Modding a Behringer MX9000 - is it worth it?

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sidecarjoeg

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I have a Behringer MX9000 (and I realize that alot of people don't like Behringer). It has had some channels come and go while recording / rehearsing. I've even moved to other channels and they act dead sometimes. At any rate, I replaced the +/- 17v LM350's with LM338T's in the power supply, hoping to both stave off the well known failure but to hopefully help the issues that I've been having. To give some perspective, I only had 9 channels that were 100%... the others were acting dead or intermittent. I have used this mixer before and only had 1 dead channel. I will be trying the board out on Wednesday to see what works and what is dead.

At any respect, do you think it is worth possibly fixing the dead channel, but instead of just fixing it to upgrade? I'm thinking about replacing the op amps with higher quality ones, possibly Burr Brown 4228's. I also would potentially replace any caps in the signal chain. If that works well then I'm debating upgrading a few other channels, say like 8 or so since all I really use are a max of say 16 channels at once and I have a couple of out board ART TPS mike pre's. Any thoughts?

As an FYI, I send most of the channels direct out into my Fostex VF-16. I do mix down a few tracks to busses, but I try to keep that to a minimum. I also run an ART TPS with the digital out into the ADAT in on my VF16 and the analog outs into channels of the MX9000, but not mixed into the VF-16 analog wise. I have another ART TPS that I run into the MX9000 and send through into the VF16 that way. The only reason that I run the mike pres into the Behringer is because sometimes my drummer or I like to hear a different mix than what is going to the recording unit, so I use that separate mix either on an effects bus and route it into another pair of inputs, or just run the mains, depending on what all I am doing. All of my compression, gating, most EQing, and mixing are done on the computer on Cool Edit Pro after the raw wav files are dumped out via scsi from the VF16.
 
Well, I see there's not much interest in this, so I'm going to just give some info.

I put my newly upgraded power supply onto the board tonight and just did a quick check of the channels. I found only 9 dead ones, and of those only like 4 were 100% dead. The other 5 were extremely faint and the first stage volume knob didn't do anything... which tells me the pres are dead.

So to make a long story short, I tore it somewhat apart tonight and saw that the OP Amps they are using are a SIP-8 package chip... NJM4580L's. So right now I'm looking for replacements for those. I'll let you know as soon as I find something. In the mean time I plan on finishing tearing it apare, but making it so I can power it up in its torn down state. From there I plan on trying to mod this with some better parts.... if I can find something in SIP-8 format, or something similar. There's not much room, so we'll see. I'll keep you posted.
 
sidecarjoeg said:
So to make a long story short, I tore it somewhat apart tonight and saw that the OP Amps they are using are a SIP-8 package chip... NJM4580L's. So right now I'm looking for replacements for those.
Click to expand...

Let's check http://cimarrontechnology.com/so8dip8tosiladapterpn060301.aspx

They have got a SO8/DIP8 to SIL adapter compatible with SIL devices such as JRC's NJM4580L

See also how the modifications works on Tascam FW-1884 firewire audio interface http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16793

Let me known if it works, bye!

Gabriele:)
 
mx9000

Hello people,

I both a MX9000 second hand from a music store some year ago. First I thought I had missed some button that would enable some busses or something. Then I thought that I had poor cables. Now I know that I have just bought a piece of shit equipment that according to the authorized service center is not worth repairing, if it even is possible to repair.

I really need at least 22 channels to connect all my gear and I don't have the cash to purchase a replacement in the near future. I'm very interested if anyone has made any attempt at doing the modifications as mentioned in this thread and could offer a guide on how to do it.

Below is the status of my 24 channels for one month ago. It might be that more channels are affected now.

Channel 1. OK
Channel 2. No gain
Channel 3. OK
Channel 4. OK.
Channel 5. No gain.
Channel 6. OK
Channel 7. OK
Channel 8. Dead
Channel 9. No gain. Low volume
Channel 10. Ok
Channel 11. Ok
Channel 12. Ok
Channel 13. OK
Channel 14. ok
Channel 15. OK
Channel 16. Dead sometimes can be brought back to life.
Channel 17. No gain
Channel 18. Ok
Channel 19. OK
Channel 20 Dead
Channel 21. No gain.
Channel 22. Ok
Channel 23. No gain.
Channel 24. Dead sometimes can be brought back to life.

And by the way according to Behringer there's less than 1% failure reported on these type of products so they don't have any quality problems at all!

Best Regards
Björn
 
If you have a bunch of channels out, unless it got struck by lightning or something, my guess would be a dirty ribbon cable connector somewhere. Failing that, you might have a crack across the board somewhere. Take a close look, and if you see a crack, put some glue in the crack, then sand and solder each trace.
 
Have you found out what was wrong with channels that had no gain?

Thanks
 
Just thought I'd throw in my two cents worth on the subject. I love the capability that my MX9000 offers, but hate it's unreliability. I replaced the power regulators a while back and solved that problem, but still am battling the flakey channel syndrome that seems to plague this mixer. Several of my channels have no gain control functionality when the pad is engaged (or maybe it's the other way around?), and others seem to drop out unexpectedly, only to pop back in whenever the cable to the mic is unplugged and re-inserted (accompanied by a static pop sound). I've disassembled the beast several times and wiggled some wires, but that's about it. If I had a schematic I'd be more confident in trying to actually fix the damn thing.

- Steve
 
stevemcg said:
Just thought I'd throw in my two cents worth on the subject. I love the capability that my MX9000 offers, but hate it's unreliability. I replaced the power regulators a while back and solved that problem, but still am battling the flakey channel syndrome that seems to plague this mixer. Several of my channels have no gain control functionality when the pad is engaged (or maybe it's the other way around?), and others seem to drop out unexpectedly, only to pop back in whenever the cable to the mic is unplugged and re-inserted (accompanied by a static pop sound). I've disassembled the beast several times and wiggled some wires, but that's about it. If I had a schematic I'd be more confident in trying to actually fix the damn thing.
Click to expand...

That sounds like cold solder joints on the mic connector. Either that or plugging the mic cable in is physically torquing some board or cable in a way that makes or breaks a connection. Like I said, look for a cracked board, a flaky ribbon cable, or a connector between two boards that isn't fully shoved together.
 
I guess I wasn't specific enough with my description. As I stated... "whenever the cable to the mic is unplugged and re-inserted", meaning (of course), the end of the cable away from the mixer (at the mic end)... and that's plugged into a snake cable, so there's no physical motion relative to the mixer. And yes, I've tried all possible combinations of mics, cables, inputs, etc. Certain channels just fuzz out on me and then drop out until I go through the disconnect/connect ritual, which usually does the trick. None-the-less, your final assessment is probably true. I'm guessing a flakey ribbon connector or switch contact.

- Steve
 
Not only MX9000. I have owned Behringer Xenyx 24 channels. It is most latest build model mixer but experienced two dead channels (during my live show), and a few channels with gain preamp problem as their volume are low and unadjustable. My Beringer DEQ2496 Processor is also suddenly dead. I would never in my life to buy another Behringer.
 
I could've bought a good mixer with all the money I've wasted on Behringer mixers. If you're the type who enjoys tinkering with electronics while realizing it will be a constant chore to keep them up and running, more power to you. If I were looking to spend money on upgrading a mixer with quality components, I'd definitely choose another brand to do it to.
 
I've solved all the problems by spraying ribbon connectors with contact spray and resitting them.
Once or twice a year I have to go trough this procedure and all 24 channels work.

Also some switches became dirty, again contact spray solved the problem.
 
jetam said:
I've solved all the problems by spraying ribbon connectors with contact spray and resitting them.
Once or twice a year I have to go trough this procedure and all 24 channels work.

Also some switches became dirty, again contact spray solved the problem.
Click to expand...

jetam,
I also experience the dirty switches - seems the channel mutes are the most common culprits - what's the best way of getting the contact cleaner to the right place? Thanks in advance.
 
wireman957 said:
jetam,
I also experience the dirty switches - seems the channel mutes are the most common culprits - what's the best way of getting the contact cleaner to the right place? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit late. :)
I usually pull the cap off the switch and put a tube made of wire insulation (one end diagonally cutted) on the nozzle of the contact cleaner spray can. This way I can reach the gap between the shaft and the housing of the switch without disassembling the console.
 
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