They are favoured in the pro' arena because they are more durable and repel interferance very effectively (thanks to the firt pin. Pins two and three being the normal polarity and the inverted polarity) compared to single-ended interconnects, but that's largely to do with the hostile environments in which they are used (longer cable runs, rougher treatment of gear etc).

The main reason you see XLR/balanced connection options on higher-end gear is because it adds a wow factor to those who are convinced it's a benefit regardless. AKA arelatively expensive feature that probably won't offer a performance gain.

What often happens with people who buy an amplifier/receiver with XLR sockets is they will at some point buy a source to go with it which also has XLR, regardless of whether or not it has the right sound to go with the amplifier's character. Not necessarily a good way to put your gear together.

the recommendations here and the other press / hype it is getting.

They are tough to get a hold of.

It has balanced outs and I didn't know if it would be best to choose an amp with inputs to match.

Thanks.

The video board is partly hand-assembled. Takes a while.
We have one in stock.

basically a balanced connection sends two versions of the signal to the amp, one 180 degrees out of phase to the other, when they get put back together, everything that matches (signal) stays, everything that doesn't (noise in the transmission) goes. it's a must for recording purposes, but i doubt you'll be able to hear anything in a 3-6' run compared to rca. we do it for some customers just because we can, but i don't think there's a sonic difference.
on the other hand, if you run a class a or class a/b amp, they can be quite noisy. a balanced connection will help with hiss and the over all noise floor.

we've been waiting quite a while for anything from them (aside from ipod docks, that is)

in a week or so. Don't know if I want to wait or not.

Is anyone discounting these from MSRP?

Integra do all they can to keep it that way.

I am happy there are companies out there that favor there dealers over there customers. It pretty much cuts off price gouging. its also something that is done with almost all higher end companies.

The reason for is this is because all the dealers would go out of business if they couldn't make some reasonable margin on what they are selling. Without expereinced dealers with a store for the customer to walk into, the buyer is left with no choice than to just buy blind from the internet.

Most people buying better than entry-level gear (more than $500 per component) usually care enough about performance to want a system which sounds great for the money the are spending.

Without a trip to a dealer where comparisons can be done based upon the recommendations of a sales guy who knows his product characteristics and how to match them, a mis-matched system is the most likely outcome, regardless of how happy with it the customer might claim to be at the end of the day. The value in such systems is very low. A well matched system costing say, 30% more offers far better value given how much better it is likely to sound.

I had a lady walk into my work yesterday asking how she can get better sound from her system (Mirage speakers, Yamaha receiver, Yamaha DVD player).
She was asked what she didn't like about the sound and what she wanted to hear. She wasn't well versed in all the audiophile terms, but it didn't matter. She suggested the sound wasn't holding her attention and wasn't happy.

She was then given a demo of a system which probably sounded a lot like the gear she was using (she said it did) and she then got to hear some alternatives which sounded quite different.
She liked them all more than the sound she was used to, but preffered one combination in particular (Pioneer Elite VSX92TXH with B&W 684 speakers and Pioneer DVD player for those who care) and was amazed at how much better they sounded compared with her similarly priced equipment - which she bought upon recommendation from a friend of hers who apparently knows this stuff.
Her friend my love the sound of the Yamaha & Mirage system more than any other, but everyone has their own idea of what sound does it best for them. As our customer discovered yesterday. And the best way to get the system which gives the best sound for your dollar was the way she did it yesterday. She also paid for us to visit her home to show her how to get the system performing optimally given her room layout and requirements. The value of this is invariably recognised by our customer while we are in the process of doing this.

There's a fine art to matching equipment and good dealers can help with this. Not all dealers are good at this, but a visit to a few stores and you'll soon discover who is skilled in system-matching. Your ears will be the best judge. They will ask you what kind of sound you like and if you don't know they will soon find out with a few demo's. Once they have established what sound really floats your boat, they will then put together a system that offers the sound and features you desire at a price that works for you. This can't be done on the internet. This is why, despite the low prices per component, the internet is a poor value place to buy a HT/audio system.

This counts for video too. It amusing how many of our customers refuse to buy our Samsung LCD TVs when they see how they perform with sources which are not High Def' compared with other sets we carry.
The difference when you connect a player direct to the sets they are interested in are marked compared with having all the sets on the same source feed (split many ways) using component cables. Not easy getting that done at CC or BB.

pay dealer cost?

that does not fly, and manufacturers KNOW a/v companies have expenses. All of the good manufacturers are price protected. subsequently they are more protected because of consumers like you that know what they want. Consumers like you walk in a place and buy the equipment you researched. An AV store is more likely to discount the same equipment if you have them install it. thats the catch. it allows the av company to make the decision. If you want to install it sure they may give you a small discount but at the end of the day they know any money they make is between the time you walk in and walk out.

Being satisfied and being thrilled by a product (compared with others in it's range) are two very different things.
You could be satisfied with a Toyota Camry if you haven't tried other vehicles in it's price range. But there could be other sedans out there for similar money that stimulate you much more so. Many folks feel that maximum stimulation for the money is worth seeking out. Others seem to think it doesn't get much more stimulating than telling their buddies how much money they saved regardless of how much sonic value they could've had for the same price.

it sounds like what you are doing is settling for a component if it performs to your satisfaction in your home, without necessarily knowing how it sounds compared with a few other similarly priced models from other brands.

I dont care what room your in, if you have an ear YOU WILL KNOW the difference.

especially if you know how to aim the speakers towards your ears when demo testing.(which you can only do at a dealer) or if your lucky a friends house.

screwing with picture quality to sell a mro eprofitable tv is just BAD. I dont know any companies that do that.

I do however know of companies splitting the component runs with less then capable amplifiers.

I wired saga in tenafly with a $15,000 a/v amplifier from autopatch. that place is wired correctly.

Only trouble is, the majority of them had a serious mis-match with their equipment and didn't have things set-up anywhere close to optimum.

Not all dealers do a good job of covering all these bases, but it's worth finding one that does given the results that can be had.

just trying to pull you over to the 'dark side'.
: )

really busy I stop postng for a month or so...

seemed to have picked up a bit it seems

My friend is a manager for a high end retailer. He has an outdated Classe amp(there is a strict no sell clause attached to it for other salemen) which he uses because of the sound it reproduces for 1 line of speakers they sell.

One of the other salemen told me they have a Genesis tube intergrated amp which they use to sell Revel "book shelf" monitors. He said the sound it produces is bloated/tubby bass wise, but the customers love it. They have never sold 1 of the intergrated amps, but they are convinced it helps them sell speakers.