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Behringer DCX2496 EQ Review

Rate this DSP DAC/ADC:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 10 5.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 65 35.7%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 89 48.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 18 9.9%

  • Total voters
    182

Remlab

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Used several of these for over a decade. Loved them, but got tired of them breaking. Switched over to Minidsp 2x4HD's but still have a Behringer DCX running the subs. When it breaks, that will be it for the DCX's
 

TonyJZX

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i literally blinked my eyes a few times at this title picture as i could swear this thing was something my mates used to play with at university and in live auditoriums

and yes... this thing is around 20yrs old

one of the reviews i can find online dates back to 2003....

looking at the lens of a 20yr old product one should be sympathetic to less than state of the art measurements.... because this thing can legally vote or enlist and drink in some jurisdictions

it seems like behringer have just kept making these because the performance for intended purposes is totally fine
 

OldHvyMec

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I have used these Active crossovers for over 12 years. I had SNs within the first 100. I have and still own 4. I use them for bass management.
They have every tool I need. A stock unit can set up as a set of of band pass BASS bins, direct coupled subs or they can do decent mids up to
2500hz or so. I had a pair modded with a lot better boards. They cost around 1000.00 9-10 years ago. They were never as good as a GREAT
passive XO in the band pass or the highs. I have a First Watt B5 (?) (OB 2 way active XO) it's quite good.

It has a summation capable 3rd channel output or for onboard mic measurements. It is pro based, limiters, time delay, 6-48db XOs. They also work very
well with other Behringer power amps. I use NU12000s.

I'm going to use them on my my latest Bass Column project. 100-300hz Band pass bass columns with servo subs 100hz <.. Sure easy to use.

I used that summation feature to run a 3rd center speaker in leu of an expensive SST Trinaural Processor. Even with a lot better boards installed
in one, I was well under the cost of and SST but a lot more features and it sounded better to me. I used it for stereo, or as a center channel.
As a Bass management system STOCK units are great no mods needed. I've ran 6 passive subs with great control for very different sizes in the group.
Copper pro XLR cables work perfect.

I use them only for bass duty with 12K class Ds. NOW!!! I can't find a combo for serious BASS even close for the money I paid. I paid 400.00 each for the
NU12000s. We bought a pallet of 20 between 6 people. I took 4. HEAVY 10/2/g JSoow or SOOW for AC feed up to 10 feet. It's not picky equipment.

The DCX2496 was at PE on sale if I remember. 265.00 each if you bought 4. Free shipping too. A Few years back.

I keep one on 24/7 and have for over 5 years. I've never had a failure at 120vac either.

They are fun BUT I have never used the daisy chain feature. I thought they hooked into a laptop and had a few more
features. Online at the Behringer site additional information is available for DL.

I like the 4 or 5 Behringer products I have used. I still use 2 and a Behringer mic I think. Been a while.

Thanks for the review.
 

Rja4000

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Thanks Amir

Those are out for a long time, indeed.
(Announced in 2003, if I'm not mistaken.)

I have 2 questions for @amirm
- Why did you run the digital dashboard at 500Hz ?
- What's the maximum analog input level ?

The first shouldn't make a significant difference. ;-)
The second is important for intended (semi) pro use.
 
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fpitas

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What is RTV?

I have a unit that exhibits the rice krispies effect in one channel. I only use one of its channels, so I swapped the cables to the other channel. I've been too lazy to open it up and correct the problem, but I will soon.
RTV is silicone rubber glue.
 

pos

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@amirm , it would be interesting to measure distortion when EQ is applied, especially low frequency one.
In my experience the DCX does produce quite a lot of distortion in that situation, as do many other 32 bit biquad implementations.
 
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amirm

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@amirm , it would be interesting to measure distortion when EQ is applied, especially low frequency one.
In my experience the DCX does produce quite a lot of distortion in that situation, as do many other 32 bit biquad implementations.
Eq changes the response and as a result distortion.
 

Tangband

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Interesting review .
Theres many opinions by owners that the AES input sound better and has better S/N . This test dont show this . Maybe people havent optimized for optimal gain structure ? .

The jitter results in this Behringer are not up to standard of 2022 ( -90 dB ) . I wouldnt buy it for this issue. The minidsp flex uses a xmos as USB input and shows much less jitter .

This Behringer digital crossover offers a 3 way solution for not much money , so maybe the price reflects the performance? Not top notch , but better than some analog active crossovers .

82C60205-07BB-4A4C-8E07-EE9991444247.png
88589C17-F942-4B78-8EE7-5DA67F2CB496.png
 
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hege

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Would testing input at 96khz make any difference, as that should be it's native rate? I guess the SRC is good enough.
 

milosz

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I don't know if anyone mentioned this but you can control it from a PC, there is a program for that. Connected via SERIAL port - some PCs still have those, but it doesn't matter, you can use a USB <=> serial converter. Some usb/serial converters will work, some not so much. I was able to control a DCX 2496 off a PC.

I've had a couple of these. First one, power supply crapped out.

Second one still works but display is flaky- sometimes display works, sometimes not.

Third one still works as new.

I use a couple of DEQX's in my main system and MiniDSP's in my car and in the bedroom system. I also have a MiniDSP for experiments, I am working on a pair of biamped floorstanders right now using a bunch of old stuff I had laying around- old drivers etc. plus a MiniDSP HD. So I really have no use for the DCX2496's any more, I suppose I will sell them when I get around to it.
 
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amirm

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I am talking about non linear distortion here
So am I. Imagine reducing the response where second harmonic lands. Now you have less distortion being measured even though system non linearity has not changed.
 

Music707

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AFAIK the DCX2496 does not come with a printed manual but just with a Quick Start Guide. However, a pdf manual (30+ pages) is available from behringer.com.

Therefore, Amir's critical comment "Documentation is bare minimum with little explanation of some of the terms." leaves open whether he was dissatisfied with the manual content or would have preferred being given a printed manual in the first place (or maybe a CD containing the pdf manual).

At least the Quick Start Guide makes explicit reference to the manual: "So, please read the entire user’s manual to take full advantage of all your DCX2496(LE)'s features and functions." (The quote is from the current pdf version of the Quick Start Guide that I just downloaded from behringer.com).
 
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Tangband

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Would testing input at 96khz make any difference, as that should be it's native rate? I guess the SRC is good enough.
I dont think the SRC is any good in this 20 years old product . The jitter measurement shows a bad result. Maybe Ok in 2003 but not in 2022.

It would be interesting though with measurements with a 96 KHz digital AES signal . A mac computer and a good DDC has superior SRC so there is a possibility that 44,1 KHz source material thats upsampled in a Mac to 96 KHz to a DDC can give a better result from AES , than letting the Behringer do sample rate conversion from 44.1 KHz AES input, to 96 KHz ?
 

fpitas

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I keep hoping Behringer will bring the DCX2496 up to date, or at least up to say, 5 years ago technology. Not sure that will ever happen.
 

Tangband

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I keep hoping Behringer will bring the DCX2496 up to date, or at least up to say, 5 years ago technology. Not sure that will ever happen.
There is not much competition at this low pricerange , thus no need for Behringer to develop a better machine .

Its a mystery that Minidsp can work almost alone below the 300 dollar bar . There should be many more competitors.

Maybe a Rasberry Pi with a good dsp crossover software and analog parts would be both cheaper and better ?
 

fpitas

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There is not much competition at this low pricerange , thus no need for Behringer to develop a better machine .

Its a mystery that Minidsp can work almost alone below the 300 dollar bar . There should be many more competitors.

Maybe a Rasberry Pi with a good dsp crossover software and analog parts would be both cheaper and better ?
Still not a lot of DIY active speakers out there, for one thing. And the DCX is really intended for DJ and pro use. Still, I wonder if the parts will start to go obsolete soon and force a redesign.
 

hege

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Still, I wonder if the parts will start to go obsolete soon and force a redesign.
It's already been revised many times, chips changed from AKM to Cirrus, the cheaper LE-version etc. I'm sure it will be kept alive for another 20 years..
 
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