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Review: Behringer DEQ2496 Equalizer

Category: Preamps

I mostly listen to classical music, but occasionally everything except rock pop and rap.

I am a sucker for spatial sense, and an effortless sound during loud passages. Note the elaborate subwoofer system and many watts of amplifier power.

Intermodulation distortion drives me nuts. Unfortunately this is often from mics used for vocalists, and can't be eliminated on playback.

I have just installed this unit, and it replaces nothing.
When set flat, or with its BYPASS mode engaged, I can detect no change in sonics. Its purpose is room equalization, and its effect will be whatever the benefits of room equalization are.

I did not go shopping for an equalizer: I have three channels of pure analog parametric equalization capability. What I wanted was a RTA, and this is one of few available other than Pro units costing several grand.
It costs only $340, and the associated mic and cable will set you back another $70 or so. It was my intention to bypass this unit once I determined the appropriate settings for the analog equalizers, but I now think that this is probably unnecessary, but it remains an option for digiphobics. This Behringer model uses 24bit 96KHz AD/DA converters, and I think some Floating Point processors for the DSP job. Very impressive. (An older model is being sold off cheap: it has less resolution). The unit has many capabilities beyond the EQ and RTA functions, but it would be worth the money for the RTA alone. You can download the owner's manual from the website. It looks complicated, but once you have the unit and play around with the controls is it all very easy. It is ruggedly built, (as prosound equipment must be) with well laid out controls, and, IMHO, an attractive addition to the equipment rack.

I auditioned the unit in the 2-channel bypass mode of the prepro.

This is a very nice toy, and cheap enough to gain easy spousal approval.

Associated gear
Denon 2900 with Underwood mod
Rotel 1066 PrePro
Ashley electronic crossover
3 CarverPro ZR1600 power amps biamped for front speakers
3 Magneplanar MG1.6
3 multidriver custom subwoofer systems


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eldartford
deq2496remote-1bb1
1 posts
 
That's just what I have in mind.
My center and Sub don't match at all. ;)
I'm not shure if I want to spend so much on my sub and center. 't gives so little extra. 4channel dts sounds just fine!

I don't understand why the homecinema proccesors lack a desent graphic or parametric tonecontrol. All the hardware is there but all reciever/prossecor bilders don't have a clue about soundproccesing and use a prefab DTS/DD chip. Wich must be cheap and lack any feathers.

Regards, Simon
suits_me
121 posts
 
No, I don't mean "continuous," despite my typo. I'm following either Bob Carver or Nelson Pass, but can't remember which. Anyway, the point is about distortion behavior, not gain. Analog distortion is highest at highest levels. Digital distortion is highest at lowest levels. The nomenclature may have been peculiar to whichever designer pointed out this difference....
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Suits_me...In a digital system, quantization error (Plus or minus half a bit) is the same for small signal as for large, so if you express it as a percent of the signal it is maximized for small signals. Just to be "Fair and Balanced" hum and noise, and in the case of vinyl, surface noise, which afflict analog circuits more than digital, is also constant, and if expressed as a percentage of signal would also be maximized for small signals. I cannot hear any problem when my digital recordings go through quiet passages, but with vinyl, for most if not all people, quiet passages are a problem...well a minor annoyance.
suits_me
121 posts
 
I should mention I have heard excellent sounding digital systems.

This does not mean there are not both theoretical and practical problems with digital, some of which we have touched on. Digital volume controls can be quite bad, for example.

Analog also has drawbacks. You mention surface noise for vinyl; I might mention arm resonance.

But, limiting the discussion to distortion, it rises with rising amplification in analog, but rises with decreasing amplification in digital.

I think it's worth keeping in mind, given the nature of most music.
cinematic_systems
282 posts
 
Suits_me what are you talking about? I just need clarification :)

So you would rather have distortion on the louder parts than on the quiet parts?

quiet meaning to me low in level, harder to hear?

Suits me a 24 bit digital system goes way beyond just about any analog system let alone an LP. If you're trying to educate Eldartford then you may want to stop and make sure you got your facts right. The man does his homework pretty thoroughly.

DEQ2496 is not perfect but what is for the money it costs? There are digital equalizers available that are even better than the Behringer but they cost more too.

I've been using a bunch of EQ's and crosssovers and have been working with AtoD converters to take LP to Digital before the EQ which allows you to maximize the signal before the EQ. If you want you can email me more info about your application, so we don't hijack the thread
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