If you have been waffling on which high-end surround sound processor to buy (or upgrade) and are thinking about just waiting until things shake out a bit, you might want to consider the Integra DHC-80.1 as an interim soultion. Chris Eberle reviews it for Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity and concludes:
The Integra DHC-80.1 exceeded my expectations in every way. As a controller, it is extremely flexible and capable of anchoring a large and complex system. Sonically it easily holds its own against more expensive processors, especially in the digital domain. Every movie I watched using it was an excellent experience. The detail and transparency were simply stunning. It had the most useful video processing I’ve yet encountered in a pre-pro. To date, this is the only box I’ve encountered that does a proper job converting film-based DVDs to 24p. Coming from a confirmed video geek, this is huge for me. The extensive calibration options make the 80.1 one of the more advanced video processors out there… The Integra DHC-80.1 is now part of my reference system as I purchased at the end of the review. Therefore, it receives my highest recommendation.
You can read the full review here.
