Topic: Behringer A500

[qguy]

As long as you dont overdrive the speaker

what happens if i use this amp rated at 160watts at 8 ohms, with a 50-100 watts rms speaker with 87 db sensitivity and 8 ohms impedance? will it damage the speaker?

tnx, just curious

[ATJr.]

what happens if i use this amp rated at 160watts at 8 ohms, with a 50-100 watts rms speaker with 87 db sensitivity and 8 ohms impedance? will it damage the speaker?

tnx, just curious

you may damage your amp if you are not carefull...the amplifier will run out of steam before your speakers reach their limits...

[docsialu]

tnx guys, i currently have a 40 wpc channel rotel kasi and i think i lack power for my speakers, thus the idea of getting the behringer a500, i guess its a bad idea for my speakers after all, tnx again, more power to you all

[av_phile1]

tnx guys, i currently have a 40 wpc channel rotel kasi and i think i lack power for my speakers, thus the idea of getting the behringer a500, i guess its a bad idea for my speakers after all, tnx again, more power to you all

Not really a bad idea.  Like qquy said, just don't overdrive your speakers. It's when the speaker rating is more powerful that the urge is there for  you to drive the amp at maximum output thinking the speakers can handle it.  But the amp could be spewing clipped signals already and that can damage you speakers, especially the tweets. 

[bumblebee]

tnx guys, i currently have a 40 wpc channel rotel kasi and i think i lack power for my speakers, thus the idea of getting the behringer a500, i guess its a bad idea for my speakers after all, tnx again, more power to you all

Why do you think you lack power? Do you have the volume at max position?

[docsialu]

actually i get enough volume for my small room when my volume knob is at the 12 oclock position, i just thought that since my amp is below the recommended rms of 50-100 watts of my speakers, i would benefit from getting a stronger amp and get a better sound with it, ganun ba un?

[av_phile1]

If that's already the volume level that fills your room that you listen to and are comfortable with, getting a more powerful amp will just give the same at maybe a quarter of the volume compared to half volume position with your current amp.  It definitely will give more room to have higher volumes with better headroom before clipping starts.  But unless you use a bigger room, you really won't need that much more power. 

[docsialu]

tnx for d info sir avphile, 

[mike c]

is it true that there is a bad hums & distortion on this amp?

there was a teeny tiny hum audible about 3" away from the speaker when I used the RCA input.

it disappeared when I used an RCA to 1/4" TRS connector

EDIT: I forgot to address the distortion part of your question, from the audioholics thread, there were quoted the THD of the A500 on various points of it's wattage, according to them, the distortion is inaudible at 120wpc.

[qguy]

Does the Rotel have this hum problem ?   

there was a teeny tiny hum audible about 3" away from the speaker when I used the RCA input.

it disappeared when I used an RCA to 1/4" TRS connector

[mike c]

Does the Rotel have this hum problem ?   

sorry I'm allergic to BS.

[qguy]

 

sorry I'm allergic to BS.

[mike c]

bili /hiram ka ng entry level na HT AVR  and compare with a Rotel na high end.. I bet you would change your mind.. if not then your right, you can't hear the difference..... My dad is 77 he can't hear the difference between two different amps, everytime we have dance party he would say mahina ang  vocals and kalansing...

I have two rotels, one of them is a 120 thousand peso Rotel amp.  High end enough or too cheap for audiophiles?  

Does the Rotel have this hum problem ?  

first, find yourself a 120wpc 14 thousand peso Rotel … and I will tell you the answer to that question.

-----

At first, I thought you honestly misread what I had written, I had given you the benefit of the doubt.  Yun pala, audiophile elitist/snob ka.

Just because you dont hear the difference, between warm and bright amplifiers does not mean there is no difference, It simply means you cant just hear them.  

I use to have two amp, one tube and an SS, the tube was warm on the same speakers and room whereas the SS was dynamic and bright on the same speakers and room ...go figure ?
 

apparently, you either really can’t read properly or you are so blinded by your superiority complex that you were imagining an attack on your tube amp.  Saying I can't hear any better is the typical golden ear attack, so I'm immune to that.

if a Tube amp and SS amp sounds different.. is it not possible that there is a difference between different SS amps ?
 

I was comparing SS amps, and you jump in with your tube defense. 

hahaha.. akala ko ba walang warm kasi and walang bright kasi  

hahaha.. sobrang walang sense ang logic mo.  I'm not immune to misplaced sarcasm though.

Come to think of it, what are you doing in the cheap A500 thread?  Is it your purpose to put people with a small budget down?   Is it your purpose to tell people that unless they have a budget that fits high end SS amps OR your tube amps, they are experiencing sub-par sound?  Is it your purpose to tell people that if they enjoy their "cheap" amps, they have "cheap" ears?

[qguy]

Sensitive ka pala... 

1. I dont currently use a  tube amp
2. Hindi ako tinatamaan regarding the tube amp. I never did mention that tubes are superior to SS, I said they sound different.. in a sense eh generally different, then again i also heard a tube amp na sounds like an SS amp.
3. I am not an elitist,  I can't even afford to buy the A500, I currently use a 10 year old  3,500 php Pioneer amp that sounds very similar to my old Scott Tube amp. 


ikaw pala elitist naka rotel na 120,000 php amp ka

I have two rotels, one of them is a 120 thousand peso Rotel amp.  High end enough or too cheap for audiophiles?  

first, find yourself a 120wpc 14 thousand peso Rotel … and I will tell you the answer to that question.

-----

At first, I thought you honestly misread what I had written, I had given you the benefit of the doubt.  Yun pala, audiophile elitist/snob ka.

apparently, you either really can’t read properly or you are so blinded by your superiority complex that you were imagining an attack on your tube amp.  Saying I can't hear any better is the typical golden ear attack, so I'm immune to that.

I was comparing SS amps, and you jump in with your tube defense. 

hahaha.. sobrang walang sense ang logic mo.  I'm not immune to misplaced sarcasm though.

Come to think of it, what are you doing in the cheap A500 thread?  Is it your purpose to put people with a small budget down?   Is it your purpose to tell people that unless they have a budget that fits high end SS amps OR your tube amps, they are experiencing sub-par sound?  Is it your purpose to tell people that if they enjoy their "cheap" amps, they have "cheap" ears?

[mike c]

Sensitive ka pala... 

di ka pala marunong umintindi and magbasa.   kasi iniiwasan mo lahat ng tanong ko e.

ikaw pala elitist naka rotel na 120,000 php amp ka

if telling people that a 120 thousand peso rotel amp and a 14 thousand peso a500 sounds the same makes me an elitist ...

[atomicat10]

 

If you remember Sir Mike, I PM'd you regarding possible future plans of disposing the A500.  I made a hunch that you might be probably selling it sooner than later because of the number of amps you already have in your arsenal.

I PM'd you and made an offer to buy it if that time comes but judging on the latest "developments", I don't think we're gonna come to that.  You have already defended and fought for this "ugly duckling" that I think you are gonna keep the amp just for the sake of it.

Now, I have to buy it elsewhere.

Question lang po. Can this amp drive 8 ohm Wharfedale Pro speakers for Karaoke purposes and small parties/functions? Wharfedale+Behringer=Budget Pro Sound 

[mike c]

i don't really have experience with karaoke speakers (hindi ako nagsetup ng karaoke namin)
but looking at the amp powering our karaoke setup, I would definitely think that the A500 is way better than the amp powering our karaoke (marantz yata, forgot kasi nasa province yung karaoke setup namin)

yeah, it looks like I'm not selling the A500, I'm planning on using it on a pair of ceiling speakers here in my walk in closet, kasi di ko ma-enjoy yung tumutugtog sa bedroom.

[aHobbit]

[quote ]
di ka pala marunong umintindi and magbasa.   kasi iniiwasan mo lahat ng tanong ko e.

if telling people that a 120 thousand peso rotel amp and a 14 thousand peso a500 sounds the same makes me an elitist ...
[/quote]


Di lang yan mikey  ...


since he (and his disciple in their "real" world) did not know nor understand what the comparison is about, he just want to simplify his life by telling us that everything in one chassis that has amplifier in it is always called "amplifier" (be it an AVR, integrated, etc etc) !!!    ...


... and the amp comparison that was cited earlier were done in an "ideal" world  which makes A500 better (I read it the same) than the high end contender ...     


hello!!! This is behringer A500 "amplifier"!      

[mike c]

Di lang yan mikey  ...


since he (and his disciple in their "real" world) did not know nor understand what the comparison is about, he just want to simplify his life by telling us that everything in one chassis that has amplifier in it is always called "amplifier" (be it an AVR, integrated, etc etc) !!!    ...


... and the amp comparison that was cited earlier were done in an "ideal" world  which makes A500 better (I read it the same) than the high end contender ...     


hello!!! This is behringer A500 "amplifier"!      

thank you.  akala ko ako lang hindi nakakaintindi ng logic niya e.

"tubes and SS amps don't sound the same.
therefore, SS amps don't sound the same."

[qguy]

aHobbit,

Not sure where your coming from, but it seems to me that your inclined to believe that I am thrashing the a500 and saying that its inferior to other more expensive amps.  This is not the case, actually once I read this topic, I actually thought about auditioning this amp as it performed "similar" to the Class amp in the test. At less than 15K, this seems to be a bargain amplifier given the power rating and performance based in the test. One more thing I do know the difference between an amp, a power amp, an Integrated,  a Pre-amp, a Passive pre as I have used this  gears for the last 25 years. I have compared several amps (just to be clear parehong integrated amp/ or parehong pre-power combo) and some I can not tell the difference, but to some the difference was night and day. When I started this hobby 25 years ago, I had a hard time telling the difference between different amplifiers, normally I just got the biggest amp/most expensive that my buget can afford, eventally when I slowly learned to listen, I was able to differentiate different characteristics of the amplifiers that I had.

I would put a grain of salt to everything that you read, not everything on the net is fact. Just because someone conducted a test and says that they can not tell the difference between the Class and a500 does not necessarily mean na walang difference. I myself would have a difficult time comparing two amp in a different place and with different gears. Give me  both amplifier a week or two and pretty much I can tell you the difference, if theres a difference. Some difference between amplifiers are small, some musical content may not be able to produce that difference. This is the reason why some magazine reviewers are given several weeks to review an audio product. Not sure how long they did the A-B test with Class and A500, but I doubt that it was over a month long.


Mike C.

"tubes and SS amps don't sound the same. therefore, SS amps don't sound the same."   hindi po yan ang views ko.  eto po

Two different amplifiers can sound different, even if they have the same power rating regardless if its operated by Tubes or Solid State devices.




btw.. these are my views based on my experience, not something that I read from the net.  

[mike c]

hindi po yan ang views ko.  eto po
Two different amplifiers can sound different, even if they have the same power rating regardless if its operated by Tubes or Solid State devices.

it's either they DO or they DON'T ... you are starting to stand in the middle para hindi ka mabuking.

remember you disagreed that all well designed SS amps sound the same.  was the following not your premise for that conclusion? 

I use to have two amp, one tube and an SS, the tube was warm on the same speakers and room whereas the SS was dynamic and bright on the same speakers and room ...go figure ?

btw.. these are my views based on my experience, not something that I read from the net.   

I held my own blind A/B tests.  whereas you compared amps from memory. (oh that's right, you conveniently forgot to break down for us bronze eared people how you did your comparison) at the very best, sighted switching ginawa mo, at worst, "10 years ago that amp warm yung sound, yung ngayon bright".

[mike c]

... Just because someone conducted a test and says that they can not tell the difference between the Class and a500 does not necessarily mean na walang difference. ..

at least these people provided tests to prove their conclusion.  show me YOUR double blind A/B test that proves two amps with such blatant differences in price should sound WAY different (if not way better).

[qguy]

I said "In a perfect world" all amps should sound the same, but this is not the case ksi di naman perfect ang mundo natin .. diba ?

You said  "all amps in the same level sounds the same"  I disagreed, because some amp in the same level CAN sound different. As mentioned before, they can also sound similar like your 12K A500 and 125K Rotel amp, then again the 12k amp has a hum, would'nt that make it sound different ?

I dont do blind A-B test, I compare amps just by using them for days or weeks and then use another for a week or two and compare,.. sometimes the difference would would be determined after several  months when you play that special album that has not been played for so long and then suddenly notice the difference that this amplifier is capable of.

Now if you say that there is no difference between a Behringer a500 with a hum and Rotel without a hum (I am assuming that the Rotel does not have a hum or baka meron din kaya there is no difference) then I would surely doubt that you could properly do an A-B test.

[qguy]

Take it with a grain of salt.. you dont even know or have met these people

at least these people provided tests to prove their conclusion.  show me YOUR double blind A/B test that proves two amps with such blatant differences in price should sound WAY different (if not way better).

[aHobbit]

... its inferior to other more expensive amps...

A500 is indeed inferior ... inferior in price ... inferior in looks ... probably uses lesser gauge metal than expensive one ... with plastic feet than gold plated one ... inferior capacitor at 670mfd?? per rail ... plastic knobs probably ...
 

...
When I started this hobby 25 years ago, I had a hard time telling the difference between different amplifiers, normally I just got the biggest amp/most expensive that my buget can afford, eventally when I slowly learned to listen, I was able to differentiate different characteristics of the amplifiers that I had.
...

I think we did similarly before ... listening to different amplifiers ... but we are doing differently today ... am listening to speakers now!   Different speakers sound different on the same amplifier. My experience with my own gears is that my different "amplifiers" sound the same on the same speaker    

...
I would put a grain of salt to everything that you read, not everything on the net is fact.
...
I myself would have a difficult time comparing two amp in a different place and with different gears.
...

If it is about pornographic evaluation of gears in the net, I agree with you! If it is about metrics, I don't agree with you.

If it is a single person doing the test, I will agree with you! But with 38 people (though they might all be bronze-eared audiophile  ) in the same place making the totality of the test, I may doubt you more than them!

It is easy to me sometimes to identify who are making bola in the net    

...
Give me  both amplifier a week or two and pretty much I can tell you the difference, if theres a difference. Some difference between amplifiers are small, some musical content may not be able to produce that difference.
...

if we compare "amplifiers" as amplifiers, nowadays, is almost a no-brainer proposition. The test cited above is much more classic in that only the speaker and its cable are fixed - leaving all player, pre-amp, amp and IC (and the high end rack  ) lumping the whole "sound" as one. This makes the result of the test much more unacceptable to those who think high-priced (translated by others as high-end) sounds better than cheappies!

Your alibi is pretty common also in the net ...    

...
Two different amplifiers can sound different, even if they have the same power rating regardless if its operated by Tubes or Solid State devices
...

I already heard you ... "amplifiers"   sounding different   in the "real" world ... we are not living in the same "real" world ... sorry!

[bejiboys]

Re: Hum on the A500.

When I auditioned the A500, I checked for hum/noise by removing all input signals (not physically), sliding all the faders on the mixer used, then cranking the gain control on the amp itself all the way to the max.  I was not able to hear any even as near as 6" - but this was inside their store in the mall. 

I did the same thing at home, using my RVX800 in place of the mixer in the store as pre-amp.  Brought the volume control way down and then cranked the amp's gain control all the way up.  Lo and behold, there was audible hum/noise even at 5'.  I thought all the while that my cheap RCA cables were the culprit, but removing the connection to the RXV800 made the hum/noise GO AWAY.   Did a "light-bulb" test and it was confirmed that my AVR is the source of the hum/noise.  Pressing the source/direct button and removing the DSP effects also brought the hum/noise to negligible levels.

Now contemplating on finding ways to emulate a remote turn-on/off connection for the amps. 

Question to the experts:  Since both my amp and my AVR don't have remote triggering capabilities, can I make a DIY power strip for the amps using 5A relays/amp triggered by the switched AC output from the AVR?  Wala bang "popping-sound" na maririnig if I set the gains of the amp to the desired levels prior to power up?

Thanks.

[bumblebee]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but this amp is a balanced amp right? By default, it accepts +/- signals. So if one is using it single-ended (RCAs), the negative input must be connected to ground, tama ba? Baka kaya me hum kasi yung negative input e "floating".

[bejiboys]

If I got it correctly, I was using the unbalanced input via RCA's.  Yung TRS at XLR ata yung balanced, pero pwede gamiting as unbalanced basta yung cold input eh tied to ground.

[bumblebee]

If I got it correctly, I was using the unbalanced input via RCA's.  Yung TRS at XLR ata yung balanced, pero pwede gamiting as unbalanced basta yung cold input eh tied to ground.

You can tie the input to ground if you're using balanced connectors like XLR. Kaso pano mo gagawin yun w/ plain RCAs? I was thinking that the RCA-to-TSR mike used was able to do that kaya walang hum.

[mike c]

Question to the experts:  Since both my amp and my AVR don't have remote triggering capabilities, can I make a DIY power strip for the amps using 5A relays/amp triggered by the switched AC output from the AVR?  Wala bang "popping-sound" na maririnig if I set the gains of the amp to the desired levels prior to power up?

Thanks.

I'm no expert, but I used this:
http://www.amazon.com/OMRON-RELAY-12-VDC-15A/dp/B000M0HR8G/sr=11-1/qid=1166421928/ref=sr_11_1/105-9803281-0473205

no popping sound on mine.  note that there is a 10ampere maximum load on that relay (ignore the 15a na nakasulat kasi sa actual relay, 10A nakasulat).  if you look at the specs of the A500, it does not exceed 10amps, but I don't trust ratings like these, I discount the relay rating by 50% and double the A500 rating   -> sobra talaga kung malakas ang volume na gamit mo.