Behringer have announced a selection of lightweight power amps.

Looks like their version of the Peavey digital power conversion 1U amps to me, but given that I paid £180 for a second hand 350 a side Peavey about 5 years ago, the prices of these amps look highly competitive.

Comparing further with the Peavey's it's a slight pity the higher power amps are 2U but you can't have everything!

This is their loudest 1U 2 channel amp: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/EPQ1000.aspx

Just noticed the rider at the bottom of the web site stating that these amps are not yet available in US or Canada - awaiting FCC approval it seems.

New Peavey IPR1600 has 1600 watts for $299, and only weighs 6 lbs.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/IPR1600

I would trust a Peavey more than a Behringer. I used a Peavey CS400 for 16 years, and then sold it for $100.

It seems for those that plug their mic into their keyboards and use the onboard mixer, that either one of these amps would be a good choice for those that want to use a light weight non-powered speaker setup.

I see the Peavey shows how many watts for 2 or 4 ohms. I assume that one can still use the usual 8 ohm speakers and the watts will just be halved from the 4 ohms? Or would 8 ohms not be recommended?

Personally, I am always worried if a manufacturer gives incomplete specs. It is always a sign of inflated values.

x amount of Watts into y Ohms AT WHAT DISTORTION? And peak or RMS?

9 times out of 10, if they don't mention those figures, they are inflating their specs.

1000W peak at 4 Ohms with 15%THD is a TOTALLY different thing to 1000W RMS at 4 Ohms with 1% THD.

Beware shoddy specs. Educate yourself. Be skeptical about inexpensive gear. If it looks too good to be true, guess what it likely is...?

I must admit that given the choice of Behringer or Peavey at the same sort of money, I'd go for Peavey every time; it's just that normally this choice is not available!

I'll have to see what that Peavey is going for over on this (expensive!) side of the Atlantic.

Also I completely support Diki's comment about specifications.

Be aware of Behringer. From two highly respected techs I know I get the same story. Behringer stuff is made to be disposable. Too difficult to fix and prone to problems. Cheap prices but if it breaks just toss it.


Bill

give me cheap stuff that sounds good that you can easily toss and replace over the hassle of repair jobs anytime. i use a 5-ch Behringer that i got 2 years ago, sounds great and so compact and lightweight. the original one i blew by not pushing in the speaker cord all the way, on warranty and they replaced that in a jif. no probs with the replacement so far, and for $200 with warranty, it's a no-brainer.
of course if you say x amp sounds a lot better, then that's a different issue altogether. but all things being reasonably equal, i'll take light and cheap and just toss and replace if it goes down past the warranty. like tv's and other small appliances, it just doesn't pay to repair unless it's really special. better to replace with a newer model with improved technology.

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Miami Mo

Never a problem to go higher in impedance than the rated or posted spec.

Just don't ever connect any situation that would yield LESS than the rated 2 ohms, for that is the recipe for power amp disaster, ohm's law applies and running below 2 ohm level would be demanding more power than the amplifier is rated to deliver. Typical failure mode of that one is blown output devices $$$.

Yes, the amplifier will deliver less power into the 8 ohm system, but that's literally a good thing at that point, for most speakers designed at 8 ohms overall impedance could not handle the amount of power delivered by amps that are designed to deliver full power at the 2 ohm level.


--Mac

I think it was Sweetwater that chose to show those specs only. Here's what the Peavey manual says:



-mike

See? Those are REAL specs...