B&K AVR 707 zone 2 conversion?

Johnny Mac

Hi guys,

I have been using a B&K 507 S2 for years to run a 5.1 home theater in zone 1, as well as a second zone to my deck (all with Polk speakers!). My 507 came from the factory as converted to run both seamlessly.

After that receiver died, I picked up another on ebay as the company had closed by that time. I was able to find documentation online as to how to do the conversion on my own.

I recently acquired a B&K AVR 707 on ebay and cannot find any such online documentation to perform such a conversion. I am hopeful that someone here can point me in the right direction...

Thanks,

Johnny Mac

mantis

I rewired the AVR307 and AVR507S2 back in the day. How those units where re wired was pulling the Surround back Terminatal off the board and moving it to Zone 2. ON Zone 2 there should be nothing there.

It should be the same but the 707 was slightly different in design and short lived. I only installed a few of them back in the day before B&K went out of business.

I can reach out to one of my installers who had one but I don't think he re wired his for zone 2 either.

mantis

If you take some pictures with the lid off, I bet I can see where the connections are and where to plug the surround back channels to Zone 2.

Johnny Mac

Dan,

Thanks for chiming in, as I recall you being a great resource for B&K products and installations of same given your previous posts on the subject matter.

I have the instructional docs for the zone 2 conversion for both the 307 and 507, and their interior layouts are similar, if not identical. I am not sure if the 707 weighs the same as the 507 does, but the interior layout is vastly different. As such, the docs are of little use with regard to the 707.

I can understand why B&K chose to reconfigure the interior layout since the 707 included HDMI, whereas the previous models lacked same. What is unbelievable to me is that they did not allow for zone 2 operation within the software/menu of the unit itself.

Here are pix of the interior of the unit, with an overhead shot, as well as two pix of the areas around each heat sink.







Thanks again for responding to my post!,

John

msg

No way, there was an AVR 707?!? and it had HDMI?
I've never seen one of those. I thought the 507 S2 was the last highest model AVR.

Would you mind sharing the instruction docs for that Zone 2 conversion?
Before the B&K site closed down I downloaded every manual and spec sheet they had available at the time. I don't have that one in the collection.

Can make this available if anyone needs it, btw.

Johnny Mac

msg,

As I recall, the 707 came out a few years before the company shut down. While I love my 507 S2, I always wanted the 707 just for the HDMI capabilities. That said, HDMI has come a long way since then.

Which instruction docs are you looking for? If for the 307 and 507 I will be happy to share what I have on file. FYI, the 307 doc gives instructions on how to convert the front left and front right to zone 2. The 507 doc supposedly gives instructions as to how convert the surround back left and right to zone 2, but my experience was that it still does the front left and right to same. The document was likely cloned at the factory and that step was not modified.

John

Johnny Mac

Here are the zone 2 conversion instruction docs for the B&K 307 and 507

mantis

If you remember correctly, the White quick connectors are what you had to disconnect from Surround back and then cut a zip tie and then connect the Zone 2 connector to the Amp out surround back.
I looked over your pics and I don't see the bundled Zone 2 wiring tied of anywhere. We probably could do a facetime chat and maybe together we can find it.

There is nothing more then just making the physical connections.
The reason B&Kk did this is the AVR is not built like any other AVR, it's actually separates in the same chassis. This is why you have to re wire yourself as there is only 7 channels of amps on the ST125.7 amp and not 9. You can't move physical connection VIA software like you can in other AVR's as they are built as an AVR .

mantis

Ok, look for a connector just like the one I showed you of my AVR507S2. That's the speaker terminals. You just have to find where surround back is landed and replace with the labeled ZONE 2 connector and your done.

Ona side note, just look how big and badass those Caps are, WOW they don't build receivers like this anymore. Man this just makes me want to find a AVR707 and use that , screw 4k and all that nonsense or wire directly to the tv and send audio back. This is when REAL gear was made , not these toys we have now. Now I'm sad

mantis

I wish I had the service manual to this upgrade, the older 307 and 507 had detailed instructions with pictures on how to do this. I probably got the physical copies somewhere in my basement. I found the manuals to my B&K preamps but not the manual to the 507 or a 707 which I never owned a 707 but that is something I would have held onto if I had it. I reached out to my Installer who owned a 707 and I'm just waiting to hear back.

Johnny Mac

Dan,

It has been some time since I converted my current 507 S2, though your pix are jogging my recall of same. I do remember that the wires were blue and green. I will drop the right heat sink on the 707 and see if there is anything that is marked similarly.

Hopefully, B&K did not abandon the possibility of performing this procedure with this model AVR. I have Googled this several times, which is how I came across the 307 and 507 docs, yet cannot find a link relative to the 707.

John

mantis

My Installer does not have his manuals and never re wired his. He used Surround back in his theater so he used all 7 internal channels.

I have plenty of connections in the business , I might be able to find this document for you. I will post on my Tweeter survival group who are all X Employees of Tweeter and I'm sure one of them has the info.

I wish you lived close to me, I would come over , rip that bad boy apart and find those connections. Just need to know where Surround back is wired to so you can plug into that Amp Module.

Johnny Mac

Thanks for asking your installer, and I also wish that you lived nearby. It may be cheaper for me to buy your round-trip airline ticket than to ship this beast to you - this unit is heavy!!!