behringer a500

[don maico]

Hi guys
I am a newbie here from the other side of the pond and was just wondering what the general opinion of these amps . I recently learnt that in the US pro amps are often used whilst here it would seem a fairly rare phenomena. In fact few know anything about them and those that do swear by them mainly because of the wattage for money ratio. Some say they have noisy fans but presumably one can get those changed for quieter ones. Now I have a AV room and an audio room and it is in the latter that I am seeking to add one of these so that I can listen to music in stereo through a pair of SVS bookshelf monitors and an active sub. My pre is an Audio Innovations 800c tube amp although I have a QED passive pre as well. In time I may well add an a500 to my av system as well (HK receiver) but i just wanted some opinions on these amps for now.
Many thanks

 

[j_garcia]

Welcome.

Please do a search, there is an EXTENSIVE thread on this amp already here.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hi guys
from the other side of the pond Many thanks

And where would that be? There are two great ponds and some smaller ones.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

My guess is he's from the UK.

The A500 is a great little, quiet amp. The EP series is more powerful, and yes, you should swap out the fans if using them for home use. A good neutral amp will work wonders with a solid pre amp. The sq comes from your pre amp, and any equalization you add to flatten your room response. Behringer makes some great eq's to go along with their amps for outstanding two channel listening.

 

[don maico]

My guess is he's from the UK.

The A500 is a great little, quiet amp. The EP series is more powerful, and yes, you should swap out the fans if using them for home use. A good neutral amp will work wonders with a solid pre amp. The sq comes from your pre amp, and any equalization you add to flatten your room response. Behringer makes some great eq's to go along with their amps for outstanding two channel listening.

Correct, I am from Blighty. Thought you guys were familiar with the euphemism for the Atlantic ocean as well.

The sq comes from your pre amp, and any equalization you add to flatten your room response

Not sure what you mean by that Forgive me but I am in no way technically minded. You think an equalizer would be a good bet? For some reason they are not popular here.
One like this perhaps:
http://focuscamera.com/sc/froogle-lead-1.asp?id=964607012&rf=froogle&dfdate=10_11_2006&sid=743150976
Would it be used instead of a normal preamp?
Could you tell me whether the fans are easy to replace or would I be advised to get a dealer to do it?
Thanks

 

[Nick250]

Before you start throwing money at electronics to improve sound quality, work on getting room acoustic right. In almost all cases one can benefit far more by treating the room acoustics than by electronic upgrades. There is a forum here on AH you can check out. If room treatments are not possible for you then EQing the room is the next step.

Nick

 

[don maico]

Before you start throwing money at electronics to improve sound quality, work on getting room acoustic right. In almost all cases one can benefit far more by treating the room acoustics than by electronic upgrades. There is a forum here on AH you can check out. If room treatments are not possible for you then EQing the room is the next step.

Nick

two aspects that seem to be rarely considered over here. Certainly equalizers were/are generally frowned upon because they are seen as glorified tone controls which get in the way of the signal . Many of our amps during the eihties and nineties( hifi ones)were built without any tone controls. Minimalism was the creed.As you say, though,if room acoustics are poor then a good equaliser may be the thing to have.
I'll give the forum in question a good read. Thanks

 

[mtrycrafts]

two aspects that seem to be rarely considered over here. Certainly equalizers were/are generally frowned upon because they are seen as glorified tone controls which get in the way of the signal . Many of our amps during the eihties and nineties( hifi ones)were built without any tone controls. Minimalism was the creed.As you say, though,if room acoustics are poor then a good equaliser may be the thing to have.
I'll give the forum in question a good read. Thanks

That sentiment is still here in the US in some audio circles as they have no clue

One only needs to ask or visit a recording studio to see how minimalists they really are. LOL

But, as you read what is coming, EQ is almost a must and is part of gear now. Acousticians know that EQ is part of the picture.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Correct, I am from Blighty. Thought you guys were familiar with the euphemism for the Atlantic ocean as well.

The sq comes from your pre amp, and any equalization you add to flatten your room response

Not sure what you mean by that Forgive me but I am in no way technically minded. You think an equalizer would be a good bet? For some reason they are not popular here.
One like this perhaps:
http://focuscamera.com/sc/froogle-lead-1.asp?id=964607012&rf=froogle&dfdate=10_11_2006&sid=743150976
Would it be used instead of a normal preamp?
Could you tell me whether the fans are easy to replace or would I be advised to get a dealer to do it?
Thanks

That's actually an outstanding eq - gives the warm, slightly distorted sound of a tube amplifier without the cost. You still need a pre amp (amplifier + preamp, or receiver/audio video receiver) for control/hook up. That's the eq I plan on ordering after my sub woofer, then two channel vintage (read ebay) power amp. I'm currently using an Audiosource EQ11 with a Denon 3805 AVR to tame the room. My room is actually extremely flat, or "dead" as I like to call it. You can IMHO "overtreat" a room where there's absolutely no reverb. This would seem good to some, but for surround sound, it's nice to have sound bounce off at least one wall. My room is a complete chamber sponge. Point the two towers just behind the listening position, and you have sheer bliss. For surround, I utilize all eq functions to their maximum potential.

Just for our readers here, many of our friends from the "other side of the pond" refer to surround sound receivers as "amplifiers." Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the UK site, I was confused for a few days until I learned the lingo.

Fans are simple to swap out. If you've ever used a phillips head screw driver, you can accomplish the task at hand. You may need to solder the wires back together depending on how they're connected. Many use simple clips. SQ just means sound quality.

 

[don maico]

You can IMHO "overtreat" a room where there's absolutely no reverb.

You are getting technical again mate Is reverb something you find on a motorcycle ?Dont know what you mean by flat either? My walls and ceiling are also flat It seems I have an awful lot to learn

At the moment I'm only interested in stereo for this room. My av room is next door and will need sorting as well at some point.

The term amp stayed with us since the eighties when the HI FI gurus were spreading their gospel. They insisted that it was better to buy a seperate amp and tuner than an all in one receiver Its sounds laudable but they claimed that if the tuner broke down you still had the amp. Being somewhat cynical i think they were proably getting kickbacks from British manufacturers who wanted people to buy more of their components. They could never compete with the mass produced Jap products so a niche market was created and the gurus stepped in to spread the message: "minimalism is best,no tone controls to get in the way of the signal, keep pre and power separate if possible, each component to have a separate power supply if funds allow, tuner and amps kept seperate ,etc"None of this existed with Jap amps which were generally ignored or given poor reviews.
Despite the fact AV receivers dominate the market now, people still call them amps probably out of habit. I know I do.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Reverb: Abbreviation for reverberation, a complex blend of multiple interacting reflections within an enclosed space which combines with the direct sound from a source and defines the character of the sound in a room or hall. It is also used for a signal processor which can generate an approximation of natural reverb. (Caution: do not confuse with 'Echo' - a different effect altogether.)

Flat refers to a balanced full spectrum frequency response. A good system will reproduce close to the 20-20,000 cycles per second, also called "hertz", or Hz. When you have peaks and lulls throughout this cycle, you can experience such things as "boomy" bass, "overblown" midrange, or "sibilant" highs. The goal is to level out all frequencies in a room. A graphic or parametric equalizer can adjust these frequencies to help flatten out the response. Room treatments, such as curtains, area rugs, (things to cover hard surfaces like walls and floors) help reduce reflections for a better response.

 

[don maico]

Reverb: Abbreviation for reverberation, a complex blend of multiple interacting reflections within an enclosed space which combines with the direct sound from a source and defines the character of the sound in a room or hall. It is also used for a signal processor which can generate an approximation of natural reverb. (Caution: do not confuse with 'Echo' - a different effect altogether.)

Flat refers to a balanced full spectrum frequency response. A good system will reproduce close to the 20-20,000 cycles per second, also called "hertz", or Hz. When you have peaks and lulls throughout this cycle, you can experience such things as "boomy" bass, "overblown" midrange, or "sibilant" highs. The goal is to level out all frequencies in a room. A graphic or parametric equalizer can adjust these frequencies to help flatten out the response. Room treatments, such as curtains, area rugs, (things to cover hard surfaces like walls and floors) help reduce reflections for a better response.

Thanks ! Just bought two pairs of new velvet curtains which I hope might ameliorate what is a rather over bright and aggresive sound from my speakers.