Integra Research RDC-7.1 AVP Review

[Krobar]

Gene,

Some of Integra's employees are informed of firmware and its changes, others it seems are not.

I should add that the info I have regarding impending public firmware releases and change of policy is not concrete and should be considered speculation at this point in time. My own opinion is firmware should be user upgradeable and owners should not be asked to ship very heavy and expensive pieces of epuipment back to service centres for software upgrade.

 

[WMG]

Gene,

First, my thanks to you for your efforts and the information you have provided on the Integra Research reviews. I too am a very recent owner of the RDC-7.1. My firmware is 1.06. I also purchased i-Link universal. I did not previously have SA-CD or DVD-A equipment. I purchased various music in both formats to compare. For me, I noticed some noise issue via i-Link on a few, but not all of the SA-CDs. I have not yet quantified which are doing it and are those consistently doing it or sporadically.

You also noted the lack of separate time alignment and bass management for Speakers B. I did not realize this until reading your review. I intend to add a separate system to Speaker B. At the present, I do not have additional speakers connected to the system. I did go into Setup after reading your review to see if my firmware may have addressed this. At the present, I am unable to chose separate settings. However, the OSD makes it appear these options should be selectable, and my take of the manual on this also seems to indicate there would be separate settings.

I look forward to reading your follow-up information and updates as they become available.

Regards,
Will

 

[gene]

Will;

I look forward to reading your follow-up information and updates as they become available.

Thanks for your feedback. We normally permanently integrate flagship products into one of our many reference systems to support them through their entire lifecycle for our readers, but unfortunately Integra Research didn't have enough review samples in their budget to allow for this. Thus my tech support when new firmware and hardware becomes available will be limited at best and my knowledge will also be limited to my review sample which as you know had firmware version 1.3.

As far as I am aware however, no firmware updates can allow for independent settings for SPK A and B since its a hardware limitation. IMO, their best option at this point, would be to allow for storable presets where the user can calibrate them independently and call upon either one depending on which speaker groups they are using.

As for SACD noise over I.Link, please keep us apprised as to what discs you have experienced this on. It may help them out in the longterm in resolving this issue if there is a common function of these discs that are causing this.

This was an issue for me on SACD discs from Premonition Records as well as Rebecca Pdgeon - The Raven (not sure who produced it?).

 

[gene]

BTW I just confirmed with Integra Research that the Wolfson DAC's used in this processor are the: # WM8719 for those who care.

 

[RLA]

BTW I just confirmed with Integra Research that the Wolfson DAC's used in this processor are the: # WM8719 for those who care.
03-13-2005 10:32 PM

Can I have my private stripe now

 

[Krobar]

Heres an update for those of you wondering about the state of the RDC-7.1. Integra released firmware 1,08 to their dealers last week. This is a change of policy to the better for Integra since it used to be a service centre only affair.

I installed the new firmware on my unit a few days ago and have recieved feedback from others with regards to I-link. No one else it seems suffers from noise on SACD (Faulty Unit Perhaps?). 1.08 seems to have solved the last few little glitches with other brands of I-Link players. A fix for the DTS issues in the review is apparently slated for release soon.

Integra seem to be actively adressing any issues, this is better than some manufacturers, my Pioneer AX10I (VSX-49TXI) has always had the same DTS CD issues and others, some of which were know to the company and never fixed.

 

[gene]

Krobar;

Thats great news. I cannot answer regarding the noise issue I had with SACD. Integra Research gave me little to no feedback on my review other than they were addressing some of the issues I found in my sample.

 

[egcarter]

Gene,

Analog Video conversion IS supported on the Integra/IR units. For example,
I have a Multi-System VCR attached with Composite Video (Input#4). When this device is selected on the unit:

SETUP
VIDEO ASSIGN
COMPOSITE VIDEO: 4
HDMI: VIDEO

Those settings will take signal from Composite Video #4 and send them to the HDMI output. (at 480p!)

As for SACD over iLink...sounds great! No such issues. The only issue that I encountered was the very intermittent loss of any audio over iLink. Cycling power on the unit was the workaround.

They supposedly addressed that issue with the new firmware 1.08.

Eric

 

[JFlash]

Denon DVD 3910 Compatability

I am considering purchasing the Integra Research RDC 7.1 and I would like to use the IEEE 1394 connection to connect with my Denon DVD 3910. The Denon operating manual says it is not compatable with i-Link. The Integra Research customer service rep also said the RDC 7.1 is not compatable with Denon.

I would really like to get the RDC 7.1 but this is a deal killer for me. What dvd player was used for the review and did you attempt to connect a Denon with the IEEE 1394 connection?

Thanks.

 

[BVillet]

Direct Selection of Inputs for RDC 7.1?

Gene
I thought the review done on the Integra Research RDC 7.1was thorough and thoughtful, and much enjoyed reading it.
I have a quick question. Having read the review I am considering the product but am not sure I will like the remote. Is is possible to direct access the inputs from another remote, or does one have to cycle through the inputs?
Thanks for any insight you could provide

 

[gene]

Unfortunately Integra Research didn't allow us to hold on to the unit long enough to support in our forums. My advice is to contact them directly at:
eharper@onkyousa.com

I would also inquire if the firmware issues I noted in the review have been resolved.

DTS mode remains engaged in certain instances forcing a complete system power cycle to reset
DTS lacks mute during acquisition and search (which could potentially damage a system at high volume levels)
Notch filter is poorly implement as a global function and can add audible resonance and adversely affect system frequency response
SACD over i.LINK is excessively noisy and deteriorates system fidelity
Lock Mode doesn't actually lock the stored settings as claimed in the manual
Trigger delay settings have no effect on turn on time during system power up

 

[georgek]

What about jitter?

I was very concerned in reading the reviews in the April and May 2005 issues of HiFi News on the flagship Pioneer and Denon receivers + players. It appears that jitter levels are gigantic when using i.Link or HDMI as the means of transfering audio from player to receiver. They only got acceptable results with S/PDIF and, in the case of Denon, DenonLink. Presumably the same problem (effective uselessness of i.Link and HDMI for audio signals) afflicts the Integra? Have you checked that out? By the way, the measured jitter levels using i.Link and HDMI were not just slightly bad--they were outrageously bad.

This appears to be a real scandal and, near as I can tell, only HFN have so far stumbled onto it. What good are simple, elegant interface standards if they vitiate the quality of the sound in the process??

P.S. For those who may not know, HFN is UK's premier (print, not web) audio magazine.

 

[T33]

Gene,

You also noted the lack of separate time alignment and bass management for Speakers B. I did not realize this until reading your review. I intend to add a separate system to Speaker B. At the present, I do not have additional speakers connected to the system. I did go into Setup after reading your review to see if my firmware may have addressed this. At the present, I am unable to chose separate settings. However, the OSD makes it appear these options should be selectable, and my take of the manual on this also seems to indicate there would be separate settings.

I look forward to reading your follow-up information and updates as they become available.

Regards,
Will

Note, that (at the moment at least) the receiver turns off the HDMI & component video output as soon as you change speakers to anything else but Main A. Eg you can get a seriously good 7.1 THX system on the Main B setup but you have to feed your videogear with s-video at best...WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!

The OSD comes from another century (actually it looks like the one used in my 7 years old TX939! ) and can not be superimposed on anything else but composite/S-video (well, the setup screen works on all types of video outputs, but not volume up etc)

Another bug found, you can't set up a fixed IP on it, only DHCP works.

 

[Krobar]

T33,

What firmware version are you using? Have you tried contacting Integra for a fix?

 

[T33]

T33,

What firmware version are you using? Have you tried contacting Integra for a fix?

I'm using 1.08 and I have contacted Onkyo Europe about it, they promised to call me back about these matters sometime in the middle of this week. I have also tried to contact Integra directly but at the moment it is not possible to send them any questions according to their webpage (too much to do they say...btw anyone got a working mail addy to them?)

 

[gene]

try eharper@onkyousa.com , he can point you in the right direction.

 

[Krobar]

Onkyo Europe from what Ive heard are not much good. Im in the UK but have a US RDC-7.1, try calling USA Integra support if emaling Integra doesnt work. The email addy given earlier in this thread has a helpful and knowledgable chap on the other end of it.

 

[T33]

Will do so, thank you!

 

[9f9c7z]

I am an advocate of returning any item that is not fully functional. When I pay $5k-$7k for a piece of hardware, either it works or it doesn’t. The manf needs to refund full payment for the equipment. If they want to leave it with me I’ll beta test it for them if I have the time to, otherwise, they can have it back and I’ll consider repurchasing the unit when it is working, if I still need one.

 

[Krobar]

T33,

This may soind like a sily question, do you have a DHCP server but want the Integra to use a fixed IP? I only ask because most DHCP servers will issue a fixed IP to a particular MAC address if you set them up to do so.