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Behringer A800

maty

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14 pictures.

[English & French] https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum...nger-a800-class-photos-uniques-t30100188.html

Optimized and resized

Behringer-A800-inside.jpg

So that I can compare, I specify that I have several amps. (High end AB amp, TPA3255 Amp Purepath, TK2050 Tripath)...


[ Sound Stage :
Compared to my AB high end amplifier, I would say that the A800 has clinical or even a surgical sound, extremely well balanced with a formidable precision in the low ends. This is pretty typical with Class D amps but I have to admit that the balance between all the frequencies is quite exceptional ! Audio image is really great (this depends also on recordings and tubes).

Musicality :
The musicality is a little to the detriment of the accuracy of this class D Amp. Question of taste probably.... With the A800 you will really hear some suprising details (sliding guitar strings, articulations on the snare etc)... Is as accurate as the TPA3255 maybe better to my ears but a little less warm than my AB amp.

Dynamics :
Excellent ! The music really live : the amp has a lot power. Listening is not tiring really amazing. The range of how gently or strongly are played the instruments is clearly noticeable.

Noise / Signal :
AMAZING ! absolutely dead silence between songs even with my Volume control @70%.

Conclusion :
For this price, I think it is impossible to Out perform this Class D amp.
For me it is clearly an Audiophile amplifier that performs as well as a 1000$ amplifier. Now let the scientif measures confirm this.... ]

Only € 169. https://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_a800.htm
 
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maty

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Niklasmagnus

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I hope this amp can be tested soon, I need to add with more channels now and like the fact this is fan-free. My subs have min ohm of 3,3 so I would like to know if this amp will work with lower loads then 4 ohm.
I ask the Behringer support about this but only got this answer:

Unfortunately we cannot advise any usage outside the specifications present on the products page.

Nevertheless I can state that the impedance values defined for any unit are an indication of what impedance values should be used and if the impedance values are slightly higher of lower that should not be of great concern.”
 

bravomail

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0.08% distortino translates to Buratino of 62dB. measly. below par.
 

IowAudio

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I shipped the A800 to Amir a few days ago. He should be getting it soon. Not sure when he'll have time to get it reviewed but I'm sure he won't keep us waiting to long. It can be a busy time of the year with family and holidays so I don't expect him to drop everything he's currently doing to get this done. Before Christmas would be great but if not, its not a big deal. With the Behringer A800 gone its forced me to get more familiar with my Marantz SR4021.
 

Niklasmagnus

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I shipped the A800 to Amir a few days ago. He should be getting it soon. Not sure when he'll have time to get it reviewed but I'm sure he won't keep us waiting to long. It can be a busy time of the year with family and holidays so I don't expect him to drop everything he's currently doing to get this done. Before Christmas would be great but if not, its not a big deal. With the Behringer A800 gone its forced me to get more familiar with my Marantz SR4021.
Great, then we just have to wait a little longer. I hope he also will check performance below 4 ohm.
 

IowAudio

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I'm interested if it can beat the Crown XLS series at 76db or the previous A500.
 

oog747

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Comparison to XLS 1502 from use with main speakers perspective, musicality, would be of high interest (currently testing XLS 1502 and comparing to Marantz SR4023 integrated).
Also, can it be safely tested, if A800 runs bridged (for headroom/dynamic power) with 4 Ohm load and how parameters are affected?
 

oog747

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Behringer’s SmartSense Technology advertising includes freq response chart with 2 ohm response. Specs go down to 4 ohms only, but may be A800 can safely hold current with lower loads? So also may be can be bridged for 4 ohms as well at reasonable sustained input level?
 

oog747

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While waiting for review, decided to try A800 and compare to XLS1502. Wondering about sensitivity of RCA inputs/input stage on A800. Matching output SPL from speakers with XLS1502 set for 1.4V requires to set A800 at 2 o'clock (picture). With 0.77V input sensitivity on XLS1502, it's 3 o'clock on A800.

Edit: Manual states sensitivity of -10 dBV for RCA, which converts to 0.316V, which makes sense then.

Otherwise A800 sounds nice, hiss (while exists) is very low (with inputs disconnected). No buzzing so far. Runs much warmer than XLS1502, but not too bad. No drop at 24kHz as with XLS1502 (due to ADC at 48 kHz). For fun attached non scientific frequency response measurement out of speakers (HiVi 3.1A DIY). Comparison between XLS1502 and A800. My system is very revealing... that it's not very good :). At least on charts. Shown are averages between channels smoothed to 1/12. "Calibrated" mic iMM6 (18Hz-20kHz) at 1m to Sony Vaio sound card.

Not that it says much, but A800 bridged and driving 4 Ohm speaker at normal level runs without going to protection, etc.

Also interesting thing on my example of A800 - color coding on RCA inputs is reversed - red for Left (A) and white for Right (B) channel.

Edit 2: A800 developed very slight hum with inputs disconnected. Little more noticeable hum when connected too. Similar to XLS1502, and both connected from the same Y split, so.. Hiss is still lower on A800 than on XLS1502 and in general is very low. Also just a guessing game for fun, but I think A800 will have just around 200W to 4 Ohms before clipping.

A800 matched to XLS1502 max at 1.4V sensitivity.jpgXLS1502 vs A800.png
 
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oog747

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I shipped the A800 to Amir a few days ago. He should be getting it soon. Not sure when he'll have time to get it reviewed but I'm sure he won't keep us waiting to long. It can be a busy time of the year with family and holidays so I don't expect him to drop everything he's currently doing to get this done. Before Christmas would be great but if not, its not a big deal. With the Behringer A800 gone its forced me to get more familiar with my Marantz SR4021.

Thank you @IowAudio for providing @amirm with A800 for testing, resulting in very interesting review. And @Tangband for starting the thread :)
 

cuchu

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I've been using it as my main power amp to drive my home stereo setup. I run spdif/optical from my PC to a Emotiva PT-100 DAC/Preamp and that feeds signal to the A800 via RCA. So far in my use case its dead quiet when not playing music and even when playing high quality audio files. I have the gain on the A800 set just a click or two under max and use the PT-100 to control overall volume. Typical preamp/amp relation. I've left it on for days by accident to find it only barely warm and after hours of near clipping rocking out with a case of beer and Rush 2112 it gets good and warm but never actually hot. I had a Sony V333ES I loved dearly before this but it was big, hot, and heavy. For me the A800 beats it in every way and has convinced me of Class D's potential. Possibly even getting a second and running 2 of them in mono so I have 800w x 2. Not cause I need it but having lots of head room should allow the amps to stay more composed. If you watch my sound demo on the DCM bookshelfs or the Sony CS5 put on some headphones to get a vague taste of the A800. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpT_kN60jHU2YBhpiyW0ChA

I hope this amp doesn't test out as absolute junk cause I do like it a lot. Not sure who I need to be in contact with to get this thing sent in and scrutinized.

Hi IowAudio! first of all, thanks for your review and comments.

Do you know if this tube buffer preamplifier could be a good match for the a800?

FX-AUDIO TUBE-01

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/prea...ve-6j1-stereo-preamplifier-black-p-10995.html

I´m using it since a year ago and I love how it sounds, but I don´t know if it´s output power would be enough to the a800.

Thanks in advance!
 

Pulkass

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Bought one, rather good, for the price is a gem, considering to buy another, having two monos, what s the minimum load to connect in mono??? 4 ohms ??? Can t find the manual. thanks.
 

Benedium

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Hope this isn't a silly question but...
Would two units of the a800 be the best match for my denon avr x3600h running 5.1.4 speakers including 3x elac dbr62 LCR?
Purifi is my dream but totally out of budget.
 
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