B&K avr307

John thank you for your post. I've been waiting for a good reason to get my feet wet and make my first post on audiogon. I bought the B&K 507 two weeks ago. I am very happy with this receiver, to say the least. I also got a killer deal through 6ave.com electronics, for 2998 dollars. This includes the fantastic five year warranty. I went to a local 6ave store here in New Jersey. I mention this since alot of the "great deals" on the net do not include the manufacturers warranty,so be careful. I spent a good time comparing various models around this price range. None campared to the B&K. I was originally going to buy the denon 3803, for two grand less. This was after comparing the Yamaha 2400, Pioneer Elite 53tx, various Onyko's, etc. I wasn't happy enough with any of these. I decided to save money for seperates and try to deal with listening to my Sony ES Until I could afford the seps. I listen to music 90%. This includes multichannel encoded. I guess the sony was to much to bear. I spend alot of time on various hifi web sites, this is an addiction mind you, and the B&K had very good reviews. Then I saw the B&K on sale. I was surprised since you never see these on sale. Well I went to 6ave and listened to the very musical 507. I compared it to the Denon 4802R, and the 5803. It was no contest. The B&K was the closest I could find to having a seperates sound. I must say that nothing is as good as having actual seperates and plan on going this route when I can afford to. Also, the B&K 507 has the same processor as the B&K reference 50 preamp. I also had the pleasure to listen to the preamp teamed with the reference 200.7. I would have gone this route if I could have afforded it. Still the 507 holds up very well, and I'll most likely just add the reference 200.7 amp to it when I can afford it. I emailed B&K at www.bkcomp.com and received a catalog soon after. As you can see I like this product. The amp has an extended frequency range. This brings a large soundstage to music. I am also better able to hear the dynamics at lower volume levels. This is important since I share a house. I really enjoy the dolby digital II music mode for my cd listening. If you prefer, the 2 channel mode is great also. None of the other receivers sounded good in this mode. Maybe except for the Denon 5803, yet the Denon is $1000 more. The processor does a great job with Dolby digital encoded dvds. This receiver is up to date with all the latest modes including dolby digital ex, dts 96/24, and thx ultra II. The system setup is very easy. It actually makes sense, I can't say the same for my previous sony es. The LCD remote is very nice too. One more thing. The B&K doesn't have those unnecessary dsp modes. I never used them on my sony and feel they are a gimmic to get people to buy. More isn't always better. In summary the B&K is a very solid unit. I'm very happy with mine. Good luck.