Behringer DEQ2496: Ease of Use


I am intrigued with the possibilities of the Behringer DEQ2496 in tweaking my Avantgarde Duo/BAT system, which is in a large rectangular living room (which would quickly become my "bachelor pad" if I attempted acoustic panels). Only problem is that I am not an engineer, and configuration of the Behringer appears daunting.

Can anyone comment on how "user-friendly" this unit is? For the money, it would seem worth a try.
jeffreybowman2k
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The Behringer DEQ2496 is a great little box for the money. A friend of mind borrowed me his for 6 weeks and I will surely get one for myself.

It is not too difficult to use, but then I have a Physics Ph.D. :). It has many options and trying all out will take its time. What I enjoy most is the capability to do real time room measurement. This really helps in setting up speakers and integrating a sub. Also, it works well as a decent DAC.

One comment though: An equalizer is no substitute for room treatments. Room treatment will treat standing waves and reflections for listening anywhere in the room. An equalizer cannot compensate for listening positions or speakers placed a standing wave node. Also, ideally the equalizer will only correct the response for one particular seating position.

Finally, I can detect some negative effects of even mild equalization circuit in my system.

Well worth it for measurements and as analyzer for room treatment. The DAC is a nice feature too.

Rene
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I found it to unacceptably degrade the sound in my system and what it did do to flatten response was not that beneficial in my room. Taking it out, the sound was more natural, smoother and more transparent. I concluded that flat response was beneficial but not that important and adding another dithering stage was likely the problem.

When using the DEQ, it is useful to be aware of one particular point. In digital, it is accepted that dithering can be beneficial but that more than one stage of dithering inevitably degrades the sound. So if you insert the DEQ2496 you add a dithering stage. Redithering in the DAC that follows it will therefore mean it has been done twice. Whether you can avoid that depends a bit on how your DAC works and on matching the bit length of the output of the DEQ and the bit length your DAC uses immediately before conversion to analogue.