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Anyone else interested in the Integra DTC 9.8 Pre/Pro? (1 Viewer)

Ron Reda

Senior HTF Member
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Jul 27, 2001
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2,276

Michael,

I think I understand your frustration. As much as I love my Intergra, when I first made the switch, I felt like I sacrificed some of the superb sound of my Rotel on music for the ease of HDMI switching, feature set and movie performance of the Integra. There are still days when I'm listening to music where I really long for the Rotel as it was able to pull me in much closer to the music than the Integra does. The good thing is that I'm certain you can find a buyer as these things are in such high demand.
 

Michael_V

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 30, 1999
Messages
323
Ron,

Thanks for sympathizing! The Integra has had such amazing reviews, I was convinced I would be pleased with it, but I just cannot make the switch. Fortunately, the business I bought it from is willing to give me a refund, so I am packing it back up today.

My plan going forward is to use my PS3 (optical out) to my Anthem for now and listen to legacy codecs while I wait for a decent 1.1 compliant standalone player that decodes all the new formats internally (such as the upcoming Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD) and use the analog outs from that to send to the Anthem. Then I will truly have my cake and eat it, too!

And the PS3 can go into the bedroom. :)

Turning lemons into lemonade, I will probably take this opportunity (it is already disconnected) to upgrade my AVM 20 v1 to v2.xx for $300. A year or two or three down the line, when I really need HDMI switching, I will upgrade my AVM 20 to an AVM 50.

Sorry, guys! I tried to like the DTC 9.8. The Anthem just has me completely spoiled!
 

Ron Reda

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Hey, HT gear can't be all things to everyone. While I did sacrifice a bit in terms of musical performance, I am blown away by what the 9.8 does for movies. Not only that, but when you're talking about this price point, the Integra is an absolute steal in my mind. Rotel just didn't have anything remotely comparable or else I would have given them my money again. Good luck with the Anthem.
 

Michael_V

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 30, 1999
Messages
323
Ron, have you tried A/B'ing the Integra HDMI against analog in (from a player that internally decodes) to your old Rotel? To my ear, uncompressed PCM stereo on my Anthem literally blows way 5.1 on the Integra. PCM on the Anthem made me grin from ear to ear when I first heard it. I even got a "wow" from my non-HT wife. While demoing the Integra for her the other day, I got a "could you turn it down?" instead.

I may be missing something, but it seems to me that those with excellent processors may not be getting as much as they think when they "upgrade" to the newer HDMI receivers, except for a few more months listening to codecs that will soon be decoded internally in the better players anyway.
 

Ron Reda

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Michael,

No, I never did have the chance to A/B them, but I had the Rotel for quite some time (6 years) and have that sound etched in my brain. Playing familiar CDs through the analog inputs on the Integra just doesn't bring the same amount of joy that they used to bring me on the Rotel. Granted, it sounds great, just not as involving as I was used to previously.
 

Michael_V

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 30, 1999
Messages
323
Well, I took my own advice: before sending the Integra back, I decided to A/B it against my Anthem AVM 20.

First, I listened to Casino Royale in uncompressed 5.1 PCM (via HDMI) through the Integra.

After about an hour, I unhooked the Integra and set up my Anthem AVM 20, taking the speaker calibration levels from the Integra and plugging them into the Anthem in order to even the playing field (by taking away any automatic calibration advantage Audyssey might have provided).

That done, I listened to Casino Royale again in legacy DD 5.1 through the Anthem.

The almost immediate impression from myself and my wife (cleaning up in the kitchen) was that the subtle harshness we heard in the Integra was gone on the Anthem.

Admittedly, there was the faintest compression evident comparing the lossy versus lossless formats (DD 5.1 vs uncompressed 5.1 PCM), but overall the sound was still more even, pleasing, and spacious on the Anthem, even with the lossy codec. The soundfield was slightly more enveloping, as well.

Switching to uncompressed 2.0 PCM (via optical) for the same scenes in the same movie (for the third time now!), I heard a beautiful, rich, dynamic, completely uncompressed soundtrack on the Anthem that was limited only by the soundfield (stereo). Still, it was not difficult to imagine how incredible that beast will sound once I feed it the same uncompressed signal in all 5.1 channels!

The choice for me is an easy one: the Anthem stays in my equipment rack.

Hey, if it ain't broke....

:)
 

Ron Reda

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Hey, if it works for you, great! :) What does the Anthem run with the HDMI upgrade? From what I recall, it's a bit more than the Integra.
 

Michael_V

Second Unit
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Oct 30, 1999
Messages
323
Ron,

With the newer players internally decoding the HD audio formats, I do not need the HDMI upgrade. I get the same DD TruHD and DTS HD-MA surround but with the Anthem treatment by going analog in.

At least I won't need the upgrade until I get enough HDMI pieces that video switching becomes a consideration. The cost for that (AVM 20 -> AVM 50) is $2600 (compared to $5000 for the AVM 50 new).
 

Ron Reda

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Ahh, gotcha. Well, I don't feel so bad...the AVM 20 goes for over $3K, so I would expect better performance. I guess it gives me something to aspire to when I make some more money. ;)
 

Randy Ghost

Agent
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Nov 28, 1998
Messages
33
My dealer just called and said he got my unit in.
htf_images_smilies_banana.gif
Gonna be play time this weekend. LOL

Randy
 

Randy Ghost

Agent
Joined
Nov 28, 1998
Messages
33
Well, here's this old country boy's mini review.

First off, I'm upgrading from a 12 year old Kenwood pre/pro that died on me a few months back. The setup on the DTC 9.8 was simple enough with very well laid out menus. I went the manual route instead of using Audyssey for the setup. Fisrt thing I noticed right off was the quality of the surround processing and that it had a much wider field then my previous pre/pro. Took me a little while to get my sub (Miller & Kreisel MX 145) dialed in but once I did I was clear, deep. I'm not into music and we will be using the DTC 9.8 more for satellite and DVD's watching so I can't really make any comment on the music quality of the unit. I have to say I am very impressed with the DTC 9.8 and the quality of sound it produces.

Now for my dislikes.

Video switching is very slow and also when entering the DTC 9.8 setup menu. The remote is just to big and bulking for our small hands. We will be updating to the Harmony One remote. There was not a code that would control my older Toshiba TW65H80 TV with the DTC remote. I had to use the learning mode to teach the DTC remote to control the TV.

As of right now I am very happy with the DTC and glad I made the choice to go with it. I'll know more in a week after tweaking with the unit a bit more. Today I plan on playing around with the EQ settings to see if might be able to create a little better sound field.

That's it. LOL
Randy
 

Carl Gaff

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Messages
281
Been looking around my area for the last couple of weeks to find a dealer with a 9.8 in stock. Found one last week, for full price. Found another one yesterday with an out the door price of $1550. Checked one last place today and got it for $1293. Had to order it but it is supposed to be deliverd in approx three weeks. Price difference was worth the wait. Now, time to shop for that new plasma!!
 

Ron Reda

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In somewhat related news, those of us that own PS3s will be ECSTATIC to read the following:

DTS - We Bring Entertainment Alive!

Press Release Article April 10, 2008
DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO NOW AVAILABLE FOR PLAYSTATION 3 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

ADVANCED CODEC RAISES BAR FOR HIGH DEFINITION ENTERTAINMENT

MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED BLU-RAY MOVIES / CONCERT VIDEOS FEATURING PREMIUM DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO™ SOUNDTRACKS AVAILABLE


PR for: DTS Corporate

DTS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTSI) a digital audio technology company dedicated to delivering the ultimate entertainment experience, has announced that its DTS-HD Master Audio™ technology is now available for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. DTS-HD Master Audio is capable of delivering audio that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master at super high variable bit rates (up to 24.5 Mbps on Blu-ray™ Discs). This bit stream is so fast and the transfer rate so high that it can deliver 7.1 audio channel, 96k/24-bit sound identical to the original studio master. DTS’ single-bit-stream codec design enables supremely efficient content programming and consumer playback. The new PS3 with DTS-HD Master Audio will be available by simply downloading the upcoming firmware upgrade on April 15th, 2008.

“We are extremely pleased that Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) is adding the full spectrum premium DTS-HD Master Audio codec into the PS3 so that more than 10 million owners of one of the best selling computer entertainment systems can have the best sounding, most efficient and flexible audio technology available system as well,” said Brian Towne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Division at DTS. “DTS-HD Master Audio is fast becoming the must-have feature for high definition entertainment enthusiasts.”

"PS3 was designed to enable delivery of new and improved technologies like DTS-HD Master Audio," said Teiji Yutaka, Senior Vice President, Software Platform Development, SCE. "So we are delighted to be able to offer this capability to PS3 users."

I'm looking forward to using yet another feature of the DTC 9.8!!! :D
 

Sanjay Gupta

Supporting Actor
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Jun 30, 1997
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Real Name
Sanjay Gupta
Sorry to rain on your parade, but I thought it was important to point out that, this does not mean the PS3 will output a DTS-HD Master ’bitstream’. This only refers to the PS3 decoding the DTS-HD Master track internally and outputting it via HDMI as multichannel PCM. The PS3 cannot output any of the new HD audio format bitstreams due to the HDMI on it not being v1.3
 

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