Behringer iNuke series

[cmchamp]

Yup. Results of the Wii tournament with my 3yr old and 8yr old boys. 3 way tie. We all figured out how to pitch, but we can't bring a run in worth beans.

[cmchamp]

So, here we go, heading outside to unload the "big" stuff from the trailer. That would be 2x dual 18" subs, a pair of Altec A7's and around 200lbs of amps.
I use the A7's because that's what I've got that provides pattern control for an audience that sits 160° wide, and between 75 to 200' from the stage. Sometime, I'll post some picts.
Anyway, while I'm unloading, I'll get them set up and A/B the Behringer driving a sub with either a Carver PM1400, or an Alto Mac2.4.
One thing I will suspect, the Behringer, because it's a ClassD amplifier, may have issues driving frequencies below 40Hz.
Give me an hour or two.

[cmchamp]

Ok, here are the results. WOW!
No testing equipment was used for this accept my eyes and ears.
First off - I had to power the whole rig of 1 15A circuit in my back garage, so full output could not be achieved - however - my wife did text me a few times about rattling the house 200' away.

All speakers fed by 10AWG, same length.

Subs: dual 18" Carvin/Eminence 1600w 8Ω = 3200w 4Ω custom (self) built. Crossover @ 100Hz. (no front grille so I can see the cones move)
Mids: Altec A7-500 with Carvin/Eminence 800w 8z driver. Crossover @ 100Hz and 1015Hz
Highs: Altec 811B segmented horn with updated Altec drivers, crossover @ 1015Hz

Sub amps:
L channel Behringer NU3000 spec'd @ 3000w 4Ω bridged, Class D, 7lbs
R channel Alto Mac2.4 spec'd @ 2500w 4Ω bridged - Class AB, 42lbs

Mid amp:
Alto Mac 2.4 spec'd @ 575w/channel 8Ω - Class AB, 42lbs

High amp:
Carver PM1400 spec'd @ 500w/channel 8Ω, Class AB, around 40lbs

First - vocal clarity. What? vocal clarity on subs crossed over at 100Hz? Yeah, I'm into quartet style gospel music!
Artist, Valor, album, Valor, songs "Old Ship of Zion" and "Lay it Down." The bass singer hits a low E on both of these songs.

Second - LF tightness
Artist, Yes, Album Talk, song State of Play
Artist, Chumbawamba, Album, Tubthumper, song Outsider
Both have ELF energy in them that takes a lot of power to project.

Third - LF longevity - duration
This is where the lack of AC power really choked things up
Artist, Jim Brickman - Michael W. Smith, Album, Destiny, song, Love of My Life.

First winner: NU3000
Second winner: NU3000
Third winner: neither - could not pull enough AC out of the wall.

Visually, the NU3000 seemed to have better damping as the cones visually moved "crisper" than with the Mac 2.4

Afterward, the NU3000 had no thermal build up top, bottom, or being blow through by the fan. The Mac2.4's were warm to the touch, but the Carver was not.

NU3000
Likes: light, 7lbs. clean sound! quieter than the other two amps.
Dislikes, no parallel line level outputs (not a really big deal) and no binding posts, only Speakon which means that IF I were to use it in bridged mode, I'd have to modify one of my cables. Fan is constant, and noticeable.

[Gracetech]

Thanks for the review Cory!

crt

[cmchamp]

I used it tonight to drive a pair of SLS LS6593's bridged, 6Ω load.
I am impressed by how quiet the signal is.

[cw4u]

Originally Posted by Frank DeWitt

I thought people who knocked Behringer were just piling on without actual knowing the brand. I bought 5 ADA-8000 preamps a year ago. I have two still working.
Behringe is on my "No buy" list. OK Behringer is my "no buy" list.

Friends don't let friends buy Behringer

I guess it all depends on production cycles but I still have 4 of my ADA8000s going strong. One is 4 years old, the others are about 8 months old. I do however have them spaced out and have a couple fans in there to circulate air through. They can get really hot when stacked. But I haven't had an issue with any of them.....so far.

[ike]

It seems like just about everyone dislikes Behringer equipment, mostly for quality/reliability issues.

I appreciate your "real world" testing of this amp, but I have to wonder how it can produce such massive amounts of power and yet still only weigh 7 lb. Maybe they bought Bob Carver's technology (anybody remember the Carver amps from the 1980's?)

[pdc]

Carver's design was unique. Carver built some lite amps, but they were lite on bass too. Companies like Clair Brothers used heavily modified versions in their systems. They could be mod'd to sound good. After Carver pro was spun off, it lost street cred.

Behringer's high speed amp technology was stolen from Crown, who borrowed it from Peavey. This stuff works as advertised, but not for long. The manufacturers post max power, but not how long the amp puts out full power before it goes poof. The Peaveys and the Crowns will put out rated power, for about 8 seconds. In once case, less than an eighth of a second.

These new amps don't give you something for nothing. You must have perfectly clean, unmodulated, power. If you cannot provide that, your amps will wimp out.

One of the amps mentioned above will pop a 15 breaker easily. You do not get something for nothing when it comes to physics.

[Frank DeWitt]

Here is a good article about Amp Power Rating by Pat Brown. His stuff can be trusted.
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/i...power_ratings/

Frank

[pdc]

Good luck with standardizing specs. That will never help the retailers sell 4,000W amps that draw 7amps. Power is a commodity. People come in our place asking for amps with specific power ratings, without knowing their speakers specs, or in some cases without having speakers. They have been conditioned to believe more is better and that there is no difference between amps. They have no idea that they really do not need as much as they think they do most of the time.

Some amp manufacturers REALLY make you work for the real numbers. Some of them completely omit distortion, but hype their damping, which does not really matter unless it is under 50. Some of the truth is a partial truth. I like how some manufacturers hype inabilities and design short comings as intentional benefits to the customer. Marketing people are paid liars, just like attorneys, politicians and some tele-evangelists in it for the wrong reason.

[Gracetech]

...walk....walk....trip...bang...boom....what the.....who put this soapbox here?

It's funny every year how we "just made a new break through". Is funny in the scientific community how year after year someone thinks they have beaten the laws of physics...only to find out they just made a good break through in efficiency. Sometimes not even that.

When it comes to amps you will generally find that the more money you pay the better amp you will have. Why else do you think that amps from the same manufacture cost a price range that can be a spread of 800% in price difference. It's not like they cost much more money to make. They just know that they will sell less of the higher end models because they will fail less so they have to jack up the price. Wana know how far behind amp technology is then look at the inputs and find an amp that has a Digital input. Not that many out there.

Knowing what amps work is knowing how amps stack up "real world" wise against each other. Sticking to what you know and a little bit of luck that the manufacture hasn't changed the manufacturing process on you.

crt