Replacement for B&K Reference 20

[ppiper21]

I am starting to look into replacing my B&K Reference 20 preamp. Fortunately, it is still working and sounding great (knock on wood). Eventually I want to upgrade to a modern preamp (or receiver) that has Dolby Atmos, HDMI switching, etc.

The thing that I love about the Reference 20 is its rock solid stereo imaging. I can listen to TV shows in stereo and you wouldn't even know that there is no sound coming from the center channel. Years ago, I had a $2000 Marantz preamp as a loaner while my Reference 20 was getting repaired and the difference in sound quality and imaging was clear.

I wanted to see if there were any other folks out there with experience with the Reference 20 and what they replaced it with.

 

[Hetfield]

I am starting to look into replacing my B&K Reference 20 preamp. Fortunately, it is still working and sounding great (knock on wood). Eventually I want to upgrade to a modern preamp (or receiver) that has Dolby Atmos, HDMI switching, etc.

The thing that I love about the Reference 20 is its rock solid stereo imaging. I can listen to TV shows in stereo and you wouldn't even know that there is no sound coming from the center channel. Years ago, I had a $2000 Marantz preamp as a loaner while my Reference 20 was getting repaired and the difference in sound quality and imaging was clear.

I wanted to see if there were any other folks out there with experience with the Reference 20 and what they replaced it with.

Wow still rocking the B&K 20! Nice, I had one too years ago. Sad to see that company go under. They made great home theater products.

I use a Denon X3400H because it has pre-outs and I still use my Parasound external 5 channel amp. I think it's a cheaper end smarter way to do separates. Plus you get Audyssey XT32 and it's pretty amazing.

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[ppiper21]

Wow still rocking the B&K 20! Nice, I had one too years ago. Sad to see that company go under. They made great home theater products.

I use a Denon X3400H because it has pre-outs and I still use my Parasound external 5 channel amp. I think it's a cheaper end smarter way to do separates. Plus you get Audyssey XT32 and it's pretty amazing.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

Thanks for the response. I was looking into the Denon X3600H for the reasons that you mentioned (just found Gene's video on Youtube last night about it). Is the sound quality comparable to the B&K?

 

[Hetfield]

Thanks for the response. I was looking into the Denon X3600H for the reasons that you mentioned (just found Gene's video on Youtube last night about it). Is the sound quality comparable to the B&K?

That's a good choice I think. I think the sound is excellent the X3400H and the Parasound amp. It's got plenty of power and it's very, very clean. Audyssey is something I was not familiar with and it took a little time to understand and to run correctly. I bought a stand for the mic before the cardboard thing kinda is a pain in the butt. The stand makes life so much easier.

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