how good is B&K about doing upgrades? (1 Viewer)

[Bobby T]

If I buy a Ref 50-2 now will it be upgraded when the new formats are out? I don't want to buy a pre/pro now for that amount of money and have it become obsolete in 2 years.

 

[Carlo_M]

This is not just in reference to B&K, but a general warning regarding buying separates at this juncture. There are some undefined but near-completed formats on the horizon: HDMI v2 (or v.1.2, whatever), and the next generations of Dolby Digital and DTS.

My instinct tells me that these formats will not be a simple firmware upgrade but will require new hardware, whether it be decoding chips or whatever.

That's what's kept me from buying a pre/pro. I'm tempted in the interim (if I don't get my hiss on my T763 addressed) to buy something like a Pioneer VSX-1015TX and use it as a pre/pro until the smoke clears. No doubt you'll get better performance from seps, but since I have a high mid-end [or low hi-end] system (speakers included) I doubt I'd get much benefit from getting a dedicated pre/pro right now.

And yeah, I'd hate to bust $2K+ and find out it can't handle DD+ or DTS+ or whatever they call 'em.

 

[Bobby T]

This is what I was thinking. I'll just add the amp to my receiver with my new speakers and play the waiting game.

 

[Carlo_M]

Yeah, normally I don't support the waiting game (because there's always something "better" on the horizon so you could play it indefinitely), but with the new HD formats, HDMI v1.2 or whatever, and the new DD/DTS formats, I think now really is the time to play that game.

 

[Jake S]

probably true, or just buy quality sound without digital video switching and deal with that later (if ever)..component video looks great to me, in fact, better, right now,in most cases, than digital connections.

 

[Bobby T]

I don't have a display with hdmi or dvi-d yet. just component. But I am concerned with audio formats. For $1099 I can order the new Outlaw and upgrade to the next generation B&k later. With the Outlaw having balenced outputs it would be easy & cheap to mate it with a pro amp for a 2 channel setup later.