behringer reference?

Oops, I now see I already participated in this thread and said almost exactly the same thing 2 years ago.

Sorry for repeating myself, but it is the truth.

There has been a lot written about this amp on Audiogon and also in the Magneplanars user group, and I for one am a big fan.

I have three of them so far, and use two in a monoblock configuration for mini monitors on my main desktop at home.

Compared to my Mark Levinson 23.5, they sound a bit dark and congested.

But for the price, I would think they are pretty much impossible to beat and well worth a try. FYI, some people think they do not perform as powerfully as their specifications suggest.

I actually like the looks of the amps in person, but the front panel and controls are a bit cheap and plasticky.

You might also check out their more powerful amps where the 1500 is rumored to be the best of the bunch. The only problem is that they come with fans which are a bit noisy, but some enthusiasts change the fans to quieter ones.

You will also find a lot of complaints about the cheap build quality, lack of reliability etc etc. Although not built like a Rowland for obvious reasons, mine have been perfectly reliable and I suspect a lot of the complaints come from dealers whose vastly higher priced equipment gets embarrassed by Behringer.

Good luck.

Rodman99999

I am not suggesting that Behringer is state of the art, or even approaches the build quality of truly "high end" gear.

I am, however, considering the possibility that a disproportionate part of the savings

(or in the case of "high end" gear, the high cost)

is more a function of

a) the absence or presence of silky smooth controls and exotic chassis work

than it is a function of

b) a similarly dramatic difference in sound quality or reliability.

I suspect this is a more nuanced and accurate view of Behringer than "no duh of course it's cheap because it is cheap, PS it's cheap, and by the way, why do you think its cheap?!"

My apologies to those who are trying to pay a mortgage and/or feed their families by selling, say, Ongaku amps or Harmonix "tuning" devices.

Cheers,

Parts Express has been my supplier for these amps and also for a DEQ24/96 which also continues to work perfectly.

Unlike many audio dealers I have met, they have been 100% customer service focused with a liberal, absolutely no questions asked return policy.

They have even offered to refund shipping costs.

Grege,

Before the naysayers jump in and assure you that your Behringer amp will break, destroy all your associated components and/or burn down your house, I would like to say that I have three of them, and they have been on 24/7 for my PC, HDTV and desktop listening for about 3 years now while still going strong without any problems.

To be fair, the faceplate is bit plasticky, one of the volume controls has gotten a bit noisy, and they are not as powerful as their rating suggest.

But generally I would agree that these amps make a mockery of many high priced audiophile offerings.

Cheers,