Technical differences in 7000:
- RDS module
- MPX signal from the tuner board to the RDS module
- a couple of data lines between the RDS and CPU modules
- and obviously a new firmware that knows how to control the RDS module and do something with the data it receives
I believe all this could be retrofitted in a 6500 and nobody would
know the difference apart from the number on the front panel.
Particularly everything that handles audio is identical between the two.
All the RDS is good for is showing the station name on a Beolink 7000, on the not-so-legible blue display.
Nice when initially storing the presets, but not too critical after
that, unless you have so many presets that you forget which is which. Other than this, by all means get a 6500 system and
save a lot of money - there aren't any real differences in the other
components, either.