Price Paid:  $1600.00 from Ovation

Summary:
I was never happy with digital sounds,especially multichannel ability to play music.I thought it was a software problem,but I am a very cost conscious person and did not want to spend the money for a meridian or lexicon processor.I tried all the different formats ie HDCD,SACD,DVD AUDIO,VIDEO etc.I even bought a MSB DAC.Nothing made the grade and on the verge of giving up and ready for the big bucks,I picked up this B&K product as a DEMO at a post holiday firesale.No remote but my research revealed it to be a Universal remote product SL9000.I started it up and the rest is history.I wish I had not spent so much on my DVD/CD player(Denon 3300)Any old one with a coaxial link would work great.Don't know why but even the standard 16 bit 44.1 mhtz CD sounds great.I think there is some upsampling going on.Anyway I am very happy and I have finally parted with my Linn Sondek

Strengths:
Build,power(45 amps)and clarity.Good default position.Online upgrade for softwares

Weaknesses:
Can't think of any.

Similar Products Used:
Marantz,Rotel,Sony,Panasonic,

Price Paid:  $2300.00 from Sound Advice

Summary:
I personally have had no problems with this unit so far. Sonically, it is simply in another league from all the Jap stuff out there. I do not say this for any "rah-rah go USA reasons". It is simply a fact. I am a bit of an audio snob (own a lot of high-end gear) and saw the B&K as just another mass-produced receiver when I was looking for a do-everything centerpiece for my home entertainment center and first tried Yamaha and Denon because much better daels could be had on them. The Denon 4800 was ok for the $$$ and I think Yamaha makes superb electronics, but the major problem with all Japanese receivers (no matter what the price) is that their amplification sections suck! On the advice of the Store manager I decided to give the B&K a whirl. What a difference! The B&K is an honest to goodness piece of audiophile gear. I even use the preamp section to run my high-end tube amp with great results. Sonically, this unit is at a stratospherically different level from the Denon 4800 0r 5800 series. Don't believe everything you read in magazine reviews; advertising $$$ buy a lot! Probably the only other a/v receiver of this caliber is the one from Macitosh. If you want equal or better, you will have to go with separates. This is a unit for adults and those who value music reproduction first. To me, 5 stars means the absolute best available and when it comes to a/v receivers, this unit is. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH MASS PRODUCED JAP STUFF WHICH COSTS JUST AS MUCH!

Strengths:
Smooth, yet detailed audiophile sound. Even my Quad owning friend was impressed. Incredibly micro-adjustible tweakability.

Weaknesses:
Needs more analog throughputs

Price Paid:  $2900.00 from Hi-Fi Farm

Summary:
Went looking for some beef in an A/V receiver, and think I found it. Replaced a Denon AVR-2800 which I was happy with, but had heard good things about B&K, and wanted more 2 channel punch w/o going to separates. I have no "complaints" per se, but am a little confused using the B&K analog inputs from a rather pricy Rotel CD player. Having spent more than planned on high-grade interconnects, I have learned from B&K that the incoming analog signal is converted to digital, then back to analog (again?) utilizing the B&Ks onboard DACs. If this is the case, what''s the point of utilizing the Rotel DACs, only to have the analog signal be "re-DACed" in the B&K? Does this not limit you to PCM out of any CD player, regardless of the quality of the player? Why go through the same step twice? The only true analog option is to choose the "direct" option, but that eliminates the ability to use a sub. Am I missing something here? I''m feeling like I overspent on both CD player, and interconnects, and should go with CD transport in mind, and a good digital coax. I would appreciate any input from a more educated audio person than I appear to be. I''m not panning the unit by any means. It sounds wonderful in all modes, but I can''t get my hands around this issue.

Strengths:
Build. Sound quality.

Weaknesses:
2-channel stereo.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha, Denon.

Summary:
I originally was looking to only go with an AV preamp and seperate amplifiers in my new dedicated home theater.
For my complete setup, go here:
http://www.flippedbit.net/theater/theater.htm

I knew I wanted a 7.1 channel capable setup so I was looking at spending a lot of money on amplifiers. I was really interested in the bass management capabilities of the B&K ref 30. It was very flexible and resonably priced when compared to others with similar capabilities.

I went searching for dealers and found Steve Herrala at Sound Video who happens to have posted here and was in town. He explained to me the preamp sections of the REF 30 and AVR series were identical. My wisest move would be to buy a AVR 307. Of course, I really wanted a seperate amp to power my front three speakers. More testosterone than any other reason. I didnt want to waste money on unused amplifier channels with the 307. So he told me to go with the 305. Just change the internal amplifiers to drive the rear surrounds instead of the front mains. I didnt see how this was possible. Any other receiver on the market is not capable of changing the channels the amplifiers drive, but he assured me it was so. Just a simple plug switch by opening the case.

So I bought the 305 w/ a REF 3220 amp to drive my front speakers. It arrived and we opened the cover, sure enough there are molex connectors to allow you to have any amp drive any channel. The amplfiers are on modules and the output devices are even the same when compared to the 3220, just fewer of them. There is an open spot for a module that turns the 305 into the 307 in a few minutes. Looking at the guts of the preamp section it is identical to the REF30 (except its proximity to the amplifiers and a massive power supply)

I give it a 5 for value considering how much money I saved by not going with the REF30 and seperate amps for the rear surrounds. You cant buy a quality 4channel amplifier for the price difference between this combo.

The sound is also oustanding. I've never heard anything that compares and there are no stores that have setups similar to mine so my experience will remain limited. The complete lack of noise, great dynamics and power delivery to my surrounds makes me smile every time I turn it on.

Strengths:
Amplifier flexibility, Bass Management, room equaliztion, sound quality, RS232 and computer setup capability, 12v control triggers

Weaknesses:
slow and vague upgrade policy, xover applies to all speakers (cant configure it seperately)

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX, Sony ES900

Summary:
I started out with Denon-good, then Marantz-better, and now I arrive at B&K AVR305 which is a major step up in some important areas. First of all if you are really anal about achieving the best possible sound from your audio/video system, I would highly recommend checking out B&K. Without getting to technical(which would be hard for me) it gives you the ability to eliminate frequency problems due to room acoustics i.e. boomy bass sounds from your sub(s). It has a variable E.Q. which allows you to tune your system and adjust Bass and/or treble frequencies which will give you a flatter response curve improving the sound of your sytem regardless of acoustics. It is easy to set-up and adjust each channel while you are watching a movie, for example you want your center channel louder to hear dialogue better but you don't want effects channels (explosions) louder for that particular movie. It is a very good looking reciever and doesn't have 2000 buttons on the faceplate (10 total and a volume knob). I could go on but I think you can get the idea that this reciever gives you USABLE features and not a bunch of bells and whistles and the quality of construction is noticably better in every aspect i.e. speaker terminals, jacks etc. This is a serious reciever for those of us who want great sound for audio as well as a killer movie experience in one box but don't want to spend more money on seperates and MAYBE get a very slight improvement in sound.

Strengths:
Sound, looks, features, easy set-up.

Weaknesses:
remote is good but definetly not state of the art.

Similar Products Used:
Denon, Marantz