Deang Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Some say it's an awful sounding, Chinese made POS. Others say it's the greatest bang for the buck improvement they've ever experienced. Put me within the latter group, with the opinion that those who fall within the former are blowing some serious hot air (I'm being kind). The Behringer unit was designed by the Germans -- and yes, is manufactured in China under ISO 9000 standards. I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it -- but it's a well made and killer product. http://www.behringer.com/DEQ2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG It's a strain to imagine what the cost would have been even just 10 years ago to obtain these features and level of performance, and when I say "level of performance", I'm speaking in the context of quality of sound. So far, there is nothing I can detect indicating the unit is causing any signal degradation whatsoever, and for all intents and purposes -- it's invisible. To make it "visible", simply use the unit's RTA in conjunction with the autoEQ feature (straightforward and simple), and the result is nothing short of remarkable. If you can swing the money, couple this unit with Al's Extreme Slope Networks -- and you'll have the cleanest, most revealing, and dynamic speaker system you've ever heard. I'd like thank everyone who posted in the Behringer thread over in Updates and Modification, especially to Colin for starting the thread. Great posts by everyone over there, especially from Lee and Mike. The information in the thread prompted the purchase, and also helped me with setup and use. http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=58903 More thanks to the low power loons who contributed posts in the Tripath threads, especially Tom Brennen and Chris Robinson (for his little gift -- which forced a major paradigm shift in my thinking). I did not end up with a Tripath solution, but did end up comfortably embracing SMT and switched power supplies. Unquestionably, this is the future in high end audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 That is one cool looking unit, and I thought the DBX 14/10 Computerized Equalizer/Analyzer/RTA/SPL Meter was nice. At that selling point I think it is a bargain. Does it have RCA inputs and outputs, or did you have to get the 1/4" Pro-adapters to use it. Does the RTA on the front move in real time while the unit is active in the system? Are the rack ears removable, does it come completely in black? Am I asking too many questions? Since you are open to trying new things, want to see what a DBX 3BX-DS Dynamic Range Controller with Impact Restoration can do. I am willing to send you one to play with if you like. Regardless of what anyone says I had no added noise, artifacts, or anamolies in my system when using one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Dean, I was wondering if you'd ever got round to trying such Behringer unit. It's good to read that you don't consider it a wast of money....And yes, this thread in the mods section is indeed very informative - especially as I first found it quite tricky to find the right settings for my unit (which is the previous model and might be less user friendly). Wolfram (obviously belonging to the second group ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriven Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I have one and I am also very happy with it. I heard it called the Swiss Army knife for audio and I agree. Frzninvt: Does it have RCA inputs and outputs, or did you have to get the 1/4" Pro-adapters to use it. No and no. It only has balanced analog in/out but I made some cables that ground the negative side of the signal and run the positive to the pin on an RCA. Sub-optimal but functional. Does the RTA on the front move in real time while the unit is active in the system? Yes, if you have the display set to RTA. It can display other things and you can select a different display at any time. Are the rack ears removable Not sure about that since mine is mounted in a rack. It looks like they are. , does it come completely in black? Not that I know of. Am I asking too many questions? Yes, but I don't mind! Note: The users manual is available online at the web site Dean listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I use a Pioneer receiver as a processor that has third generation automated processing for room acoustics. You need to hear it to believe how much it improves sound quality. I presume that the Behringer has DACs that can be used for CDs. If you can avoid an analog to digital conversion, sound quality is improved significantly. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I'm still waiting for one of you guys to try out one of their parametric EQ's. I would but I'm still out of work and I'm not sure if it would be better than the dbx 1231 I'm using now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Is the 1231 a graphic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killerbee_vr6 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I can't listen to my system without the 2496 in place. It made a difference worth ten times its price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 ---------------- On 5/17/2005 1:07:31 AM killerbee_vr6 wrote: I can't listen to my system without the 2496 in place. It made a difference worth ten times its price. ---------------- How are the DAC's in this thing? I want to build a computer server and an outboard DAC would be nice. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriven Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Like I said earlier, I use it and I like it. I think it would work fine as an outboard DAC. But, please bare in mind that I think 12 gauge Home Depot wire works fine for speaker wire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNat Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 my audio tech has a boner for this unit.. he keeps telling me to hook it up to the horns to "fix the wild responce curve"... yea, hes a big time horn hater, but there is no one i trust more with my electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 ---------------- On 5/16/2005 10:36:33 PM Tom Blasing wrote: I'm still waiting for one of you guys to try out one of their parametric EQ's. I would but I'm still out of work and I'm not sure if it would be better than the dbx 1231 I'm using now. ---------------- I am using a Behringer BFD digital parametric EQ for my sub... and it works like a charm, esp for it's price. One drawback i noticed, and it is well documented, is that it has a loud power-on "thump" and so it should be turned on before the amp. Unfortunately I never tried full frequency... so i can't comment how it performs in that regard. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 ---------------- On 5/18/2005 1:09:49 AM formica wrote: One drawback i noticed, and it is well documented, is that it has a loud power-on "thump" and so it should be turned on before the amp. ---------------- What a surprise - a Behringer unit with an el-cheapo power switch and no standby/protect mode to prevent damage to other gear in the chain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Saaay, Griff... i'm gonna try an Alesis DEQ ......no Yammy yet ... it's on it's way .... no auto set-up, gonna use the Rane RA-27 ..... ....... .............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 18, 2005 Author Share Posted May 18, 2005 I've used gear costing 10x the price that makes more noise than this thing does. So what, it makes a little thump when you turn it on, give me a break. I think everyone knows by now that you hate the Behringer gear, but as Maron Horanzak would say, "I was doing this stuff while you were still crapping in your diapers". So, if I say it's good, then it's at the very least a hell of a lot better than it should be. Parts Express is 20 minutes away from my house, and I had 30 days to return it. People here can bank on this -- anything that survives in my system longer than 30 days is a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 SMT and switched power supplies? what and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 ---------------- On 5/16/2005 10:39:34 PM ben. wrote: Is the 1231 a graphic? ---------------- Yup, here's the address: http://www.dbxpro.com/1231.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 DeanG.....Just remember guys...When you get to my age. You,l be getting back to diapers. The Behringer gear is a good way to at low cost to get into this type of equipment. Later as you wallet gets fatter you can switch to the more exotic & expensive gear. It like going from a chevy to a Benz. Both will get you from stoplight to stoplight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Guys, For what it's worth, I'm using Rane parameteric equalizers here. One in each channel. They are ok, but require seperate equipment, and a lot of time and experimentation to set up. That thing looks pretty good to me. Any equalizer you use comes with a down side though. You can blow things up very easily if you try too much boost. You also have to forget the idea of setting it to get a flat response at you easy chair seperately for each speaker. That just doesn't work! Al K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 AL...Good advice. Be cautious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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