I'm back, see my review below. After returning the B&K, I bought an ATI 1505 ($1695) and an Acurus ACT-3 ($1595) and the sound is better, at least no anoying hum (so the problem is not my power as the dealer claimed). Be careful with the ACT-3, take it home and listen before buying, but I've had no problems with the most recent release. So I spent $790 more, but the cost is well worth it. Save the money, upgrade to separates, and you will not be sorry. StereoBoy is right, there is no better receiver for $2500, but there are no other receivers that are as expensive. By the way, did anyone see the review in Home Theater Magazine? They had nothing but great things to say about the B&K, but Stereo Review heard the noise we have all talked about. Notice all the B&K ads in Home Theater and figure it out. Good luck, and happy listening!

I have had my B&K AVR202 for several weeks now with non of the problems of hum that seem to plague the others.. The sound is wonderful and solid in all respects..I have not noticed the brightness that was described but have found that the sound got warmer with time...The unit runs warm but not a problem for me.. It appears to be rock solid...I do agree that the manual could be more detailed but found the techs at B&K to be more than helpful with any of my questions. I suspect that whatever problems were associated with earlier models have be ironed out...

Look no further. This is an exceptional receiver! I've been running it for a few months now and it never ceases to amaze me. Excellent for both music and movies; great remote; awesome sound; solid as a tank; open mids and highs, and tight bass; super warranty (5 years); American made; and upgradable. This puppy is in a class of its own! Ignore the complaints posted below -- the old "problems" with this unit have been solved. This is the unit to beat in this price range -- you'd have to spend a lot more to get better quality. Ten stars.

Awesome receiver! You can't get better than this in one box.

For any of you who have doubts about this wonderfull receiver read Video Magazine for Dec 1998 Page 40..That should set you straight...and NO B&K advertisements exist in this issue....

I don't know why anyone would want to buy this product. I purchased a new unit and have already brought it back. Apparently the problems aren't just with the old units and they haven't been fixed either. The sound is so bright that it practically made my ears bleed. The HUM is so bad that my four year old son asked me what the noise was and even my wife who normally couldn't care less about my audio or home theather equipment commented on it. There was an annoying pop when swithching between DD and Prologic. The build quality is nice and so is the styling, but I dodn't buy my components to just admire the way they look. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this turkey. I rate this unit a negative one star.

Just returned the B&K, same old story... I hear the HUM my buddy can hear the HUM over the phone! My dealer blames electrical and or cable ground problem! (NO WAY I TOOK CARE OF THAT POSSIBILITY LONG AGO)I take it in and he can't hear anything but "normal gain" Other than the HUM this is a good value with very good sound that no other receiver can touch. I paid $2250.00 for this item they should keep the noise to themselves.

After reading a number of comments by other users here, I was a little nervous about purchasing this reciever, but it was one of the few that met all my requirements. Armed with a 30-day return policy, I took the plunge.
And never looked back.

I've been more than pleased with both the build quality and performance of this unit. I have not experienced any of the QA problems that others have sometimes reported. The sound quality is excellent; I'm actually hearing things in MOVIES that I never heard before on my old system. It's a whole new experience. Several times, lightning or sudden explosions in movies have actually startled me! That's never happened with a surround-sound system before; they all just sounded like a neat gimmick, rather than a thoroughly engaging experience.

If you've been considering it, do it!

I've been reading various B&K AVR202 reviews both on and off the net, and had some trepidation about purchasing it because of the mixed internet comments it has received. However, it was recommended by a local friend/dealer who has helped me with audio/video purchases in the past. Some background: I had a Vidikron ceiling projector with a Snell THX speaker system, Lexicon CP3 (THX Pro-Logic only), and four NAD THX amps. I was in the position of wanting to upgrade to Dolby Digital and DTS, and reduce the amount of space for electronics. I was somewhat skeptical of going with a receiver, wondering whether I was moving down the audio/video ladder. I took the plunge, sold the Lexicon and three amps (kept one for my passive subwoofers), and received the unit four days ago. Observations: My unit is very quiet and has no hums, buzzes, pops, etc. It does not run hot. As a matter of fact, it is runs cooler than my relatively cool NAD amps ran. I am only using it for movies, and it has plenty of power to run my entire system at Dolby reference levels. Except for a very small amount of “brightness” compared with the Lexicon, this unit’s sound is at least as good as the sound of any other DD system I have heard. Additionally, I routed the video outputs through the receiver instead of directly to the projector with NO apparent degradation in the video signal. I am very pleased with this unit. The fact that there is much variability among opinions may suggest a problem with quality control. If so, I definitely have a “good” one.

Ok Guys here it goes: I bought the AVR202 thinking it would be an excellentupgrade for my Luxman Pro-Logic receiver. I read all the reviews here and other
places and thought that the people giving the system a hard time had some axe
to grind. I could not hear it before i bought it because of where i live so
when it arrived i was happy and anxious to hear my new super receiver i had
visions of it kicking ass on the dsp-a1. i took my time hooked everything up
and the last thing i did was plug in the power (having read the other post).
when i turned it on i did hear a slight, very slight hiss but nothing that
was even really noticable unless u where looking for it so i thought ok this
is what they where complaining about well thats nothing. i listened for the fan
and i dont understand how anybody could complain about that fan it makes 10
times less noise than a computer powersupply. But from here on out things go
down hill. The b&k had better imaging than my luxman and warmer midrange but
the b&k rolled off the highs they werent articulate like the luxman and the
b&k couldnt play at as high a lvl and stay clear like the luxman. I know
everyones saying no way but its true the b&k wouldnt wake up my a/d/s speakers
like the luxman did. The bass seemed faster and a little tighter but then agian
it was kinda like they rolled off the real low lows to maintain that tight
sound. Then i turned it off with the remote and put it in sleep mode. Every
thing went to hell a LOUD BUZZ came out of everyspeaker only when in sleep
mode i called b&k and they said that it was defective. Well if you take all
the above and add it to the fact that this damn thing runs TOO HOT. you know
what i did i sent it back. Now please keep this in context i dont think the
dsp-a1 sounds very good either but this receiver is touted as sounding as
good as sperates it sounds ok for a receiver but who wants a 2200.00 receiver.
im going for seperates. I really wanted this receiver, i wanted to like it,
im not that picky, i was optimistic even after reading all the reviews.
but the simple fact is that this thing dosent sound as good as b&k wants you
to believe it sounds. If you own one and like it im glad thats really all that
matters but if your considering buying one and 2 channel audio is important
to you then u better keep looking (dont get me wrong if your comaparing it to
700.00 receivers then it sounds damn good) Well thats just my opinion
Lee Ross 3 stars cause im a nice guy