NEW B&K Owner!

[Jeff Doolittle]

Everyone,

I had no idea this board even existed while I was choosing a Pre/Pro and Amp. Anyway, as of last Friday I'm finally the proud owner of a B&K Ref 30 and Ref 7250! [Only took three weeks ]

The Ref 30 doesn't run as hot as some posts on here suggest but my Ref 7250 runs hot enough to fry an egg! I've read the manuals on both, even downloaded the PDF versions just in case I missed something but I cannot find the "normal" operating temperature. My prior unit was a Denon AVR5600 which was blown when some speaker wire ends were crossed. This unit always ran hot but nothing near what the Ref 7250 is running. Is this normal?!?! I'm concerned as the Denon ran just as hot before blowing. Based on the experience with the Denon I double checked every connection before turning on the B&K units.

Also, the Ref 30 video output appears incompatible with my DWIN Transcanner. The image does not show a constant background color unless I select Black, White, or Gray. Any other color results in a rainbow effect repeated three time horz from top to bottom of the screen. I do not have any video sources attached since everything is connected directly to the DWIN, but will try some tonight.

As a positive note, I love the sound with my NHT 2.9s and AutdioCenter-2 speakers (got some Bose in back which will be replaced). I listened to a couple new age MiniDiscs last night in the dark and couldn't believe the wonderful sound.

Thanks!

Jeff

[reddavid]

Congrats Jeff!

I hear the black run hotter than the silver. Ha, ha.

Seriously, I have the Ref 30 and 7250 - and find the Ref 30 runs hotter than the 7250. I eventually purchased 4 small PC Power & Cooling Whisper fans hooked to an AC converter running at about 9 volts (Rat Shack variable voltage wall wart.) Two per unit - blowing cool air from back to front. Very quiet, and very cool. < $50.00

Enjoy the sound.


John

[Lex]

Congrats Jeff and welcome to the forum! Hope you get your compatibility issues resolved.

I recommend you take 5 Silvercats and call me in the morning. Just ask Bob. :B So, if your curious as a Cat, just click the kitty below my signature. We now return you to your regularly scheduled mayham.

Lex




Cable Guy DVD Collection

[John Kotches]

Jeff,

How much clearance do you have from the sides and top of the amplifier? The amps are made for convection cooling, ie, they need air circulation.

Also, in a strange bit of irony, the amp might actually cool off the louder you play your system because less energy has to be radiated off as heat.

Regards,




---
Editor, PC/Home Theater
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
My Home Theater
NEC LT-150 specific page.

[Jeff Doolittle]

John (reddavid):

I've been thinking about using some fans but I can't believe the units were designed to need additional ventilation. I would have thought such an item would have been in large red letters in the manual.

Lex:

Silvercats, will look into it....

John Kotches:

The amplifier is clear all around and the equipment is located in a closet on a "self-made" rack. The rack is more like a nice wire frame shelving unit from Lowes that I cut some left over MDF from another project to create solid shelves. The shelves sit on top of the wire frame to provide a better area for the components.

Now in regards to your irony I think that's exactly what I experienced last night! I finally went to Radio Shack and purchased the SPL meter and following B&K's instructions I set the speaker levels. Then listened to the new age MiniDisc again and could believe how the speakers disappeared, and to think I thought it was good before. This meant it was time for a movie so we watched Miss Congeniality (well, we hadn't seen it yet) after which I check the amplifier and it wasn't near as hot. The big change I noticed was that since I adjusted the level of the speakers I needed to play the system louder but it sounded better (B&K Ref volume was -15). And I never thought about the darn thing needing to radiate unused energy as heat, duh.

--------------

Anyway, I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't got the Radio Shack SPL meter and properly setup their speakers to run, don't walk, and buy the thing. I got the analog as I could see spending an additional $20 for the digital version. All of the years of home theater and my speakers were probably never setup exactly right, what a shame. Now I need to pull out the Avia disc later this week and make sure everything is just right.

Finally, the Ref 30 display now has a funky text rainbow effect when the background is Black, Gray, or White. I still haven't hooked up an actual video source so this is kind of mute but I figure if something is wrong I'll have it looked at when I get it upgraded in the future.

Thanks!

Jeff

(You know, proof reading really helps....)

[Chris White]

Jeff, if you look back a few weeks you'll find a thread I started about a heat problem I was having. My Ref 30 and 7270 amp were both in an audio cabinet that was open to the back only. I was having a definite overheating problem.

To solve it, I did three things. First, I moved the amp to the top section of the audio cabinet. This section was designed for a speaker so it was open to the front and the rear. Second, I relocated all the equipment so that the Ref 30 had more room to breathe. Third, I installed 4" fans behind the Ref 30 and the amp that I can switch on as desired.

What I have since discovered is that main heating problem is the amp. After the system has been on for several hours with the fans running, the amp will be quite warm while the Ref 30 is quite cool to the touch. Still, the little 4" fan is able to keep the amp at a reasonable operating temperature.




The Whites' Home Theater Website
Pictures, DIY Projects, Glossaries, FAQ, Links, Toshiba Tips & Tweaks

[Jeff Doolittle]

Chris:

Yours may have been the thread that I read regarding the heat issue. The Ref 30 get warm but has never gotten hot. The Ref 7250 on the other hand has gotten very hot but I know the volume was set rather low. Last night the volume was higher than I've normally set it and the amplifier was hot, not a burning hot but definately beyond just warm (real descriptive I know).

The closet which houses the equipment is a small walkin at the back of the theater which I convinced the wife we needed for the equipment. The room looks better and the closet already has a heat/cool vent in the ceiling. When we run a movie I typically just turn on the AC and leave it since the projector really heats up the room. The closet (pre B&K days) would actually be very cold after a movie which was another reason I wasnted to move the equipment there. After the movie last night the closet was cool, not cold but the amplifier was also much cooler than previously.

Finally, the amplifier is on the second shelf because of speaker wire limitiations (shortness), but there is nothing on top or on either side. The shelf above is probably 8 inches away. The Ref 30 is on the next shelf but sits on top of the Sony CD player. The Ref 30 is just over 1/2 the depth of the CD player so there shouldn't be any heat problems there. To the right of the CD player is an RCA DirecTV receiver (the original with Dolby Digital support, forget the model #) which does get a bit warm.

I think everything is okay as is, I'm just a little gun shy after seeing my Denon heat-up and then blow-up (lights, pops, and smoke). The heat seems to be normal and provided I give the units the breathing room required they'll take care of themselves.

Now if I could just figure out the video issue, definately something I'm working on tonight along with another movie. We've got lots of catching up to do since the theater was out of commission for 3 weeks.

Thanks!

[Lex]

Great tips and info Chris and John. This forum is really turning into something special, IMO. I love to see people helping people and knowing that people come here with confidence that the answers they seek, are not far away.

Lex

[Jeff Doolittle]

I ran the following connection last evening to determine if the Ref 30 has a video problem:

DirecTv SAT
&#124;
&#124; (S-Video)
V
B&K Ref 30
&#124;
&#124; (S-Video)
V
DWIN Transcanner
&#124;
&#124; (BNC - 5)
V
NEC XG85 Projector

The satellite picture looked fine and the B&K menu text on the White, Gray, and Black backgrounds was also clean. Any attempt to change the background color on the B&K menus to something else resulted in a rainbow effect. I only did the test using the S-Video but the same is true using the regualar RCA video jack into the DWIN, strange...

I figure I'll give B&K a call during the next week and see what they might suggest.

Jeff

[Jeff Doolittle]

Everyone,

I received the following answers to all of my questions above placing a phone call to B&K Tech Support with less than 10 seconds on hold!

I believe the tech support person was Jerry (why am I thinking the movie Sphere )....

Ref 7250 Heat Issue
The unit is built to handle twice the heat load that's being placed upon it provided all of the clearence requirements are being met. The top of the amplifier can reach temperatures of 120F and that's well within spec. You will know the unit is TOO HOT if the face plate is warm or anything beyond, it should be cool or just slightly warm.

Ref 30 & DWIN Transcanner
Known issue! The menus have a problem with any line doubler, tripler, etc. because of a sync issue. The correction I have been mentioning of using White, Gray, or Black is exactly what he recommended with the better results being on Gray (again, my preference).

Ref 30 DPL II Upgrade
His answer: "What's that?" joking of course.... had to try for some information but couldn't any details about any upgrades.

His final recommendation, just call and I have to agree. I'm amazed that I've called twice and had a knowledgable tech support person within 15 seconds.

Jeff

[Hope this all helps someone else in the future...]

[Jerry Pease]

Congrats on the Refr 30 and welcome to the club




JP

[Doug]

Yes, Jeff, if you "do little" else this year, you have done one thing right I think. Please don't throw those tomatos at me, that could hurt!

[labman]

Jeff congrat, on the new purchase! You'll find the longer you play with the Ref 30 the better it gets. Have fun!
Steve