Frzninvt Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 I picked up my new B&K Reference 50 on Saturday, and got around to connecting it today. The level of customization is sick, talk about menu's. I had to work at it awhile to get most things the way I want them. The most immediate difference is in the overall sound quality, huge difference in dialogue intelligibility when watching DVD's. Big cool factor was being able to change the power up text to announce my home theater. I will provide a more detailed response once I dig into it further. You program the settings of your remote on your PC then plug the data cable to the remote and hit enter, man that is slick. I am sure the sonics will improve as the new components break in, just when you think the detail could not possibly get any better, the B&K takes it to another level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerFan Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 Congrats and let us know how you like it after you live with it awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flason Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 I bet the B&K beats the snot out of the broken Denon. I still enjoy my Ref30 on an almost daily basis. My kids did have levels all messed up the other day so I went back to the factory defaults and did it all over again but now the settings are stored and all I have to do is hit restore to bring them back. Congrats and happy listening for a long, long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 Yes, please do let us know. I am anxious to hear what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurs Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 no doubt you will enjoy the B&K, congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 Congrats - that's one I'm looking at as well. Nice to hear positive impressions of it. Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 Congrates B&K makes great stuff, but I agree it takes a lot to set it up right(I'm still working on it!!!) use in good health and it is a great choice AND a great deal Smilin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 welcome to the world of b&k, when i bought mine the sales people tried to talk me back into rotel, they said the b&k gear was sooooooooo analytical??? this just means it brings out every little detail with amayzing authority, if analytical is bad, well than i guess i just love bad! congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 While I like the sound better, I am aggravated by the fact that when I engage the tape monitor to have my DBX gear included in the loop I loose the SAT DISH picture - annoying! I figured out how to get the video but it will not retain the setting when I switch to another source and go back - irritating! I have the unit plugged into a Panamax unit and when it powers up it goes into sleep mode instead of turning on. It also seems if I have the subwoofer set to THX = Yes, I don't get subwoofer output when listening to a CD, too many menu's and options to adjust. If B&K can't get this thing to work the way I want it to it is going back! There is something to be said for simplicity, too many menus and difficult to get set up is one major drawback of this unit. While it does sound better the aggravation of getting it set the way you want it is not worth it to me. The clicking relays are a nuisance and certainly not what I would expect from a $3K preamp/processor. I still get a slight thump in the subwoofer output even with this unit when it toggles to DD mode or when I skip chapters. It is also difficult to tell if it is playing back in Dolby Digital when viewing a DVD, I preferred the Denon's readout much better since it indicated mode, and channel indicators to show you exactly what was going on. I will be phoning B&K today to see if they can help me with these issues, if not it is going back and I will be getting the Denon AVR-4802R instead. I feel the unit is very cumbersome to use, yes the level of flexibility is off the scale, but too much of a good thing is not always good. I will report back with my findings. Not to happy right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 " I have the unit plugged into a Panamax unit and when it powers up it goes into sleep mode instead of turning on." The B&K has a power trigger on it. Move the B&K to one of the always on outlets on your Panamax and use the B&Ks trigger to activate the Panamax to turn on the rest of your equipment when you take it out of standby. "and certainly not what I would expect from a $3K preamp/processor." If you spent $3k on it I think you might want to return it no matter what. B&K apparently just reduced, or is about to, its price by $1k. See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=325636&perpage=20&pagenumber=1 Which I believe should mean the Ref 50 would be $2k. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 Well I must say that the Customer/Technical Support at B&K is absolutely Top Notch! I got to speak to someone immediately and he walked me through each one of my issues and explained how to resolve it. That in itself is truly impressive. I can get around all the issues except the Sleep mode as it is how the unit operates. Sfogg the B&K only has 12V triggers to turn on other components, and it has no additional power plugs on the back of the unit to feed any other components. It is not a big deal though it is a simple press of "ON" on the remote to get the unit out of sleep mode and operating. I got a hell of a deal on the unit, one I certainly could not pass up. I got it for $1500 from an authorized in-store dealer so I have absolutely no complaints there, I was just stating I expected more from a unit that retails for $3K. So I guess I am very happy again! Just knowing that I can contact B&K and speak to someone right away is a comforting thought. That was certainly not the case with Denon, seems like after you make the purchase you are forgotten. I thought I was well versed in all operations of A/V units until I came accross this B&K, the level of complexity with this unit almost requires an engineering degree. Seeing as I have had this unit operating less than 24 hours I have alot of listening and tweeking to do yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 " Sfogg the B&K only has 12V triggers to turn on other components, and it has no additional power plugs on the back of the unit to feed any other components." I know. Most of the Panamax components can be turned on via a 12v trigger. You use the B&Ks trigger to turn on the Panamax which in turn turns on the rest of your equipment. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 I have an older 1000+ that does not have that option, maybe its time to upgrade. Thanks! Now I need to spend more money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 No need to. The Panamax 1000+ *can* be controlled by a 12v trigger. All you need to do is put the 12v onto the 'remote sense' cable from the Panamax and it will turn on with the B&K. See: http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/Lexicon/dc1/panamax.html Which is not exactly the same thing as the trigger connection on this Lexicon is different then what is on the B&K but the idea is the same. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 Thanks Shawn, Now all I have to figure out is where to get an adapter from the standard two-prong plug to the mini-plug that I need to connect it to the back of the B&K Ref 50. Is there such a thing or do I have to hack the plug off. I get nervous when I read that the plug can be connected to either 120VAC or 12V DC seems strange to me. It can obviously do it as you said though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 " Now all I have to figure out is where to get an adapter from the standard two-prong plug to the mini-plug that I need to connect it to the back of the B&K Ref 50. Is there such a thing or do I have to hack the plug off. " You could of course hack it off. Or buy a 1/8" mono mini-plug with bare wire on the other end at radio shack. Then just get a cheap extension cord and cut its cord and use the female side of the cord. Splice/solder the bare wires from the female AC connector and the mini-plug together and you should be all set. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBusa Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 frzn whats up with your denon? Not working? I'm still looking for a 5.1 pre/processor if it does work. lemme know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 2, 2003 Author Share Posted December 2, 2003 BigBUSA the Denon AVR-4800 is working fine, after three trips to United Radio and alot of *****ing, complaining and demanding the job get done right it came back to me working correctly finally. I actually did not really need to replace it but I got offered a B&K Reference 50 A/V preamp/processor at a killer price so I jumped on it. The Denon AVR-4800 is headed to my brother in law in Texas to replace his old Denon AVR-2500 DPL receiver. He has yet to watch a movie in DD or DTS the poor soul. I traded it to him for a NAD 208 THX amplifier and a DBX 4BX Remote Controllable 3-Band Dynamic Range Expander. I will try both units and then most likely offer them up for sale on Audiogon or eBay. Finally got a chance to listen to some music on the B&K last night, absolutely fantastic. I also watched Finding Nemo again with my little girl, the improvement in dialogue is staggering. I need my Velodyne working again as I miss the incredible bass that was in some of the scenes. The components for it are on the way to Velodyne for servicing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBusa Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 frzn congrats on the new toy. $1500 appears to be a very good deal for that piece! Does it do 2 channel well? Or maybe you do not use the HT system for 2 channel listening. -DOn PS - I have never watched a movie in dts or dd either! I remember watching in dolby surround years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted December 2, 2003 Author Share Posted December 2, 2003 I prefer to listen with all 7 speakers playing myself, but the sky is the limit with the Ref 50 you can tell it which speakers you want it to use with each source. You want to listen to your CD's in 2-Channel not a problem tell it to use Front-L & Front-R and you are all set. I thought my system sounded fantastic with the Denon but undoubtedly the B&K brings it to a whole new level. Customization is what this thing is all about and I am just scratching the surface with it right now I have alot to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.