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Coverage of CEDIA
Expo ' 99
 Onkyo’s
press conference, held at noon on September 24 by Sergio Batista, Onkyo’s vice
president for product marketing, focused on the introduction of Onkyo’s Integra
Research division. Integra Research’s mission, according to Batista, is to
"bring passion back to audio" and get consumers to begin enjoying two-channel
music and home-theater as art forms rather than background noise.
Integra Research demonstrated their upcoming
electronic products, which were developed in partnership with several other companies.
Paul Yurt (below left), director of design for Apogee Electronics, makers of high-quality
digital products for the recording industry, discussed Apogee’s work on The RDC-7 A/V Controller includes Lucasfilm THX Surround EX technology, which provides 7.1-channel surround sound. The RDC-7 includes Intega’s Video Linear Conversion (VLC) DAC technology, which was developed in concert with Apogee. This controller includes decoding facilities for DTS, Dolby Digital, and 7.1 surround formats, as well as MPEG Multi-Channel sound. The RDC-7 is also THX Ultra certified. The RDV-1 DVD player also uses the Apogee-designed VLC DACs and provides Dolby Digital and DTS output. The RDV-1’s heavy-duty power supply uses two transformers to provide maximum sound and picture quality. The RDA-7 seven-channel amplifier, designed and built by Balanced Audio Technology, provides a rated power output of 150Wpc into each of its seven channels, and as one would expect with its pedigree, provides balanced inputs. Batista demonstrated the Integra components with both Surround EX material and DVD-Audio. The demonstration began with a two-channel DVD-Audio recording of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, followed by a surround-effects track, Jungle Sounds. Batista also played a trailer for The Astronaut’s Wife, and a short THX Ultra advertisement. The crowded room on the show floor, combined with less-than-ideal seating positions, made it difficult to evaluate either the system’s DVD-Audio or Surround EX performance. However, we were able to make some judgments. We felt that the choice of The Astronaut’s Wife was a poor one, as it lacked enough material to demonstrate any surround system, let alone the new 7.1 Surround EX. The only truly impressive moment came during Jungle Sounds, when a helicopter appeared overhead (which was clearly audible), then was shot down with a rocket launcher. The sense of size and distinct positioning of the sounds indicated great promise with this system. Integra Research indicated that availability for these components would be mid 2000.
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digital-to-analog converters and clock chips for the new Integra
products. Also in attendance was Balanced Audio Technology’s Steve Bednarski; BAT
provided their expertise for the design and construction of Integra’s new amplifiers.