B&K Ref 30 RAM error...any ideas? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Falasco]

Hey, all. I have a B&K Ref 30 that is about a month old. I actually haven't had a chance to use it much, but it has been plugged in and in sleep mode, so there has been power going to it. Today I went to watch a movie and was greeted with a RAM ERROR 32142 message. I powered off the unit and brought it back and the error message went away, but does anyone have any ideas why this may have popped up? Do I need to exchange the unit?
On a related note, you may recall an earlier post I made about the Ref 7270 amp where it basically burned itself out in less than a day, and I had to wait two weeks for a replacement. Now the preamp is acting flaky. I haven't read that B&K gear is particularly error prone or fussy, but this makes two problems in less than a month on gear that costs over 5 grand. My trusty Yamaha receiver has been going strong with no problems for 5 years, and cost a fifth of what the B&K cost. Is this the price one pays for getting nicer gear, or am I just extremely unlucky with this stuff? :frowning:
Your thoughts are appreciated...

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I have had no problems with my Ref 30 or 7270. They both work flawlessly and sound great.

 

[John Kotches]

Dave,

Do you have any type of surge supression gear hooked up to your system at all?

B&K gear is known for being rock steady, and I used a Ref 30 in my system for about 18 months with a total of zero problems.

The fact that both are failing in an unusual fashion points to something like a power surge or some other power related anomaly.

Regards,

 

[Dave Falasco]

Hmm...I have a Monster surge protector, but on the advice of other HTF'ers I don't have the power amp plugged into it, although the preamp is. I haven't noticed a problem with power spikes--the most that happens is the lights will dim slightly when the central air kicks on, but my theater gear is on a dedicated circuit and doesn't seem to be affected by it.
Glad to hear B&K is normally a solid brand--the research I did prior to my purchase indicated that, but my experience has proven to be otherwise thus far. Still, I don't discount the possibility that by some cosmic coincidence I got two fluky pieces from a normally solid manufacturer...it's the kind of things that happens a lot in my life.
I appreciate the feedback. I was curious to hear what exactly a RAM error was; I will give B&K tech support a ring to see what they say about it.

 

[John Kotches]

When the lights dim you have a voltage drop. To maintain wattage, current rises.

Regards,