Surround Sound Processors Integra DTC-9.8 THX Ultra2 7.1 SSP
| Integra DTC-9.8 THX Ultra2 7.1 SSP |
| Written by Sandy Bird | |||||
| Friday, 28 December 2007 04:22 | |||||
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So how does all this technology sound in practice? Amazing. I can hardly express how happy I am with the sound of this unit. For those of you who have ever sat though a professional demo in a controlled environment, you know the feeling when the hair on the back of your neck stands up, and you think, "I wish my home setup were this good!" The Integra DTC-9.8 can help get you there. In my case, I have a relatively large room with acoustic treatment and some other very good equipment to complement the Integra. I can safely say that I get that exact same demo experience when watching some of the new movie disc formats in the room. The intro to Cars on Blu-ray made me simply shake my head. I think I have listened to the opening to that movie 30 times in the last couple of weeks. With the silent McQueen prepping himself for the day's race, to the contrasted roar of engines and tires, to the pumped up soundtrack of "Real Gone", it was an experience no one could resist. To take things to a softer note, I went to the Phantom of the Opera HD-DVD. When I was a teenager, I saw the play Phantom when it was visiting Toronto. Listening to the audio from that movie reminds me so much of that wonderful experience which opened my eyes and ears to the wonders of theater, but honestly I think I enjoy it as much watching the HD DVD at home now. On the audio side, I was just as impressed. I store all my music in lossless format on a PC which was connected to the Integra. The image and presentation of the soundstage put forth by the unit were amazing. I tried it with and without the Audyssey EQ, and it did make a difference. It wasn't jaw dropping, but it helped enough to give it a big thumbs up, and my guess is in a room with less acoustical treatment, the difference would be even more pronounced. So what's not to like? I am a reviewer, and if I ever found a product I didn't have anything to complain about, I would probably stop writing. The Integra is pretty close to perfect, but there is one annoying little thing. When the digital format changes, say from Dolby Digital to Stereo PCM, there is about a 1 second delay before the new signal is locked on. For most people you will never notice this, as your DVD player will be sending DD all the time and your CD Player will send PCM. In this case, one will only ever notice the delay when changing sources, and since you are starting to use a new source you probably won't even notice the second it take to sync. In my case, my media server sends all kinds of different audio formats (16/44.1 PCM, DTS, AC-3, 24/192 kHz, and the list goes on), and everytime it sends something new, there is a one second delay before the audio starts. It isn't serious, but the Anthem D2 locks almost instantaneously. On the Bench The Integra shines. I took the measurements using the balanced inputs and outputs. Measurements were at 2 volts RMS output. THD+N was 0.009% at 2 volts output. Notice the almost complete lack of harmonics. Using 10 kHz and 11 kHz sine waves, there was no observable IMD peak at either the B-A position (1 kHz) or the A+B position (21 kHz). The measured frequency response was 20 Hz - 20 kHz +0, - 0.015 dB.
Honestly, if you are in the market for a new SSP, and you can't afford to buy an Anthem D2, just go buy this unit. I can't give my recommendation any more strongly. Associated Equipment: Comments (23)
Integra 9.8!
written by Steve , January 05, 2008 Sandy, Great review of what appears to be an incredible product! I have a similar speaker setup (albeit, Mirage OM9's vs your OM6's which are sweet!!) Do you know of any GTA dealers who carry this? Tried the Integra website, but they have zero dealers listed in Ontario! If you are selling that unit, I will buy it! :) Cheers, Steve
Going from Rotel RSP-1066 to the Integra DTC 9.8
written by Rage , January 08, 2008 Great review, Sandy, but I have one important question... Despite being in the digital age, some of us are still using outboards DACs with CD players serving merely as transports. How does the 9.8 sound through analog inputs (running in stereo or "direct/pure") for CDs? My current Rotel RSP-1066 excels in this area and I'd hate to give up any performance in my music listening. Thanks!!!
It sounds great with analog sources too...
written by Sandy Bird , January 13, 2008 While I never connected an external DAC or a CD player to the unit I did use the 7.1 channel input from a higher end sound card (X-Meridian) with upgraded op-amps. I had the same sound card connected to the Anthem P5 directly and through the 7.1 analog input of the Integra. The Integra sounded great. The room correction from the Audyssey processing will probably be enough of an enhancement to your 2 channel analog sources to justify the difference. You might also find using the CD player transport connected to the Integra as good as your external DAC; it honestly has an exceptional digital processing section in it.
Compared to the D2 or Krell proc or Parasound ?
written by Zed , January 16, 2008 Hi Sandy, Nice review. Enjoyed reading it. Thank you. Could you comment on how the sound in stereo and surround modes compared to the D2? how about video performance ? Also any comments on sonic comparisons to Krell or Parasound or Lexicon , Meridian processors will be highly appreciated Regards, Zed
Phantom of the Opera?
written by Ciaran , January 20, 2008 Sandy Thanks for the review. Just out of curiousity, what year did you see Phantom in Toronto. I played The Phantom there from January 95 - January 1997 and a few odd stints for weeks at a time past that until October 1998.
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written by Bob , January 20, 2008 Great review -- very informative. A question -- do you recommend calibrating w/the Audyssey or doing it manually? Best, Bob
Question for Sandy & Audyssey Note
written by ender21 , January 21, 2008 Sandy, What could the expected decreases in performance be from the RCA outputs rather than the Balanced XLRs? At some point I'd like to move to an XLR amp but for now RCA is it! Bob, Personally I recommend Audyssey. The 15-band is parametric whereas Audyssey is not. Additionally, it uses many, many more points of reference than the 15-bands that "manual" uses. After calibrating with Audyssey twice, I'm really happy with the results! Rick
Comparison
written by Jeff , January 27, 2008 I can’t help but wonder how the Integra measures up from an audio point of view to other similarly priced AVRs' such as the Yamaha RX-V3800 and Marantz SR7002?
Sound Delay
written by JFB , January 28, 2008 I recently purchased the DTC-9.8 and while I'm very happy with it I wanted to note 2 quirks I've found with the unit. First, related to the 1 second delay with signal locking mentioned in the review - I find this happens to me when changing channels on my cable box. It also happens when I fast-forward or rewind a program, pretty much anything that interrupts the sound. While I won't defend the cable box I'm using it was not something I experienced with my Denon AVR-4306 this unit replaced. Secondly, I had trouble getting the HDMI handshake to work for my cable box (and my Mac Mini gave me a weird garbage screen). In both cases the sources were DVI connections I had used a converter on to convert them to HDMI so don't know if that was the problem. For now I'm using an Oppo switcher to switch everything instead of the Integra and with a few macros in my remote it is as seamless as if the Integra was switching everything (again, the Denon AVR-4306 had no problem switching these devices via the same connections). I'm not faulting the unit in either case, I'm actually very, very happy with it and that is without spending much time tweaking things on it, but did want to note my experience. Even with the quirks I would still highly recommend checking it out.
bitstream vs. lpcm
written by Bob , January 29, 2008 Another question: Does getting True HD to work require a player that outputs it as a bitstream? In other words, LPCM output of True HD won't do it? thanks for any repllies
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written by Frank , February 23, 2008 In the future could you compare the Onkyo version to the Integra. I am most interested in the audio performance in pure audio vs direct audio. The Integra doesnt have the pure audio feature as you already know. Thanks
DTC-9.8 vs the TX-NR905
written by Crazyivan68 , February 28, 2008 I think a fairer comparison of a receiver as a pre/pro would be the Onkyo TX-NR905. It's closer in price to the DTC-9.8 and its internals are also similar, e.g. both use a toroidal transformer. It would also be interesting how close the 905 came to the DTC-9.8/P5 combo.
DTC-9.8 Sound
written by C. Gafford , March 25, 2008 How was the sound of this unit when playing music. I would be a using a B&K amp with all Martin Logan speakers. Does the unit have a neutral, warm, harsh sound? I know some people might disagree but I firmly believe pre-pros sound different and each can impart a different sound when listening
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written by JEJ , March 25, 2008 The problem here is that the reviewer used a different power amplifier than the B&K you have. So, whether it sounded warm or neutral (if it had sounded harsh, Sandy would have said so), it won't necessarily sound the same with the B&K. As long as the B&K input impedance is not really low (10 kOhms), I would estimate that it will be fine at all volume settings.
DTC 9.8 With Martin Logan Speakers
written by Fitzcaraldo215 , May 02, 2008 To- Mr. C. Gafford, You asked about the Integra with Martin Logan's. I have had a DTC 9.8 for about 6 months. I use 7 Martin Logan speakers - Prodigy's, Clarity's, Scripts and a Stage - with Krell, Bryston and Parasound amps. This system produces the finest reproduced sound I have ever heard. I am a music rather than a video buff, and I play SACD's and DVD-a's (mainly classical) using an Oppo 980H via HDMI. The old 2 channel line stage and cd player I swapped out for this cost about 8 times as much, and were very highly regarded. In addition to the DTC 9.8, the Oppo and direct HDMI digital connection, the other key to the great sound is the Audyssey "room correction" built in to the Integra. The Integra is one of the greatest "steals" of all time in audio history, and I have been an audiophile for 40 years. For a more complete description of my experience, please see the following link: http://www.avrevforum.com/showpost.php?p=14364&postcount=16
ML Vantage
written by jmschnur , May 02, 2008 The Onkyo 885P works well with my Vantage speakers and Cinema center. I use a Bryston for the Vantages and an Outlaw 7500 for the Center and surrounds (NHT dipoles and Ceiling). I crossover the Vantage at 40 Hz to my HSU 1220.
NAD T175
written by AB , May 05, 2008 Will you be posting a review of the NAD T175 ssp anytime soon? Thanks in advance.
Integra 9.8 vs Marantz sr8002
written by Dave98svt , May 12, 2008 I'm currently using a marantz sr8002 as a pre/pro, with a seperate ICEpower amp. I am not totally satisfied with the sound while listening to 2 channel music. A couple people have recommended I try the 9.8. Would the Integra 9.8 be an improvement in sound quality over my marantz?
Integra 9.8
written by MM , June 05, 2008 Just purchased Integra 9.8, so far enjoying surround sound and excellent 2 channel sound. For the money you can not go wrong.
Integra 9.8
written by Darcy , November 22, 2008 Thanks for the review! Was looking to do an upgrade. The fact that this unit was so similar to products three times the cost made it easy. Just purchased it and am very impressed. Liked the fact it was so easy to familiar myself with the functions and calibrations.
INTEGRA DTR-9.9 --ONKYO TXNR906
written by felix , December 28, 2008 Thanks for reviews!Im looking to upgrade.(present receiver ONKYO TH-SD989).Will yuo be posting reviews of the INTEGRA DTR-9.9 and ONKYO TXNR906 soon? Need help choosing.I can get the ONKYO for $1,449.00 and the INTEGRA for $2,166.00 many thx Write comment
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