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Behringer A800 vs The Rest.

Pjetrof

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Like to hear from more experienced people in electronics and reading measurements, what would be audible better then the Behringer A800.
Powering Harbeth 30.2, mostly singer song writer, reasonable loudness, 40 square meter rectangular, speakers on long side 2 meters apart 3 meters to listening position. Money no object.
thx in advance for the replies.
 

sergeauckland

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Nothing would. The A800 is audibly transparent, so provided it has sufficient power, and it does for anyone sane, especially using Harbeth loudspeakers, there is no benefit whatsoever in another amplifier.

Of course if what you want is an excuse to buy something more expensive, then by all means. If you want something that isn't transparent, that has a sound of its own, then there are lots of options, but none of them 'better' than the A800, just different.

S.
 

Ron Texas

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I'm using a Crown XLS1502 with LS50's. It's probably the same thing as the A800 with more power and a built in highpass filter for bass management. I suspect it's of more robust construction. I don't see anything wrong with your setup. It's a big room, but if it plays loud enough that's good.
 

Laserjock

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I know your speakers are front ported but do you leave them up against the wall as in the pic on the Benchmark thread?
Might experiment with placement? Free tweak
 

MediumRare

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What do you who have such amps think about audible noise/hiss? I have heard (no pun intended) there is some with these semi-pro amps.
 

sergeauckland

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What do you who have such amps think about audible noise/hiss? I have heard (no pun intended) there is some with these semi-pro amps.
Generally, it's not the amps, most amps these days have very little noise. It's the loudspeakers that have high sensitivity and so show up the small amount of noise.

As an example, my Behringer A500s were adequately quiet (I couldn't hear any hiss or buzz unless I was within about 20cm from the 'speaker) when I used my B&W 801s passively, as the overall sensitivity is 85dB/2.83v. However, when I removed the passive crossover and drove the three drivers active, the midrange unit has a sensitivity of 92dB/2,83v, so 7dB more sensitive, and I could just about hear a faint buzz at the listening seat in a quiet house when the heating had gone off. I improved the power supply smoothing and reduced the buzz to the point I can't hear it again.

However, using a 130watt amplifier with a 92dB sensitivity driver in a very quiet house indicates the extent of the problem. Under normal circumstances, even a cheap amp like the A500 is perfectly adequate with 'normal' sensitivity 'speakers but may not be with high sensitivity 'speakers.
Beware of amplifiers that have their noise specification A weighted, as that covers a multitude of sins.

S.
 

Vini darko

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Theres always a bigger fish. The darling of the asr community is the benchmark power amp. It will drop noise floor and distortion off a cliff. As it should for the massively higher price.
 

nathan

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Like to hear from more experienced people in electronics and reading measurements, what would be audible better then the Behringer A800.
Powering Harbeth 30.2, mostly singer song writer, reasonable loudness, 40 square meter rectangular, speakers on long side 2 meters apart 3 meters to listening position. Money no object.
thx in advance for the replies.
Did you get the A800? If so, what is your conclusion?
 

arn

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I can recommend the a800, it is a very honest and transparent. With a bad source it will sound like a shit, in this case you will hear the hifi amp better (more “musical”), a typical hifi amp covers the issues. With a good source, it simply disappears in the system.

I could compare just with a nait xs, an i prefer the a800. I plan to try the nad c298 and the benchmark ahb2, but i am skeptical, they will be (much) better, maybe more refined.

I have paired with the smsl m500 and with the rme adi2, klh 5 on the speaker side.
 

Steve Rogers

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How do you use the chromecast audio with the a800? I guess there must be something in the middle to connect them? Also how do you control volume? I have always used integrated amp so am a bit clueless as to how you use power amps.
 

dlaloum

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Like to hear from more experienced people in electronics and reading measurements, what would be audible better then the Behringer A800.
Powering Harbeth 30.2, mostly singer song writer, reasonable loudness, 40 square meter rectangular, speakers on long side 2 meters apart 3 meters to listening position. Money no object.
thx in advance for the replies.
Seeing as you have Quad gear.... how would you compare the A800 to the Quad current dumpers? (I have 606, 707, and Crown XLS2500)
 

sergeauckland

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How do you use the chromecast audio with the a800? I guess there must be something in the middle to connect them? Also how do you control volume? I have always used integrated amp so am a bit clueless as to how you use power amps.
Two ways:-
1) Plug the output of the Chromecast Audio directly into the RCA inputs of the A800, and control the volume using the A800's input level controls.
2) Use an active or passive pre-amp which will give you input selection for other sources, volume control, and with an active preamp, possibly tone control as well.
With a modern passive preamp, you can usually have remote control of source selection and volume even if the volume control is entirely passive.

S.
 
OP
Pjetrof

Pjetrof

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Seeing as you have Quad gear.... how would you compare the A800 to the Quad current dumpers? (I have 606, 707, and Crown XLS2500)
Cant hear difference. I like the touch and feel of the quad more than the a800 also have cd player. But i cant hear what amplifier play.
 

Steve Rogers

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Can you leave a800 on 24/7, i see in manual you need to turn gain to zero when you power on or off. Also do they heat up?
 

N1ck

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I can recommend the a800, it is a very honest and transparent. With a bad source it will sound like a shit, in this case you will hear the hifi amp better (more “musical”), a typical hifi amp covers the issues. With a good source, it simply disappears in the system.

I could compare just with a nait xs, an i prefer the a800. I plan to try the nad c298 and the benchmark ahb2, but i am skeptical, they will be (much) better, maybe more refined.

I have paired with the smsl m500 and with the rme adi2, klh 5 on the speaker side.
What do you mean by a ‘bad‘ source? For example, a bad processor or a bad original source such as a low grade Youtube video?
I’m wondering whether it could be used with a Denon 3700 to power the front speakers. Would the Denon be a ‘bad’ source or would it only sound like sh1t when playing a low grade audio through the system in the first place?
 
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delta76

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What do you mean by a ‘bad‘ source? For example, a bad processor or a bad original source such as a low grade Youtube video?
I’m wondering whether it could be used with a Denon 3700 to power the front speakers. Would the Denon be a ‘bad’ source or would it only sound like sh1t when playing a low grade audio through the system in the first place?
either low bandwidth - i.e. heavily compressed, or simply bad recording. Some recordings are just bad and more revealing system will expose those.
x3700h has a good DAC so if it's bad, it's source, not x3700h itself.
 

N1ck

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Thanks for clearing that up. I guess the next question is what would be considered a bad band width? e.g. I watch bluray discs which I presume would be fine but also a lot of Disney plus, Amazon Prime and Sky TV. This is obviously at a lower bitrate/band width but would these be considered too low?
 

delta76

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Thanks for clearing that up. I guess the next question is what would be considered a bad band width? e.g. I watch bluray discs which I presume would be fine but also a lot of Disney plus, Amazon Prime and Sky TV. This is obviously at a lower bitrate/band width but would these be considered too low?
Hard to say, it's video streaming so it's less "critical" than music listening. As usual there are movies with good sound mixing, and there are movies with bad one. I would reckon it's fine in most cases. Whether you can hear the difference between streaming and bluray, is up to your setup (The amp is not only limiting factor here, it could be your speakers/room configuration etc.).
 
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