boa12 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 i've been out of the loop lately, but thanks to a head's up from blackhawk over on the avr307 thread i called b&k tech support to confirm. upgrades for the reference 30 pre/pro to come in early to mid-feb. essentially upgrades it to the new ref 50 (but w/o balanced connections) w/ a new motorola dna dsp 150 mips & 192/24 dacs. but nothing done yet w/ the ieee port (firewire) of course since there's still no new dvd-audio digital connection standard. for software it adds DPL II, dts es matrix & discrete, & dts:neo. like BH reported they still don't know on thx ultra II. upgrade looks like the way to go for me unless i could get $1900 for my approx. 1-yr old ref 30, which doesn't seem practical now w/ new (not upgraded) ref 30s going for around that, from what i hear. looks like the new ref 50s are going for around $2500 at online (unauthorized) dealers & sounds like the ref 30 upgrade would be around 600-$700. anyway, i'm still excited for my 1st b&k upgrade. can't imagine how the new dsp & dacs could make the sound any more crystal clear than it is now, but have been wanting the PLII, Neo & dts es 6.1 discrete real bad. & who knows, if they don't ever get a digital connection standard set for dvd-audio, may have to get a dvd-audio player & use the analog connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 have they said anything about the PT-3? (2 channel tuner /preamp) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted January 16, 2003 Author Share Posted January 16, 2003 hey prodj, all i've heard about are the ref 30 & avr307. but i'm a b&k upgrade newbie. . try 800-543-5252, & ask for tech support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Hey Boa, I know I read just the other day that the "dvd consortium", or whatever the heck they call themselves, is about to announce a standard for a digital interface for dvd-a based on ieee "firewire" technology. So hang in there. I just hope the current Pioneer system is compatible, 'cause that DV-47Ai is lookin' better every day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flason Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Boa, Let me know how the upgrade goes and how long you will be without your 30. And really, how much better can the 30 sound? Can you tell a big difference between sampling rates of 192 vice 96? If you have a DVD player like the Pioneer 47Ai, would you even use the processor in the 30? I read somewhere that the B&K ref stuff was considered mid-fi equipment. What separates mid-fi from the hi-fi? Price? Name? Performance? If it's performance, I'd say the B&K was up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boa12 Posted January 16, 2003 Author Share Posted January 16, 2003 jd, that'd be great! hopefully it gets out in time for this upgrade then b&k could activate that firewire port. flas, will do. b&k are a great value. f.e., after the upgrade the ref 30 will have the same dsp (processor) as the aragon stage one selling for much more. also crystal 192/24 dacs. guess mid-fi is a relative term. b&k has great components & build like the high end, but a lower price. guess that's what makes them "mid-fi". lower prices than the aragons, etc. i'm hoping for the industry to introduce that new firewire standard to get that new dvd-audio player. 1st they have to get that new standard out, then b&k has to upgrade/activate the ieee (firewire) port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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