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$500 amplifiers to test and review?

amirm said:
From the specs, I don't think it will be any different than the A500 that I have. So I don't think it pays to ship it back and forth.
Click to expand...
But, but, but... it's got Accelerated Transient Response! :cool:

In seriousness (well -- as close as I get to seriousness), I, too, am intrigued by this amplifier. Mostly, I am intrigued as to why it exists in Behringer's product lineup. From their perspective, there must be things that differentiate it from their several other similarly priced and similarly powered products. In 2020, the proliferation of too many SKUs is anathema to most brands, as far as I know. The existence of the KM750 as a product suggests (to me!) that it's worth a shake-down (i.e., quantitative assessment)! :)

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Looks very industrial. Also 1980’s. Five bipolar transistors per phase should allow high current, Also good to see balanced and single ended inputs.
What I do not like,
Power transformer and supply board could be swapped, transformer close to AC inlet.
Circuitry is spread out too much. Tighter layout is better.
VBE multipliers could be positioned in the middle of the heatsinks, not at the ends.
 
Panelhead said:
Looks very industrial. Also 1980’s. Five bipolar transistors per phase should allow high current, Also good to see balanced and single ended inputs.
What I do not like,
Power transformer and supply board could be swapped, transformer close to AC inlet.
Circuitry is spread out too much. Tighter layout is better.
VBE multipliers could be positioned in the middle of the heatsinks, not at the ends.
Click to expand...
There's a good reason for putting the transformer close to the front panel, and that's because when the amp is mounted in a 19" rack, one doesn't want the weight hanging too far out as this will strain the front panel. This is especially important in a PA rack which will get shipped from gig to gig. It also makes it much more difficult to screw the amp in the rack with weight hanging out the back, it can become a two man job with some amps. One great benefit of a SMPS is losing the weight of the transformer.

S
 
forart.it said:
Just acquired an Apart CHAMP-2 pro amplifier (used, for 125€) that costs - with free shipping - € 483 @ Thomann.de:

34S8GLU.jpg


...unfortunally I can't send to USA for measurements...
Click to expand...

That looks like the guts of most of the $5 to 10k (USD) amplifiers I see on more tradtionally "audiophile" sites. And I do mean that as a compliment to this amp. :)
 
forart.it said:
Just acquired an Apart CHAMP-2 pro amplifier (used, for 125€) that costs - with free shipping - € 483 @ Thomann.de:

34S8GLU.jpg


...unfortunally I can't send to USA for measurements...
Click to expand...
That's an interesting review. I'm not a German speaker, so Google translate helped me a lot here:

ORIGINAL POST:
"OK, aber nicht Spitze
JuF, 09.04.2018
Ich habe diese Endstufe mit einer PAS 2002PCA verglichen und beide vermessen (APx515). Die APART can be nicht annähernd mithalten. Rauschen und THD ca. 10db schlechter und recht ausgeprägter Restbrumm. Die Limitierung funktioniert aber recht gut - PAS clip clip recht hart.

Die Kanten der Kühlkörper sind sehr scharf und man hat keine Speakon Anschlüsse - aber prinzipiell ist die Verarbeitung gut.

For "normal" Anwendungen (HiFi Lautsprecher und größerer Abstand, Installation etc.) can be used for Amp ruhig hernehmen, für anspruchsvolle Aufgaben (Abhöre mit höherem Wirkungsgrad, knapper Sitzabstand, ruhiger Raum) gibts besseres.
Geht zurück".

GOOGLE TRANSLATED POST:
"OK, but not great
JuF, April 9, 2018
I compared this power amplifier with a PAS 2002PCA and measured both (APx515). The APART cannot be anywhere near. Noise and THD about 10db poor and quite pronounced residual hum. The limitation works quite well - PAS clip clip quite hard.

The edges of the heat sinks are very sharp and there are no Speakon connections - but in principle the workmanship is good.

For "normal" applications (hi-fi speakers and greater distance, installation, etc.) can be used for Amp quietly, for demanding tasks (monitoring with higher efficiency, close seat spacing, quiet room) there is better.
Go back".

However, a more appropriate compare would probably be between the same PAS amplifier and CHAMP-4, due to the similar power outputs , prices and the internal shielding from the transformer on the CHMAP-4 (the so called "residual hum" will dimmish a lot here).

Please allow me to challenge you to send this over to @amirm for testing, just check with him about this. If there's something that can get wrong this would be Customs, but not shipping itself.
 
Panelhead said:
Power transformer and supply board could be swapped, transformer close to AC inlet.
Click to expand...
It is rack mounted so from weight distribution point of view, it makes sense to put the transformer in the front.
 
hege said:
Actually I tried giving my US shipito address to amazon.de, and it would happily proceed with the order and even removes VAT..

Order Summary
Items: €318.49
Postage & Packing: €35.67
Order Total: €354.16

So 390$ total for STA-1000D (dunno if there's some import taxes)

@amirm or someone want to purchase for measurement? I'll be happy to donate 20€ :D
Click to expand...
I see you have gotten information on the IMG amps. Do you know what the input opamp is?

Thanks
 
rebbiputzmaker said:
I see you have gotten information on the IMG amps. Do you know what the input opamp is?

Thanks
Click to expand...
IMG stageline STA-1000D
Low input res, 5kohm and 10kohm on balanced input. Found review (?) here: https://rognlien.wordpress.com/2016/06/
english summary:

This professional PA amplifier uses the same Pascal class D card as the fantastic Gato DIA-250. Obviously it’s more to it than just that, implementation has a lot to say. Note that this power amp has a very low input impedance, normal hifi pre-amps may struggle, valve pre-amps are useless in this set-up. A fair pre amp or DAC with volume control, and an output impedance below 100 Ohm, will normally handle the load of 5 kOhm (SE) and 10 kOhm (balanced).

Even though using the Pascal S-PRO2, there is not much resemblance with the smooth Gato. The IMG serves us with a very controlled sound, no or little timbral qualities or liveliness in the reproduction. Control, however, is tremendous. Works wonderful on professional speakers, never loosing grip on speaker units, holding the iron fist tight at any volume. Tried with typically hifi-speakers as Aurum Vulkan, it’s a completely different beast, even if the control is kept, the sound is not what I’d call hifi. This is dry, non communicative and tight, might work fine for a small band, but not good for a spoilt hifi-nerd.

The IMG STA-1000D might serve very well as a (bridged) sub amplifier, or for pure PA-applications, but for music lovers listening to hifi speakers, I’d suggest a NAD instead. It is good value for money if you count cost on each Watt you get, but apart from that, this is nothing for the normal hifi-buff!
 
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