Behringer DEQ2496: Ease of Use

there's no clipping it's pretty impossible to hear this piece doing something wrong when it's being used entirely in the digital domain.

Not sure - it depends what you mean by wrong....I agree in the sense of "distortion", however an EQ introduces phase effects....often inaudible but they can be obtrusive at extreme settings...you can even get "ringing".

Furthermore an EQ does not fix an imbalance between reverberant sound fields and primary signal...like a band aid it reduces the OVERALL sound field. Some microphone analyzer systems and software can distinguish reverberant from direct sound fields (the decay)....something our ears/brain can do to a limited extent (early coherent reverberation is added to the primary sound - so it helps us hear some details that might be "masked" with out the reverb).

Ultimately it is a balance in primary and reflected sound that allows us to hear the most details.....this is what makes some auditoriums excellent and others terrible for listening, and the same can be said for an audio system in a room. The PEQ does nothing to help restore this balance even though it is a great tool.

The Behringer is only 300 dollars. For that money I feel it's an outstanding value. It can't fix alot of things and I only make adjustments of 3db max. When pushing up dips I only go up 2db.

This isn't the cure all but for the money is a bargain. Also it's worth having just for the education. You'll find out how different your system can sound from worse to far better.

The TACT is the way to go if you have the money, which I don't. I also don't think the performance for the money would outclass the Behringer 15 times over. The music in my room is very enjoyable and spending alot of money like the price of the TACT isn't worth it to me. However it's an outstanding device. I've never heard one but can imagine.

The most important part of a system though I believe now is the room. It should be the FIRST priority before setting up a system. It's hard to imagine the improvement without a reference. As Robert Harley says "The improvements are dramatic". I agree.

Also what

Warnerwh...You keep corrections to 2 or 3 dB max? Reminds me of Bill Clinton's statement. "I smoked pot, but I didn't inhale" :-)

I suppose it all depends on the room and the speakers. Frankly I find it a bit hard to believe that a 2dB correction is worth the trouble. My rear speakers occupy alcove bookshelves, a horible place from the audio viewpoint. They need a lot more than 3dB cut at about 65 Hz.

You are right about the Behringer being educational. Also, FWIW, it's fun!

Not so hard to use. Though certainly far more difficult than the typical audiophile gear, which has been minimalist in nature for a very long time now.

I have mine on loan to a buddy right now, and my energy has been put into different areas for the last several months. My quick and dirty go of it over the summer showed that it purported itself quite well in my second system, where I (like most of us) have some notable room issues.

Reading the $300 price being brought up by Warnerwh, I just got a nice chuckle. We can barely buy a decent set of isolation points or an entry level interconnect for the same money. And, obviously, the potential of this device is far higher than a couple of brass cones. The main thing I need to do at some point is to determine if I come to the same conclusion as Tvad, Restock, and Redkiwi regarding the deleterious effects on sonics. Though even if it does, I've certainly made far worse purchases than this.

Trelja...If one is using the input A/D or the output D/A it is essential (for a valid evaluation) that the signal level be close to, but not over, clipping. This can be a problem with typical consumer audio equipment if the DEQ2496 is inserted in the TAPE loop. I have mine between preamp and power amp, with a lot of attenuation going into the power amp, so that the preamp output is high.

Also, note that RAM does upgrades to this unit which they claim make it the equal of the best DACs. About $1600 for all the bells and whistles (including transformer outputs). Of course the price of this upgrade removes the unit from the "dirt cheap" category, to the "audiophile inexpensive" category. If I find a grand laying around I may send one of my three units off to see what they can do for it.