Behringer DEQ2496 Equalizer Review

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by purr1n, Aug 25, 2020.

  1. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    I had a fascination for this thing a few years ago, but never actually bought one. Saw it in action at the home of a fellow member of another forum. He was getting nice results, and with a pair of Equator coax speakers that sounded better than something that size should. The speakers were good value too.

    Have long had an interest in EQ to compensate for my listening space being a cupboard and, in more recent years, my ears.
     
  2. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    I tried playing around with this and couldn't hear any effect listening through headphones. Pretty sure I didn't have it bypassed. Is this something that can only be heard through speakers?
     
  3. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Shouldn't be. EQ is EQ. Did you try doing something extreme like highpass at 600hz, which should only let half the music through?
     
  4. Cynric

    Cynric New

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    Hmm, should definitely be audible, but maybe not in a good way. It essentially subtracts a frequency filtered amount of the left channel signal from the right (and vice versa), so the stereo separation is increased. That should be audible with phones too, but I guess it can sound bad easily. With headphones you have well separated channels anyway - well maybe except for Grados.. With nearfield monitors - depending on your setup geometry - you don't get always the perfect stereo triangle and this little effect helps a lot to hide it.
    Got mine set to width 1.3, frequ 650Hz, shuffle 1.7 (others 0). Just very slight, but it manages to broaden the image greatly from the ~80cm I have between the speakers..
     
  5. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    I was asking specifically about the "Stereo Expansion" function, which I assume is more complex DSP than just simple EQ.

    I played around with the settings, full left, full right, couldn't hear any difference at all. Could be my unit is faulty. Will check again to make sure I didn't have it inadvertently disabled/bypassed.
     
  6. kee7a

    kee7a New

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    I see the DEQ2496 has a memory / recall function, so I'm thinking you can store more than just an A and B preset, but does anyone know how many you can store at a time?

    I've been trying to get a reasonable EQ working on the Pi, but I'm not sure there's a good option without building something new or switching to an x86 platform (or using something like roon). Below is my current solution. It works, but it feels wrong and isn't ideal. I'm thinking the answer might just be to throw money at the problem (buy a DEQ2496).

    [​IMG]
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It should work. I tend to narrow the width to 80%-90%. I know a lot of headphone users love wide headstage. I can't stand it.

    64 memory presets. That's a lot of headphones!
     
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    I am not sure about this, but I think that alsamixer only controls what the dac tells it it has available. I certainly don't see any eq on any of my devices, just levels, and on one of them (a firewire box) not even that.

    Linux audio... I use JACK. For EQ I use Calf products. Of course, others are available.
     
  9. Dr J

    Dr J Friend

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    A noob DEQ2496 DSP question:

    Using DEQ2496 for digital room correction using the PEQ (only). Chain: Pi2AES (Tidal or FLAC 16 bit 44.1KHz) --> AES EBU --> DEQ2496 --> AES EBU --> Yggdrasil.

    Should I use dithering at 16 or 20 or 24 bits and/or noise shaping?

    My gut reaction is "no", but do not know enough of DSP or the Behringer processing. I think if I were to use dithering, then the noise shaping would make sense.
     
  10. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    Just in case anyone with an spdif coaxial input DAC is looking for a transformer/adapter, I've found one that works at a good price. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/395533-REG/Hosa_Technology_CDL_313_CDL_313_Data_Link.html

    Handy for anyone who doesn't have a DAC with AES, as many do at least have that coaxial. It's just that you'll be hard pressed to find 75-110 transformers that AREN'T BNC. Can't believe I'm saying this, but Hosa actually comes through for once. I just hope this little box isn't as shitty as their cables.

    For $99, you just need the one. It's powered, but it handles both input and output so you're good to go with just a pair each of SPDIF and AES cables, so it ends up costing only slightly more than a pair of BNC converters would if you could use those to begin with. Just WATCH the price. Supply is unsteady. I got mine on Amazon for ~$85 months ago. Now, they're like $140. Granted, any port in a storm and this thing IS worth getting hooked up. But still. $140 for a shitty Hosa box hurts. Shop around, it's this thing:

    511nzpR8OYL._AC_SL1000_.jpg

    I'm actually using this in my harebrained setup, which goes PC/USB > Eitr (to spdif) > CDL-313(to aes) > DEQ2496 > CDL-313 ( to spdif) > Modi Multibit. It works flawlessly. People's digital nervosa is probably going off like crazy. My digital rig takes two USB cables, two SPDIF coaxial cables, and two AES/EBU cables. Can't say I've heard any issues with the sound, though. If it works, it works! Beats running through any cheap analog stage by FAR!

    The DEQ2496 is a great tool to have and one way or another, there's always a way to get it up and running. I snagged mine used for ~$200. Another $100 later I had this box and the cables. How can you beat that for a powerful, crystal clear hardware EQ? I'd say it's a hidden gem, but actually I think there should just be *more* stuff like this. If I can buy a hardware EQ with THIS much power behind it for that money, then this kind of tech could get worked into a DAC or something.

    I mean, it's crazy that I'm fudging around with these digital conversions just to get at the functionality in this cheap rack unit. Sad to think that the reason might be that many audiophiles would turn their noses up at digital EQ. That's too bad. Because apparently it can be made very good for fairly cheap! Seems a shame to not have stuff like that in the audiophile world More hardware EQ and DSP type of stuff that's not really esoteric.
     
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  11. Spires

    Spires New

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    Lot of great info in this thread, even if it has been dormant for 9mo. Thank you all for sharing. Gave me a lot of insight on the DEQ2496.

    Looking to use the DEQ2496 for a PA system consisting of 2 - 4 powered EVs for speech, choral, and house music (pre- post- events) in a variety of setups and situations, indoors and outdoors. My priorities are EQ'd mains, adding warmth to vocals, and feedback destruction.

    I am curious to know if anyone has experience with a few functions that haven't been disucssed:

    • how well does the auto RTA works for speaker response EQ in live setups?
    • does the Feedback Destroyer function well or is it an afterthought?
    • connected to a 6ch analog mixer, would you put this inline with the mains or is there a better way?

    I'm a videographer, so my needs with a PA are usually an add-on service and it usually requires me to be a one man operator. My PA setup needs to be streamlined so that I can get it up and running without needing to spend a lot of time manually tweaking the output for the room. As sacrilege as Auto functions might be within this thread, I'm open to anything that can save me time and get me to well-enough. RTA and Feedback Destroyer seem to have auto setups that could get me there (if there's time, I'll tweak.)

    I came across this unit when searching for auto feedback destroyers, which would be a lot of help in setups where people don't know how to use a mic and you have to ride the mains. It seems like, for the cost, it has this and a lot more functionality that could bring value to my system.
     
  12. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Any auto system works okay, but still feel free to override the controls. Bigger rooms will get dark quickly, so if it rolls off too much top end, it might not be good. Any kind of horns are sometimes difficult for these, but it will get you close if you have the mic far enough away. [/QUOTE]

    It is a fairly intelligent feedback destroyer, but no system can take care of stupidity (mic 3 feet from speaker). However, it will mostly take the one or two note room mode frequencies. Just remember, it is a piece of Behringer gear (which barely qualifies as "pro").

    This is designed for a 2ch system. You would need something way more complicated depending on the configuration of your 6 speakers. Maybe a dbx DriverRack is what you need?

    Either way, you are on the wrong forum. We mainly are some hi-fier's who sometimes dabble in pro gear if it makes sense to incorporate into modern hi-fi systems. There is a somewhat of crossover of pro and hi-fi, but live sound reinforcement is even further away since that is for crowds and mostly we are a headphone group. Not trying to be mean, just trying to be truthful that we are not going to be a real good source of info for your situation.
     
  13. Spires

    Spires New

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    Thank You for the feedback. This is very helpful, as even the "wrong forum" can provide info that I'm not finding anywhere else.

    To clarify the 6ch mixer, it's just a Mackie 6 input mic mixer with mono out (2ch out, but rarely mixing stereo.)

    Many have stated this device is barely pro. Has anyone found the equivalent in a pro model? I've compared this to dbx rackdrive, but it seems to be missing functionality and has more emphasis on crossover.

    Again, thank you for sharing your knowledge about the device, even if my application is different than others on this forum. Posting the features, functionality and limitstions of the DEQ2496 observed in real world application is helpful for many others in my shoes (and perhaps some in your shoes as well.)
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    There's nothing else quite like this. Behringer comes up with weird ideas to fill gaps in the market. The thing with Behringer is that I still don't trust them. All three of my DCX2496 (xovers) eventually developed problems. These were purchased years before the DEQ2496, so it's possible they may have designed things for more suitable for professional applications by now. (BTW, the feedback destroyer is legit).

    In your situation, it looks like you would be using the EQ on the x2 mono out. I don't think you would need this level of surgical EQ either. An analog parametric or Bax EQ from a more reputable company would more likely meet your needs. The last thing you want in sound reinforcement applications is a critical part of the chain breaking. The problem is that reputable company + EQ = $$$$.
     
  15. BenjaminBore

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    When I bought mine the screen flickered. I got it replaced and same thing. Before the warranty ran out it died due to a power issue. Got it fixed no problem. Now the screen image is slowly fading away. This is all without the active use of being in the production scenario it's meant to be catering to. Just with me pootling about with headphones occasionally, and running it untouched with a fixed PEQ generally.


    There's just no hardware alternative that isn't in the four figure region, or that even has physical controls.
     
  16. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Other than the "Stereo Expansion" function being non-functional on my unit, I haven't had any problems. UI takes a bit of getting used to, but one of my best audio purchases for improving my listening experience.
     

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