Behringer Amplifiers

[Hobodog]

Just curious if anyone here has any thoughts on Behringer amps? I am interested in buy one (an EP2500 to be specific) due to their low price (300 dollars less than an RMX2450 in most cases). I just wanted to know if anyone has experience with them, good, bad, anything. I've seen a couple reviews (though any review links you happen to have would be nice, I'm not very familiar in the realm of audio sites (seeing as this is almost off topic on this site), if you can direct me somewhere where I can get better reviews or more help itwould be nice) that seem to speak encouragingly of the EP2500.

My Setup: We have a set of inside speakers and a pair of outside speakers running from the same system (from a true sound card into a crossover), the inside consists of four seperate mids, eight tweeters, and four twelve inch alpine subs running off of an RMX2450.

My outside speakers are the ones I have a question about: right now I am driving two Yamaha S115V (500W/1000W, 8ohm) cabinets wired parallel driven through an RMX850 setup in a bridged mono. I know I need a more powerful amp, the current setup is taxing both the amp and the speakers and needs to be rectified. I was originally going for an RMX1850 but saw this Behringer and wanted to know what people thought of it. Is it even worth it to go for the 2500-range amp? Can I get a similarly valued 1800-range amp for less? The oustide speakers are less than 10 feet apart and are often listened to from angles significant enough that stereo/mono difference isn't all that differentiable. (I guess I wouldn't really know that...seeing as I can't even noise power levels in stereo.)

Thanks for your help! Much appreciated.

[GZsound]

I have no personal experience with Behringer amps, but I have a friend that has one and it has worked just fine for over a year of weekly use.

I also know of a local sound contractor that has a complete large Behringer PA system including mixer, amps and speakers..and runs sound at fairs and festivals with good results.

[Hobodog]

Just to clarify, I'm a novice when itcomes to setting this stuff up. Is a ~2400 Watt amp really what I am looking for? I really want the most powerful thing that will drive my speakers reliably...just looking for recommendations. The speakers are (once again) two S115V 8Ohm 500W Program 1000WMax set up in parallel (and I have no real reason not to leave them in mono).

[GZsound]

Just to clarify, I'm a novice when itcomes to setting this stuff up. Is a ~2400 Watt amp really what I am looking for? I really want the most powerful thing that will drive my speakers reliably...just looking for recommendations. The speakers are (once again) two S115V 8Ohm 500W Program 1000WMax set up in parallel (and I have no real reason not to leave them in mono).


In the first place, understand the huge power ratings given on a lot of amplifiers is mostly marketing hype, and mostly BRIDGED MONO.

You need to be aware of the power output PER CHANNEL at four and eight ohms.

Since most speakers are eight ohm, an amp that puts out anywhere around 350 per channel at an eight ohm load is more than enough to power most typical club speakers.. Like your S115V.

[sabianq]

just my two cents


your EP2500 will only put out 450 watts @ 8 ohms which is not enough to drive you cabs (at full power) safely with out clipping.
you should at least get a 600 watt per channel amp to drive your cabs.

im a bigger is better kind of person.
I drive my 600 watt mackie s408 with the QSC PL 6.0 which pushes 900 watts @ 8 ohms.

and i am a big fan of QSC, the amps have never let me down.

the analogy of the bigger amp is like this.

imagine you have two trucks, one has a 1000 horse power suped up V8 and the other has a 100 horse power 4 banger. both trucks will drive you to the store fine but if you need to tow the big boat, it is nice to have the bigger engine as the heavy load will damage the smaller truck. but the bigger engine is fine with the big load.
You can always throttle back your power in a big amp but you cant give more power to the speakers with the underpowered amp.

while yes, you can damage cabs with to much power, you are way more likely to damage your speakers with to little power.

at my sisters wedding, she kept wanting to crank up the loudness, but the amp kept clipping the drivers at the high levels and eventually damaged a driver. A bigger amp would have prevented the speaker from blowing due to a mechanical clip.

spend a little more and get a stronger amp.

[GZsound]

Interesting how experience can differ.

I have never owned an amp that put out more power than the speakers could handle and I have never clipped a speaker, or had one blow because of a clipped signal.

I have been running Peavey SP5 mains with a 350 watt per side amp for the last twelve years. Never blown a speaker, never clipped. At larger venues, when there isn't a sound contractor running sound, I simply add two more speakers and drive a four ohm load with the same amp.

I agree that the recommendation is to buy amps with more power than the speakers can handle, but in my experience that is wasting money on power that will never get used.

Or maybe I'm just cheap....

[sabianq]

i bet this would work great for you

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XLS802/

[87PRS]

I have blown lots of PA speakers, mostly due to the speakers design and not the amps pushing the power. I like Crown and PV amps, have used both for over thirty years, people have varying results with different manufacturers. I run Peavey SP3's with a Crown XLS602 and have plenty of power for the speaker. I think Crown power is under rated, more than hype. I also have a friend in Atlanta who uses Berry amps, he likes them, but I hardly believe they put out the designated power they claim. RMS is the real power key to running PA speakers and a 300-500 watt program is about all you need for your speakers. Unless you really want that HEMI :)

[GZsound]

I have had good luck with Yamaha amps and QSC amps, and my main band PA amp is a single rack space Soundtech that just will not die..

[sabianq]

you know, i agree with the fact that with proper usage, and a good understanding of gain structure, you can drive just about any speaker with just about any amp, as long as your not clipping your drivers, your golden. at my sisters wedding, i had a QSC RMX850 driving two 400 watt dual 15 inch horn loaded cabs, and they worked great pushing about 120 db until someone wanted it louder, they turned up the signal at the mixer until the red lights were hitting on the amp then throttled the amp to full power. i could clearly hear the distortion, it didn't get any louder but it sounded like garbage, ironically i was the only one that seemed to notice, i ran over and reinstated the proper gain and throttled back the power, then i noticed the popping at nominal levels. regardless, the RMX850 by QSC is a great amp, it didn't suffer any damage during the fiasco, but i needed to replace a voice coil..

if you wont be pushing the amp, the QSC RMX850 is a great little amp.

[GZsound]

I have been using a QSC 850 to power four floor monitors in my live sound rack for a long time. It has performed flawlessly.

[sabianq]

yea, i really like the qsc RMX850, it has since become my backup amplifier that i keep im the car "just in case". if it wasnt so friggin heavy, i would love to keep it in my amp rack.
but as it stands, with the PL and the 1602 the rack weighs in at just over 110 lbs.

i like to set it up behind the drummer.
Just wish he wouldent set his beer on the rack.

[roly]

One company I work for has some 2500s.....when powered up, bridged with a 4 ohm load they go into protect. Power them up bridged with no load and then connect the 4 ohm load and they are fine.
cheers

[87PRS]

I don't know if I just have an old thought pattern from over the years, and I'd like other comments on this, but I have always thought that you were to "never" power an amp with out a load on it...maybe something I just picked up over the many years of performing, but always practiced this...any thoughts?

[roly]

That applys to tube amps for sure....a tube amp is happier to see a dead short than no load.....but won't be happy for long.
There is no input to the B amps during the "power up add load" procedure I described.
cheers

[jmail]

As far as my experience with power amplifiers goes, the one thing that stands out, and it applies in almost all musical gear situations: "Heat Kills"... We managed to kill a PV 800w one night, and not too long after that, a QSC... Had 'em in a rack, under the drum riser, no ventilation... we were (OK - still are...) dweebs. Put a fan on them, if you have to, but keep 'em "cool", don't overdrive 'em, don't drop 'em (be careful letting your drunk buddies help you carry your gear), and they'll generally last, no matter what the name badge says. Some are just more bullet-proof than others...