Integra is the High-End division of Onkyo, and was formed 10 years ago to serve the needs of custom integrators like Ask the Advisors; and you the more demanding client.

Custom Integrators like us had specific an unique product needs, and no one was filling them.

So you are ready to shop for a Home Theater speaker system and you have some questions; probably a lot of them. Hopefully the following information will help.

First, be sure and print out all of the spec sheets on all of the speakers you are thinking of buying. These will make wonderful lining for your birdcage, or make it easy to find packing material the next time you need to ship something fragile someplace. You see most if not virtually all of the specs on a speaker mean little or …

“We’ll take care of everything”.
“It’s all covered, soup to nuts”.
“Your check will be in the mail in no time”.

Familiar terms these days to those of us buying extended service contracts. Clichés which are hurled across the retail store floor with abandon in an effort to get us to fork over as much cash as possible as quickly as possible.  They are thinly disguised efforts to convince us that we need something we usually don’t, at a price that’s far too steep to begin with.
The talking heads push extended warranties at every level, …

So I got the chance to take a Sonos  multiroom music system home with me last week. I decided to run the full gamut and tried the ZP90, ZP120, and even the new S5. Control was handled by a single CR200 and my trusty iPhone. I got tired of hearing how good it was and I totally expected it to suck, but I didn’t want to bash it without firsthand knowledge.
So I brought the system home and unpacked the “Bundle 250” and got started. The first thing I did, and I recommend you do the same, …

TV Specs Demystified: Frame Rates
aka scan rates or refresh rates
1080 – 24P – 60P – 120Hz – 240Hz – 480Hz

So you’re shopping for a new 1080P flat panel TV to update your home theater system and one of the many confusing terms you’re seeing on all of these TVs are 24P, 60P, 120Hz, and 240Hz. And that’s not the end of it. 480Hz is on the immediate horizon and there are a few plasma TVs boasting “600Hz Sub-field drive”.
Well like almost everything else in life, it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. …

1.) The Soundbar
This is probably the fastest and easiest way to add a surround sound-ish system to your home. Why do I say surround sound-ish? Well because a sound bar does not actually have side or rear speakers, so it is surround-ish. While some units like the Yamaha DSP series attempt to create the sound of additional speakers; they cannot be completely convincing. Other units like the B&W Panorama are designed to provide very good sound quality but really only posses a Left, Center, Right type of configuration; there is no …

Protecting your vehicle these days- whether you have a nice stereo system installed or not- involves selecting the best Car Security System that works for you. And if you haven’t done some research already, you’re in for a long and possibly

Car Audio systems have come a long way, with advances in speaker technology, amplifier design, audio interfaces and multimedia integration. All of these wonderful additions to your system place an extra draw on your vehicle’s

The Importance of Sound Deadening your Car
Purchasing the right components for your Car Audio System is crucial- as you want the best performance and reliability for your buck. From the head unit to the speakers- your system is only as good as its weakest link.
One area that I notice gets overlooked at times involves Sound Deadening materials, which actually play a BIG role in how well your car’s system will perform. Whether you are doing your own system installation or having it done by a pro (my recommendation) always budget for Sound Deadening materials.
Some sources …

LED technology is improving rapidly and many LED products, when used in the right applications, are now being compared to halogen and fluorescent light sources as an energy-saving alternative residential applications.
LEDs offer sustainable, low-maintenance, lighting with unique characteristics when compared to traditional