Integra DTC 9.8 Processor
With HDMI and the new surround sound formats that came with Blu-Ray I found myself shopping for a new preamp to replace my aging Outlaw Audio 950 and quickly came across the Integra DTC 9.8. People all over the internet were going crazy about it and it didn’t take me long to find out why. With balanced inputs and outputs, a feature usually only found on the highest end of products, the amazing HQV Reon video processor, THX Ultra2 Certified, four HDMI 1.3a inputs and two HDMI outputs, 24/192 kHz Burr Brown DACs on all channels, Audyssey MultEQ XT for easy speaker setup and a price point of only $1,699. After doing a bunch of reading about the DTC 9.8 I concluded that it was the model for me and went looking for one, that turned out to be easier said than done. I ended up going back to the great guys at Music Lovers Audio in Berkeley, I’ve song their praises before but if you’re in the SF bay area you owe to yourself to check them out.
Music Lovers didn’t have any in stock but the were more than happy to order one up for me. It took about 3 weeks for my order to come in. When I went to pick it up the first thing I noticed was the weight, at nearly 30 pounds it’s pretty impressive. I got the unit home and quickly started setting things up. After getting everything all wired up I tried using the Audyssey MultEQ to calibrate the system and that’s when things got ugly. I plugged in the supplied mic and the system did what it was supposed to do but when it came time to actually calibrate something was wrong. I contacted Music Lovers and they told me not to worry, they will get things straightened out and a couple days later one of their employees came by my house to see if he could track down the problem. He couldn’t. They ended up having to order me another unit. Thankfully, the unit was still totally functional so I wasn’t without. To make a long story short, it took over six weeks for my replacement unit to arrive, but that one worked just great.
I absolutely love my Integra DTC 9.8. I have it paired with my Outlaw 7100 amplifier and I think it sounds absolutely amazing. The Reon processor does a great job of upscaling non 1080P signals, such as that from my Oppo DVD player and Playstation 3 games. The processor was incredibly easy to setup with great onscreen menus which are setup logically and very straight forward. I am absolutely loving the lossless audio of TrueHD and DTS-MA on Blu-Ray discs, the sound is just amazing. The unit has tons of inputs and outputs, plenty for all my gear. It’s incredibly easy to use with an excellent button layout and it even has some front panel inputs which have come in handy a couple times. It was very easy to setup with an excellent menu system. It really truly is an amazing piece of gear, I am extremely satisfied with it.
If I had any complaints it’s that I wish it had more HDMI inputs, I have enough for all my gear currently but I am using all my HDMI inputs already. It would also be nice if you could set a different resolution per HDMI out. I’d also like to be able to send digital signals to another zone.
Integra DTC 9.8 Processor Features
AUDIO PROCESSING:
• THX™ Ultra2 Certified
• Toroidal Transformer Plus 2 Separate Power Transformers for Audio & Video Processing
• HDMI (v.1.3a) Audio & Video Processing
• Audyssey MultiEQ™ XT Advanced Room Correction
• DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High-Resolution Audio, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus Decoding
• Burr Brown 192 kHz/24-bit DACs for All Channels
• Neural THX Surround Processing
• Three Advanced TI 32-Bit Processing DSP Chips
• Linear Optimum Gain Volume Circuitry
• VLSC- Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry- All Channels
• Bi-amp Capability for Front L/R Channels
• IntelliVolume Input Level Calibration System
• 15-band Graphic Equalizer
• Variable Crossover Settings by Channel Pair
• Accurate Speaker Distance Settings (0.2ft increments)
• A/V Sync Delay Adjustment by Input (up to 250ms)
VIDEO:
• HQV Reon-VX Processing for Premium Quality HDMI Upscaling/Transcoding of All Sources (up to 1080p)
• HD Component Video (100 MHz) w/upconversion
• Composite video output (x2)
• Passes PLUGE signals
• Video black level control
• Parallel outputs — all active simultaneously (@480p)
CONNECTIONS:
• 1080p Deep Color™ (36 bit) Capable HDMI (4in/2out) w/upconversion/transcoding
• 7.1 Channel Balanced Line Level XLR Outputs
• 2-Channel Balanced XLR Audio Input (assignable)
• 7.1 Multichannel Input & Pre-output
• XM® & SIRIUS Satellite Radio Ready
• HD Radio Reception Capability
• RDS (Radio Data System) Ready
• Assignable Digital Inputs (4 HDMI/3 optical/3 coaxial)
• HDMI/Component Video Assignable to Tape/CD/Phono
• 1 Optical Digital Output
• Front Panel A/V Inputs (including optical)
CUSTOM INTEGRATION FEATURES:
• Bi-directional Ethernet & RS-232 Port for 3rd Party Control Systems
• Fixed/Variable Zone 2 w/HD Component Video & Subwoofer Output
• Fixed/Variable Zone 3 w/Subwoofer Output
• Zone 2 Bass/Treble/Balance Controls
• Main Zone/2/3 Maximum & Power On Volume Settings
• Exclusive IntelliZone for advanced second room playback and control
• Dealer Settings Memory Store & Recall w/Lock/Unlock
• Permanently Stored Memory Settings
• Dual IR Inputs w/Common Output
• 3 Programmable 12V triggers (w/adj. delay)
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January 21, 2011 12:37 am
Your set-up sounds wicked! I’ve heard nothing but praises for Integra. Pairing it up with an equally cool amp will certainly seal the deal.