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Behringer NX3000D Pro DSP Amplifier Review

Tks

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The fan unfortunately is not temperature sensitive and wails away upon power up! I am sure saving weight is a big deal when you try to squeeze every dollar out of shipping costs.

?

4-pin PWM fans and a controller for them are nothing to be marveled by anymore..

Since the unit already has a fan, we won't consider that in the notion of "saving on shipping costs" for "weight savings". All that's left is the controller.

Here's one from Noctua, at 1.76 ounces and dimension size of 1.89 x 0.83 x 0.98 inches, I highly doubt Behringer is saving much on skimping out on a feature like this if they were adamant about not having temp-probes anywhere in this system sending signal to the fans.. At least let us choose the fan speed, if it's too low and the unit shuts off due to protection circuits or some thermal limit, then we know we'd have to up the fan speed (or have "recommended" portion on the dial itself from Behringer).

There's no reason fans need to be screaming at full load. This is simply archaic. No excuse tbh. Could've at least included a Noctua fan instead of whatever they went with, if they truly wanted to leave fan profiles static and out of the hands of consumers, or logic controlled.

Great review bossman
 

azzy_mazzy

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did you test the power in bridged mode? as this still could be effective as a sub amp.
 

beefkabob

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Noctua fans are quieter than normal fans, but if you get enough of them, they still make noticeable noise. See my 36 bay server for details. Also how can you tell which direction a fan blows from that photo? It's odd to flow hot air out the front of the device. Normally rackmount gear blows hot air out the back. So strange.

Anyway, this piece of gear seems useful for what? A PA? A low-end sub? That's about it.
 

beefkabob

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Assuming 808 watts of bridged power at 4 ohms, this probably still won't drive the custom subs people might want it for. People are probably aiming for 1000w + RMS. This seems more of a low-end PA/touring amp.
 

Bruce Morgen

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The fan noise problem is easily solved w a computer fan, I used a Noctura in my non DSP version of this amp. It has been on 24/7 for months now.

The Vantec "Stealth" line of computer case fans is reputedly the bee's knees for that sort of fan noise reduction retrofit -- I have one on order for the bargain basement SMPS that powers my dandy little Chinese "chip amp."
 

trl

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Amplifier Audio Measurements
As usual, we feed the amp 1 kHz and see what else it outputs beside that at 5 watts into 4 ohm test load:

View attachment 72031

[...]
It would be nice to zoom-into the 15-20KHz bandwidth harmonics.Wondering if these are still there if no signal is feed to the amplifier, but also if other frequency waves are applied (100Hz, 5KHz, 10KH maybe). I wonder what is causing these odd spikes, maybe the output inductors filter or something related to the internal pre-amp?
 

Vasr

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Also how can you tell which direction a fan blows from that photo?

You can tell from the shape of the blades (with good probability but not 100%). The blades typically "lean into" the direction of rotation and the angle of the blade determines the air flow direction. Leading edge up here spinning counter-clockwise would seem to suggest air intake.

This fan is probably more like a PSU or a GPU fan in a computer to always keep a component near it cool than a case fan to circulate air inside a chassis to bring general temperature down or prevent overheating.

If there is a photo of the insides, it wil likely show a component/heatsink sitting just behind it that needs constant cooling, rather than to prevent a overheating situation. That component probably gets hot whenever it is on. So, you don't necessarily want a controller in there to vary speed or to have an idle stop. Best you can probably do is try to find a quieter fan but you would need to ensure similar or higher CFM not just the size.
 
OP
amirm

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You can see the component just behind it that the fan is supposed to cool continuously.
Nice find. What it is blowing on is heatsink for power output devices.
 

304290

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There are hundreds of pages at various avforums about this amp and predesessor nu3000dsp, with even more discussions regarding the 6000dsp. These are very popular for subwoofer duty amps given the power they output at 2ohm stereo/4ohm bridged. Hardly anyone runs them stereo or wouldn't even think about using it as a hifi amp. But when used as a bridged mono amp with subs, with the very flexible dsp that has goodies like 20hz(and below with the right settings that's documented over at avsforum.com) hpf, lsf, lpf each up to order slope, with up 5 band dsp, limiter, delay, and various other filters makes this one heck of a bargin. These work great along with rew.

The watt specs are complete garbage and they do list the supposedly true rms wattage. I know parts express does on their website. But this has been tested at outputing close to 2000 watts on a 20amp circuit(not long term of course the limiter with come into play). the the nx./nu6000 don't have this limiter, but tortue test shows that it will shut off however. It has been tested at nearly 2000 watts x2 both channels driven 4 ohm(not bridgeable)on a 20amp circuit. I'm running a 6000dsp powering two stereo integrity subs tuned to 13hz. I'm getting 105db at 10hz, 120db at 20hz. I also have a 3000dsp powering to 15s in another room tuned to 15hz where I'm getting 115db at 20hz. Both setups were tuned with rew which gives me a pretty flat response. But again, subwoofer duty only with each mounted in an equipment rack in a closest. Subwoofer ht duty is the only thing I would ever consider using these amps for. Oh and there are numerous pages with fan mods to make them much quieter without sacrificing cooling properties for those who don't have them in an equipment closet.
 

Stellabagpuss

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Thanks fot the test Amir,
i have been running the earier inuke DSP1000 DSP with a Noctura fan mode. l have had to have 2 psu changed on 2 units, failed not even load.
Since then they are been great, l use them for my OB set up for LF on crossover, the dsp is great for reducing LF peaks.
l wouldn't use them for above 300hz, but they great tool for the lower end, l run Temple Audio monoblocks for 300hz to above.
Again thanks for the test
 

304290

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Yeah, there have been a lot of fails with fan mods in the past before there became a consensus on what works without sacrificing cooling. People gave up pretty much on the 80mm fans. Anything slower than what the stock fans will do, is a compromise. What myself anf many others have done was to remove the top and replace with with plexiglass and cut out a hole for 120-to 140mm noctua fans. These fans blow directly on the heatsinks, can barely hear them run and actually move more air than the 80mm counterparts. I have a 120 on my 3000 and a 140 on my 6000 daily duty for years without a sweat. By using the plexiglass, you can always replace the original top for resale. Less than 10.00 a sheet a a local hardware store. It can be cut with a box cutter and hole saw drill attachment.
 

scooter

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Thanks for review Amir.
Seeing how this PRO amps have measured here, I guess the one I was looking for previously (Omnitronic DJP-900P) would have a similar performance. Though in smaller compact package and without fan.
 

Bruce Morgen

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A bit of topic, but...

as a not native English speaker both whates and wails sound the same.

English is loaded with homonyms -- words that are pronounced (and often even spelled) identically, but have entirely different meanings. For example, the word "pool" can refer to a body of water or a popular category of billiards games. I'm sure this is difficult for folks whose first language is more consistent.
 

audioBliss

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Great to see a review of this amp. Now I know not to buy it even for subwoofer duties. It would be cool if you ever get the opportunity to test a Behringer EP2500/EP4000 as that has been praised by the HT community for some time.
 

FrantzM

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We have written quite a lot about this amp, a mediocre product. Behringer is hit and/or miss. They may have better models in their lineup. Only testing can tell.
Peace!
 

Bear123

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Great to see a review of this amp. Now I know not to buy it even for subwoofer duties. It would be cool if you ever get the opportunity to test a Behringer EP2500/EP4000 as that has been praised by the HT community for some time.
This amp works very well when bridged for subwoofers. Did you see the sweep I posted of the sub driven by this amp earlier in the thread? A better alternative than this amp is the NX6000d since it is basically like two bridged 3000's in one case. The 6000 provides a legit 15-1800 watts/channel into a 4 ohm load. I used an NX6000d on a pair of 8 ohm subs and it would provides about 1,000 per channel. Not much price difference between the 3000 and 6000.

Noctua fans do make them essentially dead silent unless your in an anechoic chamber, but I feel lifespan is likely reduced with less cooling.
 
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