Sound, ease of use, build quality, flexability

pops when turning off other equipement and changing sources

This is my first forray into higher end equipement...and I was not disappointed. I was using a Denon 3300 receiver as a pre-amp into a Sunfire Cinema Grand (200 X 5). I wondered what the difference would be with a true pre-amp. Boy what a diffence it made. Everything seemed to be much clearer. Speaking voices have so much more detail. Both me and my wife heard details on movies that we didn't know were there before...this is an accomplishment considering my wife doesn't get into audio equipement the way I do. Also, bass was much more controlled. The bass options are excellent and allow you to really tailor listening to suit your needs. DTS and Dolby Digital decoders are top notich. Everything seemed to take on a three dimensional quality. The menus are pretty intutitive, even if the remote is not. It's a fairly straight forward piece of equipement with a lot of flexability. It's also software upgradable. If there is any weaknesses I would have to say that it pops when turning off other equipement and when changing sources. This shouldn't happen with a piece of equipement that costs nearly $3,000.00. Balanced inputs would have been nice...but that's nitpicking. Overall, a nicely built piece of equipement, that looks sleek to, and the sound is fabulous.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1800, Denon 3300

***Value***, ease of use & set-up, great remote, truely upgradeable from a company you can count on, quality construction, clarity and detail

none

I believe this is one of the best values you can find in a processor. I spent months reading reviews, and auditioning products before choosing this one. Over time it became more and more apparent to me that spending more money, didn't necessarily get me anything. In fact, a lot of the time it was a step back wards from the B&K. I found that a lot of the nitch products are sometimes a lot of hype and marketing, without the substance to warrant the price. I will be the first to admit that I don't have an audiophile ear. What I lack in that area, I make up for by doing very thorough research and comparisons, taking notes on everything, before making a purchase. I feel very confident in saying that for 98% of listeners, this will be all they will ever need, and more. A lot of this boils down to basic economics. B&K sells so many more products in a year than companies like Proceed etc., that they can afford to do more research and upgrades, and deliver them at a more affordable price.
Upgradeabilty was a big concern to me. With all of the new formats coming out, who wants to spend thousands on something that is soon obsolete? I have had friends learn the hard way, that upgrades are not always as easy as they were lead to believe. Not to pick on Proceed (many others are the same) but, this product is advertised as easily upgradeable, with simple downloads etc.. It turns out that the dac's are way outdated technology so, software won't do you any good (if it were even available). I called Proceed and no updates will be offered for over a year. All of this for something 2 to 3 times the price - no thank you. I am confident that B&K can afford to be there for me in the years to come, should I have a problem. Their service so far has been top notch.
I have mine connected to a reference 7250 B&K amp, using Harmonic technology interconnects and power chords. These drive Gershman Acoustics: Avante Garde's, X-1 surrounds, CC-X center along with a Velodyne HGS-15 SUB.

My system was purchased from Steve at Sound Video. I have found him to be one of the most knowledgeable and honest salepeople to deal with. He can be reached at (herra001@tc.umn.edu)

Similar Products Used:

proceed, aragon, krell, anthem, bryston, rotel, lexicon etc.

Sound that nothing I have had in the past will beat this. Flexible, upgradable for future.

Running warm but doesn't matter really.

I went to listen this pre-amp at Tweeter, and I love the sound and the build so much. However, the price is very high. Lucky got recommend from friend and bought it very low price.

First I got it, I didn't read the manual. I hook it up and man I almost return it. I call the guy and ask him about the product. Seller told me to read the manual before hook it up. So, I read the manual and reconfigure everything. Boom!! the sound is unbeliveable good. The movie reproduce the best sound ever.

Also, the feature use is also professional design. B&K has to research what High-End need to build this thing just right. A notch filter for removing low frequency room resonance feature is one of best feature that I never see other preamp cost under $5000 has it.

Anyway here is my system (Almost 1 month Old).

B&K Ref 7260
B&K Ref 30
NHT 2.9
NHT Center 2
NHT Super One
M&K Subwoofer
QED Interconnect
Hand Made All Cable
Toshiba 6200 Progressive Scan DVD ( got a good price on it)
Mitsubishi 65" Diamond Series
Monster Power Line Condisioner
DTV

Similar Products Used:

None will match.

Flexibities/Upgradeability/Sound/SurroundFormat/UserFriendly

Too small chassis & display cannot be turned off completely

Purchased this pre/pro to replace my Denon AVP8000 which did not have DTS and it was also aging quick. Of course I'd second to some of the positive notes of the other reviewers before me and I'd like to add some on my own: On the two channel music, it has one of the best imaging sound as one would expect from a fairly expensive analog preamp and I own the SImaudio P5 preamp in my other music room so I know its almost as good as the P5 where the Ref30 may be a bit less refined or less holo-graphic imaging. As for the movie soundtrack where this baby shines like a bright star. When played DTS movies like the U571 or Gladiator with surround EX turned on. The Ref30 has reproduced some of the most incredible realistic surround sound I'd ever experienced. Prior settling to this pre/pro I had spent quite sometime listening to several other brand names with the price range from $3k up to $7k and the Ref30 I thought has given me the best bang for the buck. The bottom line: You simply cannot go wrong this unit but do not take my word for it. You owe yourself an audition before deciding.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus ACT3, Denon AVP8000

All the latest bells and whistles

Sound not comensurate with price

I went to listen to the Ref 30 at my brother's house as he was going on about how fantastic it sounded. In contract to his prior Sony ES AV Preamp, there was a significant improvement in sound. We went through the different modes both with music (which stereo is suitable to me) and movies to see what this bad boy could do.

Here are my thoughts: while there was an improvement in imaging and separation for movies, I must say I was not all that impressed with it's ability to reproduce music. Maybe he didn't have it set up right or as he puts it, "maybe it's my cables."

In contrast, my Acurus ACT3, which I paid $1000 less for, just sounded cleaner and more detailed when playing music. He has a B&K amp with B&W speakers, I have Acurus amps with Paradigm speakers. There wasn't a significant difference between the price of our other components and we even have the same DVD Player (Toshiba SD-5109).

Maybe it's just me, but I thought an "audiophile" quality system should be able to do music to. Considering the price difference too, eh, I'll still with my Acurus.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus ACT3, Sony ES AV7000

Versatility, Sound, Price (relative to other pre/pros).

Remote is a little quirky, but most are until you adapt to them.

WOW! This is my first crack at separates and couldn't possibly be happier. I was looking for a component that could provide me a high level of performance in two channel without sacrificing my HT. In an ideal world I'd have two systems but Boston rents do not accommodate my ideal. After auditioning the B&K, Myriad, Acurus, and Sunfire pre/pros I found the B&K met my demands. It matches beautifully with my B&W CDM's. Out of the box I hooked it up and fired in Radiohead Kid A. It was as if someone had removed a screen from in front of my speakers. The soundstage was right on. It was incredibly detailed and smooth. It had me reaching for all my favorite CD's. After hours of Bob Mould, Pixies, and a little Harry Conick Jr (I know it's cheesy but sounds great) I threw in Gladiator on DVD. Listening to the opening sequence with Maximus prepping his troops I was again blown away. The B&K made it seem as if my Denon receiver was playing in merely 5-channel stereo all this time. The separation was beautiful. I had expected the see arrows flying over my head at any minute. Anyone looking for an all in one solution should look no further.

The rest of my system:
Rotel RMB1075 AMP
B&W CDM's fronts and center
B&W LM in rear
Sunfire True Sub Jr.
MIT Term2 Bi-Wire speaker cables
AudioQuest cables
Sony DVD7000
Sony TV

Similar Products Used:

Replaced Denon AVR3200 Receiver.

Control over components, ease of use

None

I love my system and have had many neighbors and friends compliment the sound and cleaness of the audio. Plus, made in Buffalo, NY USA


My Home Theater:
Pioneer Elite Rack matching the 710
B&k Reference 30 Preamp Tuner Processor
B&k Reference 2220 Dual Mono Stereo Amplifier
B&K Reference 7260 6 Channel power Amplifier
Integra DPS-9.1 DVD, DVD-Audio Player
Sony VHS Tape player
Sony 401 Disc Changer with Escient Tune Base
Pioneer Elite Pro 710 Rear Projection TV
Dish 6000 Receiver for Satellite HDTV
Definitive BP3000 for front left/right
Definitive C/L/R 3000 Center Speaker
Definitive BPVX/P for rear surrounds
Definitive BPVX for Side Surrounds
2 Definitive 15 Subwoofers 1 front/1 rear

ZONE 2
(Other area of the home)

Adcom GFS-6 Speaker Selector for Zone 2 distribution
3 pair of Outdoor speakers (Definitive)(B&W)(Paradigm)
Paradigm PS-1000 Sub-Woofer for outside
3 pair in wall speakers (Definitive UIW 55)
All video, audio, speaker cables are by JPS

I have 9 dedicated 15-amp circuits for the system components and all circuits are Surge Protected.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

Build Quality, Price to feature ratio, ease of use, sound quality

Owners Manual, setup, slight pop when changing sources

Excellent value. I am hoping they will offer an upgrade for DPL II soon.

Associated Equipment

BK Ref2220 amp - Fronts
BK Ref3220 amp - Center and Surrounds
Velodyne SPL1200 Subwoofer
Harmon Kardon CDR30 CDR
Pioneer Elite DV-38A DVD Player
Monster HTS3500 Power Conditioner
Monster Z series interconnects and speaker cables
Harmonic Technologies Power Cords
Mirage OM-5 Fronts
Mirage OM-R2 Surrounds
Mirage OM-C2 Center

If you buy this make sure you read the manual and do a good job of setting up

Similar Products Used:

Sunfire Theater Grand

Sonically very solid. Easy setup, nice remote.

Loud clicking and popping not only when changing sources, but when channel surfing or skipping through chapters of a DVD.

Loud clicking and popping not only when changing sources, but when channel surfing or skipping through chapters of a DVD. Whenever, the Preamp reacquires a signal even after the briefest pause (i.e switching TV channels) pops ranging from mild to ear splitting occur.—I appreciate the discreet processing , but other high end preamp are able to over come this. This problem was severe enough to make the Preamp unacceptable to me.

Similar Products Used:

Anthem AVM 20

crisp, clean audio. functionality. features. upgradability. Value

None major

I use the ref 30 w/ acurus 200five & marantz ma6100 (rear center) amps. sound quality & quantity is excellent. it is outstanding w/ HT whether THX, EX, DD, DTS or prologic. pretty good on 2 channel music too - 6 speaker stereo is an excellent feature.

the pops & clicks when switching are obvious but minor as long as good quality coax & sub interconnects & connections are used/made. i found a bad interconnect cable from my digital cable box to the ref 30 coax digital in was the cause of some severe noise when switching.