Dartzeel cth-8550 integrated amplifier, Introduction, Brief description – darTZeel Audio CTH-8550 User Manual
Page 5: User manual
 
darTZeel CTH-8550
User Manual, version 1.0
Page 5 of 15
darTZeel CTH-8550 integrated amplifier
User Manual
1. Preliminary
notes
Your CTH-8550 comes with a USB activation key 
to provide the required identification data to your 
CTH-8550‘s internal CPU. 
You must use the USB activation key to “unlock” 
your CTH-8550 the first time you operate it. 
Until you complete its registration, your CTH-8550 
will operate only for the 15 minutes following each 
new powering on. 
As part of the registration process, your dealer will 
send to you the appropriate data file by e-mail. 
Please refer to chapter 7, “Activation key 
procedure” (page 9), for how to obtain your USB 
activation-key data file. 
Please read this user manual in its entirety.
We did our best to avoid making you fall asleep. We 
hope to be successful in that regard… . 
The CTH-8550 requires about 170 hours of playing 
time before it approaches its full potential. 
2. Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of a darTZeel 
CTH-8550. 
The darTZeel CTH-8550 is the most advanced 
analogue integrated amplifier yet designed. 
This new musical component directly benefits from 
our past experience in audio; yet, it has plenty of 
innovative features, as you will discover while 
reading this (we hope entertaining) user manual. 
Designed for user-friendly operation, the CTH-8550 
will provide you many years of absorbing pleasure, 
as you listen to your favorite music. 
The new fluorescent display’s comprehensive 
menus greatly simplify setup and operation. 
The CTH-8550‘s intuitive menu structure has 
allowed us to keep this user manual comparatively 
brief. 
Sometimes it is possible to deliver high technology, 
while at the same time saving some trees... . 
3. Brief
description
Your CTH-8550 represents the culmination of all 
the research and development we have brought to 
the audio industry over the past decades. 
Our passion and love for music and its reproduction 
have been embodied in the CTH-8550. 
The challenging goals we set for ourselves were to 
design and then build a “no compromise, all-in-one 
music machine.” 
You will experience the result very soon, when you 
listen to your favorite records. 
With no fewer than nine inputs–including optional 
phono inputs–and two preamp outputs, the 
darTZeel CTH-8550 is the ideal modern integrated 
amplifier to fit into any high-end audio system. 
Thanks to its newly-developed output stages, 
driving any real-world loudspeaker load will be just 
another day at the office for the CTH-8550. 
With the CTH-8550’s more than 200 watts into 8 
ohms, and close to 350 watts into 4 ohms, even low-
sensitivity speakers will put out plenty of volume 
during your most demanding—dynamically 
speaking—listening sessions. 
The new power circuits use only three junctions in 
the signal path, offering truly musical, fast, 
transparent reproduction. 
Furthermore, in those “green” days, we are proud to 
say the CTH-8550 runs very cool, saving on your 
electrical bill. 
This integrated amplifier actually marks a new 
milestone in darTZeel history, by introducing 
features you will not find elsewhere. 
Hey, this is a darTZeel machine, isn’t it?
From the technical point of view, there is no doubt 
that the CTH-8550 is a very special machine. 
As for the most important thing you can ask for, and 
we obviously mean the music, you will simply find 
it… Enthralling.