Well on the 989s when they are marked with a B it means they already have the DPL II upgrade in them. There was a topic over the spot about this on the 989s. Not sure what it means for yours though.
Greg
If the box says 'TX-DS696B', then the 'B' most certainly stands for black. I know that JVC often uses 'BK' at the end of somes model numbers to designate that the chassis is black and 'GD' to indicate gold.
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KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
It could be that it's a slightly newer rev.
Def Tech speakers for example. BP-10 vs BP-10B. The B's have the newer Al tweeter vs the old fabric tweeter.
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it most likely means black.. but correct me if i'm wrong, but i dont think the 696 comes in any other color...
maybe they just did it to be safe, in case they decided to add another color (i wish they would!).
however, i do know of some companies that label their b-stock items like that. i think i saw a sony receiver that had the model number followed by a (B).
just my .02