Great sound quality, ease of use once you get used to the somewhat wacky setup.

Not sonething you can just play with and learn how to use.

This is most likely the ultimate bet if you MUST have a receiver. It sounds better than competition at this price and doesnt waste money on silly frills (touchscreen remotes, gimicky modes etc...). For $3500 I think some may be better off with separates, but few separates offer 7.1 these days so that may be an attracive option. All in all a solid performer. I am also posting this to offset bad reviews that were obviously all posted by the same person. Its too bad so many have a crusade against a certain product that benefits no one.

Similar Products Used:

AVR5800, SR14EX

Simple to use, great flexibility, features

Upgrade policy (minor)

I agonized over the Denon 5800 and the AVR307 for weeks this summer prior to purchasing. The real audiophiles at my high-end AV store insisted that the B&K was far more impressive than the Denon (which they didn't carry). I pointed out that it didn't have any real surround processing modes, they insisted that most of their customers use on 10% of those modes anyway and the multi-channel stereo mode was better than the weird surround modes on most other receivers. I even called B&K customer service and they said "that's not what we're about". Sounded a little snide to me, but after all the reviews on this sight, I gave the nod to the B&K and I couldn't be happier!

I've got Definitive Technology BP2000TL's up front, BP2002's Rear and small Polks for the center rear. Looking to get CLR3000 for center soon. 307 sounds incredible.

I originally ordered the 305's since I had a spare amp and was going to do the open-the-back trick listed elsewhere, but they were backed up in manufacturing and offered me the AVR307's for an extra $100. Couldn't pass it up.

If you're interested in music and great sound you can't go wrong!

Direct mode - The cleanest sound I have ever heard in a 2 channel system (Its not bright, but pure).

Home theater - Playback is solid. The Star Wars pod race sounds better than the movie theater and better than my Denon 4802. Engines rumble and explosions shake the house.

Power - provides depth and punch to the bass and provides the sound stage with great clearity and detail.

Remote - Much better than the Akitas. Easy to change from CD, DVD, and TV with 2 pushes.

Just about everything really.

2 channel mode - If you don't have a subwoofer that allows you to use hi level line in and you are just using a rca line, this is the only way to use your subwoofer for stereo playback. The signal must go through the processors which really degrades the signal. I have a Rel Strata III with a Denon 4800 DVD player and the sound is unbelievable in direct mode, but not nearly as good using 2 channels.

Not DTS-ES or PL II

First, I will start with my system.

Reciever - B&K 307

DVD Player - Denon 4800

Front Speakers - Vienna Acoustic - Bach (will upgrade to Mozart)

Sub - Rel Strata III

Rears - 4 Klipsch Sb-1's

TV - Sony XBR 400 36"


It's taken me about 6 months of upgrades from Tweeter to get this system sounding the way I want but its amost finished.

The biggest upgrade in sound has come from the B&K 307. My new speakers have probably made a big bdifference as well, since my musical tastes have canged in the last few years. I went from Klipsch KLF 20's to Vienna Acoustics which really made the Denon 4802 sound underpowered and overly rich. The B&K has power to spare and has opened up the soundstage so much that I feel like I am really there.

Yes, its a $3,500 reciever, but you cannot get seperates that sound this good for anywhere near $3,500 or even $5,000.

People are complaining about clicking when you change inputs. Well, my Denon also clicked when you changed inputs. Does that clicking really interfere with the listening experience, No.

The 307 is the Ref 30 with an amplifier section, a very good amplifier section. The Ref 30 has been reviewed to death and is one of the pre/pro's made. Look at the reviews for it and look and the spec's. They are exactly the same

Its amazing that people have such little to do that they come on sites and say things like "Kenwood sounds better than the B&K. Nothing Kenwood has made or ever will make will sound as good as the 307.

I told my father that I got this receiver and he went out demoed it with his Martin Logan's and proceeded to by it the same night. The ability of this reciever to make all of my Cd's sound new and fresh is unquantifyable. Once B&K upgrade the software to decode DTS-ES and PLII, this reciever will be perfect for every need I can think of.

I highly recommend it to anyone who can afford it or wants an audiophile pre/pro and amp for a hell of a steal

Similar Products Used:

Denon 4802

Amazing quality in a receiver. Everything in one housing with no loss of sound quality. great support from B&K

All in one housing means a less versatile product

I went looking for audio components for our summer home. I enjoy listening to music but lately we have been doing more entertaining so the exotic 2 channel audio system needed to upgraded to include both home theater, and something more user friendly then tubes and high end gear that no one could touch.
Anyway, I figured to go with mid to high end electronics and speakers. I demo'd pre-amps from Proceed, B&K and Lexicon. The Out of the pre-amps I liked the B&K Ref 30 the best and amps from B&K and Bryston were my top choices based on value and sound quality. The dealer, after helping me choose the B&K pre and amp gave me the 307 to demo. I almost thought he was joking that I try a receiver but I took it home. I was really shocked at the fact that the sound from the 307 was basically identicle to the Ref 30 and B&K Amps but at a much lower price. The only thing that kept me from buying the AVR307 was expendability. I did buy the Ref 30. I have not settled on speakers yet, but some models I plan on trying will need more power and/or more channels of amplification. I am leaning toward something from Egglestonworks and those speakers seem to like a lot of power, perhaps 400w or more so external amps will be the way to go for me. In either case, I find that the B&K Ref 30 was not only the best sounding pre-amp I tried, but the cheapest as well and the AVR307 is both a bargain in audiophile sound and far better then I expected any receiver to be.
I also wanted to comment on the Denon 5800 that others have reviewed here. I have listened to various Denon models set up in friends home theaters and for a low priced item, I think Denon does a good job. The 5800 is certainly the first Denon reciever (The 4800 also seems excellent sounding) that can be considered a serious audiophile grade component but it's strong point is features, not musical sound quality. I have heard the 5800 set up with M&K, Vandersteen & Dynaudio speakers. In each case the Denon sounded very good for home theater but lacked definition, dynamics and realism when dealing with 2 channel audio. Also, the Denon amps are not as powerful as they advertise as the friend with the 5800/Vandersteen set up added a Parasound 120x5 amp which proved to be much more powerful then the 170w per channel amp in the Denon 5800. I am certainly not knocking the 5800 but that reciever is about features and home theater dynamics then it is pure audio quality.

Similar Products Used:

Lexicon, Proceed, B&K Ref 30

Sound Quality, Power, upgradability, flexibility, IEEE1394, will never run out of inputs

This is a great music and home theater receiver, the quality of sound is amazing, and has power to spare.
What sold me on this receiver over other quality receivers was the hardware/software upgradability, although it already has the IEEE1394 port.
I noticed that in movies with DTS-ES like Gladiator, the 307 uses the back surround channels as it does with THX-EX, and I've been told that in several months I can expect the upgrade to DTS-ES.
I noticed that some users have experienced hums noise from dvd or satelite receivers, but I have not.
I use the 307 as the command center of my home theater, I run both video and audio through it for:
- Dish Network 6000 receiver HD
- Toshiba 6200 progressive DVD player
- Sony VCR
I then run 1 component and 1 composite cable to the TV.

I highly recommend this A/V receiver to anyone, specially if you have a medium/large room and/or good speakers.

Very musical, smooth, bass management

remote set up times for "multi-tasking" Can seem slightly underpowered.

I've seen a number of complaints regarding video noise - I have added a line conditioner by Richard Gray with huge improvements in video quality...and I was a skeptic, so perhaps it's not your receivers, it's your power supply. Just a suggestion.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RXV

separates quality sound. Solid build and ergonomics

maybe price

Would those who are monitoring these sites look out for "Sal"? He posted 3 reveiws here for a score of "1" and tried to diguise his location as "salcity". He also low blowed the Denon 5800. He is just adding no value to these sites. What an idiot!!

THe BK307 is an excellent receiver and nayone who ahs heard it in demo wiht quality speakers would attest to that.
Sal, an audiophile you are not. An idiot, definitely.

Similar Products Used:

Marantx 14EX
Pioneer 39TX

This is in response to Sal's 4 bogus postings and worthless
"review". I recognized his name because he also posted a review on the Denon AVR5800 and called that receiver a "piece of crap". The moderator here should remove all of his postings because all they are doing is skewing the ratings from actual buyers/users and wasting space on this board. One of the problems with the internet is that like everything else in our society we have to deal with the lowest common denominator.

I decided recently to upgrade my system to include DTS. I went with my friend Scott (see review below) and we both auditioned many receivers. We narrowed our choices down to the Denon 5800 and the B&K 307. Home theater sound were identical. I gave the edge in music to the B&K. I liked the sound of the Denon in the pure direct mode and the Denon had more features. However , I decided slight subtle edge in music would be my deciding factor. But alas, I have the same video noise as Scott. I have not experienced the popping noise that Scott has. We even reset the reciever (got idea from a forum) but the reset did not alleviate the problem. Now that I have the unit in my home and have listened to it and experienced the problems with Scott, I have to agree with Scott about maybe returning this unit. I know B&K had problems with the AVR 202. Maybe it is still to early to go with this American manufacturer. I think I will revisit the Denon 5800. The Denon line is tried and true.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite VSX-09TX

Sound

Video noise on S video out, popping sound when turning off

I finally got my system set-up and just had a chance to sit down and watch it - video noise on the S-video input. White horizontal bands slowly moving upwards - can see them in any static scene. Unacceptable! I also get a loud popping noise when turning the receiver off or putting it into sleep mode. This very disappointing! The B&K sounds equal to the Denon 4800 and 5800 in home theater. In music it is a toss up to me also. The pure direct mode of the Denon 5800 is excellent. I decided to try the B&K even though the comparison to the 5800 was close. After the disappointing results I have had, I am going to return the B&K and ge the Denon 5800. It is not worth the price to have the annoying problems mentioned.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V1, Denon 4800, Denon 5800, Onkyo TX-DS989