Unfair on Behringer

downfader · Post by **downfader** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:52 pm

I've had this mx2442a mixer for a few years now, bought it new and used it up until 3 years back. Never ever had any issues with sound quality or build quality. I know a lot of people on the web seem to have this thing about Behringer to the point of sheer fucking disgust if you mention you like their gear.

Many a time I've tried to sell on the Behringer in the last 3 years but each time I get the same strange comments. Initially interested replies often turn into "...my sound engineer friend says avoid!" Typical.

What the hell is a sound engineer doing advising people on second hand budget mixers? You aint going to get a Mackie 24 desk for the money, and you're certainly not getting class A pres. Infact I'm often tempted to question these people further as theres probably only a handful of the behringers thats I'd actually avoid, and this one isnt one of them.

Right. I now have a lack of space. Severe lack of space infact (my Father needs the spare room as he's coming home from hospital) so its either in the bin with it or in the loft (last time i tried it got wedged stuck)

end rant

Moody · Post by **Moody** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:58 pm

Behringer is Mackie.

I have heard plenty of great music produced on a Behringer board.

chrysalis33rpm · Post by **chrysalis33rpm** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:19 pm

Behringer has unquestionably the best quality/price ratio in the industry.

Its not the best stuff out there. But it gets the job done, unlike other cheapo companies I could mention.

djsynchro · Post by **djsynchro** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:36 pm

I owned a Mackie 24-8 mixer and years later the Behringer rip-off (the one that they lost a lawsuit over because it looks too much like the Mackie)

The Mackie was better built, a lot more expensive and has one band with bandwith control. The EQ is nasty, the desk sounds "plastic" and "sterile".

The Behringer sounded way better, maybe more distortion which often is a nice thing with analogue, way bigger bottom, fuller sound. Less crosstalk too. (With the Mackie the hihats would leak into the effects processors even when the aux send was set to min.

downfader · Post by **downfader** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:13 pm

Nice to see some rational people!

DJSynchro... I have to be honest, I think the 24-8's eq is alright from what little I've heard (mosyl;y on cds tbh though).

I think the Behringers are very warm sounding. I have experienced crosstalk but only when using tube driven amps into a hotter signal. You know what - people pay a fortune to "degrade" their sound (valve guitar amps, various compressors, etc)

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:21 pm

i disagree,

behringer is extremely bad, not just the sound and built quality, but there whole way of operation, just everything is reverse engineering they do... produced with the cheapest parts avialable on the planet, if you have a working unit then it's like the 1 in 10.000 that does. [we sell eqiupment in our store that belongs to the club and i don't carry behringer but order it on demand with telling the customer that i don't recommend it! ALL ordered items from behringer in the last year came back to the shop within under 2 weeks with failure... only exeption are the midi controllers... there are no audio parts involved and they work ok-ish for the money]

i agree that some old stuff was good, with an lot of afford fine reversed engineered and copied from companies like mackie, focusrite, genelec, etc. and about 10 years back it was still halfway resonable good produced.

untill they lost several law suits and now they have to slightly change 'the original' designs to get away with it and since then they are superbad, simply complete rubish.

keep on waisting your money. and suporting the company with the most questionable policies, in the music equipment industrie, including the village in china they own with kids only!!! working for them... how do you think they manage those prices?

morerecords · Post by **morerecords** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:29 pm

Behringer is actually Samson, which is short for "Sam ash's son"
These are secondfary companies of US retailer Sam Ash. People don't like Behringer becuase they were sued years ago by Mackie for ripping off their mixer design.

They got a bad reputation for outsourcing their manufacturing to Areas in the East that did not treat their employees humanely. [/url]

roby · Post by **roby** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:35 pm

For me, it all depends on the product. Their mixers are OK, but fr my taste, and mainly my ears, they do not compare to Mackie or Soundcraft. I've never used a Behringer mixer bigger than 16 channels, so i can't say what the bigger boards sound like, but the many I've used do sound a bit thin. But nothing I can't solve with a bit of EQing... that's what the Eq is for anyway. Built-wise they are good, I think, but the difference between them and Mackie is unmistakable.

The FCB1010 is a great product though, and so is the controller everyone seems to have, the one with the knobs. I own the FCB and it is ace.

Now their guitar effects are a joke, or at least the few I've tried. They should not make guitar pedals.

I'm glad the Behringer's "bad" reputation has an immense effect on the used gear market, coz I get to buy one of their mixer for cheap to dedicate to live performance only, and I can leave my Mackie hooked up at home

downfader · Post by **downfader** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:36 pm

SubFunk wrote:i disagree,

behringer is extremely bad, not just the sound and built quality, but there whole way of operation, just everything is reverse engineering they do... produced with the cheapest parts avialable on the planet, if you have a working unit then it's like the 1 in 10.000 that does. [we sell eqiupment in our store that belongs to the club and i don't carry behringer but order it on demand with telling the customer that i don't recommend it! ALL ordered items from behringer in the last year came back to the shop within under 2 weeks with failure... only exeption are the midi controllers... there are no audio parts involved and they work ok-ish for the money]

i agree that some old stuff was good, with an lot of afford fine reversed engineered and copied from companies like mackie, focusrite, genelec, etc. and about 10 years back it was still halfway resonable good produced.

untill they lost several law suits and now they have to slightly change 'the original' designs to get away with it and since then they are superbad, simply complete rubish.

keep on waisting your money. and suporting the company with the most questionable policies, in the music equipment industrie, including the village in china they own with kids only!!! working for them... how do you think they manage those prices?

I know about the mackie situation and the dbx situation but come on be fair. I have owned several behringer products (compressors, amp simulators, the mixer, etc) and none have failed on me.

I also recollect the mackie lawsuit was over the layout of pots, faders and the look of the items, not the electronics.

roby · Post by **roby** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:41 pm

morerecords wrote:They got a bad reputation for outsourcing their manufacturing to Areas in the East that did not treat their employees humanely.

are there any reads about this on the web?? just curious

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:48 pm

roby wrote:
morerecords wrote:They got a bad reputation for outsourcing their manufacturing to Areas in the East that did not treat their employees humanely.
are there any reads about this on the web?? just curious

http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/behringer.html

though its a see and not a read.

husker · Post by **husker** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:51 pm

and which manufacturer doesn't get there stuff build in the same factories in China?

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:53 pm

downfader wrote:
SubFunk wrote:i disagree,

behringer is extremely bad, not just the sound and built quality, but there whole way of operation, just everything is reverse engineering they do... produced with the cheapest parts avialable on the planet, if you have a working unit then it's like the 1 in 10.000 that does. [we sell eqiupment in our store that belongs to the club and i don't carry behringer but order it on demand with telling the customer that i don't recommend it! ALL ordered items from behringer in the last year came back to the shop within under 2 weeks with failure... only exeption are the midi controllers... there are no audio parts involved and they work ok-ish for the money]

i agree that some old stuff was good, with an lot of afford fine reversed engineered and copied from companies like mackie, focusrite, genelec, etc. and about 10 years back it was still halfway resonable good produced.

untill they lost several law suits and now they have to slightly change 'the original' designs to get away with it and since then they are superbad, simply complete rubish.

keep on waisting your money. and suporting the company with the most questionable policies, in the music equipment industrie, including the village in china they own with kids only!!! working for them... how do you think they manage those prices?
I know about the mackie situation and the dbx situation but come on be fair. I have owned several behringer products (compressors, amp simulators, the mixer, etc) and none have failed on me.

I also recollect the mackie lawsuit was over the layout of pots, faders and the look of the items, not the electronics.

come on, this is the most known facts... ALL designs are [now] nearly 100% copies and used to be 100% copies of companies yes like mackie, focusrite, genelec, etc.

they do not develope anything themselfs... just now after several lawsuits they change stolen designs just enough to get away with it.

and they had the last big leagal battle just a few years back, because they made some nasty deal in china 'buying a whole little town in the middle of nowhere, they "feeding" the community with a little infrastructure [just in the beginning to convince the mayor / government so that only employing the children for pennies is ok, they got in trouble with it and like so many other companies, they just had to 'adjust' a little and basically continuing doing the same shit.

if you have a working unit, super! but honestly there is no quality control in behringer... if it works you are lucky...

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:57 pm

husker wrote:and which manufacturer doesn't get there stuff build in the same factories in China?

nearly all of them produce in china, but behringer is the only one who has 'bought a town with children' and no matter if china or not, quality control is important and companies even producing in china have usually a very high quality control standard and they employ adults.

behringer works with children only and has NO quality control system whatsoever.

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:58 pm

behringer sexed my mother and said no thanks or left no change.

but if you can get past the guilt of knowing that teeny digits put it together - the bcr2000 is OK in my book