Introduction.
It’s been a while since I wrote a review on any product. We have been extensively testing DIRAC ART on the Storm ISP against the Trinnov optimizer in the office and at home and while the review isn’t ready, we are making headway. While the Storm was in the office along with the Trinnov Altitude it was a good opportunity to try out a couple of beefy top line integrated amplifiers from Integra and Pioneer. The brands journeys over the last couple of decades have been an interesting one to follow, ultimately, they, along with Onkyo, have fallen under essentially the same ownership umbrella of the Premium Audio Company like the relationship that Arcam & JBL have with Harman. Onkyo historically pioneered (no pun intended) budget AVR’s several decades ago with great success. Pioneer pushed innovation with some outstanding development of digital ICE power supplies when no one else did, resulting in some amazing top line integrated AV amplifiers over the years. Integra has always been focused on the installation sector rather than a retail product and as a result always came with significant differences in the back end and set-up sections of these amplifiers, along with a more industrial look.
With their newfound ownership structure, the overreaching company responsible for all three brands seems to have finally got its act together and launched a couple of models which piqued our interest enough to get them in on demonstration, notably the Integra DRX 8.4 & Pioneer VSA-LX805.

Main similarities.
Both offer 11 channels amplified in a 7.2.4 configuration at 150 Watts per channel (8 ohms).
Both offer HDMI 2.1 signal paths with (6) 40Gbps inputs capable of 8K/60 and 4K/120.
Both offer DIRAC Live EQ, along with being Bass Control ready via an optional upgrade.
Both offer 32-bit ESS Sabre DACs for decoding.
Both are certified Roon Ready
Power supply & power consumption specs are identical.
The core input layout and way these inputs are assigned is identical.
Both control apps are identical.

Main Differences.
The Pioneer VSX-LX805 includes stereo balanced connections, but these are only available on one stereo input and one output for the front Left/Right channels. The thinking behind this is the ability to place a high performing power amplifier on the front speakers for stereo. The Integra on the other hand offers five XLR outputs, covering the front three channels in addition to offering two independent subwoofer outputs. The Pioneer’s subwoofer outputs are only available on RCA connections, again two independent, two parallel.
Another key difference is the back end in the meus, they have very different options allowing much more customization and control over the way audio settings are assigned. Basically, lots of useful tools for integrators such as ourselves.

Notable positives and notable problems.
A huge plus point on both units was that the HDMI sync and handshaking was rock solid on both units. This of late has been the Achillies heel of many a new AVR, so it is refreshing to see it deal with everything I threw at it, including the notoriously tricky BT Vision 4K box which seems to cause many problems across different manufacturers. The units both also passed 120hz HFR without a hitch.
I had both units early in their lifecycle, the LX805 at the time was the only unit in the UK and there have been two software updates that I’ve been aware of since then. At the time I had it the web setup didn’t work and there was no Auro decoder, both were solved by the first software update. The main problem I encountered was the DIRAC implementation when setting up on a PC, this was the same for both units. On initial set-up with a PC, both units didn’t send the correct level to the subwoofers when level matching, this appeared to be lacking 10db of gain. You could manipulate past this problem with a bit of jiggery pokery, but the SNR on the capture was way too high and gave erroneous results, clearly visible, and audibly incorrect. Having reported this to Pioneer & Integra, both were already aware of the issue and then “fixed” it in the second software update. Unfortunately, while they fixed this part, they broke the upload section, so while you can get a correct measurement, you can’t upload it with a PC. At the time of writing, we are waiting for this to be fixed. I’ve experienced this issue with other AVR’s in the past, so this will be sorted, it’s just annoying it wasn’t fixed in one swoop. The main advantage of using a PC to set up these amplifiers is that I can use the Earthworks microphone, which wipes the floor with allcomers in terms of accuracy, particularly in the bass down to single digits. Fortunately, there was another way to calibrate the amplifier and that was with the basic microphone which came with the unit and the DIRAC I-pad app. This worked perfectly and although rudimentary in its application, gave me enough control to calibrate the units, albeit with the basic microphone.

Sound Quality.
As a default I always do a basic set up with distances and levels in and effort to judge the core performance of an amplifier prior to doing any room EQ. I think this is key to getting a good result when you get the EQ section of the set-up. I tend to leave this for a few days to get used to the sound prior to doing anything else. I’d suggest that overall, the actual sound of both units was identical, so the reason for buying one over the other, isn’t a sonic one.
The most impressive thing about these amplifiers was surprisingly their stereo music performance which was, I have to say, exceptional. Probably the best I’ve heard from an integrated apart from the Primare SPA-25 which is probably in a league of its own in this regard. The main point of note on this though is that you must use the direct function to achieve this level with the music. Using this function will turn of any EQ and Bass management settings. The sound was that good though, that this really wasn’t an issue. The direct function turns off any internal circuits other than the ones really needed for stereo reproduction, focusing the power and processing where it needs to go. I did try to engage DIRAC and use the stereo setting but, on this unit, it seemed to unnecessarily throttle the sound to the point you were really flogging a dead horse, you would just select direct, it always sounded better. For music at least on these units, less processing was more sonically. Interestingly this was not the case for movies. DIRAC tightened everything up for TV and movies and balanced everything correctly to within an inch of its life, when the PC version works properly, I suspect the results will be even better. Once thing I did find, was that dialogue was a little on the thin side. This is partly because I was coming from the Storm system I had previously which has a huge power amplifier and more powerful DIRAC. It was something I noticed though. One huge positive was the dialogue was still very clear and balanced, no huge dips or peaks in the dynamic range on the dialogue which can plague cheaper AVR’s leaving you seesawing on the volume control to hear what people are saying while simultaneously blowing the room apart on an action scene. None of that. It had total control of what was going on. With a better microphone and capture I feel certain this thinness could be EQ’d out with a bit of time and effort.

Summary.
Overall, my time with both amplifiers was enjoyable. So, which one would you buy? The answer really depends on the cinema they are ultimately going into. The Integra costs £500 more, I would probably argue that with the differences there are between the units, this is probably a sensible cost rise. I would say the Pioneer looks nicer, but if you have a decent sub on an XLR the Integra would be of benefit. Overall, two excellent AV receivers I would have no hesitation recommending at this price point and are at the top of their peer group. Our previous top pick for class leading sound and home cinema performance was the NAD T778 but things have moved on – with a little extra investment over the NAD you can now achieve a great deal more sound for your money. If you have any detailed questions or would like to hear either of them, don’t hesitate to get in touch.