Denon DCT-970r
By Jason "FHLH" Schuren

Description:

• Am/Fm Indash Compact Disc player with CD Changer(DCH-470) control
• Denon Optimum Reception System IV (DORS IV)
• Infrared remote control
• Internal four channel power amplification (40x4)
• Cellular mute function
• Rotary volume/selector KNOB!!!
• 4 preouts with fader capability
• Detachable faceplate with carrying case
• 36 station pre-sets (24Fm, 12 Am)
• Auto station memory
• RDS Smart Radio alpha-numeric display system with Radio Text feature
• Dual BALANCED audio outputs (9volts max)
• Advanced Multi- stage Noise Shaping (AMNS) D/A conversion with 8 times oversampling
• 20 BIT AMNS Denon D/A Converter

Specs:

• This unit is equipped with Denon's 20 bit D/A converter technology (I.E. there ain't nothing Burr or Brown about the D/A's
• Frequency response: 5-20,000Hz
• S/N Ratio: 97 dB (Good)
• RCA Pre-outs: 2 3 Volt outputs @ 100 Ohms.

• Amplification: 40x4, I would more than likely assume that this is MAX w/ tons of distortion. 12x4 is more likely

Overview:

• This is one the cleanest looking units I've seen in quite awhile.   I've never been a fan of the "bells and whistles" head units that have flooded the market lately, so the Denon is a pleasant surprise in my opinion, and you know what else it has that makes me jump for joy? A FREAKIN KNOB!!! WOO HOO!!! On the back side of the 970 everything is clearly marked and ready to go to work. The manual that comes with the unit is very clear and concise (It doubles for the DCT 1000r, too). the only real "bells and whistles" on this unit is the RDS. In my city only one rock station (107.5) and a couple of country stations (which I never subject myself to) have RDS, so to me, this is a feature I can still live without. Also, this unit does have "preset" tone controls. Labeled for what kinda car you drive, IE sedan, convertible, mini van, big FREAKIN Suburban (not really). This deck, in my opinion, is setup strictly to listen to the radio and play your cd's without all the fuss and complication that comes with a radio with 40 to 100 little buttons that all do at least 3 things.

Radio performance:

One thing I have noticed with this deck is it's lack of performance (in my section of town) in picking up a clear FM signal from various radio station. The station with RDS is especially hard to listen to because of it's weak reception. Now of course when I venture out of the city a few miles reception improves quite a bit, but this is still a nagging issue with this reviewer (head unit before was a Sony ES U800 and it had wonderful reception no matter where I was located). On the other hand, AM performance (which most of you could care less about) is quite good with the DCT970r and since I am fan of the Jim Rome Show®, this is important to a guy like myself.

CD Performance:

I will say this...... this is one damn good sounding CD player. I've listened to allot of CD players (Indash and Changers) in my day and this has got to be one of the best I've heard. Now this may be some what Psycho acoustic on my part but after listing to my old CD player and listening to this one , I could swear I started hearing the music with much more clarity and definition. It seemed to bring up my soundstage, It seemed to widen my soundstage, it seemed "SYNERGISTIC" with all my other components. Hell, I think it helped pull my bass to the front of the stage more!! So there is some glowing praise for the DCT970r, now to the bad news. this sucker skips! allot. This may be caused by the vehicle I drive (Lifted, rough riding, MANLY 4x4), but I have a feeling it's something else. The reasoning behind this is that while waiting on the DCT970r to arrive I temporarily installed an old pioneer (circa 91) indash CD player that sounded like ass, but never skipped a beat. Why is the 970r skipping? I have no idea, mebbe the install sucks?(I'll speak w/ ED about this later). Mebbe the transport is crappy? I don't know. To be completely honest the only reason I have dealt with the skipping problems is due to the fact that this unit sounds tremendous!!!

Amplifier Performance:

No Data....... in this reviewers opinion, for exceptional sound in the rather unfriendly (loud) automobile environment, one must have external amplification, even if your Jensen claims to be capable of 240watts!!

Pros:

• Great Sound from the CD section.
• 20 BIT Denon designed D/A converters (are these the same ones used in their pro audio gear? I hope so).
• Dual Balanced outputs (and the accessory wiring kits available to plug into almost any amp with balanced inputs).
• Dual 3 Volt pre-outs, Never got to measure EXACT output, but from the sound it seems right on.
• KNOB!!!!
• Cellular muting, for you corporate types
• Clear and readable display, unlike those flashy models
• No tiny spectrum analyzers that may cause you to swerve off the road and wrap your rig around a tree.
• RDS
• Nice credit card style remote with all functions available
• Ease of use

Cons:

• RDS
• FM Reception is mediocre at best
• Odd faceplate removal, acts like it wants to fly off!!
• Skipping! (this might have to do with install, I'll update this review after further testing)
• the time of day is only viewable by pressing a button , shouldn't one be able to leave the time showing?
• Setting the time requires the use of RDS , so why doesn't it automatically change when the time changes?
• Dual balanced outputs are designed for easy installation of Denon and Phoenix Gold amplifiers. One must buy the correct wiring accessory cable from Denon to work with other Balanced input amplifiers, IE Soundstream.

Owners Manual:

• Its about 20 pages, gives you all the information you need and info about the 1000r, too.

Installation:

• About as straight forward as you can get . but the unit is rather deep

Retail Price:

• MSRP is around US$650. Street price is lower by about 100 bux.

Warranty:

• 2 years.

Company Website: http://www.denon.com