DTC-9.4 Questions

[Menasce]

Hello everyone,

I'm considering the DTC-9.4 pre-pro/tuner for my home theater and I'm having a hard time getting price information here in Canada. I read a review on another HT-related website that indictated an MSRP of $2000. I assume that this is $US. Does anyone here have an idea what the pricing of this unit is in eastern Canada/Quebec?

Another question: how does this Pre stack up against Rotel's offerings (ie RSP-1068 ), in terms of sound quality, build, reliability, price, and on and on?

Many thanks to all for your help...




best regards...
Peter

[pepar]

I'm not able to assist on the Rotel comparison, but I think the mfg's website has a dealer locator feature. Select "International Locations" and "Canada." Click on "ON." There are about 20 or so in the GTO area.

edit: Oops, I see you're in PQ. Click on "PQ."

Hello everyone,

I'm considering the DTC-9.4 pre-pro/tuner for my home theater and I'm having a hard time getting price information here in Canada. I read a review on another HT-related website that indictated an MSRP of $2000. I assume that this is $US. Does anyone here have an idea what the pricing of this unit is in eastern Canada/Quebec?

Another question: how does this Pre stack up against Rotel's offerings (ie RSP-1068 ), in terms of sound quality, build, reliability, price, and on and on?

Many thanks to all for your help...

-
"The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed." - William Gibson

"I like the future; I'm in it." - Firesign Theater

[Danbry39]

The $2000 is U.S. msrp. I was able to buy mine for, if I recall, $1650 U.S.
Thus far, I haven't at all stretched myself to use all of the features available on the 9.4 as I use it for listening to music the vast majority of time, with a few DVD's tossed in here and there.

My impressions are very favorable. Sound quality is just excellent in my book, a significant step up from my old Rotel 1066, although I really loved that unit. Haven't compared it to the 1068, but I imagine it's very competitive sound wise. As far as features, it has connects for phono (which I haven't used), a headphone jack (which is decent as far as it goes, but I use a separate amp for my Sennheiser 650's), and a tuner as well as net tune (again, haven't used).

Here's how I'd evaluate it. I've only heard one comparison by a poster at another site who claims to have heard both this and the 1068. He said he slightly prefered the sound of the 9.4. Who knows under what conditions he heard the two units though, so I'll call it a toss up. Aside from the features above, the Rotel is firmware upgradable and Rotel has a history of following through in this regard. I've personally always found Rotel an easier company to deal with than Onkyo/Integra.




Keith

[Menasce]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I'm heading towards the Integra, both for the sound quality, and because it has a better remote.

I appreciate all the help...




best regards...
Peter

[boe]

I'm considering this unit as well but no news on the DPL IIx which is strange since they made this available on their receivers.

I asked onkyo@onkyousa.com if they had a patch for DPIIx -

"Thank You for contacting Onkyo USA Product Support.

This unit does not have an upgrade for DPIIx."

I asked them is that will change and they didn't say.

[Danbry39]

I'm considering this unit as well but no news on the DPL IIx which is strange since they made this available on their receivers.

I asked onkyo@onkyousa.com if they had a patch for DPIIx -

"Thank You for contacting Onkyo USA Product Support.

This unit does not have an upgrade for DPIIx."

I asked them is that will change and they didn't say.

Not exactly certain, but I think the 9.4 came out before the wave of receivers/processors that incorporate IIx. As it isn't firmware upgradable, it would probably be the next generation that includes this feature.

I don't like the way Onkyo/Integra sometimes doesn't always let us know what's on the horizon, but I would think that there might be a new version of the 9.4 somewhere in Onkyo's agenda. This is just pure speculation on my part though, so if you're running more than 5.1, you'd either have to wait or look elsewhere. I will say that, imo, the 9.4 is a very nice processor for the money. It sounds very, very nice for both multi-channel and two-channel applications.

Three things I'd love to see the new version, should there be one, have are the IIx, some way to upgrade the firmware, and some form of auto callibration, as well as minor tweeks like having the volume level more viewable from a distance. If they did these types of things and kept it in its current price range, it would be another big winner in my book.

[boe]

On the same wavelength

I would love to know what they've got coming out -no doubt they have something in the works, but the question of course is - how much longer do we have to wait.

Unfortunately, I won't consider anything without IIx so that eliminates this iteration of the 9.4 if it can't be upgraded. Other vendors actually have firmware upgrades coming for their equipment - Bryston, Anthem for IIx I guess Onkyo didn't put in the same types of upgradeable boards since their receivers required hardware changes for IIx

I would prefer the volume knob be black like the rest of the unit - the colors look like they are trying to impress. I loved the way my old sony and yamaha had a little led on the knob to indicate the knob position - great for viewing from a distance without be obtrusive.

The autocalibration would be sweet but not a requirement for me like the IIx. I think the integra already has it but if not, a dolby headphone jack is probably going to be a requirement for me. I know I can buy a seperat box, I can also buy a car and replace the stock engine but I won't buy a car unless the engine is sufficient in the stock iteration.

I thought the current one had firmware updates available through the rs232.

[Danbry39]

Yep, the current version does have Dolby headphone. I personally don't use it as the only headphone listening I do is via a separate headphone amp. It also has net tune, which is another feature I don't use.

[boe]

Curent 9.4

Can you tell me when the present one came out? That may give me a guess as to when the next one might come out.

[Danbry39]

Don't recall when they came out. I did get mine around November/December of 2003 and they'd been around at least a couple of months before that. So, it is probably at least approaching a year and could well be beyond that already. Whereas, certain companies issue new versions of their gear relatively infrequently, Onkyo, at least, does so relatively often. If this holds true with Integra, it might be soon. I just don't get why they don't let us know, unless, of course, they fear that they'd have a harder time getting rid of the old version if a new one was on the horizon.

[Danbry39]

Did a bit of research. Near as I can tell, the 9.4 was first shipped around July of 2003. If that's so, it has been out over two years.

[boe]

July 2003?

Thanks for the info. "9.4 was first shipped around July of 2003. If that's so, it has been out over two years" - were you saying July 2002 or were you saying 1 year?

[Danbry39]

Oops, it's my brain, I swear. :B What I did was find an old thread elsewhere where people were talking about its release and one posted that one was on the way to his house. The date was correct. It has been out a bit over one year.

[boe]

I appreciate your efforts on digging up this info. I don't know what it is these days but companies such as Sony and Pioneer used to have an 18 month cycle for products like this.