Professional Behringer Mixer Review

Executivos

New member
Anyone ever seen one? I've looked for them...before I bought mine, after I returned it, and everytime someone on a thread asks "what is wrong with behringer mixers" The only ones I've ever found are the ones that users post after they bought them.

Whats up with that? I emailed prorec.com to see if I could suggest they do a review but have heard nothing. I don't know how they go about choosing reviews. I guess it only happens if the manufacturer asks for it? Somehow I don't think there will be one ever, if that is the case.

Does anybody else agree that it would be a good idea? It's probably one of the most debated pieces of equipment on this board and others. I mean, I already know I didn't like it. But it would be easier to point to a pro review instead of another flaming war. It's not a final opinion, but I think it could help.

As a beginner, even if I've heard from everyone that a piece of gear is great, I still look for a review. I think it could help point out the benefits as well....it can work in some areas.

Oh well, i'm just thinking out loud.
 
Executivos, Sound On Sound Magazine did at least one review of a
Eurorack mixer, try www.sospubs.co.uk/search

I have a 802A model, in the last month one of the main channels has
dropped in level compared to the others.
The quality control at Behringer has a poor reputation on their mixers.
You'd probably be better off getting a Mackie VLZ mixer, new or used.
 
i've been searching for them too, nothing really from any pro sites, but a couple of personal homepages had rave reviews...
 
I checked out that review but it's not for the current series. I suspected it when it was talking about looking the same as others. (The old ones were dark grey/blackish which resemble mackie and every other mixer) The new ones look nothing like I've seen.

If you look at the address it says something about april 96...so I'm assuming it's the older model.

Oh well...close.

I'm not looking for the mixer, I bought one and hated it. I just wish there was a pro review for other users in the market for a decent mixer.
 
What an oxymoron!!!! "Professional" & "Behringer Mixer"
in the same sentence!!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
 
I went over to sospubs and read their Behinger mixer reviews. Regrettably, this seems to be one of those places that pretty much likes everything: in all the reviews I've read there, I've never yet read what I would consider to be a negative review. They all vary between glowing praise and moderate praise. Just like "Motor Trend", come to think of it...

This is typical of the press: if a manufacturer buys advertising. or provides samples gratis, there is a certain reluctance to come out and print really negative information. Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" is pretty much decided by which manufacturer buys the most column inches of advertising, for example.

In any case, the SOS reviews of the Behringer mixers seems to be of the "I spent an evening with the box" type. Other than to describe their constructin as "robust" and "chunky", they didn't address any concerns of long-term reliability and stability. Reviewers really can't: they never spend long enough with the box to develop that knowledge. That's where user base reviews (like the comments you'll find here) are so useful.
There's no real technical information there: no study of the noise floors, no distortion measurements, no measurements of how the EQs behave: just a fairly superficial study of the box.

I have 5 Behringer 602 mixers that I use for headphone amps. One has a dead phantom power supply (which doesn't bother me, since I don't use it), one has a dead mic preamp (ditto), one has an excessively noisy left channel bus summing amp- so we give that one to the drummer (don't throw stones yet- I'm usually the drummer!). These are great for driving headphones, but I wouldn't record with them.

On the other hand, they are the perfect thing to set around the room to drive headphones and get knocked over or get beer poured into them: I regard them as disposable. So for my application, they are _perfect_.

Different people have different needs. If you need something that doesn't cost much, has a couple mic preamps and a mix buss, and you aren't overly concerned with noise or distortion- these will do quite well. They are arguably usable entry-level pieces. They'll probably do great for thrashing, dense guitar rock in the modern style, in fact: stuff that's never going to have more than 3dB dynamic range anyway. However, once you start collecting some real mics, and want to do music that has real space in it- acoustic things, or things that involve subtlety like long reverb tails, the decay of a piano note, or anything that smacks even slightly of room ambience: the noise floor will start to grate on you- and you'll end up having to scrap it and buy something better.

Better to save up a little longer and buy something better to start with, like a Mackie, and Allen&Heath, a Soundcraft Spirit- than to roll a significant amount of change into one of the bigger Behringers, and outgrow it (or have it fail) within just a year or two...

Some bargains are bargains, some are albatrosses. It all depends on what you want to do, and how you want to do it. Your mileage will _certainly_ vary. And usually, experience _is_ the best teacher...
 
I've always been one to try to look for user reviews. I want to hear about a piece of gear from someone who owns it and has messed with it for months or years. Also, you know that they aren't being paid off to "leave out any negatives" in a review.
 
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