behringer reference?

With regards to your point "b", I reiterate: I've had to use Same Day Music's liberal return policy a number of times. That "number of times" was a direct result of reliablity issues. IOW: The gear either stopped working, or stopped working properly. None were abused, and some- bad right out of the box! There's much more lacking than silky-smooth controls, or exotic chassis work. Do you suppose those two amps you have running mono, and powering desk-top mini-monitors are putting out more than one watt each? What a stressful test of their reliability! Enjoy your sounds, and I hope your gear lasts a lifetime.

I was just listening to a system today that had those Behringer amps used in a multi-amp, actively crossed-over setup. The owner likes the amps and I admit they sound pretty good. However, he did tell me that he had to send the first four back because they did not work out of the box. He ultimately received 2 that did work and he's happy with them for the price.

I would say it very important to buy them from a reputable dealer who will replace them if necessary and/or refund you money in the event they don't work as advertised. If you try them and like them, you've saved a lot of cash over the typical home hi-fi offerings.

Enjoy,

TIC

Parts Express has been my supplier for these amps and also for a DEQ24/96 which also continues to work perfectly.

Unlike many audio dealers I have met, they have been 100% customer service focused with a liberal, absolutely no questions asked return policy.

They have even offered to refund shipping costs.

Just to update a very old thread, I just tried one of these A500 amps in my system. It drives the Martin Logan Aeon-i's. I am sold on its performance. The only issue is long term reliability. However, for the price, I don't think you can beat it. I have several other megabuck amps on hand for comparison (Classe, Parasound, Pass, Forte, etc.) and it is as good as any of them.

Grege,

Before the naysayers jump in and assure you that your Behringer amp will break, destroy all your associated components and/or burn down your house, I would like to say that I have three of them, and they have been on 24/7 for my PC, HDTV and desktop listening for about 3 years now while still going strong without any problems.

To be fair, the faceplate is bit plasticky, one of the volume controls has gotten a bit noisy, and they are not as powerful as their rating suggest.

But generally I would agree that these amps make a mockery of many high priced audiophile offerings.

Cheers,