Behringer ep2500 amp

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adlaic

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Joined 2006
#1
I bought one of these amps its says the output is 2400w@4 ohm bridged. WELL, I have two 8 ohm folded horn subs that are rated at 400w rms each. I hook them up together to get 4 ohms and I can push the amp all the way to the point of clipping and never get any distoration out of the subs. There is no way this amp puts out what it says. Does anyone know the real specs on this amp? Sorry but I didn't know where to post this question.
 
#3
I already know what Behringer says the specr are on this amp. They are in the manual. I need to know the real watts that this amp puts out and I don't have an o-scope to test it. I was just wondering if anyone has tested one of these. If it put out 2400w RMS @4ohms bridged it should blow my 400w RMS speakers right.
Well, my 400w RMS speakers handle it like its a walk in the park.
 
#4
I have a couple of random ideas...

--Have you checked the block of DIP switches on the back to make sure the 30Hz and 50Hz HPF's are disabled? You could pour a ton a power into a speaker if it was aggressively HPF'd at 50Hz.

--It's also possible that 400W RMS is your speakers thermal limit, and that it is thermally limited before it is Xmax limited.

--Is it the stage driving the amp that's clipping, or the input stage of the amp clipping, instead of the output stage clipping?

--Does the speaker have some sort of internal current limiting (lightbulb or other)?

Like I said these are just random thoughts. You may have thought of or checked all these things already.

I'm thinking of getting one of these. In general, aside from issues relating to max power, what do you think of the amp & sound quality?

Can you check to see if the "rack ears" are removable?

--Greg
 
#5
Folded bass horns handle power quite well, and music signals usually have a quite forgiving peak to average ratio (the amplifier clips due to the peaks but is delivering a low average power). I wouldn't be surprised. You will blow the speakers if you allow it to clip badly, though.

If you want to measure the actual power levels delivered to the load, build a simple peak detector with a 1N4007 diode, a 1uF 100V capacitor and a 1Mohm bleeder resistor across the capacitor. Connect it to one channel and to your multimeter and enjoy.

Total peak power delivered will be two times V^2/R. Just V^2 in your setup. Expect 70 volts peak coming from each channel, that's not so hard to obtain with modern two-tier or three-tier class-H circuits, and everybody seems to use them now in high power PA.
 
#6
I'm thinking of getting one of these to run four Quatro 15 ported subs (sitting underneath the front of my screen). I'm wondering if there's a (relatively easy, ham-handed, know enough about electricity to say "oh bleep!" occasionally) method to alter that 30hz highpass to something on the order of 18-20hz... Anyone know how steep it is?
 
#8
If it put out 2400w RMS @4ohms bridged it should blow my 400w RMS speakers right.

That's not how it works in the real world playing music.
For instance, I can connect a 200w rms amp to 5w rms
drivers and not blow them up under certain conditions.

Another tidbit, proamp ratings may not be based on
the 'rms method', I'll make a wild guess and say the EP2500
probably is probably around 1kw using rms method running
continously.
 
#9
here is how i have the dip switches set up on the back. I have the clip limiters on low cut filter is on at 30hz and bridge mode is on. When it is clipping it is the clip lights on the amp showing that it is clipping. The sub does not have speaker protection. My friends wife sings contury music and we use it at shows the amp sounds good and we have never had any problem with it other than I don't think it puts out what it says. I have read alot of complants where they havent worked right out of the box, and no the rack ears don't come off they are part of the case. I have build a chipamp with the LM3875 and I think it has a better sound than the Behringer.
 
#16
If you look at poower compression specs on some 600W JBL drivers, you will see that the last 3dB of power increase only gives 1dB more output.

That is midband.

At low frequencies the 600W drivers can exceed x-max ith as little as 150W in some reflex boxes.

That speaker can handle 1500W peaks, but it won't play any louder.
 
#17
There are some "rules of thumb" that you can use to approximate the upper limits of power output from an audio power-amplifier:

(1) check for the AC mains fuse/breaker AC current rating - most products are designed to consume no more than 50% of the maximum rating of the AC line fuse. In the case of the EP2500, the spec-sheet (see URL below) calls for 15A@115VAC or 8A@230VAC:

http://www.behringerdownload.de/EP1500_EP2500/EP2500_SPECS_Rev_A.pdf

Assuming that the power-amplfier presents a non-reactive load to the AC line (i.e., the voltage and current are in-phase with one another), then the product of AC line voltage and 50% of the maximum AC line current should represent the maximum power (in watts) that will be drawn from the AC power line under normal operating conditions (863W@115VAC or 920W@230VAC)

(2) check for the rated maximum AC power consumption - the output of the power-amplifier cannot exceed the maximum power drawn from the AC line. If the rated maximum AC power consumption is available, this value tends to provide a somewhat more realistic upper threshold on the power levels available to the power-amplifier. The EP2500 is specified to pull a maximum AC current of 9.6A@115VAC or 5A@230VAC, which equals 1104W@115VAC or 1150W@230VAC.

Since no power-amplifier provides 100% efficiency in the conversion of AC power into output power, the actual power output (regardless of load impedance) will be something less than the values derived from the product's AC power specifications. The end result of this thumb-nail analysis indicates that the EP2500 simply cannot deliver a sustained, RMS output rating in excess of 1000W; a properly measured sustained RMS output will most likely be lower than this power value. The specified 2400W power output must therefore be some sort of transient "dynamic power" rating.
 
#19
Bought a used functioning EP2500 two weeks ago and brownout (94v when the power finally came back up)at the last gig, These thing are not easy to get repaired. It seems that Behringer doesn't let there dealer do the repairs. They mainly farm out to one company per state. I live in missouri and there is one place 300 miles away that repairs Behringer, and none in arkansas at all. It seems that Behringer saves money this way. After the warranty is up thats it! Good Luck! Well I will end up repairing this myself. I beleive it is the Power transitors.

Does anyone know how to cross reference behringer parts? They don't seem to show up on any of my searches. Another downfall of behringer. Looking for power transitors for a EP2500.

Thanks
adamfreitas@hotmail.com
 
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