Behringer 2030P powered by DTA-100 amp

[fightinkraut]

Hey all!

I plan on purchasing a new set of speakers for my office. In the past I have used the KRK RP6SE speakers and was very pleased with them, but after reading enough about the Behringer 2030P's I've decided to give them a go. I don't really have room for a cheap stereo receiver, so I'm looking into small amps. Ideally I would like something I could use to drive both the 2030P's and my headphones, Sennheiser HD555 and Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10.

I was looking at this amp from parts-express, any thoughts on it is will be sufficient? All my listening will be nearfield.

When I used the KRK rokit's I had to turn down the gain on the speakers almost all the way because of a buzzing, I'm hoping that issue will be alleviated with the use of a signal isolator I have purchased.

Thanks for your time!

 

[dkane360]

Wow, thats pretty nifty looking. I don't see why it wouldn't work. Looks like a great solution for desks that are tight on space.

 

[KEW]

It looks like a great fit for what you are after, but I'd feel better if there were more specifications published.

Mainly, the lack of a bandwidth or frequency response. I suspect it is capable of 20-20k, but you might try an email to PE or Dayton to verify.

 

[sholling]

The Behringer B2030Ps rock as computer speakers but you will want some kind of small sub to go with them. You can probably drive the sub right off the sound card as long as it has a subwoofer out. I haven't laid eyes on that mini-amp but I can't see why it wouldn't work just fine as long as they are rating it as low distortion, with both channels driven for 20-20,000hz.

Do plan on doing the tweeter mods that Chis suggested. They take like 20 minutes each if you work slow and careful.

 

[fightinkraut]

Thanks for the replies!

I'll need to look into those mods again, I have no problem doing stuff providing it doesn't require soldering skills, something I'm sorely lacking.

Although it may not happen for a long time, I would like to get a sub. The back of my pc has a center/sub out

, would I run that directly to a sub?

I'll email PE and post the answer, I've been looking for something like the DTA-100 for a while, hopefully the specs are good. From what I've read the tripath amps can be pretty impressive.

 

[dkane360]

Thanks for the replies!

I'll need to look into those mods again, I have no problem doing stuff providing it doesn't require soldering skills, something I'm sorely lacking.

would I run that directly to a sub?

The mods dont require soldering. I can find the link if you don't have it already. I'm pretty sure you would run the right to the sub. You would need a 3.5mm to rca adapter though.

 

[fightinkraut]

Thanks, I've seen a few threads floating around, I'll track them down when I get the speakers.

NM, it's here.

 

[sholling]

Since you aren't trying to make the room rumble for movies you can probably get away with a $100-150 sub from parts express. Just something to fill in from 30-80hz depending on what you listen to. I listen to a lot of jazz and some of the bass goes that low.

 

[fightinkraut]

Since you aren't trying to make the room rumble for movies you can probably get away with a $100-150 sub from parts express. Just something to fill in from 30-80hz depending on what you listen to. I listen to a lot of jazz and some of the bass goes that low.

I would love a sub, but the two things preventing that in the immediate future are budget and kids. Wife and I have a 22 month old with another baby due in April...office is next to the nursery. At least in our current house I won't be trying to make the room rumble. My sub of choice would be a PE sub though. You liking the TSC sub?

 

[fightinkraut]

Response from PE regarding the DTA-100 specs:

"Dayton has not released anything to us except the information that is in the copy."

I have emailed Dayton to double check, hopefully I'll at least get a date of when some specs will be available.

Any ideas on whether a signal noise isolator will be sufficient to eliminate the hum I'm getting from rca cables? If it doesn't work I figured the next step would be a Clean Box II from ART. I suppose the issue could be bypassed by using a digital signal from the PC, but I don't have any optical out, just HDMI.

 

[sholling]

The T250 was a decent $250 sub. I tried a couple of different things. I started out with a front-firing/rear ported Velodyne VX-10 that I had laying around. I found that because of the layout of my office and design of my desk any bass from the port was channeled out into the hallway and away from me. Next I tried the T250 in the same spot next to my desk but I found it to be too directional. I know in theory subs aren't directional but this one is. I finally put it in a corner by the back wall of the room angled to face my chair and it works great there. But my home-office is jam packed.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Love my TSCs but they (company) are RIP

 

[KEW]

The guy from PE lies!

I got a PE catalog in todays mail which had more specs on this.

2 X 50 Watts RMS into 8 ohms at 3% THD (not specified as 20-20k)
2 X 30 Watts RMS into 8 ohms at 0.01% THD (not specified as 20-20k)

Signal to Noise > 103 dB.
FR: 20 to 20k
Efficiency > 85%
2"H X 3-3/8"W X 5-5/8"D
Weight: 2.65 lb (must be only for the desk top component - there's an power converter in line).

Cheers,
Kurt

 

[sholling]

Thanks, I've seen a few threads floating around, I'll track them down when I get the speakers.

NM, it's here.

I hope you have better luck than I had with finding his suggested speaker stuffing. All I could find is 1" thick Owens Corning 705 and I imagine that I'll have to trim it down to 1/2-3/4".

 

[fightinkraut]

I hope you have better luck than I had with finding his suggested speaker stuffing. All I could find is 1" thick Owens Corning 705 and I imagine that I'll have to trim it down to 1/2-3/4".

Hmmm. I don't know of any acoustic panel less than 1" think, guess the benefits of such a panel would be drastically reduced. I know it's a bit more expensive, but perhaps Dynamat would work? That stuff comes in a bunch of options, including 1/2" varieties.

That being said, I'll be doing more in depth research when/if I get the Behringers, I'm too cheap to buy Dynamat.

 

[sholling]

Hmmm. I don't know of any acoustic panel less than 1" think, guess the benefits of such a panel would be drastically reduced. I know it's a bit more expensive, but perhaps Dynamat would work? That stuff comes in a bunch of options, including 1/2" varieties.

That being said, I'll be doing more in depth research when/if I get the Behringers, I'm too cheap to buy Dynamat.

I rejected Blackhole 5 for the same reason. It runs about $30 for enough to do one speaker and I have 6 to do. Salk offers it as a $300 option in their speakers so I figure it has to be good. Someone else was kind enough to suggest buying and peeling the face off of Armstrong 3101 3/4" ceiling tiles but they run $50ea in a case of 8 and I can only get them by the case. ATS has 1" 24x48 sheets of 705 for $15.

I wrote up this project using 1/4" and 1/2" sticky back acoustic barrier foam. I thought it helped a lot but Chris says I should try fiber based sound absorbent board (705?) and I respect him too much not to give it a try. I just couldn't get a product name or source from him. That's understandable he has a lot going on.

 

[Seth=L]

It's nice to finally see the tripath amplifiers becoming more powerful and remaining cost effective.

 

[fightinkraut]

Now that the DTA-100 is back in stock and has received some positive reviews I'm going to pick one up within the next few weeks. Tomorrow I'm also getting a Dayton SUB-100 off CL for $50, too good to pass up. From the computer can I just run a 3.5mm -- RCA cable for the sub and a 3.5mm -- RCA's into the DTA-100 for the speakers? I don't see why that wouldn't work, I'm guessing I'll just tell the computer to only send a 2.1 signal.

My real question is how to handle the frequency cutoffs. Windows has a rudimentary bass management function but I don't know exactly what it does.

Would it be best to run the speaker wire out from the DTA-100 into the sub and back out to the speakers?

At this point I will not be utilizing an external crossover, although I'm aware they're highly recommend for optimum sound quality.

Thanks for any and all input!
Seth

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

For the price of the speakers and the amp, you could just as well get a pair of active Swans M200 MKII’s. No tweeter mod needed, and no real-estate wasted for the amp.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[fightinkraut]

For the price of the speakers and the amp, you could just as well get a pair of active Swans M200 MKII’s. No tweeter mod needed, and no real-estate wasted for the amp.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Agreed, and I do love the way those look, but I am interested in the mods just to teach myself something, and I plan on using the DTA-100 as a headphone amp as well for my Sennheiser HD555's. Considering I've got this honking old receiver on my desk I'm rather looking forward to the DTA-100! Or rather, my wife is!

I would like to hear the swan's someday, perhaps those would work well at work...if I had an office as opposed to a cubicle I would try them out!

Thanks for the comments!