ra150 v. Behringer A500

  • Thread starter Thread starter sacarmic
  • Start date Start date
S

sacarmic

New member
Has anyone directly compared these to amps. They look very similar. We are trying to find some amps to driver our Tannoy Reveals in a surround monitoring setup. I'm looking for opinions on each in both sound and build quality.

Any opinions are apreciated
Thanks,
Scott
 
Forgive me as this is the Alesis forum, but I'd highly recommend a Hafler TA1600. You'd be looking at the same power, but the Hafler by far will sound MUCH better than the Alesis and Beh. Very clean, very low noise amp. I'm actually driving a pair of Tannoy Reveals here in my studio with one and it makes a sweet combo. :cool:

The Haflers can be had for about $150. You won't be disapointed.

Regarding the Alesis and the Beh....yeah, Beh does an excellent job at copying other manufacturer's products.
 
Excellent

I've been looking for something for my Reveals, too. I wondered if I could tell a difference between the Alesis and the Hafler. Of course, some will say that the Hafler isn't good enough either, but I imagine those people aren't using Reveals in the first place.
 
sacarmic said:
Has anyone directly compared these to amps. They look very similar. We are trying to find some amps to driver our Tannoy Reveals in a surround monitoring setup. I'm looking for opinions on each in both sound and build quality.

Any opinions are apreciated
Thanks,
Scott
Click to expand...

So how is your setup set up? I mean, is it 4 Reveals and a sub (and which one) or 5 or 6?
 
I can't imagine anyone saying the Hafler isn't good enough. I've seen tons of positive comments on their amps, and even the TA1600. It might be underpowered for some, but sound wise I wouldn't bother with anything in the budget range except for the Hafler.
 
I really like hafler, but I wonder why they went with the cheap push-in speaker terminals on the TA1600. They really limit the type of wire you can use. Right now, I think I am actually going to go with the RA300.

Scott
 
I just wish they hadn't gone to the (IMO) dorky-looking logo. And ugly's not enough, let's make it BIG, too.
 
Cardioidpotent said:
I just wish they hadn't gone to the (IMO) dorky-looking logo. And ugly's not enough, let's make it BIG, too.
Click to expand...

And that matters because? ;)
 
sacarmic said:
I really like hafler, but I wonder why they went with the cheap push-in speaker terminals on the TA1600. They really limit the type of wire you can use. Right now, I think I am actually going to go with the RA300.

Scott
Click to expand...

Doesn't bother me at all. Good luck to ya!
 
warble said:
And that matters because? ;)
Click to expand...

because it does. I get what you're saying, but, to some people at least, aesthetics matter. And I don't think I'm alone in that opinion, otherwise businesses wouldn't spend as much as they do on product design and packaging. In a lot of cases, much more is spent on that than on the functionality of the product. A lot of times, from year to year, the only thing that's changed is the look. They don't spend the bucks on creating and changing the look if there aren't proven real-world financial benefits for them to do so. Audio is no exception.

Anyway, I think that for the most part, it should be just as easy to make a good-looking product as it is an ugly one, and in my opinion, it's ugly. I'm sure somebody else must have liked it, or they wouldn't have used it, so there you go. But it probably won't keep me from buying it, either. And don't worry, I'm not as worked up about this as it sounds.

And have you noticed, most of the big retailers have stopped carrying Hafler? Wonder what happened?

Good luck guys!
 
Cardioidpotent said:
...And have you noticed, most of the big retailers have stopped carrying Hafler? Wonder what happened?

Good luck guys!
Click to expand...

Hafler is no longer in business or at least manufacturing products. They still offer support for their stuff, but just don't make it. The TA1600 used to be up around $350-400 (I believe) and now it's being closed out at a few places for $150 - a steal, no matter what it looks like.

Why they're out of business - not 100% sure. Heard talk about not finding a place in the powered monitor market, and I guess they figured that was they way things were headed. Personally, I prefer selecting my own passives and grabbing a great amp - which I've done. I will admit, when I look at my Tannoy Reveals then look at the Hafler, the Tannoys are way sexier. Then I sit back and listen and all the asthetic stuff disappears.

P.S. I don't need luck - luck already found me as I got great deals on the amp and my Tannoys. :)

Peace.
 
Yeah, it's a headphone jack. When you plug in a set phones though, you still get output to the speakers. Only purpose of the jack I can see might be to check that the amp is delivering a signal (in case a monitor goes out, etc.). Otherwise, I'm not sure what good it is.

I'm really pleased with the Hafler/Tannoy combo. I've got my Reveals sitting on Auralex MoPads too - seems to help the mid-range.

I guess to all who read this thread, I'm not against Alesis, I just think you can do better for the $$$ (at least when we're talking RA-150 vs. TA1600). I'm not against Beh either, but the blanent copying of other products just makes me laugh.
 
Is the level to the headphones dependent on the level to the speakers? If you turn the output levels all the way down on the amp itself, do you still get output to the hp jack? Or is there a separate vol control for the phones?
 
The main level dials control the level of the phones and the speakers at the same time - no independent phone volume control.

To get headphone monitoring control and level control of my monitors, I purchased a Presonus HP4. It's 4 channel headphone amp with a monitor level knob which I run the balanced outs of my Echo Layla into, then the balanced outs of the HP4 into my Hafler. That way I can set my Hafler levels on the amp, and then control the master volume using the HP4. I get good headphone monitoring and it all sounds great. You could do something like the Mackie Big Knob or Presonus Central Station too...there are other options for better control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top