The remote was somewhat lacking in regards to programming it for other products in our Home Theater setup. This was primarily due to it not having any pre-stored codes. Every function, from turn-on to operation, had to be manually "learned" into the unit. What was even more challenging was when we decide to use the Universal Remote's MX-700 home theater remote control as there were no codes for Integra Research found on any Universal Remote product, though there may be some independent online resources available to users.

If you are patient, and plan on having the RDC-7 for a long time, then programming this remote for your entire home theater system will not be that big of an issue. When completed, the RC-418M remote offers many useful features that will make it easy to operate your entire setup.

Audioholics found the RDC-7 to be a powerful, refined processor fully capable of satisfying the audiophile in all of us. Its sonic performance was staggering as it was able to reproduce subtle detail, along with deep, tight bass. In Analog Direct Mode, the RDC-7 we heard reverberation of room acoustics and nuances of vocals that went unnoticed on previous processors and receivers we reviewed. The RDC-7's low noise floor and premium DACs allowed it to perform notably with CD's and current high-resolution formats such as DVD-A and SACD.

With a host of DSP Modes, the RDC-7 was able to create an ambience tailored to our listening room. The RDC-7 also boasted THX Ultra2 certification, which is only commonplace for higher-end equipment. It also meant that the processor incorporated video switching capable of handling all wide-bandwidth sources, including HDTV and progressive scan DVD, without degradation of picture quality. The unit was easy to setup and operate, and even allowed us to select preferred modes of operation that were source dependant.

The RDC-7 also allows for On-The-Fly stored speaker level trim settings for multi-channel analog inputs. Add the fact that the unit has an above average signal-to-noise ration, and you have a processor fully capable of providing optimum performance for any current high resolution format, including DVD-Audio and SACD.

As with many home theater products, there are a few areas where this processor can be improved. In the future, Integra Research would do well to consider a remote that has stored settings for other manufacturers. This will make it easier for users to program the remote to run an entire Home Theater system, instead of just the processor. Other welcomed features needed on the RDC-7 include video up-conversion to component video. This would minimize connections thus reducing signal degradation (extremely important for video, especially HDTV and DVD) while simplifying video operation by virtually eliminating the need to switch video inputs on the TV. With this would necessitate the need for On Screen Display through component video.

Audioholics created a "wish list" for future products that we submitted to Integra Research and several other manufacturers. In this wish list, you will find other features that we would love to see considered either in future upgrades to the RDC-7, or for its successor. With only a few minor shortcomings, it is Audioholics' opinion that the Integra Research RDC-7 is currently one of the best dedicated A/V Processors and we were privileged to implement it into our Reference Systems.