Sound.. what else is important if it doesn't sound good? Features for fine-tuning presets.

Interface.. clunky and non-intuitive, but you do get used to it.

The B&K AVR307 that I have sounds magnificent.. beautifully sheened, filigreed highs, lifelike mids and voices, and solid tuneful bass, all wrapped in a holographic soundstage that puts you into the performance. Additionally, the DAC's are fantastic.. competitive with separates I think. I've rolled thru DAC comparisons with my Micromega Stage CD player and Sony DSP 9000 DVD/SACD player.. hmmm, the sound is definitely different with the B&K, the stage is a little recessed and the sound is a bit less dynamic, but very lush, full, liquid and intoxicating. No doubt there would be many differing opinions here, but the "kinder/gentler" approach works for me with CD's and very revealing B&W Nautilus 805's in my relatively small listening room. You see, I'm forced to use the receiver's DAC's.. if I use my player's DAC's and use the Direct Analog Mode (which eliminates any processing), the subwoofer won't get a signal with the B&K. So buyers, beware of this. But, hey, everybody faces bass management problems with all of the emerging multichannel stuff.

I'm enthusing about two channel music here mostly, and I believe that is the best test of a surround system's abilities. But the unit is on all of the time, turned off only occasionally while on vacation, rendering beautifully enjoyable Dolby Surround TV programming as well as surround tapes and DVDs. It gives me many happy hours of pleasure each day.

Negatives: While the soundstage is very wide, the imaging is not the absolute best with the 307, (I had to say something bad about the 307's sound).. I'll give it an 8 out of 10. I have a long (and dark) past involving acute audiophile nervosis, so please.. take my remarks with a grain of salt. And the user interface is complicated and clunky. For instance, if you want to listen to FM, you use the same numbered presets that you would use for each individual source. You don't mind hearing a clunk when you switch from TV to DVD sources, but when you're surfing FM channels, hearing a big clunk each time you change the preset is aggravating.

I haven't even heard much other surround gear, so view this only in comparison to what I have had, and that is lots of Quicksilver, Audio Research, Krell, Levinson and Theta stuff that I had to let go of because I didn't want to run both 2 channel and Home Theater systems (and because I have 3 young boys.. high voltage floorstanded tube amps, or a Krell with razer sharp heat sinks would be a disaster). The B&K holds it's own with two channel high-end AND it does it's job on surround signals as well. And, sure enough, look down into the vented top and... the innards are flanked by big old heat sinks just like my old Krell KSA 150.

The 307 is a beauty.. very musical and power to spare, offering ever digital format but the just emerging DTS ES and Dolby PL2, and upgrades for this will soon be available I am told. I think the 307 is handsome, it exudes great quality, it's manufacturer is big enough to stand behind its' products, yet small enough that they have graciously answered my sometimes dumb questions when I phone them. They really care about their customers - wow.. what a concept!!

So, if you are a reforming audiophile like me, with 2 channel music reproduction as a major part of your decision process, rest assured that the 307 will serve you well. I'm going for 5 stars on this unit for sound, and 5 for value.

Sound is ultra clear, it is infinitely tweakable, and upgradable.

Remote lacks a little, for the purchase price I wish it came with a Pronto clone

I traded up a Yamaha RX-V1000 for this unit. I did not have a "poor" setup to begin with (including Klipsch RF-3, RC-3, RS-3, KSW-12 and JBL4406's for rear center channel). I wanted something that had 7 channels and was upgradable for future techs. I found that with the Yamaha I was constantly moving speakers around to get the sound I wanted. It would sound good for HT then muddy for music or vice versa (I prefer music over HT about 60/40). The LFE was preset at 90Hz on the Yammie and I didn't like that (that's why I did the moving around).

I demoed the B&K and the Denon5800 and just listened to the Yamaha RX-V1. It was a close call between the Denon and B&K on HT (the Denon has way more HT features and surround effects) but the B&K simply sounded much better, especially with music in my room (about 18'x30').

I was absolutely stunned at how much better the B&K sounded with my Klipsch speakers than the Yamaha RX-V1000. The Yammie is no slouch receiver, but it does not hold a candle to the B&K. Every sound is so crystal clear it literally had me sitting there with my jaw dropped. You can adjust the LFE to any frequency in 5Hz increments. I could go on and on about the tweaks but I found out that I had to do little tweaking initially for my 4 favorite DVD's to sound awesome (Steely Dan's 2 Against Nature, the Eagle's Hell Freezes Over, Gladiator, and Titan AE).

This is one very expensive unit (for me) but I wanted something that I would have for many years to come that was able to be upgraded and have the channels for future techs. That was clearly not the case for the Yamaha RX-V1000 so I am now so glad I traded that sucker in (and I got full purchase price towards the B&K 7 months later!).

If you want eye popping sound from a receiver, then don't hesitate and go get this unit. It has literally changed the way I listen to music and HT now. (Smiley face here!!!)

Similar Products Used:

Denon 5800, Yamaha RX-V1 and Yamaha RX-V1000

I am experiencing some of the same problems as other reviewers here (video noise, popping, etc.). Also, no word on an upgrade for this unit. Very disappointing. I had such high hopes after researching all the high end receivers currently available.

Build

??

I am having a tough time with these reviews. Some of you may call yourself AUDIOPHILE. But I doubt that you’ve ever been to the theater or an actual symphony. Pitiful.

Doesn’t anyone take into consideration speakers? My God!

Then there are these comparisons. Any comparison of a KENWOOD product to any BK product is without merit. Like the earlier writer said we need some moderation from the moderator.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon

Solid build quality. First rate sound. Easy to use

Not a whole lot.

I work part time at a fairly high-end home theater and audio store. I have almost 45 years fooling around with audio and now home theater gear. My two channel system cost more than my car. I feel pretty qualified to spot the pearls and the dogs...

I have used the Denon and 307 in our store daily for months with various speakers and other gear. First let me totally squash this "video noise" stuff. We run our 307 into a SONY XBR 450 32" hi-def monitor. No noise. Looks great. Your power or cables need work. Interference maybe? No problems for us. We use filtered power and MIT cables.

In our switching rack where the 307 is located are a dozen good receivers from Denon, NAD, B+K, Aragon, SONY, etc. The B+K is clearly the sonic champ on music. The Denon 5800 has a fuller bass, but that is par for the course with all Denons. I am a real tweak and the B+K is the easiest to use high end receiver I have found. Certainly when compared to the 5800 which I like a lot also. I really have no reservations on buying one and highly recommend them to our customers.

I own good high end separates and would have no problem buying one of these for myself for my own home theater.

The value rating is because of the high price.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 5800, Onkyo 989, many high end separates.

One Convenient Package

The tuner section of the receiver is weak to say the least. I have had to boost my antenna just to receive stations in stereo. Surprising considering I live in Manhattan. The AMP section is also very weak and does not drive my B&W Nautilus speakers well at all. If I had the ability to return it after burn in, I would. I will be purchasing a Krell or Proceed amp to power my main listening room and eventually I will replace the unit all together.

Purchase this receiver if you don't have space for separates and you do not have speakers that demand a lot from the amplifier section. Otherwise, go separates!

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR-14EX, Proceed AVP/BPA2&3, Krell AV Standard

Incredible sound. run our martin Logans in our store amazingly.

none.

I work for Tweeter so I get to play with all these toys all day long and my favorite is the B&K reciever. Out of the recievers that we sell this one is the cleanest. Alot of you guys complain about a clicking noise on the Denons and on the B&K. Thats a good clicking noise. what it is a mechanical input selection instead of electronic switching. Completely gets rid of any cross talk that could happen between inputs or surround processors. another cool thing is the fact that this thing has a firewire expansion slot. If any of you have seen the new Mitsubishi TV's with the firewire just wait until B&K activates the firewire slot. And for people worried about upgrading B&K is one of the best. The things I have read about them are amazing. A company that other companies should strive to outdo. Their customer service is truly amazing. When you call them there is a really good chance that you will get to talk to the guy that helped build part of your reciever. they keep records on every single reciever that leaves the plant and can pull yours up. About ripping into Kenwood lets just remember that last years audiophile magazine rated there reciever as the second best reciever of 2000. number one was the avr 5800 from denon which was 1500 dollars more. I have learned alot about audio and one of those things is not to rip any company apart. they all make good product (cept maybe sony and bose) they just look at audio differently.

Similar Products Used:

denon 5800, yamaha RXV-1

Very crisp sound and loaded with useful features.

Some audio noise issues. Requires excellent ventillation.

I enjoy the AVR307 for its great sound and its rich feature set. I Am still exploring and learning how to better utilize the system after one month of use. Despite my noise issue, the sound is amazingly crisp and clear and those DTS or 6 channel Audio DVD's sourced on a Pioneer DV38A sound great.

One problem I ran into and it still exists after discussing with B&K Support is that I get a fair amount of noise (60 hz and ~1Khz) in the two rear channels that tends to effect the other five channels as well. This noise is present only if the rear surround internal amps are used. Disconnect the speakers there and the noise on all other channels drops to barely negligable. B&K claims noise I hear is normal. On my previous discrete setup with a Sony EP9ES, Threshold NS-10 pre-amp, Phase Linear 400 and Acurus 100*3 I didn't hear any noise, even at maximum volume. This has been my only dissapointment as I do believe that superb audio equipment should have minimal, if any, noise. So, I disconnected the two rear channel speakers, ran pre-outs to a saved Acurus 100*3 Amp, connected speakers there and the noise is now virtually eliminated. I have not noticed the video noise that others have stated but then again I am running an older Sharp projector in 480i mode.

For heat issue I added a quiet 115v fan that pushes 20cfm across the top of the unit and now it stays much cooler.

Have the unit hooked up to an APC SmartUPS 1400 (doesn't impact noise) which delivers a true sine wave on power outages and protects me from bothersome power hits.

Similar Products Used:

N/A.

Options, Options, Options
7 channels of amplification
great looking back-end
upgradable

Click when changing modes

I am by no means an audiophile, and am just getting started with high-end gear. I originally purchased an Adcom and was dissatisfied with it. I looked around on the internet and decided to try the B&K. Wow is all I have to say.

I won't go into to much review, but there are a few things I'd like to mention about this unit that I love. For those of you who own it or are looking at it, you know about the RS232 port. Spend some time, make a cable, and get BKSuite from your dealer or from B&K. All the options you can change on your computer and back them up as well. It makes things like changing the startup text much easier. When I called B&K I talked to someone right away, and they mailed me the software free, without asking any questions. This is what I call service.

The other thing I'd like to mention but cannot confirm is this: My dealer told me that if you are not using 7.1 surround, you can pop the top, change a jumper or something, and make the back channels work for the second zone. It's something to look into.

All in all, I love this unit and all the options it has. If you've seen the manual from their website, you know what I mean... there are just too many options!!!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GTP-830

build, ease of use, can be hooked up to your pc for setup, sweet sound

No DTS ES

Well, just sold my Denon 5800 to switch over to the B&K 307. I just upgraded my speakers to Monitor Ausio GR 60's and the Denon droive them very nicely. When I hooked up the 307 it was AMAZING. It was a HUGE improvement over the 5800. The 5800 sounded flat and hollow compared to the 307. The osund in 2 channel music is sweet, and so detailed and clear. SOunds as good as seperates costing much more. HT also sounded GREAT, more deep and sweet than the denon. I was nervous about switching becuase I was afraid it would not be as good as my Denon 5800, but WOW, im glad I upgraded! The BEST sounding reciever on the market. NO DOUBT.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 5800, Marantz SR18