Hi,

Does anyone know how either the ART Headamp 6 or Samson S-Phone 4 compare to the Behringer HA4700 in audio quality wise?

I've looked at other models by Presonus, Rane and Mackie and either they don't have the features I need or the Presonus HP60 has the power switch on the back which isn't suitable for racking into a desk.

I've found the Behringer a little noisy generally but the aux inputs have a nasty hum which is the main turn off!!

Which would you recommend out of the Samson S-Phone 4 or ART Headamp 6?

Would either of these have better audio performance + no hum than the HA4700?

Thanks

the samson is similar to the behringer without XLR inputs which is kind of annoying.

I doubt your issue with hum is strictly because of the behringer. when i used to do a similar thing it was always fine. keep in mind that the aux input is meant to take an unbalanced stereo headphone signal so maybe your issue is simply how you are connecting your pre to the behringer.

that said there are enough reasons not to use anything behringer but if your going to buy something else get something that is better and not just a side step.

Hi DF,

We had the Feahrengir HA4700 at are jam room and I hated it, but that´s maybe just me.

This is what I´ll be getting next month...
ICON

I´ll let you know how it goes.

Best, Mike

Thanks for the replies.

I've tried various pres with the Behringer HA4700 and both mono, stereo, balanced and unbalanced leads and still had the same problem.

I'm guessing that this is a problem with the HA4700.

I'm looking to get either the ART or Samson.

Has anyone had any experiences with either of these?

I have th Behringer HA8000 here and it serves it's purpose flawlessly. No problems whatsoever.

Ditto.

HA4700 here and it's been GREAT.

I understand the ethical issues one has with Behringer (to an extent) but there has to be some slack given to some of their stuff.

The Headphone amp, the reverb unit and the rackmount guitar processor (the pod ripoff) are all very good regardless of the cost.

The V-amp isn't suitable for final cuts but it's great for demo stuff.

I know it's not real popular but I really like some Beh stuff. The headphone amp, in particular, is pretty damn nice for the dough.

It seems like my HA4700 has a fault if all you guys are not getting the same problem?

Thing is this has put me off buying another HA4700 which is why I'm keen to find out more user experiences with the Samson S-Phone and ART HeadAmp 6 Pro?

The Samson does look extremely similar to the Behringer but looks slightly better built on the outside ( nicer finish etc. ) and the ART does look a little more different to the Behringer and Samson.

After looking around it looks like the only headphone amps that offer the features that I need apart from the HA4700 are the Samson S-Phone, ART HeadAmp 6 Pro and Presonus HP-60.

The only thing that stopped me from buying the Presonus HP-60 is the fact that they have put the power switch on the back!!!!?????
This would be hopeless to me as all my gear is racked and I'd have to move my desk with all my gear racked on it just to turn it on and off !!
If there was a way around this I would snap up the HP60 no worries!

So, has anyone on here had any on here had any experience with the Samson S-Phone or ART HeadAmp 6?

Thanks

I have both the Behringer and the ART. The Behringer always served its purpose but I found it to be thin and harsh sounding. The ART is clean and neutral not to mention quiet. I still keep the Behringer as a backup but avoid using it otherwise.

Great. Does the ART have any hum on the Aux inputs? Also, how does the ART compare to the Behringer noise-wise?

I have Behringer, ART, and Samson headphone units and recently purchased a Presonus HP4 for live use. IMO, the HP4 sounds a lot better (and is more powerful) than any of the others. That said, I use a Rane in a collaborator's studio (don't know the model) and I like it a lot.

Which units do you own from Behringer, ART and Samson?

How does the ART and Samson units compare to the Behringer?

I wish the Presonus HP60 had power on the front as this would have been my ideal solution.

I would like the headphone amp to have 4 inputs and outputs but also have an extra input + volume control to be able to mix between the main inputs and the extra individual inputs like the aux input on the HA4700, S-Phone, HeadAmp6 Pro and HP60.

So turn it on and off via a power strip. That's what I tend to do with much of my racked equipment.

I think we tend to worry about sound quality in headphone amps a little too much around here.

It's for the "talent" after all. Loud enough is all they care about. lol.

Agree. If you like the unit, then a power strip is a very cheap workaround/add-on.

Could anyone recommend a good cheap place to buy a power strip in the UK?

I've been looking around for rack power strips and they all seem to cost a minimum of £100 will be giving this a miss as £100 + £235 for the HP would be £335 + p&p. This is more than double the price of the ART HeadAmp6 and 3x the price of the Samson S-Phone!!

I'm still hoping some guys around here have had experience with either the ART or Samson and the HA4700???

Which units have you used from Behringer, ART and Samson?

How did they compare?

Thanks

If I'm getting ground hum issues, what can I do to solve this?

I was speaking to a dealer who sells and has used both the HA4700 and Samson S-Phone and he said they are very similar but the Samson uses some higher quality components inside.
He also mentioned that neither of them have had this problem that I have?

I'm wondering if a product that uses better components would suffer the same hum problem?

spend the extra cash and get the presonus hp60. 6 channels and 3 inputs that can be mixed per channel. i have the behringer 8 channel and as it works, it lacks output before clipping. it's workable, but a tad noisy as well. i have the art head amp, the baby of the art line and i like it a lot, it stays in the vocal booth, decently quiet with tons of output gain.

the presonus gets lots of praise and the 3 ins make for a more flexible monitor mix in the middle of a session.

Thanks for the reply

I would buy the Presonus HP60 if the power switch was on the front but annoyingly they have put it on the back???

I can't quite understand why companies do this with rack-mountable gear as it would mean I would need to pull out my whole desk of gear just to turn it on and off!!

Is the ART quieter than the Behringer?

for the pieces i own, the ART is a lot quieter.

dickie, do you not have a power distributor on your gear? then you can turn everything on and off with one switch. another option is getting a racked power strip for stage lighting that has outlets that are switchable from front. each switch operating to a corresponding plug in the back.
sure, it's annoying how manufacturers have no sense of consistency, but i guess they assume that either we are leaving them on all the time or we have power distributors.

No I don't have a power distributor.

I don't really want to have to splash out on more gear.

Some people have suggested that I have an earth hum but I'm not sure what causes this or how to solve it?

power conditioner is the first step. a UPS is a better option, everything in my studio is hooked up to a ups. direct boxes with ground lifts also help a LOT!
having great cables helps out, too.

spending money on gear is what it's all about here on GS! i'm saving that as i am broke...

Try in another outlet. If all your gear shares the same wall outlet, then try in a different outlet, make sure it´s an independent line (ex. two outlets each with it´s own independent line). Distribute your gear to different outlets.

Those power strips are cheap too, I paid 20€ for a 6 outlet power strip with some protection features at my local shop. It´s better then nothing. Also, if you need a switch for the Presonus, just plug it in a 2 outlet power strip with a switch function.

You can rack these power strips, see if you could find something similar in your country...
RackMatic: Regleta Rack 19 09-Schuko-Rojo

Best, Mike

One thing that will help in war on hum, is to have all of your gear running from the same electrical outlet.

All my gear is run off the same socket.

how do you connect to your interface? can you solo gear/channels to see where the most hum comes from?
usually it is one or 2 pieces of gear that is the culprit.

I can't help but feel curious as to why only the Behringer HA4700 is producing this hum??

I have headphone outputs on my Echo Layla 3G and SM PRO M-Patch 2 and these are completely noise free.

The HA4700 is noticeably noisier and has a small amount of hum even when I'm not using the aux input!!

get some of these, they will save your sanity in certain places.

Ground Lift Adapter. Cooper 419GY

Thanks I may just do that to find out if I do have a earth hum.

I'm still wondering why only the Behringer has this problem??

Could it be poor electronic components or circuit ???

Ideally I would much rather solve this problem by getting a headphone amp that doesn't have this problem!!!