Q-surf

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Primarily a 2 channel listener but wanted the ability to upgrade to 5.1 in the future. The Ref20 offers no-compromise 2 channle hi-fi, and the flexibility for HT needs. Very happy with the sound. Tamed vocals/horns, and reaches deeper than my previous Denon pre. Not sure if it's the last word on soundstaging but it isn't suffering either. I wish like hell they'd put some balanced outputs (on a $2600 pre?!),

Strengths:
Great 2 ch sound, solid build quality, factory support, onscreen setup menu

Weaknesses:
Slow volume response time and the volume knob is too heavily sprung. NO BALANCED OUTPUTS!

Similar Products Used:
Denon, Adcom, Proton

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Good pro/pre for the money. I think a warm sounding amp with very tight bass make this puppy sound pretty darn good. Good/great surround performance. Decent 2 channel. Good remote. Overall, good.

Strengths:
Remote is good. Button layout is not optimal but you can do a lot with it. Sound in DTS was great. Nice highs, tight bass. Bass in DD was ok, seemed to get out of control. Could be my speakers though, except that the bass is DTS was much tighter. Steering through the 5 surround channels was really good I think. You only notice the whole sound track experience and not just a channel at a time if you know what I mean. Get a cheap spl meter and set the delay correctly and it will sound good! Two channel sound was fine. I think if my speakers weren't so anal this puppy would sound better in 2 channel mode. I wanted to hook the ref 20 to a rotel amp to check it out. Pretty easy to use as well. I like that you can customize the startup message to put in something funny. Low level listening resulted in good quality. Hi level sound stayed together.

Weaknesses:
The button response time could be faster. Slight click when changing surround modes, but again I think its the speakers and the fact I have TERRIBLE power at my home. Power conditioner is next on my list. Bass management is basic. As well as the speaker setup (only small, large, etc). Not a big deal to most but I like to mess around. Video switching is ok. The onscreen display works, but with 90% of video switching equipment, you will see a loss of quality. Bass gets a little muddy in 2 channel mode. I have heard tighter. Really not bad though. At current used prices I think its a deal in the pre/pro area. I liked it but I that didn't stop me from selling it after 2 months, plus, I needed the money. I hear the lexicons are fun to play with, but the sound is ok. The Sony 9000 is good I hear and cheap now, so I'm gonna try that one. One plus on the sony is the fact you can find the service manual on the internet. Very conducive to mods.. that is my next move.

Similar Products Used:
Sony 9000, meridian 56X my uncle has. I have 2 meridian m60's and 3 M33's (amps are built in and are meridian, of course)

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Used

Summary:
I shopped a lot of pre amps before choosing the Ref 20. THe sound is uncompromising in HT mode and the Stereo mode is great also. The unit is upgradable to almost the same specs. as a Ref 30 for $900.

Strengths:
Clean un colored sound

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Parasound AVC 2500u

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from LaserLand Home Theater

Summary:
It took some time for this unit to burn in but it was well worth it. There was nothing that could stand up to this unit under $4000. I look at many different preamps and this was the best sounding (or rather the one that has less of it’s own sound) in my price range. It lacks 5.1 inputs but music is best presented in 2 channel to preserve a true sound stage. It’s 5.1 performance is fantastic and performs well with the toughest of movie sound tracks. Setup was a bit confusing the first time but after that it was a breeze. This is a solid well built unit and even though it is not THX certified it performs as well as any I have herd. It is no longer on the market the Reference 30 has about the same sound with a few more features, none that I need but it’s worth looking at.

Strengths:
Very open sound, No unneeded bells and whistles to clutter the sound, Programmable, Upgradeable, Solid digital converters, Easy to use, Adequate inputs.

Weaknesses:
Could have a better remote, I don’t care for the volume control.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha, Sony, Rotel, Parasound

Summary:
Just a fast comment about the *great* service if you need it on your B&K Ref20. Mine has the very first Bios codes and wouldn't work with the newest digital satalite receviers for Dolby Digital. I called B&K and talked to Jerry in tech, and he personally watched for my unit to arrive and is running tests on it and giving it a complete update to the lastest everything. They are extremely nice and effecient in dealing with *any* problem that you have and I have *never had a better experience with a post-purchase piece of equipment. I have had my B&K for almost 2 years this next February and it has been a great addition to my setup.

Just wanted to comment about the great service, it you should need to upgrade your unit.

...Allen