M
madmonkey
Guest
Well, the money I had set aside for my next mixer substantially decreased when my computer died 
Monday I decided to look into the Behringer DX500 again, and MusiciansFriend.com had reduced it to $80!
quick rundown:
3 channels
ch1 - balanced mic or phono/line
ch2 - phono or line
ch3 - phono or line
3 eq's on each channel, kill buttons
crossfader always assigned to ch2/3, punch buttons
master, zone output
effects loop on master
'12 second sampler'
Here's my experience with it so far:
preamps - although not as good as the Pioneer DJM series, it is way more than a step above my Numark. I use Shure M35X's which toss out 6mv, and my Numark's preamps didn't get some records to 0db. The preamps on here are running at half their max and cranking everything out crystal clear
The treble from my decks is very noticably better
sound quality - see above, but again, I'm impressed. At the old price of $179 this is the best mixer I've heard in the $200 range, and for $80 you can't beat it. All of the inputs are unbalanced gold plated RCA cinch. The outputs consist of gold plated rca unbalanced for zone, and both balanced XLR and unbalanced gold rca for the master output. The output sounds very good, nothing sticks out as bad. If you put all the faders to max and set to phono, you get a very small hiss, on line its silent. The power supply is external, my numark had a slight hum because of the internal power supply, this uses an external power supply and I can't hear any trace of AC hum.
effects loop - This has a full effects loop, unbalanced out and in, wet/dry rotary mix fader. I don't have anything to test it with so I can't vouch for quality here. Take note that it ALWAYS sends the master mix to the effect output and mixes the modified signal back into main, you can't apply effects to a single channel only.
sampler - complete ****e. don't touch it, its a pain in the *** to use and sounds like an AM radio. I can't see anyone using it for more than maybe a quick sound effect or short vocal because it sounds so bad. The manual states its 16khz ADPCM compressed, which is worse than realaudio sound quality. I'm not sure why they bothered. I guess you shouldn't expect an electrix repeater in a sub-$200 mixer
cuing - each channel has a PFL, and when engaged an LED showing the beat. Unfortunately the beat indicators only blink during PFL, and are not channel independent. The headphones have a PFL/MIX fader for stereo cuing. The headphone amp driving my Sony V6's is clear even when maxxed out. Max is loud enough it physically hurts, but remains crystal clear from bass to treble melodies and hihats.
build quality - the channel faders are more of the type you would see in a studio mixer with indentations in the middle. I love them! the EQ's all have a notch at 0db gain, which I've come to like as a reference point. The dials feel decently solid, but not as solid feeling as Pioneer or Denon. The toggles have rubber inserts around them to keep dust out, the eq's cover up their mounting holes, so I don't expect dust problems anytime soon. The crossfader is long and smooth, so I wouldn't touch this mixer for scratching. The case is all metal, very rugged. Its not SL1200 rugged, but it seriously weighs twice as much as my similar Numark. And the numark had a built in power supply!
Final Verdict
This could be the best beginner mixer out there. The quality especially when it comes to the sound output is a step above everything else in the price range. If you're on a budget or starting out, try to get one while they're still around. I wouldn't recommend it for a club installation because of the poor sampler and lack of split cuing which is nice in a noisy environment.
Monday I decided to look into the Behringer DX500 again, and MusiciansFriend.com had reduced it to $80!quick rundown:
3 channels
ch1 - balanced mic or phono/line
ch2 - phono or line
ch3 - phono or line
3 eq's on each channel, kill buttons
crossfader always assigned to ch2/3, punch buttons
master, zone output
effects loop on master
'12 second sampler'
Here's my experience with it so far:
preamps - although not as good as the Pioneer DJM series, it is way more than a step above my Numark. I use Shure M35X's which toss out 6mv, and my Numark's preamps didn't get some records to 0db. The preamps on here are running at half their max and cranking everything out crystal clear
The treble from my decks is very noticably bettersound quality - see above, but again, I'm impressed. At the old price of $179 this is the best mixer I've heard in the $200 range, and for $80 you can't beat it. All of the inputs are unbalanced gold plated RCA cinch. The outputs consist of gold plated rca unbalanced for zone, and both balanced XLR and unbalanced gold rca for the master output. The output sounds very good, nothing sticks out as bad. If you put all the faders to max and set to phono, you get a very small hiss, on line its silent. The power supply is external, my numark had a slight hum because of the internal power supply, this uses an external power supply and I can't hear any trace of AC hum.
effects loop - This has a full effects loop, unbalanced out and in, wet/dry rotary mix fader. I don't have anything to test it with so I can't vouch for quality here. Take note that it ALWAYS sends the master mix to the effect output and mixes the modified signal back into main, you can't apply effects to a single channel only.
sampler - complete ****e. don't touch it, its a pain in the *** to use and sounds like an AM radio. I can't see anyone using it for more than maybe a quick sound effect or short vocal because it sounds so bad. The manual states its 16khz ADPCM compressed, which is worse than realaudio sound quality. I'm not sure why they bothered. I guess you shouldn't expect an electrix repeater in a sub-$200 mixer
cuing - each channel has a PFL, and when engaged an LED showing the beat. Unfortunately the beat indicators only blink during PFL, and are not channel independent. The headphones have a PFL/MIX fader for stereo cuing. The headphone amp driving my Sony V6's is clear even when maxxed out. Max is loud enough it physically hurts, but remains crystal clear from bass to treble melodies and hihats.
build quality - the channel faders are more of the type you would see in a studio mixer with indentations in the middle. I love them! the EQ's all have a notch at 0db gain, which I've come to like as a reference point. The dials feel decently solid, but not as solid feeling as Pioneer or Denon. The toggles have rubber inserts around them to keep dust out, the eq's cover up their mounting holes, so I don't expect dust problems anytime soon. The crossfader is long and smooth, so I wouldn't touch this mixer for scratching. The case is all metal, very rugged. Its not SL1200 rugged, but it seriously weighs twice as much as my similar Numark. And the numark had a built in power supply!
Final Verdict
This could be the best beginner mixer out there. The quality especially when it comes to the sound output is a step above everything else in the price range. If you're on a budget or starting out, try to get one while they're still around. I wouldn't recommend it for a club installation because of the poor sampler and lack of split cuing which is nice in a noisy environment.
