T+A K8 7.1 BluRay Receiver
K8 - Bluray Receiver 7.1 De ultieme oplossing.
Test
The K8 is the new product in the K-range and certainly the most complex device we have developed and produced so far. It is the powerful heart of an ultra-modern home cinema surround system, equipped with the finest technologies today’s market has to offer. At the same time the K8 is extremely flexible to use; so the dedicated and demanding home cineast will definitely get his money’s worth with the 7.1 features and the excellent BluRay reproduction as will those people for whom 5.1 or 3.1 loudspeaker setups will do, and even two-channel purists will find high-class stereo modes. Since the K8 boasts no less than seven power amplifiers with more than 150 watts continuous output power each and in addition has a very intelligent control concept, it can fill up to three side rooms with independently controlled stereo sound, according to the selected operating mode. We have deliberately chosen very strong, excellent sounding power amplifiers, so that the ambitious music and video lover can also connect larger, power-hungry loudspeakers and the acoustic supply of large rooms will pose no problems. The high dynamic and level requirements of many BluRay discs are met hands down.
Concerning A/V devices, we at T+A also attach great importance to great sound, which is why we use a high-grade BluRay drive of the latest generation. It does not only deliver a superb picture with BluRay and DVD, but also a notably good CD reproduction. We use only first-class audiophile D/A converters by Burr-Brown, for the front channels (stereo) even in the balanced differential mode. All current Dolby and DTS HD formats are available and will be decoded by our highend audio board. The video board designed by T+A has an outstanding picture quality, for it uses a cutting-edge video processor from Genesis whose sophisticated scaler can upscale the video data from the analogue inputs and from DVDs to 1080p at the most. So you can also connect older source devices without HDMI output to the K8 and run them with ultimate quality via the HDMI 1.4a output. Thus all modern TV sets, beamers and panels can be fed in an optimal manner. For external video sources there are three HDMI inputs which transfer 3D formats as well. A USB port on the front panel allows to contact the BluRay drive and to enter audio, video and photo data files.
Certainly the K8 has an FM RDS tuner with very good reception characteristics and RDS capability. Furthermore two high-quality analogue inputs (e.g. for TV and turntable), one tape input and two digital inputs are waiting for additional audio sources. And owing to the highend streaming client of the Music Player of the E- and R-Series, the K8 offers access to all new media. Via the rear USB port this device gets access to MP3 players and USB media storers, web radio and network music servers, furthermore you can dock and control an iPod. A LAN socket makes contact with the network and internally connects the BluRay drive, the TV or the streaming client with the internet. We have gone to great lengths to endow the K8 with an easy and intelligent operation. Despite its numerous possibilities it offers an intuitive and esay handling, directly on the device as well as with the included remote control.
The perfect design of the K8 is unique, unmistakable, typically T+A and contrasts pleasantly with the standard look of countless mass products
| Handling | |
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The controls in the classic T+A style make the K8 dead easy and intuitive to operate, despite its multitude of functions. All essential functions are directly accessed on the device. The FM100 premium system remote control is very neatly structured and colour-coded. Its function blocks are distinctly separated with a clearly readable lettering. |
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Beyond the normal operation, the FM100 allows to use additional functions and text entries. Basic adjustments like loudspeaker levelling, balance, tone controls and the selection of the surround sound matrix are made via simple menus on the remote. The generous high-definition graphic VFD display offers excellent readability even from a larger distance and also shows the data and information context-sensitive in different font sizes. It can be gradually dimmed. The front panel USB port is linked to the BluRay player and allows to enter and playback LPCM, MP3, photo, JPEG and movie data files or the use of a USB stick for BD-Life usage.The high-class headphone socket has been purposefully designed very upmarket for large jack plugs and has its own power amplifier. The Dolby headphone mode may be selected. When used, the loudspeaker outputs will be turned off completely. |
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Connections |
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Seven passive loudspeakers can be connected at the high-quality speaker screw terminals. Just like with our highend series, these terminals are made of high-purity, gold-plated brass which is absolutely free from ferromagnetic substances and therefore shows no distortions at all. We have, of course, also included an output for an active subwoofer for the main listening room. The K8 may be configured for various operation modes, where the loudspeaker outputs will have different functions. As standard we have provided a 7.1 surround configuration for the main room. If this is not desired, you may select a 5.1 configuration as well. In this case the power amplifiers of the BACK channels will be available for a zone 2 (side room) as a stereo downmix with independent volume control. If you select a 3.1 configuration to use only the main speakers, centre speaker and subwoofer in the main room, the power amplifiers of the surround channels will even be available for another zone 3. A fourth zone is permanently available as an RCA output, but will require additional power amplifiers then or active loudspeakers such as our CM Active. We have also thought of RCA outputs for the zones 2 and 3 or the BACK and SURROUND channels. The volume level may be independently set for the rooms (or zones), if the supplied E 2000 receiver is connected to the RC socket of that zone and installed in the side room. A USB port may be used for powering a wireless audio transmission module. Top left on the rear panel is the connector socket for the receiving antenna of our FD100 bidirectional wireless remote control (available from March 2011). On we go with the analogue RCA output (for recordings), three analogue RCA inputs (for mixed audio sources) and one analogue iPod input for audio and video playback. Below them you will find the E-Link socket, the RS 232 update and control interface for Loewe, Metz and Crestron plus an E 2000 IR receiver input. Next comes the socket for the FM antenna; this should be of a high quality to take advantage of the great reception properties of the RDS FM tuner. The USB A1 port is intended for a HDD [hard disk drive] or a USB stick, the USB A2 for the digital docking of an iPod. There are one digital output and three digital inputs, one of them is optical with sample rates of up to 192 kHz. The K8 is equipped with a network switch (uplink) which controls the distribution of the network and web connections within the device, hence links the streaming client and the BluRay drive to the internet or the network. The LAN 1 and 2 sockets serve to connect external devices such as TVs. The video section offers perfect connectivity with three digital sources via HDMI and up to four analogue sources of different formats. These analogue sources may be upscaled to a maximum resolution of 1080p. The video board with its HDMI output conforms to the 1.4a standard and has both an audio return channel (ARC) and an HDMI Ethernet channel (HEC). |
| Technique | |
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| 6-layer state-of-the-art video board. Superb picture quality due to late-breaking video processor. Newest HDMI 1.4a standard with ARC and HEC. Application of superfast HDMI receiver and transmitter modules. Four analogue inputs with discrete calibration for optimal conversion and scaling up to 1080p. Input PCB for the analogue AV inputs, 2 x YUV, 2 x FBAS, 4 x Video High-grade stereo audio connection board with one tape output, three line level inputs and one analogue iPod socket. The streaming client board connects to web radio, network, iPod and USB sources. The complex mainboard is the heart of the K8. It accomodates a modern, freely programmable signal processor for the analogue ins and outs, premium D/A converters with 24 Bit/192 kHz, a high-class preamplifier and the control centre for all sources and outputs. Very short signal paths ensure perfect audio results. High-grade BluRay drive of the latest generation with triple beam laser technology. Decoupled subchassis and elastic mounted laser unit. Highend 7.1 high definition surround decoder. With its two freely programmable 56 Bit dual core signal processors it handles the entire audio signal processing, generating all current Dolby and DTS high resolution formats plus Dolby Volume and Dolby Headphone. An auto calibration function for the loudspeakers is also available. Cutting-edge BluRay decoder board. Ultramodern one-chip solution with extremely fast data processing and ultimate picture and sound quality. Control board with very large and excellently readable graphic VFD display. Context-sensitive presentation and display of all functions. High performance processor of the ARM family for the mainboard with additional RAM and flash memories, updatable. | |
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| The housing has a two-part construction. Located inside is the supporting steel tray, on the outside are the fine decorative parts made from solid aluminium. Owing to the screw joints and its heaviness the K8 is completely decoupled from the environment. The steel chassis tray is the backbone of the K8. Not only does it ensure the high rigidity of the whole construction, but also the easy accessibility of the individual boards. There is an upper compartment for the signal processing boards and a lower one for the power amplifiers and the power supplies. The power supply features a low radiation heavy-duty toroidal mains transformer with huge reserves even under heavy load. All stages and voltages have an elaborate individual regulation. Due to a separate start-up transformer the power consumption is below 1 watt in standby mode. The design of the T+A switching power amps: modulator, dual MOSFET and a massive heatsink. The seven power amplifiers sound brillant, command huge reserves and have proven to be extremely rugged high performance tools. Power amp out with sophisticated filtering, high-quality chokes and processor-controlled protection circuit for all operating conditions. The gold-plated pure brass loudspeaker terminals are directly connected. The smart-controlled cooling fan keeps the internal temperature constant and remains silent even under heavy load. The air stream flows from the front underside across the device and escapes through the rear cooling slots. |
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The 3D design drawing by our ultramodern Solid Edge CAD software shows the complexity of the K8 in a spectacular manner. Such elaborate housings can only be developed by using state-of-the-art technology. Not only the electronics, but also the mechanics of the K8 is a masterpiece! |
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The HDMI 1.4a video board is equipped with the latest processors and software algorithms! |
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The high definition surround decoder with two Dual-Core 56 Bit DSP´s is also the latest and most up-to-date of its kind! |
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The heavy-duty switching power amplifiers are unique in terms of sound properties and performance yield! |
| Specifications | |
| BluRay Player | |
| Drive | 3-laser BluRay linear drive on vibration dampening subchassis |
| Playable media Video | BluRay Disc, DVD, VCD, SVCD |
| Photo | JPEG, Picture Disc |
| Audio | CDDA (Audio CD), MP3 CD, CD R, CD/RW, Hybrid SACD CD Layer |
| Container + other Formats | MKV, MPG, AVI, VOB, MP4, WMV |
| other features | BD-Live (with external USB memory stick) |
| Movie mode 1080p/24 Hz, extended colour space (xvYCC) | |
| Streaming Client | |
| Formats | MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG-Vorbis, WMA (WMDRM 10) |
| Bit rates (all formats) | 8 … 48 kSps/16Bit, variable bit rate (VBR) |
| other bit rates (WAV, FLAC) | 96 kSps / 24Bit |
| Media server; network memory (PC,NAS) | UPnP AV + DLNA compatible streaming servers |
| Web radio | Web radio with vTuner internet radio service |
| Interfaces LAN | Ethernet 10/100 Mbit |
| USB | 1x USB 2.0 for memory stick or harddisk drive (HDD) |
| 1x USB 2.0 for iPod *1) or 2nd memory stick / HDD | |
| other features | Favourite lists, station memory for web radio stations |
| Digital iPod audio playback | |
| Charging function for iPod |
| iPod AV-interface | Playback of audio and video files from iPod |
| incl. iPod navigation and remote control | |
| *1) |
"iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries." "Made for iPod" means that an electronic accessory has been designed to connect specifically to iPod and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards. Apple is not responisible for the operation of this device or its compliance with safety and regulatory standards. |
| FM Tuner | |
| HF bandwidth | 87,5 – 108 MHz |
| Sensitivity | 2 µV |
| Strong signal immunity | > 125 dBµV |
| Stereo crosstalk suppression | > 40 dB |
| RDS functions | Station name, programme type, radio text, time |
| other features | Station lists, station memories (presets) |
| Video Processor | |
| HDMI inputs | 3 x HDMI 1.4 |
| Features | HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC) |
| Analogue A/V inputs | 2 x YUV, 2x Video Composite (FBAS) or S-Video |
| HDMI output | 1 x HDMI 1.4 |
| Features | Audio return channel (ARC) |
| HDMI Ethernet channel (HEC) | |
| control interface (CEC) | |
| A/D conversion | Conversion of analogue AV signals to HDMI |
| Sacling | All digital (HDMI) or analogue AV input signals to |
| 576, 720, 1080 interlaced or progressive output format | |
| Image correction | Colour, contrast, sharpness, aspect ratio, overscan, zoom |
| other features | Scaler-Bypass |
| 3D pass through (3D ready) | |
| Auto mode (automatic image size adaptation to monitor) |
| Surround decoder | |
| Type | 7.1 HighDefinition (HD) surround decoder with 2 freely |
| programmable 56 Bit dual core signal processors (DC DSP) | |
| Formate *2) | Stereo, DOLBY ProLogic IIx, DOLBY Digital (AC3), |
| DOLBY EX, DOLBY Digital Plus, DOLBY TrueHD, | |
| *3) | dts, dts-96/24, NEO:6, dts-ES, dts-ES discrete, |
| dts-HighResolution, dts-HD Master Audio | |
| Loudspeaker configurations | 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 7.0, 7.1 |
| other features | DOLBY Volume, DOLBY Headphone |
| 1x USB 2.0 für iPod oder 2. Speicherstick / HDD | |
| Downmix function for line out and stereo sound for side rooms | |
| Automatic calibration function for loudspeakers | |
| *2) | Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories. "Dolby" and the double-D Symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
| *3) | "DTS" and "DTS Digital Surround" are trademarks of Digital Theater Systems, Inc. |
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Manufactured under license from one or more of the following DTS, Inc. U.S. Pat. No's: 5,451,942; 5,956,674; 5,974,380; 5,978,762; 6,487,535 and other U.S. and world-wide patents issued and pending. "DTS" is a registered trademark of DTS, Inc. and "DTS 2.0 + Digital Out" is a trademark of DTS, Inc. Copyright 1996, 2002-2006 DTS, Inc. All rights Reserved. |
| Preamplifier/ D/A Converter | ||
| Audio inputs (analogue) | 3 x stereo line input | 2 V / 20 KOhm |
| 4 x stereo input | 2 V / 20 KOhm | |
| as part of the analogue AV inputs | ||
| Audio inputs (digital) | 2 x SP/DIF coaxial | Stereo up to 192 kSps / 24 Bit (IEC 958) DOLBY + dts surround formats (IEC 1937) |
| 1 x SP/DIF optical | Stereo up to 96 kSps / 24 Bit (IEC 958) DOLBY + dts surround formats (IEC 1937) | |
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Analogue Audio outputs fix |
1 x stereo line out | 2 V / 100 ohms (e.g. for tape recorder) |
| variable | 1 x subwoofer | 2 V / 200 ohms |
| with volume control | 1 x stereo out | e.g. for acoustic supply of side rooms |
| 1 x stereo out | for active speakers or side room | |
| 1 x stereo out | for active rear speakers or side room | |
| other features | 3 audio outputs with 5 V power supply | |
| e.g. for wireless audio transmission modules, | ||
| remote turn-on of active loudspeakers etc. | ||
| Audio output digital | 1x SP/DIF coax | |
| D/A conversion | High-class 24 Bit / 192 kSps Burr-Brown D/A converters | |
| for all 7.1 channels | ||
| Dual-converter differential DAC for the front channels L/R | ||
| Volume control | Loss-free, high-precision volume regulation with | |
| professional studio-grade volume controls | ||
| Frequency response | 2 Hz - 60 kHz | (1) |
| 2 Hz - 44 kHz | (2) | |
| 2 Hz - 22 kHz | (3) | |
| THD / Intermodulation | < 0.002 % / <0.004% | (1), (2) / (3) |
| S/N ratio | 110 dB | (1), (2), (3) |
| Effective system dynamic | 110 dB / 98 dB | (1), (2) / (3) |
| Channel separation | 100 dB | (1), (2), (3) |
| (1) SP/DIF 192/24 Digital_In or HD-BluRay | ||
| (2) SP/DIF 96/24 Digital_In or 96/24 HD Streaming | ||
| (3) SP/DIF 48/16 Digital_In or 48/16 Streaming | ||
| each measured on the stereo preamp outputs | ||
| Headphone output | for dynamic headphones > 30 Ω, with automatic |
| speaker muting and DOLBY-Headphone |
| Power amplifiers | 7 high performance switching power modules | |
| (T+A Linear PWM design) | ||
| Nominal output power / ch. (Stereo) | 8 Ω / 4 Ω | 95 W / 150 W |
| Transient output power | 8 Ω / 4 Ω | 130 W / 230 W |
| Distortion (THD) | < 0,005 % | |
| Intermodulation | < 0,005 % | |
| Frequency response | 1 Hz – 60 kHz | |
| Additional Features | Wake-up timer, iPOD charging function, |
| Ethernet switch: distribution of an Ethernet | |
| uplink connection to BluRay player, | |
| streaming client, TV monitor (via HDMI/HEC) and up to 3 source devices (via HDMI/HEC) | |
| up to 2 more external devices (via LAN cable)(e.g. playing console) | |
| via LAN cable (e.g. playing console) |
| General | |
| Mains connection | EU-Version: 220-230 V / 50-60 Hz |
| US-Version: 110-117 V / 50-60 Hz | |
| Power consumption | max. 650 W |
| Eco standby | < 0,4 W |
| (IR remote control, wake-up timer, CEC WakeUp available) | |
| Comfort standby | < 3,5 W |
| (plus Ethernet router, iPOD charging) | |
| Dimensions (H x H x D) | 14,5 x 44 x 37,5 cm (5.7 x 17.3 x 14.8 inch) |
| Weight | 17,5 kg (38.7 lbs) |
| Finish | Aluminium silver, aluminium piano gloss black |
| Optional accessories | iPOD docking station (digital or analogue conncetion) |
| E 2000 external remote control receiver | |
| FD100 bidirectional wireless remote control with display | |
| radio link for surround, rear and side room speakers | |
| We reserve the right to alter technical specifications! | |
