Better check the amp. You may have been lucky with the A500s, but I was not. For me, 3 out of 5 were bad, one within a month, two straight out of the box. I also found that the volume controls are not goodbest to leave them at full output.
Not so Easy to Skip the Preamp?
I have just tried to assemble a system for a third office, using a Behringer A500 in stereo.
I have tried a Hagtech USB interface to output SPDIF ito an Audio Research DAC5 and both the optical and RCA outputs of a Behringer interface.
As I am only using one input (the PC) I hoped to skip a preamp and any extra sets of cables.
In all three cases as above, however, the sound was pretty bad - congested, veiled and distorted almost as if the speakers were blown.
Is this because neither an interface box or the ARC DAC would have sufficient gain to drive a power amp correctly?
This was not immediately obvious to me because there is sufficient volumn and the VU meters on the amp are well below clipping - it just sounds bad.
Thanks for any ideas - maybe a cheapo Parasound preamp would help for these types of "systems".