Bummer. Turned my console on the other day to play some tunes and one channel was dead.
Okay, thinking one of my short homemade XLR to XLR cables was bunk so I wiggled some wires after moving the rig. It worked then but the next day the same thing happened so I dug deeper.
Don't know if ya' all know that when you power the DEQ off there must be a relay in the circuit, 'cause the analog signal passed through the unit when it was powered off. In my case, both channels pass but one cuts out when the unit is turned back on. Again, bummer.
Thought I'd throw this out there in case anyone had a similar experience but as a warning too.
2 x T30 23" -3012LF v-plate
2 x Econowave Deluxe HO (awesome custom tops using 3012HO and B&C DE250 on QSC horn)
1 x T39 25" -3012LF
1 x Autotuba -Tang Band
"No Toby, I said a PHILLIPS screwdriver..." (Used Cars, 1980)
wallywally wrote:Take it apart and reseat all the ribbon cables. They are a known problem. My DEQ2496 was acting funky and this fixed it.
Thanks, I didn't know that! I'll give that a try...
2 x T30 23" -3012LF v-plate
2 x Econowave Deluxe HO (awesome custom tops using 3012HO and B&C DE250 on QSC horn)
1 x T39 25" -3012LF
1 x Autotuba -Tang Band
"No Toby, I said a PHILLIPS screwdriver..." (Used Cars, 1980)
Okay, I popped the cover. There's only 2 ribbon cables inside and we can rule the front panel one out since it carries no audio.
The ribbon that connects the rear panel connector PCB to the main processing board looks similar to an IDE PATA connector and is soldered directly to the connector PCB side. So, the processor board connector is the only thing to re-seat and hopefully the only failure point.
There's glue to help retain it though it seems unnecessary since it's pressed into place also with some sort of ferrite shield and pressure from the top cover. I got one end unseated but struggled with the other and ultimately decided just to see if that had any effect.
It did. It works now.
But that ain't saying much to think that a connector fully in place could cause such a failure in the first place. I'm assuming it was the connector and not just a cold soldering joint or a faulty relay. At least if the same failure occurred again simply removing power will allow the signal to pass - a quick thing to do if it happened to die during a show.
Gotta say this just knocked my confidence in Behringer down a notch. I don't believe all that I read, but most that I see.
2 x T30 23" -3012LF v-plate
2 x Econowave Deluxe HO (awesome custom tops using 3012HO and B&C DE250 on QSC horn)
1 x T39 25" -3012LF
1 x Autotuba -Tang Band
"No Toby, I said a PHILLIPS screwdriver..." (Used Cars, 1980)
Music faded out on the same channel while listening the other day. Not cool. Going to see if I can locate a copy of my sales receipt and take this up with Behringer. Still, if it's not reliable - it's not reliable. Something to be said for dbx Driverack?
2 x T30 23" -3012LF v-plate
2 x Econowave Deluxe HO (awesome custom tops using 3012HO and B&C DE250 on QSC horn)
1 x T39 25" -3012LF
1 x Autotuba -Tang Band
"No Toby, I said a PHILLIPS screwdriver..." (Used Cars, 1980)
safebet wrote:Music faded out on the same channel while listening the other day. Not cool. Going to see if I can locate a copy of my sales receipt and take this up with Behringer. Still, if it's not reliable - it's not reliable. Something to be said for dbx Driverack?
I haven't had my driverack long enough to say but I have yet to read a bad thing about it.
T39 24" 3012lf (1 built 1 in progress)
SLA Pro x 2
Yamaha S112V x 1
QSC RMX 2450
dbx Driverack PA
I know this thread is old, but I have a DCX2496 which is now discontinued but had noise issues ( clicks, hiss, pops. I removed the factory cable linking the two circuit boards and soldered a new header on the daughter board (real PITA to get the old one off ). everything is quiet now.
I'm not a big fan of drive rack. For pro installs I recommend the Biamp Audia / Nexia product. Pricey but really nice and very versatile.
dswpro wrote:I'm not a big fan of drive rack. For pro installs I recommend the Biamp Audia / Nexia product. Pricey but really nice and very versatile.
Nexia is versatile but incredibly difficult to configure. The Ashly Protea line (particularly the 24.24m) can do almost everything the Nexia can, and is more expandable, at a fraction of the price, and it's far easier to configure.
For simple PA, the Driveracks work pretty well, and I agree that they're not the best fit for many installs... but there are other products out there far easier than Biamp.
99% of the time, things that aren't already being done aren't being done because they don't work. The other 1% is split evenly between fools and geniuses.
Behringer products are hit-and-miss, quality wise. My little DI boxes are bullet-proof. The cheapo analog mixer I've had for like 8 years has one-and-a-half dead channels and some noisy pots. The ADA8000 mic pre had LM7815 and 7915 regulators with no heatsinks that cooked themselves after about a year. My 16-channel line mixer is a little champ and has been working flawlessly for a few years now. (Although, it gets damn hot and I suspect probably also hasn't any heatsinking on the linear regulators. Some day I might open it up and replace them just for good measure.) No problems yet with the 8-channel DI, but I hear dead channels are somewhat common.
With Behringer, that's just the price you pay for the price you paid.
My dbx stuff just works. Period. I have two 166XLs, an analog 2/3/4-way crossover, a 386 tube pre, and a DriveRack, never a glitch with any of them. The poor DriveRack was used at an outdoor gig with AC power that cycled between ~80-130VAC. When it sagged too low, it would cut out, but other than that, not a peep. I wish my Presonus ACP-88 was as reliable as the 166s 'cause I like the sound a little better, but I get weird gate issues with it all the time, even when they're turned off. AFAICT, the dbx stuff is built like a tank.
Low end dbx driverack processors (PX, PA+, 260) may as well be made in the same factories as the Behringer 2496 gear. The build quality is so similar that 85% of the price difference is solely due to the fact that Behringer is more vertically integrated.
For what it's worth, build quality hasn't ever really been my complaint about Behringer. The enclosures and whatnot seem solid and well(-enough) made.
Parts quality and lack of QA, on the other hand... I have no scratchy pots on any of the dbx gear I own, for instance.
The lack of heatsinking (while technically not *required* for low mA loads) on the linear regulators is one obvious example of where they're eager to cut corners. They'll advertise Neutrik connectors, then leave off a $0.10 piece of aluminum? I see that as the main difference, not necessarily where they're made.
