Go to the prodigy forum and do a search. A knowledgeable man called Keith (SSLtech) came up with a mod to avoid these things dying, as it turns out they run so hot in standard that it's just a matter of time until death. With a power transformer mod this can be avoided.

Seems that certain Behringer gear will actually work for a long time.

For example, search GS and you will find a bit of ppl using the HA4700 quite happily. Some use the DIbox as well. Not on GS, but I see many who use the BCF2000 or whatever it's called as well w/o issue after a year or more.

Still singing the praises of Behringers DEQ 2496 for mastering Went through a lot of boxes in the past 30 years ....

What about the ecm2000? I heard it isn't that bad for a budget testing mic...

And also, is there anything wrong with the BCF2000 Control Surface? It doesn't really have to do anything with sound, just controlling your nice DAW...

I've never used these. I'm just wondering whether these things are worth it.

I don't have any Behringer equipment any more only because I paid Lots more to get better things. However, it's because of their affordable prices that allowed me to learn from them and for that I will be eternally grateful. It's not that they're bad, they're just great for the price. And no, I haven't had any problems with any of their equipment while I owned them. Some of their gear, like the reverb, has useable sounds that I haven't even found in software! Like the above post, I'm thinking of getting the BCR2000. No other unit in any price range has its features - which I find surprising.

I own 2 patchbay units from behringer and they do the job, at least till I can get my hands on a PRO TT Patchbay which are very pricey to set up propperly with cables and/or solders or whatever... so, in the mean time... behringer patchbays it is

There seems to be a funny thing happening when people mention Behringer gear. Firstly, some will say it sounds like crap. Then others will come along and say it doesn't sound like crap but breaks easily And then someone will come and say they've never had problems sound-wise or reliability issues, but have a problem that Behringer rips off designs, use "slave labour", etc. After this, they'll argue on the older vs. newer Behringer gear. These are all pro's saying these things, so in the end you really don't know what to make of this. I guess it's a bit of the snob-thing that colors some people's judgement (and I understand why), but I also think that folks who are unhappy with a certain piece of gear will be more likely to rant about it. Research has shown that an unhappy customer/consumer/client is 9 times more likely to tell of their experience than a satisfied one.

I don't have that much of a problem with Behringer's ethics. It's not like they're the only ones in the world doing what they do (as someone noted in this thread - there are many Neve clones around). The "slave labour" thing is also bullshit IMO. I live in a 3rd world(ish) country where people start working way under the age that you would like (hell, I had my first job at 12, although I finished school) and for much less money than what would be considered good pay. BUT they are usually doing so out of own choice (I did too). And don't confuse currencies. $1 buys very little in the US, but can buy a decent amount of food elsewhere. True, it's not ideal, but that's the way it is.

Now for my experiences with Behringer gear: I've found that, although it's not always the greatest, you always get more than what you pay for. They do have some nice pieces that I would recommend any day. I've never had problems with things breaking down, and if you can't make a decent recording with most of their gear, I'm sorry, but the problem lies with your skills.

I have a 90's MX2004 that I got 2nd-hand from another guys studio. It still works fine and doesn't sound bad when I compare it to my more higher-end stuff. I don't use it on everything but it's a useful tool to have. It's comparable to my friends' Mackie 8-bus desk in terms of sound and build-quality. When I looked at specs, there are places where the Mackie has slightly better specs, and places where the MX2004 have better specs.

I have one of their toob-pre's. It's not great and muddies up a mix when you use it on a lot of tracks, but it's a cool DI and it's there if I want to add something interesting to one or 2 tracks.

I've tried their stomp-boxes and used them on the road for a while. They're plastic, and while I didn't have a single one break on me they're definitely more fragile than a similar Boss or whatever, but half the price. I had no complain about the sound of the units I tried.

I have a 3-pack of XM1800 dynamic mics that I use live primarily. They are brighter than my Shures but I think they are fine. They feel more flimsy though.

I've also been touring with my EP2500 power amp for 4 years, doing around 50 gigs per year with no problems whatsoever.

In conclusion: No I wouldn't get Behringer if I had a load of money to start a studio, but it will get you started and help you make decent recordings. The place where you'll be able to/want to upgrade will probably be much closer than the place where the Behringer will let you down. I know it did for me.

I've done tv spots and commercials on a Euro 2442. One of them ran for three years straight. The mixer went out the door when the financial situation picked up, though. By then, the metering LEDs had died too.

I don't think I'll ever get Behringer gear again (for all the reasons mentioned in the thread), BUT, if I was starting out and needed a hardware mixer, I don't rule out getting a Xenyx. The gear just works, at a just about acceptable sound quality level, and it's cheaper than anything else.

r,
j,

neutrik make a balanced jack patchbay that is cheaper than behringer but OODLES better in build quality.

I had a Behringer patchbay that after not being used much found its way into my rack and was a constant source of trouble. The switches that allow you to change connection normalizing obviously had contact issues and I was looking for dead channels and mysterious noises and distortion all the time only to find out it was the Behringer patchbay once again.

So for me Behringer patch bays are tutt. My Neutrik served me well for years and so I just bought another one...

You mean the ecm8000? It's an omni electret condenser measurement microphone. It has a very flat response and a nice natural sound. I have pair, for which I paid 99 bucks. They have a very high self noise though. But I found out that this self noise is very comparable to Earthworks QTC1's. You can not possibly use them on acoustic instruments. It's a pity because they sound so lovely. They might be useful on loud sources (like drum room mics) when the signal to noise ratio is not an issue, if you don't intend to compress the shit out of them later. Or you can use them for their intended purpose.

The other good mic behringer makes is b5. It comes with interchangable cardioid and omni capsules. I sometimes find them more useful than KM184's. Great on acoustic guitars and drum OH's. Most of the times though, I feel like they don't like to be eq'ed so much. The sound easily breaks down especially when you boost.

Not that I agree with Behringers practices but Gearslutz are very hypocritical! People will jump all over something like the ACM 1073 or the Avant CV12 which is made in China by "SLave Labor" but bash Behringer for the same thing. I have High end gear and run my HD system through a Trident Console but Im telling you Ive done some great work with a Behringer AD8000 and the headphone amp I still have is 8 years old and still chugging along. It seems like People in China are on the up too!

Everybody on this forum has to understand, it is not the quality of gear that matters its the engineer. All of you are just mad because you are not good enough engineers to make a good mix from all Behringer equipment, even though it is not the highest quality gear available.

In recent years the build quality and reliability of Behringer's products has increased substantially. Music group invested heavily into R&D and the construction of a state of the art manufacturing facility that utilizes robotic assembly and quality control monitoring technologies. It's what allowed them to go from a 1-year to 3-year limited warranty with registration.

The X32 is the most successful live digital console in history because the performance:cost ratio is phenomenal. Music Group's acquisition of TC Group (TC Electronic, Lab.gruppen, Tannoy) means that we can expect more high end technologies (processing, amplification, etc) becoming accessible to a wider user base.

Personally I have owned a fair amount of Behringer equipment in my time and had a range of experiences. Nowadays i really wouldn't hesitate to use their products if it fit my budget gets the job done.

Some Behringer gear is poorly made, some is actually quite excellent.
I really think it differs between factories or design groups within the company.

Some of their recent products like the X32 are simply excellent - and amazing at the price point.

The original poster in this thread (looks like all the way back in 2008) asked about the MX9000 console... This was actually the main mixer in my recording studio for years. Behringer or not, it was an excellent mixer, and offered features not found on mixers 5-6 times its price. Possibly the nicest piece Behringer had ever made.
(8bus/inserts on all channels&busses/flexible routing/control room section/good eq/48 channels!)
I also had the ADA8000 -- with an Event EZBus pci card, this was my studios main interface... We did dozens of records with that combination :p

Currently, I even have 2 Behringer patchbays in my mastering studio.
They're very well built, and I've never had an issue from either of them.

I have and use 2 ada8000s 4 bcf2000s 3 bcr2000s and a little mixer with the imp preamp I think their called? Prolly stands for impotent but whatever.

As far as "low end" gear goes, they are often equal with other companies in the same price point. If Company Xyz has a $300 2 channel interface and it's rated 6/10, Bering er also has a $300 interface for a 6/10 rating.

The problem isn't the quality at price point alone.

The problem is that when they entered the market they used blatant copies of competition products. This is not just in features but the building, shape and color of products, the writing on them and even the boxes. The main products were dead on carbon copies from Mackie.

Quality control was also an issue for many years. I'm not sure if it still is.

Many people bash it based on rumor, reputation and have no experience with it.

That being said, I bought my first and only Beringer product about 5 years ago. It was a 8ch headphone amp. Within the first year, 2 channels went out. I hadn't even used it much regarding switching headphones in and out. No reason for it to go out.
Obviously ANY company can put out a bad unit that malfunctions, but with them it happens seemingly often, so dealing with this has made me question why I ever bought it since all the word of mouth said don't buy it.

Is it a case of a random failed unit?
Or
A long running issue with them?

Either way I don't have cash to throw out to test either theory. 1 shot kill and they blew it with me.

But again they may be a fine company. Question is will you risk it?

Dreth5th,
For what it's worth, I also have the 8channel headphone amp.. It's gotten nearly daily use in my recording studio for almost 10? years now... Still kicking with no issues..

I did however also have their rackmount stereo line mixer, and while it still works, it does have a dead channel.... That being said, it's also about 10 years old and I certainly got my money's worth out of it first...