offers a claimed 100 watts per channel at a retail price of $1,000 while the DRX-2 offers a claimed 80 watts per channel for $800.

Each model in the new DRX series is available for purchase now. For more information and detailed specs, see the Integra website.

(A version of this post first appeared on our “brother site” Digital Trends.

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it’s called when someone makes videos for the web. In his… Read Full Bio

Do you know the myth of Napoleon (the pig…not the man)

Napoleon

One of the many times I watched The Gentlemen, I laughed at the scene where Matthew (Jeremy Strong) joked that it was illegal in France to name a pig Napoleon. Of course, there are ridiculous laws all over the place. Want a few? In Georgia, it is illegal to eat fried chicken with a fork. In Arkansas, it is against the law to say the name incorrectly. Which means Bill Clinton would have come after me for years of me saying “ARE-Kansas.” It is prohibited to sleep on top of a refrigerator in Pennsylvania. That means my cat is a thug in Penn. And one of my favorites: It is illegal for unmarried women to parachute on Sundays.

The point is that there are crazy laws all over the place that seem completely ridiculous, and there is almost always a story behind them. So, is the Napoleon pig law a real thing? Is it illegal to raise a swine and name it after the legendary French Emperor? Well, let’s dig in. Why? Because I am a nerd and I need company in the weeds.

Who does James Bond work for? And is MI6 real?

James Bond Specter double breasted

We have some news on the movement of the next James Bond. According to reports, we are looking at the final four (we know of three). Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk), Callum Turner (Eternity, One Night Only), and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, Challengers) are all in the final running to portray the next 007. We also, allegedly, have a fourth, unannounced actor in the running. But of course we do. And since we have news and movement on the James Bond front, I started thinking about what the next movie will be about. That took me down a rabbit hole, and I landed on a question. What is MI6? James Bond’s employer is a shadowy government agency, like Jason Bourne’s Treadstone or Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Mission Force (IMF). But there is one major difference between them and the organization that signs 007’s paychecks.

His is real.

A toast to excellence: Don’t overthink lighting a cigar…but don’t underthink it either

Face, Head, Person

When I first decided I was ready to try cigars for the first time, I was ready to jump right in and sit back to enjoy the experience. Then, something crazy happened. I couldn’t light it. It seemed so simple. Flame, meet cigar. It really couldn’t be that complicated. But I ran into a slew of problems. The wrong kind of flame, canoeing, an uneven burn, and the damn thing kept going out, causing me to restart the embarrassing process. So I reached out to my friends over at La Aurora to find out what I was doing wrong.

That is when I found out from their own John Gaglio that these issues are very common and there is no reason to be embarrassed. Instead, don’t overthink lighting your cigar. And don’t underthink it. Instead, try to use the following tips and enjoy the experience without shame.