2. home-theater
  3. 1171281969

Denon 4806 v. B&K AVR-507

Has anyone had an opportunity to compare the Denon 4806 and the B&K AVR-507?

I have the B&K and have been generally happy with the sound and functionality. There service is usually great and they are very helpful.

B&K seems to be falling behind the technology curve in some areas, however, and not keeping up fast enough - up conversions, IEE 1394, ipods/mp3 connectivity, display of zone 2 operation (it gets left on a lot without an LED on the front panel), factory service needed to convert 7 channel to zone 2 amplifier. Most importantly, the 507 only allows analog inputs for zone 2.

Does the Denon allow digital inputs for zone 2?

Thanks.
tanzer2250
aec01
1 posts
 
I spoke to B&K tech support about 2 weeks ago (I have a B&K AVR 507). They are working on a new product, presumably to replace the 507 and Reference 50. I could not pry any details, but I was inquiring about HDMI. I was told mid to late summer for a new product release (or announcement).
flrnlamb
508 posts
 
Denon 4806 (including MultEQ) + better dedicated amp (or multi-amp) + better than B&K, performance wise!
And, no, a receiver as a pre-pro isn't better in many aspects than a dedicated pre-pro. But the processing and EQ capability of the Denon makes it much much more effective option for overall room sonics than most anything else.
ckoffend
684 posts
 
Wow, I am surprised by the operational comments on the B&K 507 S2. I find that this is one of the most simple AV Receivers to operate and have not seen any lack of technology with mine. I do agree on having to have the factory convert the 6ht/7th channel amps to zone 2.

The only evidence of this that I could see would be the lack of HDMI upconverting - but why would anybody want to upsample to HDMI (lots of debate on its quality and there is no agreed to standard yet), or for that matter run the video signal through another processing device to stomp all over the signal? Run your video signal to your monitor/TV directly.

Any plans to put the upconverting video signal with an HDMI output into a future B&K product is just to address the popular demands of the public that is not based on quality, only popularity. If we make our decisions on popularity vs. quality we may as well all buy Bose.

Having compared the B&K directly to the 3802 (previously owned) and the 3806, there is no comparison in terms of sonic quality - have not heard the 4806 or 5806 though in MY home!

As for Ipod integration, just buy the cable and you can run your Ipod through your B&K or any pre-amp for that matter (although unless you modify you Ipod, I am not sure why you would want to do this at this time due to the aweful sound quality).

Sorry if these seems like a harsh reply, but having listened to the Denons at the shops, I just have a tough time comparing their sonic qualities to the B&K (recognizing that you can definately get better than the B&K, but not as I have heard with a Denon).
More to discover