RDC-7 vs other pre-pros

[Jon SS]

When you guys decided on the RDC-7 what other components did you compare it to?

I just auditioned the Krell Showcase (with Martin Logan speakers) and Bryston 1.7 (with Energy speakers). About a month ago I auditioned the RDC-7 (with B&W Nautilus speakers) and the Classe SSP-30 (with Martin Logan speakers). It is hard to compare since I listened to the components at different stores with different setups over quite a long time span.

Out of the four, I found the Krell similar to the RDC-7 (but they were auditioned a month apart), the Classe slightly crisper than the RDC-7, but the RDC-7 HT surround was more engrossing. I also thought all of them sounded better than the Bryston (but this may be because of the speakers).

I currently have the Monitor Audio Gold Reference speakers.

Does anybody have any comments?

Thanks

[ton1313]

When I purchased mine, I compaired it to a Sunfire Theater Grand II. The Sunfire was pleasing, but the RDC-7 was both pleasing and engrossing. The RDC-7 for surround sound was a hands down winner. It really brings out the low level detail that was missing with the Sunfire. The upgrade path of the RDC-7 has already been proven twice, and the RDC-7's rear pannel is very well laid out too.

[Burke Strickland]

When I was searching for a pre/pro a year and a half to two years ago, I decided to limit my search to units I could "test drive" in the Houston area without a lot of "shipping and handling" rigamarole. (IOW, pick up at a local dealer and drive home with it, or audition it at the dealer without spending more time on the road to get there and back than the time alloted for the audition.) :>) So I looked at the:

• - B&K Ref 30 (it seemed odd that a lot of owners of this unit felt it necessary to add external DACs for music -- and the reviews seemed to indicate that the RDC-7's internal DACs were better than the external DACs the Ref30 fanatics were buying),
  
  - Theta Casa Nova and Casablanca (although the dealer who sold me my speakers nad power amp waxes enthusiatically about these, they've never rung my chimes),
  
  - a couple of Meridians (IMO way over-hyped and overpriced),
  
  - a Bryston preamp (thought for a while I might just upgrade the two channel part of the system) and a Brystonprepro (if that dealer had been willing to budge in price during his "annual clearance sale" I might have been writing about Bryston instead of Integra Research -- and he might still be in business :>) -- but considering the high quality of what I ended up with, I'm kind of glad he didn;'t make a deal),
  
  - Lexicon MC-1 (great on surround, not impressive to me on music -- the MC-12 hadn't been introduced at the time I made my purchase and I wouldn't spend that much for a unit that offers IMO only very small marginal improvements over the RDC-7 performance-wise and a plethroa of features I would never use),
  
  - Sonic Frontiers/Anthem AVM-2 (spent a week with it and took it back -- lots of bells and whistles at a too-good-to-be-true price and horrible sound on music).

I would have had to drive to Dallas to demo a Classe, and even a drive to Dallas wouldn't have gotten me in the same room with the Tag McLaren (but I did learn a lot about it in an exchange of e-mails with Buzz Goddard). The Classe has certainly gotten a lot of good reviews for its performance on music and it would have been a treat to give it a run for the money. :>) Krell hadn't introduced its pre/pros at the time.

After looking at and listening to them all, I decided that the Integra Research RDC-7 had the best combination of features and performance for both stereo music and surround support of movie soundtracks at a price I was willing to afford. :>) I have been glad ever since that I made that decision, and with its upgrades to Dolby Prologic II and THX Ultra 2, etcetera, it would be at the top of my short list of pre/pros to consider if for some reason I were looking for a new one today.

Burke

[Jon SS]

Thanks guys.

I never realised it would be so hard to decide on what pre-pro and what power amp. I am hoping to listen to the RDC-7 one more time, the new Classe SSP-60 and the Theta Dreadnaught beofre I make a final decision.

Since it is so much money I really want to make sure that I am buying the right piece so that I won't have to upgrade for a very long time. It will also depend on how much the various dealers quote me.

[Leslie]

I'm a bit late in replying, but I auditioned the Krell HTS2 with B&W Nautilus and was totally unimpressed. I didn't like the sound and was amazed that the Krell engineer I spoke with in California (after the salesman obviously didn't have any answers) didn't realize that the Krell could not switch a true HD signal. As my pre-pro has to switch 1080i, as well as the lesser demanding 480p, signals, this was a major problem.

I loved the sound of the Theta Casablanca II(but can't remember the speakers), but it, too, lacked the features (analog bypass for SACD, as well as component video switching) I required. I auditioned the B&K, but it couldn't compare to the Casablanca. Alas, I can't remember the speakers I heard with the Casablanca but they were definitely high-end.

I was never able to hear a Lexicon, any model as no one had one available to audition. I decided not to wait on the Lexicon 12b as I didn't feel I could justify the expense, compared to that of the RDC.7. I auditioned the Proceed with the MartinLogan Odyssey speakers I later purchased. When I auditioned the RDC-7, I heard it with lesser quality speakers than the pre-pros I auditioned. As a result, I ended up buying the pre-pro without hearing it with the speakers I ended up buying. This was a bit of a gamble, but given the sound I heard through the lower-end speakers, I made a leap of faith, partly supported by Burke.
Leslie

I've never regretted my decision.

[hifiuser]

I had listened to the Classes30 and the Bryston (older model I think is 1.0) before committed to the RDC-7. I had owned 3 processor before and I think this is the last one- hopefully!! Anyway, for TH application, I found the Classes sounded clean but also lean; nothing to write home for the Bryston except it was quite warm which could be a problem in the future. Between the 3 processors, I found the RDC-7 to have the lowest floor noise and the highest bulit quality.
Good luck with the shopping

[Bruce]

The only issue I had with the RDC7 was the relatively poor bass management implementation, i.e. only 80Hz xovers.

I don't know if they have provided a software fix for that yet.

The best I've heard (both 2-channel and HT) in this price range to date is the AVM20 from Sonic Frontiers.




Bruce
____________________________________________

[Burke Strickland]

Bruce -

It isn't clear (to me anyway) whether you have actually listened to the RDC-7, or are judging it from its published feature set. If you have given it a serious listen, it would be interesting to hear why you found the AVM-20 better sounding.

The RDC-7's latest upgrade did add a limited degree of adjustablity to the its bass management capabilities. The crossover is now selectable at 40 hz, 60 hz, 80 hz, 100 hz and 120 hz. But the choice applies to all speakers set to "small", instead of being selectable by speaker. So in this specific area, the AVM-20 clearly still has the advantage. (And I can't seem to get the point across to the Integra Research reps who seem to think they have gone way beyond the call of duty to give us just that much.) Fortunately I've found in real world use, the bass management feature or lack thereof, is less important than many other areas of performance where the RDC-7 still leads the pack, IMO.

I spent several hours this past weekend listening to an AVM-20 which has the latest software upgrade, and found it far superior to its predecessor, the AVM-2, especially on music, where the AVM-2 really stumbled. The "20" acquitted itself nicely on some familiar musical material I had brought along, and sounded quite fine on the "Attack of the Clones DD soundtrack, as well. But at the end of the day, I was still glad I have the RDC-7 at home. ;>)

On the whole, the AVM-20's tonal balance was pleasing and instrumental detail was certainly there in abundance. However, on several very familiar songs, I found the AVM-20 to exaggerate certain details that may be exciting to hear "out front" at first, but which just don't call for that kind of emphasis, and end up being fatiguing to listen to over the course of the album. (The AVM-2 did this on the same selections, but its exaggeration was much more pronounced and far more objectionable.) If I had never heard this music before, (or had I been at least a lot less familiar with it) I probably would have found the AVM-20's rendition of it pretty snazzy. :>) It is definately a high quality piece of gear, my minor objections aside.

Furthermore, I know several other HT fanatics and audiophiles around the country who are smitten by the AVM-20. So ultimately one's choice boils down to personal preference based on factors important to each of us individually.

Burke

[Razvan]

Perfect Vision, a serious magazine, also rates the RDC-7 better than the Anthem AVM-20. The RDC-7 got a 4 for its sound while the Anthem got a 3 ( out of 5).

Razvan