Opinions of the MOD'ED w/Burr Brown opamps Behringer t-2channel mic preamp

  • Thread starter Thread starter Blue_Eagle_Rise
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Blue_Eagle_Rise

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Hey so first off, it seems I could buy an un-mod'ed Behringer & the BB opamps only seem to be like $6.00 & just mod it myself so, please advise.

Here is the MOD'ED BEHRINGER 2-Channel Mic preamp

http://cgi.ebay.com/Upgraded-Behrin...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

& here are the sound clips the guys made to show how it sounds.


Do you think it is smart to mod one of these myself rather?? I don't know if the put in those BB small chips or if they were mod'ed with other BB parts.

I could buy 2 of these and all the BB opamps for the price of one of these mod'ed ones, it seems...
 
kinda like running a yugo on premium gas...
 
How much are those new? $150? I have no experience with any behri gear, but my gut feeling is to consider some other approaches first.

In any device that has a circuit ready to accept an OPA2134, it's not very difficult to put one in. If the old opamps are socketed, then it's really easy -- you probably want a chip puller, but if you're very patient, you can probably pry up the existing ones with a jeweler's small screwdriver or something without damaging them -- but then again, you're replacing them, anyway, so who cares? :) -- putting the new ones in requires no tools, but you have to be careful to avoid static electricity and stuff.

If the old ones are not socketed, then it's a matter of whether it's SMT (surface mount technology?) or the more low-tech through-hole kind of thing. I can't touch the former stuff -- special tools / expertise that I'll probably never have are required. In the latter case, you can generally remove the old ones if you have a solder sucker, and then it's good to just put in sockets, then put the new opamps in the sockets.

I'd start with something like the ART Tube MP -- usually available for 20 or 30 bucks -- you'll have to put the socket in yourself, and it's only one channel, but it's a fun project and doesn't cost very much. There are a bunch of other mods you can do to them as well -- pretty well documented. I remember being fairly happy with the sound of mine at the end, and it was a good learning experience.
 
This preamps uses surface mount technology so it's not a diy project.

For the same money you could get an m-audio dmp3 which uses Burr Brown INA 163 opamps as stock!
 
One thing's for sure, there's a lot of bullshit going on in that auction blurb...

A gain increase of 30%? Err... simply changing the opamp won't cause a gain increase, not like that anyway. That's reliant on the circuitry around the opamp, and unless some of that has been altered too, then I'm sorry, but you're not going to get any gain increase. There might be some improvment in noise characteristics, but that too is marginal and highly reliant on the other components.

"The noise definitely decreased by more than 80%." Where does this figure come from? Does the seller have some kind of scientifically measured data to verify this? Again, bullshit. Changing the opamps alone in system full of what I guess are cheap components is not going to yield those kind of results.

It's all a typical ebay seller's spiel... No idea what-so-ever about electronics... It's all about jumping on the bandwagon fueled by buzzwords, uneducated hype and the latest internet craze.

Upgrading opamps may be useful as part of an already overall well designed, well made system with good components and where the opamp is a weak link. But I think the Behringer will have too many weak links to make this of any real benefit. I haven't got any experience with this particular pre, but I imagine it may suffer from a lot of the usual Behringer shortcomings: low quality components, poor power supply, poor shielding, possibly poor circuit design, flimsy build... putting burr browns in is probably akin to the old "polishing a turd" proverb.

I'd put that money towards something that's decent from the get go.
 
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