So as I've indicated in another post, I can't seem to find a basic pre-pro without a lot of bells and whistles I won't need. I'm just looking to feed the best quality signal I can to a set of powered speakers (Genelec) in a simple 5.1 configuration. I'm not attracted to using the line outs of a receiver as I don't think the processing and signal path will be as good as that of a dedicated preamp. It appears that people are starting to dump their Integra DTC-9.8 pre-pros...who knows why...maybe they think HDMI 1.3a will soon turn them into boat anchors.
AT any rate, 9.8's are showing up on various auction and classified sites at at half or less than the original retail. So the question is this: Would I be better off with a new DHC-40 (1.4a and all) or a used DTC-9.8?
In favor of the 9.8 is that it has balanced outs which the Genelecs can handle (they can handle unbalanced as well). I don't know what, if any, qualitative difference in DACs there might be between the two options. I do plan to have a 3D projector and 3D BD player, so 1.4 would be nice, but I could always feed the projector directly with one HDMI cable and take the second HDMI out from the BD player and send it to the DTC-9.8 for the audio.
I'd welcome the opinions of others. Maybe I'm overlooking an important consideration.
AT any rate, 9.8's are showing up on various auction and classified sites at at half or less than the original retail. So the question is this: Would I be better off with a new DHC-40 (1.4a and all) or a used DTC-9.8?
In favor of the 9.8 is that it has balanced outs which the Genelecs can handle (they can handle unbalanced as well). I don't know what, if any, qualitative difference in DACs there might be between the two options. I do plan to have a 3D projector and 3D BD player, so 1.4 would be nice, but I could always feed the projector directly with one HDMI cable and take the second HDMI out from the BD player and send it to the DTC-9.8 for the audio.
I'd welcome the opinions of others. Maybe I'm overlooking an important consideration.
