DTC-9.4 First Impressions and Setup
DTC-9.4
This preprocessor looks beautiful and has a finish that I believe rivals many other processors and receivers in its price range. This is highly subjective, of course, but the brushed aluminum power button and volume control gives some gravitas to the anodized case design. It's quite often the little things that make a component stand out in its class - after all, about 95% of all processors and receivers are black anodized aluminum so it's the tiniest details that help them to stand apart. The front door hiding controls for Zone 2, DSP modes, dimmer and tuner functions provides a smooth, nicely controlled operation when opened, reminding me of a reverse implementation of the early 90's Pontiac TransAm GTA hatch backs.
DTA-9.4
I haven't utilized a lot of Class-D amplifiers (aside from those found in subwoofers) and they have a reputation for being noisier than Class AB amplifiers. The analog output filters at the power stages are notorious to causing ill effects on signal integrity when driving highly reactive loads such as a loudspeakers. I was pleased to not have to break my back when installing the unit, but couldn't help but wonder if the sound quality would suffer. After all, don't people generally base amplifier quality by the pound? In this case my first impression was a positive one. The amp did not produce the dearth control I had heard was the inherent characteristic of this type of amplifier class. I'll go into more detail later, but out of the box I was pleased with the unit's ability to reproduce dynamics.
First Impressions: CHAD Remote Control
I honestly never understood the attraction to LCD remote controls as they eliminate one of the most ergonomic ways to navigate any device - tactile response. An LCD remote control by nature demands your full attention during operation as you have no buttons to feel around for or texture to familiarize yourself with. Any functions other than volume and channel changing require at minimum a quick glance at the screen and often the engaging of the backlight. Regardless of this fact I know the difference between my opinion and the overall usefulness of the remote control - so I settled in to accustom myself to the new remote and weigh its usefulness against others typically found in this price range. ( full discussion on the CHAD remote )
The Set-Up
Making all of the connections was
straightforward as expected with the DTC-9.4. The back panel was efficiently organized and I
especially liked the smart location of the preamp inputs and outputs. I was able to connect a
Universal DVD player after I had already integrated the system into my audio rack due to the
separated location of the preamp inputs form the much-occupied A/V section.
Back Panel of the Integra DTC-9.4 Preamp Processor
During this review I exclusively utilized the DTA-9.4 for amplification except for some dedicated listening tests to examine the effects of Integra's Class-D amplification against a comparably-priced Class AB/G amplifer. With my 4-ohm main speakers and 6-ohm center and surrounds, this provided between 180 - 240W (max) per channel to all speakers (rated with two-channels driven).
Having used the Onkyo TX-SR601 receiver for a number of weeks prior to
this review I was fairly familiar with the Integra's similar setup menus and configuration
methodology. I think that Onkyo/Integra has one of the most straightforward OSD systems for all
major settings, though you can certainly drill down into the menus quite a bit for some of the more
obscure adjustments you may wish to make. Going through the On-Screen Display (OSD) I was able to
easily set up the receiver and customize the DTC-9.4 to fit the required metrics of my listening
room. I configured the bass management to cross over at THX' recommended 80Hz and set the speaker
configuration as shown here.
In addition to being able to set your crossover in 20Hz increments from 40Hz - 120Hz, you can enable subwoofer out in 2-channel analogue/PCM mode via the Audio Adjust/Sound Effects/Subwoofer menu. While there is no subwoofer output in the analogue Pure Direct mode (which bypasses all DSP and disables all video processing), you are able to engage it in Direct and Stereo modes. The flexibility of the Integra processor is only limited by the lack of multiple settings for different listening modes. For example, while I can alter the subwoofer levels for both DTS and Dolby Digital modes, I cannot permanently adjust individual speaker levels for different modes. This is especially handy when switching between listening to multichannel audio such as SACD/DVD-A and movies. THX is actually building a much more complex DSP mode due to the extreme differences in typical levels associated with gaming and movie/song reproduction. For this very reason it is extremely helpful to be able to store alternate levels for different listening modes. One nice thing is that the DTC-9.4 makes it very easy to adjust channel levels temporarily on the fly by simply hitting CH Sel (channel select) and raising the level of the desired speaker. This works in both multichannel and digital input modes.
Quick Picks
There are some thiings that are worth pointing out right away with regards to the Integra DTC-9.4. The Maximum Volume setting located in the Preferences Setup menu enables you to set a maximum volume for your system. This is incredibly useful if you have small children or audio novices living in your home and could potentially save you thousands of dollars in blown drivers. Another excellent feature is Net-Tune (I'm going to gloss over it here because it will get its own article at a later date). Net-Tune enabled Onkyo and Integra products allow you to use your processor as a remote playback device for music stored on a networked PC in your home. The result is that you can finally play that MP3 library you've collected on your PC - in your living room! Very cool, very simple, and very practical in today's portable electronics driven world. Character Input is a neat way to create custom labels for your inputs. I've always been a fan of this and feel that more receivers and processors should incorporate this feature. Combined with a fully routable audio/video matrix, this basically allows you to have total freedom in routing devices through the various inputs of the Integra processor. Dolby Headphone mode is the last thing I'll mention here. If you haven't tried this, do yourself a favor and grab a set of over-the-ear headphones and plug them in. You can set the amount of room size you'd like to hear in the Dolby Headphone mode, but regardless of what you choose, you'll be amazed at the surround effect created by this DSP.
