Four day left on the $300 upgrade...

[Greg Staten]

I'm surprised that there have been so few postings about the upgrade. I finally broke down Sunday and ordered it. Anyone out there contemplating ordering?

What about other comments from those of you that have it?

-greg

[Burke Strickland]

Greg -

I'm glad you started this thread. I've been sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on this one or not. If you're going to do it at all, it certainly makes sense to do it before the price jumps up.

I hope some of the folks who have had theirs upgraded and have now spent some time playing with the options and listening to the new modes will "report in". (That includes folks who have already told us their impressions earlier but have now had more time to confirm or change their initial reactions to it.)

Burke

[Razvan]

I have a THX Ultra 2 upgraded RDC-7. As I wrote before, my opinion is that the upgrade is totally useless so don't waste your money on it.

Razvan

[Frank]

I agree somewhat with Razvan that the current software upgrade is not the best, however, the hardware upgrade performed along with it will be needed for future software upgrades. In addition, keeping your unit upgraded is a good way to protect the resale value.

Frank




Frank

[Burke Strickland]

So for immediate gratification -- there really isn't any. The value of the $250 spent won't be obvious from the new features offered in the user interface or in listening. But to be ready for the future (including the "unthinkable" -- selling your RDC-7) :>) the upgrade almost seems "required".

Of course we'll still have to send the units in later to get the digital multichannel interface (assuming one is ever offered) such as the "firewire" ports mentioned as a possible future upgrade in their first promotional literature a couple of years ago.

The clock is ticking... :>)

Burke

[Greg Staten]

Today's officially the last day.

BTW - I received my "ship back" box on Thursday. Four day turnaround. Not bad. Unfortunately I won't ship it back right away - I have a trip to LA that I was going to ship it during. That's another two weeks off.

-greg

[Burke Strickland]

Whoa -- I knew there was supposed to be an advantage to ordering early, but those who upgraded before September's price increase got a hell of a deal. Here's what the official order site lists the price at now:

E-UPGRADE2
Upgrade Kit
$500,000.00 ea.

Maybe they have decided it was time to significantly enhance the snob appeal of their products (by making them unattainable)? :>)

Burke

http://www.shoponkyo.com/products_detail_u2.cfm?id=E-UPGRADE2&type=7&p=i

[ton1313]

$500 is chump change....compaired to the upgrade that was announced for the Sunfire Theater Grand II owners. To upgrade their units to the TGIII, they muse send in their unit, and a check for $1795!!! http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159037 This is the link to the story at avsforum.com.

I upgraded my RDC-7 for $300 and would happily pay the $500 if I had to. I am just glad that I chose the RDC-7, so far the upgrades have been "reasonable" compaired to some of the others. There are people that just purchased the TGII @ 4 months ago and now they are looking at another major purchase to upgrade to the TGIII.

[Burke Strickland]

Read again what Integra Research, et al, has listed for the upgrade price on their site -- $500,000.00 -- five hundred THOUSAND dollars -- but let's hope its a typo. :>)

Burke

PS -- ton1313 -- could you elaborate on your impressions from using the upgraded RDC-7? Useful features? Benefits? I'd be interested in more details based on your experience with it... thanks.

[Greg Staten]

So Burke, did you order the upgrade or did you decide to pass?

-greg

[Burke Strickland]

greg -

Now that you've asked, I bought the current upgrade while it was still $300 and got the $50 discount for having already purchased the first upgrade.

I think everyone who made a decision to NOT buy the upgrade or those who did buy it but felt they wasted their money or those who bought it and felt it was well worth while all have valid reasons for choosing the option you did and feeling the way you do about it and I appreciate the opportunity to read your comments pro and con.

Burke

[Leslie]

I upgraded, but haven't had the time to run all the tests to verify the changes. However, I will say that the sound seems - gosh I don't know how to express it - but cleaner/clearer. Okay, we'd missed the unit a LOT while it was gone that week (shipped from Houston on Monday, returned the next week on Tuesday), so maybe I'm affected by this, but I still think it sounds different. As usual, I had a heck of a time getting it hooked up (despite diagrams, pages of notes, labels on each wire -- mego).

Still, I'm glad I went ahead and did it for the crossover alone (still have to set this). Now, if I could just find an IR expert to come OVER and SET all the settings so I wouldn't have to fiddle with it, I would be REALLY happy!
Leslie

[Burke Strickland]

Leslie --

Thanks for your comments. I hope the new features prove useful for you.

As for getting an IR expert for help setting things back up, don't bother calling "All Star" -- they've managed to run off BOTH the Mueller brothers and the nincompoops they now have trying to handle the IR line aren't worth talking to. Maybe there are other alternatives around...

Burke

[Burke Strickland]

Right now, no one can buy the upgrade at ANY price -- not from the Integra Research site. Clicking the "Buy Now" button gets the following response:

We're sorry
We are unable to complete this request.
You may have a typo in the URL or the page may have been moved.

Of course if there is a typo in the URL, they programmed it in themselves. :>) They must know they had a problem with the post-introductory-period price. :>)

BTW -- you can't get there from the Integra Home Theater site or the Onkyo USA site either -- the E-Upgrade2 page is just not accessible right now.

Burke

[Burke Strickland]

Upgrade Update

Integra Research has finally fixed the E-Upgrade2 page, properly reflecting the $500 price, and it can be accessed from their site.

http://www.shoponkyo.com/products_detail_u2.cfm?id=E-UPGRADE2&type=7&p=i

(Ditto for the Integra Home Theater and Onkyo USA sites.)

Burke