This is my 7th preamp. I started with an Adcom GFP 400. Next was a B&K PT3. Then I tried a marantz avr600. Then I used a Kenwood C1 preamp. Then I had a Rotel RSP 1068. I finally quit playing around with used preamps costing under $200. Bought an Audio Research LS3B on EBay for $565 included shipping. The Audio research sounded the best. No surprise. However I discovered the balance dial doesn't works and the left input doesn't work. If you plug in just the right input it somehow plays both outputs for speakers. I'm sending back to seller for repair. In the meantime I bought a b&k reference 20 for $82 including shipping on EBay. Rated #1 to last goes as follows:
1 audio research
2 b&k reference 20
3 Rotel
4 b&k pt3
5 kenwood
6 adcom
7 marantz
For the money, you cannot beat the reference 20. Mostly they sell for around $150-200 range. I got lucky on no reserve auction. I love the fact that this preamp is made in the USA. It's sound is very close to the audio research in my opinion. It has many options such as digital inputs and subwoofer control that I love. This preamp will eventually make it's way to my garage but I probably will never sell it. Most the reviews on this product was written in the early 2000s and people speak quite favorably of it after spending $2000 and more. Needless to say with it being a home theatre preamp and no hdmi it's rather outdated but for two channel listening I don't think you can find a better preamp under $200.
Associated equipment:
Denon dvd5000
Sonos connect
Highly modified Adcom GFA 555 ii
Magnepan mmg
All audio quest interconnects and speaker cables

I just got this on ebay for $150 no remote. Hooked it by with a avr6000series 2 . It blown by mind away. i was going to throw away my MB quart Domain 55. After 5 mins warm up, DTS comes to live. Dont waste you money to buy a Denon receiver with HD DTS. I had a 4308ci with all the features but B&k 20 with an amp will blow any receiver away. Seperates is always better that Receivers.

Great 2 ch sound, solid build quality, factory support, onscreen setup menu

Slow volume response time and the volume knob is too heavily sprung. NO BALANCED OUTPUTS!

Primarily a 2 channel listener but wanted the ability to upgrade to 5.1 in the future. The Ref20 offers no-compromise 2 channle hi-fi, and the flexibility for HT needs. Very happy with the sound. Tamed vocals/horns, and reaches deeper than my previous Denon pre. Not sure if it's the last word on soundstaging but it isn't suffering either. I wish like hell they'd put some balanced outputs (on a $2600 pre?!),

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Adcom, Proton

Remote is good. Button layout is not optimal but you can do a lot with it. Sound in DTS was great. Nice highs, tight bass. Bass in DD was ok, seemed to get out of control. Could be my speakers though, except that the bass is DTS was much tighter. Steering through the 5 surround channels was really good I think. You only notice the whole sound track experience and not just a channel at a time if you know what I mean. Get a cheap spl meter and set the delay correctly and it will sound good! Two channel sound was fine. I think if my speakers weren't so anal this puppy would sound better in 2 channel mode. I wanted to hook the ref 20 to a rotel amp to check it out. Pretty easy to use as well. I like that you can customize the startup message to put in something funny. Low level listening resulted in good quality. Hi level sound stayed together.

The button response time could be faster. Slight click when changing surround modes, but again I think its the speakers and the fact I have TERRIBLE power at my home. Power conditioner is next on my list. Bass management is basic. As well as the speaker setup (only small, large, etc). Not a big deal to most but I like to mess around. Video switching is ok. The onscreen display works, but with 90% of video switching equipment, you will see a loss of quality. Bass gets a little muddy in 2 channel mode. I have heard tighter. Really not bad though. At current used prices I think its a deal in the pre/pro area. I liked it but I that didn't stop me from selling it after 2 months, plus, I needed the money. I hear the lexicons are fun to play with, but the sound is ok. The Sony 9000 is good I hear and cheap now, so I'm gonna try that one. One plus on the sony is the fact you can find the service manual on the internet. Very conducive to mods.. that is my next move.

Good pro/pre for the money. I think a warm sounding amp with very tight bass make this puppy sound pretty darn good. Good/great surround performance. Decent 2 channel. Good remote. Overall, good.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 9000, meridian 56X my uncle has. I have 2 meridian m60's and 3 M33's (amps are built in and are meridian, of course)

Clean un colored sound

none

I shopped a lot of pre amps before choosing the Ref 20. THe sound is uncompromising in HT mode and the Stereo mode is great also. The unit is upgradable to almost the same specs. as a Ref 30 for $900.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound AVC 2500u

Just a fast comment about the *great* service if you need it on your B&K Ref20. Mine has the very first Bios codes and wouldn't work with the newest digital satalite receviers for Dolby Digital. I called B&K and talked to Jerry in tech, and he personally watched for my unit to arrive and is running tests on it and giving it a complete update to the lastest everything. They are extremely nice and effecient in dealing with *any* problem that you have and I have *never had a better experience with a post-purchase piece of equipment. I have had my B&K for almost 2 years this next February and it has been a great addition to my setup.

Just wanted to comment about the great service, it you should need to upgrade your unit.

...Allen

Flexibility, sound quality, digital inputs/outputs

no component video switching. Needs more bass management

Let me begin by saying I love this preamp. It has so many inputs that you may never find enough source equipment to fill this thing. the beauty of this preamp is the large quantities of digital inputs and the flexibilty of using them. for example you can connect up to 3 cd players by using the analog, optical, and digital inputs to one input and let your preamp automatically switch between them. The soundquality is outstanding. The D/A converter is definitely a step up from most cd players. The unit is also beautiful to look at also, not one of these huge preamps.

The only problems i have had with the unit was that my composite output was syncing with my TV. I called B&K and the shipped out this desyncing box right away...great service.


the only things i wished the preamp included were conponent inputs and a 6 channel input. I also wished it had more bass management options such as varible crossover. The only setting is for 80hz which may be fine for most but not all speakers. Also lacking is internal composite to s-video converting.

Equipment:
B&K Reference 20
B&K 1430
Aragon 8008ST
Kef Reference 2
Kef Reference 100 Center
Kef Q15
Velodyne HGS10
Harmon Kardon CDR2
Sony 90ES and 70ES CD Changer
Toshiba 2109 DVD
Toshiba 32H95 TV
MIT T2 speaker and interconnects

See Below

See Below

This is an update to the review I posted below. After doing an initial evaluation, I selected the Sony TA-E9000ES over the B&K. Since then, I had to return the Sony because of a hardware problem (cross-talk). Now that I am in the market again for a preamp, I have widened by search to the:

1. Sony TA-E9000ES
2. B&K Reference 20
3. Parasound AVC-2500
4. Denon AV-3300 Receiver
5. Marantz AV-9000

Except for the Parasound and the Marantz, I have had these units in my home for at least one week for detail comparions. I have also had detailed and lengthy discussions with representatives from Parasound and B&K. I have also sent a considerable amount of time in the showrooms of the Marantz and Parasound dealers listening to music and movies. I have created a detailed spreadsheet that records the parameters and scores that I accumulated. Email me if you would like to see it. It is formatted in Excel.

I first wanted to rate the above units on performance and other subjective scoring using the following criteria:

1. My view of “stereo sound quality”
2. “Home Theater” Performance Rating
3. “Home Theater” Value Rating
4. Resale value
5. Warranty
6. Remote control usability
7. Front panel usefulness
8. Flexibility of base management
9. My view of the “quality of surround sound”
10. Build Quality

I assigned scores to the above from 1 to 10 and then multiplied these numbers by a weight that varied between 1 to 10. A weight of ten signifies that it has more importance. For example the weight assigned to the “Home Theater” performance rating was 9 and the editors gave the Sony a performance rating of 8.9. The total score given to the Sony in this catergory was 8.9 X 9 = 80.1. Where there were no “Home Theater” ratings I had to estimate based on other reviews. Here are the results for the first evaluation:

Parasound AVC-2500 558.3
B&K Ref. 20 549
Marantz AV9000 525.60
Sony TA-E9000ES 506
Denon AV3300 481.8

Next I divided each score into the lowest quoted street price for each unit. This provides a relative value rating. The lower the score, the better:

Parasound AVC-2500 4.66
B&K Ref. 20 3.34
Marantz AV9000 2.85
Sony TA-E9000ES 1.98
Denon AV3300 1.74

In the second round of evaluation, I listed the features that I felt were important to me. If the unit had the feature I gave it a score of 1. Conversely, if it did not it got a zero. I also assigned a weight to each feature. In this case, I awarded a weight of 5 for hardware upgradablity. Here are the features:

1. Direct Mode
2. Digital Volume Control
3. Front AV input
4. Assignable inputs
5. Plug/Play
6. Position memory
7. 2 Zones
8. Tone Controls
9. 6th Channel
10. Software upgradable
11. Hardware Upgradable
12. THX
13. 12vdc Control
14. US Made?
15. Tuner
16. 4 or 5 channel stereo
17. On-Screen Setup
18. Component Video Switching
19. 24/96 Audio
20. Digital Outputs

Here are the results:

Parasound AVC-2500 25
B&K Ref. 20 33
Marantz AV9000 31
Sony TA-E9000ES 15
Denon AV3300 20

I then divided the street price for each unit by its score to create a value rating for features:

Parasound AVC-2500 104.0
B&K Ref. 20 55.52
Marantz AV9000 48.39
Sony TA-E9000ES 66.67
Denon AV3300 42.00


Summary:

The Parasound is the performance leader but for the features that it provides, it is way too expensive when compared to this field, but it is very competitive when compared to the Lexicon DC2, Sunfire, or Merridian. The Sony is O.K. but if had to choose between it and the Denon, the Denon wins but neither one is better than the Marantz or the B&K.

I talked at length today with a representative from B&K about the new processor that is in development and the upgrade plans for the Ref. 20. He stated that the plans for the new unit have not been finalized and that most likely the Ref. 20 would not, due to space limitations, have the ability to be converted to the new Ref. 30. He did state that the Ref. 20 could get the new D/A convertors and software changes but the upgrade path will not be ready until Jan. 01.

I have ordered the Marantz from a dealer that is allowing me to do a home demo. When my evaluation is complete, I will post my evaluation.

Similar Products Used:

See Below

Sound quality for the money.
Bass management.
Signal sensing.
Backlit remote.

None

I am very pleased with this pre-amp. I have had it for 6 months with no problems. I feel for the money it is an excellent buy. This unit out performed the Nakamichi and Adcom pre-pro's and was very close to the Sunfire in sound quality. I chose the B & K because of the price difference. I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for a preamp in the $2000 - $2500 price range. I was a little concerned about the qualty concerns that have been reported about this unit on this sight, but I have not experienced any problems with the Ref. 20 in the 6 months that I have had it.

Components used in my home theater:

B&K Ref 20
Nakamichi PA-1
B&W Matrix 804 L/R
B&W Matrix Center
B&W DS-6 Rear
M&K MX200 Sub
Denon DVD-3000
Nakamichi MB-10 CD Changer

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi CA-1
Adcom (I dont remember model number)
Sunfire Theater Grand

Sound Quality, Flexibilty

No direct surround sound options

First of all, a little background story on my Home Theater addiction.

It all started with a pair of Advent Heritage speakers almost a decade ago. From there I've only become more more insane, looking for the 'perfect' system. Soon my decent JVC was replaced with a H/K AVR80. Then came the Infinity Overtures, the Dolby Digital Processor, Big-Screen TV, ect.. Well you get the idea.

Over time I became dissatisfied with my good ol' H/K's bass reproduction. So about 6 months ago, with a LOT of research, I added B&K's AV5000II amp. Wow, what a difference! I was so satisfied with all aspects of it's performance, that I was looking to pickup their REF 20 (IF the performance/price was right).

After listening to similar products in it's price range, I decided to go B&K again.

For me, home theater is all about sound. Let's face it, if all this high end home gear sounded like a 13" TV, we wouldn't spend sooo much money in consumer electronics. And sound quality is what the REF 20 delivers in spades. Here's what I have hooked up right now:

Amp: B&K AV5000II
Processor: B&K Reference 20
Mains: Infinity Overture 3's
Center: Infinity CC3
Rear: Infinity Overture 1's.

From music, to home theater, this system just totally blows me away. I'd describe the sound as very detailed, yet smooth. It's the type of sound that begs you to crank it up. Not for lack of clarity, but just because it sounds soo good.

All in all the B&K setup is simply amazing. If anybody is in the market for some (relatively) inexpensive seperates, you NEED to at least demo these. You'll thank me.

Similar Products Used:

H/K, JVC, Tested MANY (Arcus, Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, ect)