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Behringer EP2500 Stereo Amplifier Review

Rate this stereo amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 46 26.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 86 50.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 36 20.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 4 2.3%

  • Total voters
    172

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer EP2500 "pro" stereo amplifier. It was purchased used and kindly sent to me for testing. It is discontinued but seems to go for $300 or so used.
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo Review.jpg

I like the front panel gain controls which I set to about 22 dB for the review. Clipping indicators are very nice to have and as you see later, are accurate. Same with signal detection. On the negative front, the amplifier is loud, very loud. Even at idle I can hear it from 10 meters/30 feet away. So don't even think about running it in the same room or finding a way to quiet it down. The amp is also very heavy at 36 pounds for a professional amp which these days are quite light by using switching technologies.

Back panel shows nice set of switches which enable the limiter or selection of two different high pass filters:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo back panel bridgeable Review.jpg

I disliked the cover over binding posts as it made it almost impossible to turn the speakon plugs to lock and unlock.

If you are not familiar with my amplifier measurements, please watch this tutorial:

Behringer EP2500 Amplifier Measurements
As usual we start with our 5 watt dashboard:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo measurement.png

Typical of amplifiers in this class, distortion is high compared to consumer amplifiers. The causes SINAD to be dominated by it and underperform the average tested amplifier by whopping 20 dB. Noise performance is reasonable:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo SNR measurement.png


Back to distortion, it naturally rises with frequency:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo Multitone measurement.png

Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo 19 20 kHz intermodulation distortion ...png


Frequency response shows some drooping but not end of the world:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo Frequency Response measurement.png


Crosstalk is one of the worst I have measured:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo channel separation measurement.png


Power output is very healthy but distortion is ever present:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo  Power 4 ohm measurement.png

Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo  Power 8 ohm measurement.png

It also meets spec at 1 kHz:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo Max and Peak Power 4 ohm measurement.png


Testing at 40 Hz shows same level of output:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo 40 hz power into 4 ohm measurement.png


I tried to run my 1% THD power sweep. It ran fine from 20,000 down to a few hundred hertz but then tripped the breaker in my industry power strip! We can see that it is very capable at lower frequencies:

Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo Frequency vs  Power 4 ohm measurement.png


For this reason, I did not attempt to test it with my reactive load. I am confident that in a fight with that load, the amp would win!

The amp is stable on power up:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo warm up measurement.png


There are not one, but two nasty power up pops:
Behringer EUROPOWER EP2500 Professional Amplifier Stereo power on off pop noise measurement.png


Conclusions
The EP2500 delivers on what one expects from a professional amplifier: tons of power and mid 60s SINAD, comprised of distortion. It also does that in the form of noise. For the typical subwoofer duty, it would do well and very low cost but you would need to find a way to quiet it, and the pop it generates.

Personally I would pay a lot more and get a quiet amp but I know others want the price performance. To the extent you don't mind shopping used, the Behringer EP2500 does the job.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 
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Behringer EP2500 Specs​

Power Rating450W @ 8Ω Stereo (per channel)*
650W @ 4Ω Stereo (per channel)*
500W @ 8Ω Stereo (per channel)**
750W @ 4Ω Stereo (per channel)**
1200W @ 2Ω Stereo (per channel)**
1300W @ 8Ω Bridged-Mono***
1500W @ 8Ω Bridged-Mono****
2400W @ 4Ω Bridged-Mono****
Damping Factor>300 @ 8 Ohms
Input Sensitivity1.23 V(+4 dBu)(VRMS @ 8 Ohms)
Input Impedance10 kOhms Unbalanced
20 kOhms Balanced
Gain34 dB
Frequency Response20 Hz - 20 kHz, +0/-1dB(10dB below rated output power)
5 Hz - 50 kHz(at -3dB points)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio-100dB, unweighted, 20Hz - 20kHz
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)<0.02%
Input Connections2 x 3-pin XLR Female, Balanced
2 x 1/4" TRS Phone, Balanced
Output Connectors2 x Touch-Proof Binding Posts
2 x Neutrik Speakon
Controls Front Panel2 x Rotary Gain Controls
1 x Power Switch
Controls (Rear)Mode, LF Filter, Limiter via 10-position DIP switch
Indicators1 x Green Power indicator
2 x Red Clip LED indicators
2 x Yellow Signal LED indicators
CoolingSpeed-regulated fan, back-to-front airflow
Power Consumption9.6A (120VAC, 60 Hz)
5A (230VAC, 50 Hz)
Dimensions19 x 15.8 x 3.5" (482.6 x 402 x 88mm); 2U
Weight36.6 lbs (16.6 kg)
SpecialtiesTurn On/Off Muting
Low-Noise Toroidal Transformer
Independent DC and Thermal Overload Protection per Channel
 
Thank you for the review! Just an addition: It is identical to the Behringer EP4000 which replaced it. The only difference is that Behringer updated the spec sheet to 1% ratings instead of 0.1% ratings so the EP4000 looks to be more powerful.

I did have higher hopes for the fullrange performance though, but seems to be a good subwoofer-amp. Could be interesting to have it compared to the QSC RMX2450a which it is a copy off (probably a bad copy though).
 
Awesome review - I know a lot, including myself, have used this amp for subs atleast and I've always wondered how good or bad it actually is in terms of measurements.

So thanks for sending it in @Jonas_h and thank you for the measurements @amirm

I since upgraded my amps, so I feel a little better now having invested in more expensive amps comming from these Behringers. I have enjoyed them a lot in the past and still own some of their Class D counterparts, but they are collecting dust at the moment.
 
Such "Thomann-like"* brands offer usually great value for money and are well adapted to their corresponding market needs, thank you for the review of such alternative to typical hifi audio fields.

*edited as Behringer is not a T brand
 
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Thanks Amir.
Another useful point of reference.
Recently I've been looking more closely at infinite baffle subs (great community there) and they never look any further than amps like this.

What's interesting though, is that the mutitone test didn't look THAT bad. Based on all the other tests, you'd expect the grass to be higher, especially at higher frequencies.
 
Such Thomann brands offer usually great value for money and are well adapted to their corresponding market needs, thank you for the review of such alternative to typical hifi audio fields.
Thomann carries a wide range of brands, but Behringer is not one of their in-house brands.

Thomann's own line of amplifiers is called t.amp.
 
Thomann carries a wide range of brands, but Behringer is not one of their in-house brands.

Thomann's own line of amplifiers is called t.amp.
True, I always do the same mistake, thinking its a T brand while it isn't. :facepalm:

By the way I just had a talk with a friend of mine who rents and installs PA equipment and he told me that the such Europower power amplifiers are a total disaster. Extremely loud fans, noise and worst of all: they are super unreliable. Also that absolutely nobody uses these pieces of junk professionally anymore. It's safer to buy the Thomann own-brand amps, which will almost certainly blow up at the end of the warranty and someone can make good use of them for at least two years. Additionally that Behringer bought LAB group years ago because of the big problems. Everyone is waiting for a cheap Behringer that is a 30-year-old LAB concept inside. Apart from that, power amp manufacturers are a dying breed. Everyone only buys active speakers, except for the giant PAs. But there LAB has a market share of about 90% because they also build a lot of OEM. Like Lacoustik, Kling& Freytag, Martin etc...
 
Nice that you did a review on a Behringer amp Amir. :)

I myself have a Behringer amp, a t.amp E-800 that I have for subwoofer duty. It works well and regarding what you said: On the negative front, the amplifier is loud, very loud. Even at idle I can hear it from 10 meters/30 feet away.
I don't know if mine was as loud because the person I bought my t.amp E-800 from had replaced the existing fans and installed silent Noctua fans instead. No annoying too loud fan noise with my amp in any case, see picture of the fans (unfortunately blurry):
IMG_20211207_093232 (1).jpg

Presumably, it should be possible to replace the fan on the Behringer EP2500 with a similar silent fan that I have?
I say presumably because I don't know how powerful that fan is and if there are silent fans that have enough power to cool down the Behringer EP2500?

General about Behringer.Here's a tip on a thread that brings up the brand:

 
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True, I always do the same mistake, thinking its a T brand while it isn't. :facepalm:

By the way I just had a talk with a friend of mine who rents and installs PA equipment and he told me that the such Europower power amplifiers are a total disaster. Extremely loud fans, noise and worst of all: they are super unreliable. Also that absolutely nobody uses these pieces of junk professionally anymore. It's safer to buy the Thomann own-brand amps, which will almost certainly blow up at the end of the warranty and someone can make good use of them for at least two years. Additionally that Behringer bought LAB group years ago because of the big problems. Everyone is waiting for a cheap Behringer that is a 30-year-old LAB concept inside. Apart from that, power amp manufacturers are a dying breed. Everyone only buys active speakers, except for the giant PAs. But there LAB has a market share of about 90% because they also build a lot of OEM. Like Lacoustik, Kling& Freytag, Martin etc...
I agree. That’s why you see so many of them for sale on the used market. And yes, t.amps are just as good, if not better, than many budget options from well-known brands.
 
Nice that you did a review on a Behringer amp Amir. :)

I myself have a Behringer amp, a t.amp E-800 that I have for subwoofer duty. It works well and regarding what you said: On the negative front, the amplifier is loud, very loud. Even at idle I can hear it from 10 meters/30 feet away.
I don't know if mine was as loud because the person I bought my t.amp E-800 from had replaced the existing fans and installed silent Noctua fans instead. No annoying too loud fan noise with my amp in any case, see picture of the fans (unfortunately blurry):
View attachment 429590

Presumably, it should be possible to replace the fan on the Behringer EP2500 with a similar silent fan that I have?
I say presumably because I don't know how powerful that fan is and if there are silent fans that have enough power to cool down the Behringer EP2500?
Regarding fan noise, it's worth noting that the tested amplifier isn't new, and we don't know how many hours it has been in use. The fans could be worn out.
 
Regarding fan noise, it's worth noting that the tested amplifier isn't new, and we don't know how many hours it has been in use. The fans could be worn out.
Review from 10 years ago mentioned the very thing I did.
 
Class D? Tons of crossover-like looking distortion, dead zone if class D. Horrible.
 
Horrible, powerful but horrible.
I agree. That’s why you see so many of them for sale on the used market. And yes, t.amps are just as good, if not better, than many budget options from well-known brands.
I heard from several people i know that are into hifi (subjective hifi...) that those t.amps are the real deal.
one even claiming his t.amp sound better than his mcintosh.
but on the other hand one claimed that this radio antenna looking cable made a world of difference so i dont take any advise from them anymore.
 
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