Widescreen Review Webzine | Integra Ships its First Nine-Channel, 150-Watt THX-Ultra2 Power Amplifier

Integra, the industry's top brand of AV components specifically engineered for custom installation, is now shipping a powerful new nine-channel home theater power amplifier that is rated at 150-Watts per channel. It is believed to be the industry's first high-performance nine-channel home theater power amplifier. After being tested by THX, the Integra DTA-70.1 was awarded their top-level THX Ultra2 certification, indicating its ability to drive all of the speakers in a modern nine-channel home theater system to full THX output levels and beyond.

The Integra DTA-70.1 is designed as a companion product to the Integra DHC-80.1 9.2-channel AV processor for theater systems that use the new 'height' or 'stereo-wide' channels for enhanced three-dimensional ambience. The amplifier is also a highly versatile companion to seven-channel preamps such as the Integra DHC-40.1 with the extra channels dedicated to additional zones or for bi-amplified connections that double the power available to the main stereo loudspeakers.

The

DTA-70.1 is an all-analog discrete-component power amplifier with a massive power supply and professional-style balance line inputs. Each channel has identical symmetric circuit layouts, configured in a push-pull topology utilizing high-performance three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry and powerful custom-designed output transistors. Like all Integra amplifiers and receivers, it uses the company's WRAT (wide range amplifier technology) with low negative feedback, closed ground-loop circuits, and HICC (high instantaneous-current capability) to achieve an extended frequency range, low noise, and high dynamics.

The large, 11.7-Amp power supply of the DTA-70.1 uses a massive toroidal power transformer with dual 22,000 µF capacitors. This gives the system excellent short-term transient power impact, with an FTC Dynamic Power specification of 180 Watts into 8 ohms, and 400 Watts into 3 ohms. The power bandwidth is 5 Hz to 100 kHz, +/-3dB, and the IHF A-weighted signal to noise ratio is an excellent 110 dB.

The amplifier's chassis has a thick, solid aluminum front

panel and employs heavy-duty construction throughout for maximum rigidity and resistance to resonances. All the circuit boards employ thick 70µm copper foil for high current capability and low impedance, and the use of heavy copper bus plates eliminates grounding issues.

There are gold-plated XLR and machined solid brass RCA inputs for each channel. The color-coded speaker outputs use gold-plated banana-plug-compatible transparent binding posts. It has a 12-volt trigger input for remote turn on and off capabilities, and an automatic power-down capability.

The Integra DTA-70.1 power amplifier is now available with a suggested retail price of $1,800.

Integra designs and manufactures premium Home Theater receivers, processors, amplifiers, and DVD players that are specifically designed to meet the needs of custom audio/video systems installers. Systems integration and convergence technology protocols include RS-232, IR and on-board Ethernet for network connectivity and TCP/IP control. Integra has access to vast technical resources and bears a proud heritage of over 60 years of audio engineering excellence. For more information about Integra and its many fine products, visit www.integrahometheater.com or call 800 225-1946.