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Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Review

Rate this stereo receiver:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 34 19.8%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 120 69.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 17 9.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 1 0.6%

  • Total voters
    172

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Integra DTM-7.4 stereo amplifier with HDMI/ARC and streaming support. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $900.
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC review.jpg

The unit looks half-way between an integrated stereo amplifier and an AV Receiver. Thankfully it is lighter in weight than AVRs due to use of Class G amplifier. This topology keeps amplifier voltage rails low until more power is needed in which case, it switches to higher voltage to deliver that. This has the major benefit of sharply reducing idle current/power consumption. Measured power consumption at idle was around 37 watts (dropping to 3.7 watts in standby mode).

The controls generally feel OK although I found them a bit too light, especially in the input selector where I would fly past the choice I wanted and had to switch back. Back panel shows comprehensive feature list which is lacking in typical stereo amplifiers:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC remote control automation back panel review.jpg

Automation control is front and center in the advertising indicating that the unit is targeted toward home automation companies where such products are routinely installed in living rooms and bedrooms. Stereo output is all that is needed and using an AVR just complicates things as far as size and heat generation.

While a subsystem of an AVR is included in the form of HDMI inputs, all the signal processing including bass management is deleted. This is a miss.

Overall I like the unit as it somehow looks more friendly to use than the complexity that an AVR brings.

Integra DTM-7.4 DAC Measurements
Since we have pre-amplifier output, I was able to measure the performance of the DAC by itself, driving it both with HDMI and Toslink which produced similar performance:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC Measurement.png


Notice that I had disconnected the speaker as the amplifier was well into clipping at this point. With speakers connected, SINAD was essentially the same and the amplifier kept going without shutting down which is impressive. Then again, it is a shame that when you use an external amp, the internal one is going nuts driving nothing. Best to stick with the internal amplifier than. Anyway, performance as shown, just edges into "OK" category:
best stereo AV Receiver Review.png

I am showing the rankings of AVRs rather than DACs as this unit better fits there. For a music focused stereo device, I would have wanted something in the green category.

Dynamic range is decent though if we relax our standards as we often do for AV products:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC Dynamic range Measurement.png


Linearity gets lost at lower levels as again, is typical of AVRs:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC linearity Measurement.png


Jitter was pronounced using HDMI or Toslink (latter worse):
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC Jitter Measurement.png

Likely not audible though but a shame to see it nevertheless.

IMD shows performance well below even budget DACs:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC IMD Measurement.png


Multitone tests shows sidebands as frequencies increase, delivering disappointing performance:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC Multitone Measurement.png


Frequency response shows a strange rising response:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC frequency response Measurement.png

I later verified that the amplifier doesn't do this so tone controls is not responsible for this despite my notation.

Filter response is typical although attenuation should be better:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC Filter Measurement.png


That is partly responsible for rather high noise+distortion vs frequency:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC DAC distortion vs frequency Measurement.png

I wonder if the rise in distortion at low frequencies is due to amplifier clipping harder.

Integra DTM-7.4 Amplifier Measurements
Performance was the same with either HDMI or analog input indicating the DAC is good enough for the amplifier:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Measurement.png


The performance is "competent" as AV products go:
Best stereo AVR amplifier review.png


That said, noise at 5 watts is nothing to write home about:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input SNR Measurement.png


Crosstalk was unusually poor:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input crosstalk Measurement.png


Mutlitone distortion is OK:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Multitone Measurement.png


Frequency response is nice and flat:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Frequency Response Measurement.png


Here is the effect of tone controls:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input tone control Measurement.png


There is good bit of power to be had:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Power 4 Measurement.png

Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Max Power 4 Measurement.png



Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Power 8 Measurement.png


Here is a sweep by frequency:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier CD Input Power 4 vs frequency Measure...png


At the end of testing, I took a snapshot of the heat profile:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Amplifier Thermal Measurement.png


The amplifier heatsink is spring steel instead of extruded aluminum. That is where the hottest spot is observed at 50 degrees C/122 degrees F.

Integra DTM-7.4 Phono Stage Measurements
I made some quick measurements of the phono stage. The dashboard was dominated by mains hum and was hard to optimize:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Dashboard Measurement.png


Fortunately RIAA equalization is implemented well:
Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Receiver Phono HDMI ARC Frequency response Measurement.png


Conclusions
Integra AV products used to have a premier reputation among the Custom Integration (CI) channel. So much so that it was very hard to get dealership for them. I have not kept up to see if that is still the case. The DTM-7.4 shows awareness of the company's brand reputation there, delivering broad support for integration and power efficient Class G amplifier (these units are routinely stuffed in closed entertainment centers/cabinets with little air flow). Measured performance is not deserving of that reputation though. Across the board, the results are either below average or average. I am confident if some emphasis was put on this aspect of design, better performance could have been had with no increase in cost. Sigh.

I can't recommend the Integra DTM-7.4 Stereo Integrated Amplifier. This is a borderline assessment as the feature set and power efficiency could push me over to recommend it so.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

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I am glad you see value from it. It is a newer higher resolution thermal camera from Infiniray called the P2 Pro. It is worlds better than my old Seek Thermal which stopped working with its app. :(
 
I am glad you see value from it. It is a newer higher resolution thermal camera from Infiniray called the P2 Pro. It is worlds better than my old Seek Thermal which stopped working with its app. :(
It's a sweet little device. I am googling it now. Only ~$300 in Canada too. Very good value. It's interesting in that the Integra DTM-7.4 digital PCB has hot spots too. Across a wide swath the small heat spots are clearly visible.
 
Thanks very much for the review! I have to assume that the MC phono stage performance is in the same ballpark as when switched to MM.
 
I am glad you see value from it. It is a newer higher resolution thermal camera from Infiniray called the P2 Pro. It is worlds better than my old Seek Thermal which stopped working with its app. :(
I like the added data point. Demonstrates how important it is to keep the top clear and open to unobstructed natural convection heat dissipation. Making what should be obvious visually relevant. Do you recall what the room ambient temperature was at the time of the measurement?

Seems like a lot of heat for a 2 channel stereo amp.
 
Seems like you can get a full AVR for not much more money and equivalent or better performance, especially with respect to power output.
This is not what I would define as an AVR. The naming convention of DTM 7.4 is a touch misleading imho. Unless I am misreading the Spec sheet this is a 2 channel stereo Amplifier with HDMI integration but as best as I can tell you get 2.1 channels.
 
Do you recall what the room ambient temperature was at the time of the measurement?
That's indicated as the lowest temp on the picture:

index.php


23.7 Degree C/80 degree F although that seems a bit high.
 
That's indicated as the lowest temp on the picture:

index.php


23.7 Degree C/80 degree F although that seems a bit high.
:facepalm: Thank you.
 
Seems like a lot of heat for a 2 channel stereo amp.
There is good bit of power consumption for the HDMI subsystem. At the time, it was passing through video and was after all the power tests.
 
It's a sweet little device.
The video capability is what is amazing. It renders 24 fps without hardly pausing. This makes it easy to move around with low latency. The other one I had would produce half a dozen frames a second, with a ton of lag. And constant dark frame capture pause (used for noise reduction). The thing is also amazingly small, smaller than a US quarter and has a magnetic macro lens for really detailed view of PCB SMD parts.
 
The video capability is what is amazing. It renders 24 fps without hardly pausing. This makes it easy to move around with low latency. The other one I had would produce half a dozen frames a second, with a ton of lag. And constant dark frame capture pause (used for noise reduction). The thing is also amazingly small, smaller than a US quarter and has a magnetic macro lens for really detailed view of PCB SMD parts.
I never imagined this sort of device could be so so small. Can put it in a pocket in a small case and be comfortable carrying it. The software must be amazing too.
 
I am glad you see value from it.
I thank you greatly for including some HDMI(in) to Audio(out) measurements.
I wonder how much better performance is to be expected from other designs with HDMI/ARC.
I hope this is not the typical performance to be expected from ARC.
 
It is apparently identical with the 100$ cheaper Onkyo TX-8470
Older Integra models used to have a longer warranty and were said to be with 'hand picked' piece parts on their boards.
$900 for such a product, needs to be amortized over about 5 years... before they end up in the landfill. imo
 
Older Integra models used to have a longer warranty and were said to be with 'hand picked' piece parts on their boards.
$900 for such a product, needs to be amortized over about 5 years... before they end up in the landfill. imo
Warranty on this device is 5 years.
 
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