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B & K Ref 20 vs Ref 30

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letting1

(i)

Can someone help me understand the difference (other than the 20 is no longer manufactured) between these two AV processors? I'm also considering the Parasound 1800 and Anthem AVM2.

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B & K Does Not Support Their Products Rick W. 00:16:01 03/16/01 (7)
I have an AVP 1030. I bought it two years ago. They promised to keep it current - they lied. There is no upgrade path. I spent the extra $ and bought a Meridian. Sound quality is a hell of a lot better. I use the B&K as a tuner now.
- Re: B & K Does Not Support Their Products Kiran Emmi 09:45:40 03/16/01 (6)
  I have their Ref 20. which I bought, because they promised that it can be up-graded to new format new this & that, but, when the time came they just asked me to buy the new Ref 30. I think, that is how they define up-grade. They are very bad at responding to e-mails, for example, I have sent 10+ e-mails, but, no response. On top of this, now they do not have the phone number on their web site, if you wish to call. I would look for some other products.
  Good Luck
  Kiran
  - That's funny brubacca 14:49:50 03/16/01 (5)
    I called them yesterday about the Upgrade to the 30. They were VERY friendly. The receptionist gave me an 800 number to call in the future (instead of the Buffalo#). They tech told me that they just had finished the upgrade prototype. Their sales/marketing group is now setting the price.
    B&K 1-800-543-5252
    Charlie
    - Mine is Ref 20, which they do not want to upgrade ( NT ) Kiran Emmi 10:33:13 03/19/01 (4)
      - Please tell me who told you that..I have the Ref10.(more) brubacca 15:04:10 03/19/01 (3)
        
        In Reply to: Mine is Ref 20, which they do not want to upgrade ( NT ) posted by Kiran Emmi on March 19, 2001 at 10:33:13:
        
        If they are not upgrading yours they are not upgrading mine either. One of us has been given bad info. No offence intended, but I hope that you are the misinformed person. I'll be REALLY angry if I can't upgrade to the 30. 2 reasons. 1. Because I purchased the B&K because of the upgrade path. 2. That means that they have been feeding me bull at the factory.
        Thanks for the info.....
        Charlie
        
        Re: Please tell me who told you that..I have the Ref10.(more) Kiran Emmi 10:20:09 03/20/01 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Please tell me who told you that..I have the Ref10.(more) posted by brubacca on March 19, 2001 at 15:04:10:
        
        Charlie,
        As informed earlier, I sent them no less than 10 e-mails with no answers from them. Then I approached the local dealer (Clark Music in Syracuse ) from whom I had bought the REF20 and requested him to find out on the up-grade. He told me that due to complete new format they will not be able to up-grade my Ref 20, instead he offered trade it for $2300.00 !!!!! ( i.e. My ref 20 + $2300.00 to get Now Ref 30 )
        If some one @ B&K is ready to up-grade Ref 20, then I will be very happy to hear it. Please let me know the phone # & name to whom I should be talking to.
        Thanks.
        Kiran
        
        Re: Please tell me who told you that..I have the Ref10.(more) brubacca 13:58:56 03/20/01 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Please tell me who told you that..I have the Ref10.(more) posted by Kiran Emmi on March 20, 2001 at 10:20:09:
        
        Here is the 800# for B&K 1-800-543-5252.
        Ask for Customer Service... They are not ready to do them, but claim to be in the near future.
        They never responded to my e-mails either. I've heard that complaint about B&K on the message boards.
        Sounds like your dealer was trying to pull a fast one. I have a couple of dealers in the area. One was quite helpful the other told me that he knew nothing about the upgrades. The helpful dealer told me that the upgrades are done directly with B&K. In other words the local dealer makes no money on it.
        Hope it works out for both of us.
        Good Luck,
        Charlie
        
        CHARLIE : Thanks for all the info. I will keep you posted ( NT ) Kiran Emmi 10:39:29 03/21/01 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Please tell me who told you that..I have the Ref10.(more) posted by brubacca on March 20, 2001 at 13:58:56:
Re: B & K Ref 20 vs Ref 30 brubacca 15:52:50 03/15/01 (1)
The Ref 30 uses a new Motorola chip that also does ES, and 7.1 processing for Home Theater. The 30 is THX certified and has several new features that aren't in the Ref 10, or 20 (I own the 10). The standard D/A chips are upgraded from the 20 to the 30. The Ref 20 tended to be a bit bright. The new D/A in the 30 mellows this out a little. The biggest feature of the 30 (in my opinion) is the variable crossover frequency. When setting your main speakers to small you can vary the frequency. I HATE the standard THX setting (70 Hz I beleive). In the 30 this can be adjusted. I have also heard that there is a notch filter in the 30. I think that with this you could manually filter out a frequency that may "peak" in your room. I see this a room tuning feature. They have also added a 5.1 channel input.
That is all that I can come up with. Maybe a dealer can tell us more. Personally I am looking foreward to upgrading my Ref10 to the Ref30.
The Ref 10 has been a great unit (I've had it since August of 98). I don't think that you can go wrong with B&K equipment.
Good Luck
Charlie
- Re: B & K Ref 20 vs Ref 30 TomP 19:23:46 03/15/01 (0)
  The 30 also has component video switching for up to two video input sources plus Firewire upgradable. It's perhaps the prepro's best bang for the bucks in the market today, IMHO.

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