Ref 50 v Ref 31?

[MannyE]

Hello!

I have a Ref 30 preamp which I am considering sending to B&K for the 500 buck upgrade to a Ref 31 (which I have been told is essetially a Ref 50 without the XLR connectors).

Is there any advantage to just buying a Ref 50 from ebay instead? What (besides the connectors) would the 50 have over the 31?

The price of both options is about the same.

[John Holmes]

Hello, MannyE


I know you posted this a bit ago.

If it was I considering the above, I would purchase a used Ref 50. Like you stated, you will pick up balanced inputs (never know, they may come in handy) not to mention... $500 is a bit of cash for such an upgrade. Heck you could probably pick up the Ref 50 used for around $400-$450.

B&K makes great sounding gear. I love the sound of mine. However, I think that I may have owned my last processor from them. When I do retire my Ref 50, I will be looking else-where. While B&K has taken care of me for a firmware upgrade, with solid service, many reports of the issues with the Ref 70 has me concerned. Not to mention, still no onboard HD decoding for that unit.

What made me purchase B&K was the great sound. But, I also thought that their promise of being future proof meant, at least to the next generation of processors. Guess I was wrong. Anyway, that's my 2 cents!

[MannyE]

Excellent! Thanks for the response. I did think 500 was a bit much (plus shipping!). I will probably go with your advice on the 50... just missed a good looker on ebay for 480 including shipping! But in B&K's defense, I have had almost 10 years with my Ref 30 and only the introduction of HDMI made it less practical. B&K did offer the upgrade to a 31 several years ago, but I didn't feel the need.

I am currently getting around that issue with a seperate hdmi switcher which was a low cost and elegant solution. It then feeds a splitter (an elegant HIGH cost solution for what it is) which send high def video to both the samsung lcd and the Panny PJ.

I haven't really looked into the 70 yet, so I am not familiar with the issues on HD video you are referring to, but I did see it had HDMI inputs and outputs (two outputs should be mandatory on high end processors) Do these not pass 1080p video?

Oh yeah.... and I got 450 bucks burning a h ole in my pocket if you're just sick and tired of that 50 :lol:

[John Holmes]

No problem... it's nice to be able to bounce ideas off others that share our passion.

I would also have to agree with you about HDMI. It is the only reason B&K fans might look else where these days. If HDMI never showed up, I'm sure a lot more folks would have hung on to their current units.

As for the 1080p via the Reference 70, I have heard that it does a pass through so, no problem there. I was actually refering to its lack of HD decoding for audio. Seems like a lot of bucks these days for a pre/pre without it. While I know it isn't a "must have" to enjoy the hi-res formats (since the decoding can be done in the player), it does change some of the bass management and post processing options that are available via bitstream.

And as to the question about my Ref 50, I have been considering for the last few months selling it. I really would love to get the full usage of my 4 HDMI sources. It's just hard to get rid of a piece of gear that I am otherwise, very happy with!