Price Paid:  $100.00 from individual

Summary:
Actually my unit is AVP-3000,THX certified,I purchased this (second hand) together with ST-1400 Amp, both model 1996. I was only interested in the Amp to power up the front channels of my Denon AVR-2802, which i think a bit underpowered for my Paradigm Referrence Studio 60v2. But the deal was,the amp would go only with this preamp plus another unit (same model with shorted processor chip) for a total of $250.00. I compared this bet Avr-2802. I was blown away with its sound on Direct Mode. It has smoother sound but the denon is more detailed on stereo mode. I could not comment on video quality and movies since my dvd is directly connected to tv via s-video and i use my denon for DD/DTS processing. It does not have DD/DTs decoder or multi-channel inputs (only prologic) compared to Denon,but on dig. coaxial music is awesome. XLR connection to Amp. is also great it's like I gained twice the volume level. Over all this preamp though old model is still reliable with lots of option for expansion to multi-zones. Maybe the upgraded 3090 with DD/DTS and Prologic II formats is much better and some jumper connections on PCB has been rectified. Associated Equipments: Denon Avr2802 (A/V-Pre/pro) - 90W X 6 B&K AVP3000 (Music-Preamp) B&K ST1400 (Power Amp) - 125W X 2 R&D VP300X (Power Amp) - 100w X 2 (bridgable) Technics ---- (Tuner) Panasonic RV32S (DVD/CD/MP3 player) Pioneer CTW503R (TapeDeck) refurbished JVC Hifi VCR JVC Interiart TV Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.2 (Front) Bose 301 - II (Surround) - cone edge replaced JVC "mini sp" (Surround Back-Atom 1st choice) Optimus (Center-soon 2b replaced w/ cc-170) Monster Cable & Homegrown interconnects Cat-5e Homegrown Bi-wire speaker cables Accoustic Research & Proel SP Connectors Tripplite Power Adapter/Line Conditioner Stavol Power Stabilizer

Strengths:
Solid build, premium components, Sound quality, expandble to multi-zone.

Weaknesses:
tones not tweakable.no phono stage input.needs 5 amps to power all channels and i'm still in the home-theater building process.

Similar Products Used:
First separate preamp and got one in the shelve hoping to get processor chip replacement. Does any body out there who could suggest on how my 2nd unit to put on service, or where i could get the repla

Summary:
I virtually stole one of these units (used) from a hi-fi shop for $299. The unit was initially the AVP-3000 Prologic/THX version. I immediately sent the unit to B&K for an upgrade to the AVP-3090. B&K charged me the difference in price between the two units (which was $800) for the upgrade making my total investment $1100. The upgrade consisted of changing the chasis, main board, and face plate to make it a 3090 (basically the entire unit was replaced except for whatever they could keep). Unfortunately, I lost the THX certification but I felt that wasn't a big deal.
When I initially got the 3090 home, I couldn't get any sound from the pre-outs (which may be the reason I got the unit for $299). I thought the unit would need to be repaired. However, when I called B&K to make arrangements for the upgrade and possible repair, they told me the unit simply needed to be reset to its default operating mode (reset the processor). I had no manual, so the technician told me how to do it and the component worked fine.

The AVP-3090 has excellent sound on movies and music. The imaging is outstanding. I was using a Kenwood KRV-990D (as a preamp) for movies and an Adcom GFP-750 for music. I am able to do A-B (but not A-B-C) comparisons between units. The KRV-990D simply didn't measure up to either of the other units when it came to music (this was obvious from the start). The B&K (and GFP-750) had tons more resolution, better imaging, and a more dynamic sound overall. The 3090 had a brighter and slightly edgy sound compared to the GFP-750 (a very good Nelson Pass designed stereo preamp). The 750 also had more control, detail and depth in the bass region and was more realistic in the treble. I will continue to use the Adcom for music (just because I have the luxury). On movies the 3090 had considerably more punch. I thought the Kenwood was weak in prologic and Dolby Digital. Of course the B&K is a considerable upgrade to the Kenwood anyway. It probably isn't fair to compare the Kenwood to either the Adcom or the B&K, but it's what I was using. A friend will receive the Kenwood as a gift.

I had been eyeing the B&K 3090 for a while and now happy I did. Finding a appreciably better component can't be done without spending nearly twice the price (much more at the price I got). The 3090 is an easy 4 stars (8 stars if you count the total cost to me on the component).

Summary:
I purchased this unit after waiting (and waiting....) for an Acurus Act3. I am absolutely blown away!!!!! The stereo direct mode is cleaner and more dynamic than any audio-only preamplifier I have owned, and the AC-3 mode is truly awesome. The only thing I have discovered is that this unit needs good ventilation to avoid getting hot. Once the unit gets hot, a cyclic noise (hiss) becomes VERY prevalent. I remedied this by moving the pre-amp to the very top of my rack, and putting extra-tall feet underneath the factory feet. NO PROBLEMS SINCE! I highly recommend this unit!

Summary:
Just got this unit and already love it. The stereo and direct modes are absolutely the best I have heard. The DTS is a little stingy so far on the separation but I will explore that. The only drawback is the S-Video, which is dark, saturated with color and I am unable to fix it.

Summary:
I recently purchased this unit from a dealer that was getting out of B&K. I had my eyes on the REF20, same unit with on screen display and better remote. But the price was right and he gave me the new remote, sl-9000. I had a Sony reciever before which I thought was pretty good, but now I know how good music can sound. The addition of the preamp and an Adcom 5800 power amp to my system make it sounds fantastic. I never thought two channel stereo could sound so good, home theatre with dd and dts also sounds so much better. The B&K is not as easy to use as the Sony, but the sound quality more than makes up for it.