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Re: Proceed at your own risk (this is a bit long)

Posted by wazoo (A) on April 19, 2007 at 20:07:39

In Reply to: Re: By All Means Do Be posted by Bullfrogg on April 19, 2007 at 14:53:46:

To be fair, the issue of Behringer (or some other pro amp) comes up in these threads somewhat frequently. I don't think PG was really directing any of his statements at you. He owns a Pass X250 which is a very fine amplifier, as is a Classe M350, but inexpensive they aren't (even used at $3000, that's a substantial investment for a single component). I've heard a Pass amp driving a nice pair of MLs and it was "to die for". Then again, his system was more expensive than my car.

That, I think, is the rub for most of us. We *know* we would *rather* have the $10,000 amplifier, but responsibilities (or marital peace) preclude such expenditures. The Acurus I mentioned is *not* in the same league as either the Pass or the Classe - if cost were no object, I wouldn't own the A200. But, cost *is* an object for me and A/B comparisons have proven to me that the $1100 (I think that was the MSRP) Acurus is no slouch - too bad Mondial sold out to Klipsch and the Acurus line was sacrificed. Let's just say that I'm not itching to upgrade.

I am sensitive to your sensibilities and having read many posts written by PG, I'm sure he isn't rubbing anything in anyone's face. The point he made in his initial post marries precisely with the one I made - you might be able to pick up a new Behringer for $300, but for a couple hundred more you can pick up a used amp that would put it to shame. There are quite a few excellent choices from which to choose.

If you're careful, you can find some fantastic bargains on audiogon; they can even be found on eBay. I only mentioned the A200 because I think it's a better option than the Behringer and I *know* I like it - others may not. But for any reader who may be thinking I'm promoting a piece of crap because the thing didn't cost enough, please consider the following information – I apologize for the verbosity of it all.

It was made in the USA and if you send an email to one of the engineers who still supports this product, you will receive a personable and helpful response. Does this remind anyone of the manufacturer of this chap's speakers (who, by the way is still a vibrant American manufacturer - sorry, it's where I live so I'm partial)?

A review of the older 200x3 (the A200 is really the update of the original A250 2-channel amp) which appeared in Audio Magazine in 1995 praised its low, uniform output impedance. Measurements indicated an output impedance of 11 milliohms at 1 kHz, 14 milliohms at 5 kHz, 20 milliohms at 10 kHz, and only 28 milliohms at 20 kHz. Low end damping factor at 50 Hz (which, let's face it, is as low as MMGs go) was 760 - certainly adequate, but not extreme. IHF tone bursts into 4 ohm loads rated at 500 watts per channel – when the music has a point to drive home, I am definitely aware of it. If your proclivities lean more to steady state blasting, its 1% THD point at 4 ohms measured 300 watts.

So what; it has muscle and control, but how graceful is it? Using the IHF standards, the A weighted noise floor rated at -99.3 dBW. That works out to a signal to noise ration of 122.3 dB at rated power – black as night in the deep country. One of the distinguishing design characteristics of the truly top-drawer amplifiers is a separate power supply for each channel, which is one area where the Acurus gives up a little refinement – but only a little after all. Crosstalk bettered -90 dB from 20 Hz to 12 kHz which is pretty solid, and only rose to -61 dB at 20 kHz across the worst offending channels of the 3 in this case. Also between any 2 channels, the balance never varied more than 0.03 dB. Frequency response is within +0.0, -0.1 dB from below 10 Hz to 50 kHz. In fact, the -1.0 dB point is 140 Hz – wideband is good.

Its input sensitivity makes an easy load for any preamp. It’ll output a watt into 8 ohms with an 89 mV input, and reaches rated power with 1.26 volts. Its design simplicity also reminds me of Maggies – a simple, easy to manufacture layout. E-Stat mentioned a 26 cent op amp in the signal path of a Behringer. Well, if you seek an IC anywhere under the hood of this thing, your search will be in vain. Flip the power switch and it simply begins its performance – no thumps (ever). Flipping off the power switch might drive an Alzheimer’s sufferer a little crazy – such an individual would forget that he’d turned the damn thing off before the sound ever started to change in any way. It only announces its awakened state with a small lamp above the switch – no frills (but the recessed name plate of the newer model looks elegant to me). There are no electrolytic capacitors in the signal path either. There you’ll only find components such as 1% metal film resistors, metallized-polypropylene caps and the like. It does without output protection chokes – it doesn’t fear a difficult load.

There is one currently listed on Audiogon for $450. None of the foregoing was intended to be a challenge to any high-end amp. I only wish to justify my statement that the A200 is a well made and musical amplifier. I think it represents a bargain on a par with a pair of MMGs, except that it doesn’t beg to be tweaked (with the exception of a better power cord). I'm not suggesting that this is the amp you (Bullfrog) *need* to buy either; I merely wish to point out what another couple hundred bucks can do!

"Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny" FZ♬

• http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1181871083   (Open in New Window)

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