Behringer DEQ 2496 question

John Chiara

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Jan 11, 2011
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Troy, NY
I have a number of these and the analog inputs seem to fail...get "sticky" if you will, where they won't pass audio until a certain signal level is hit. Will using the AES digital input bypass whatever may be causing this?
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

I wonder if Behringer has a user forum where company support personnel can answer user questions about products, like other companies do?

"Sticky" audio symptom, sounds like dry metal to metal connection like jack or switch contact where higher voltage audio punches through a thin oxide layer and circuit conducts for a while.

Didn't those units have a design/component issue associated with marginal ribbon cable...?

My guess is that a bad connection to the analog audio (input side pre-conversion) path should not interfere with a digital audio input... but I have no idea, and would suggest contacting Behringer customer service for an authoritative answer.

I hear they may be returning calls these days under a new more accommodating customer service model, but i don't know any more than I read on the WWW. :)

JR
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

BEHRINGER forum

Signals are that Behringer management is still in the process of figuring out what exactly it wants to do with the company's social media/internet/forum presence.

Whatever happens later, the Behringer forum is the right place to ask the questions now.

And here of course :)~:)~:smile:
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

I have a number of these and the analog inputs seem to fail...get "sticky" if you will, where they won't pass audio until a certain signal level is hit. Will using the AES digital input bypass whatever may be causing this?

That is the reason I stopped buying them a number of years ago.
how old are the units? I'm curious if their newer 'fixed' units are still experiencing the same issues.

Jason
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

Dear John,

To my knowledge, there has not been an issue with the ribbon cables on the DEQ 2496. Overall, this is a great product and based on what we see for warranty requests, it is a very dependable model. I would recommend contacting our Care Team so we can help identify the root cause of the issue.

You can reach us via phone, email or via the web:

Phone - 702-800-8290
Email - [email protected]
web - BEHRINGER: Support
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

Dear John,

To my knowledge, there has not been an issue with the ribbon cables on the DEQ 2496. Overall, this is a great product and based on what we see for warranty requests, it is a very dependable model. I would recommend contacting our Care Team so we can help identify the root cause of the issue.

You can reach us via phone, email or via the web:

Phone - 702-800-8290
Email - [email protected]
web - BEHRINGER: Support

I'll quote Uli himself, from a post here on SFN even... complete message is at: http://soundforums.net/varsity/4299-uli-behringer-music-group-q-2.html

"Dear Jason, thank you for your comment.

I am sorry to hear about the trouble you have experienced. Indeed some years ago we had a problem with a flat ribbon cable which caused intermittent connectivity due to improper crimping on the connector side."

Jason
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

I'll quote Uli himself, from a post here on SFN even... complete message is at: http://soundforums.net/varsity/4299-uli-behringer-music-group-q-2.html

"Dear Jason, thank you for your comment.

I am sorry to hear about the trouble you have experienced. Indeed some years ago we had a problem with a flat ribbon cable which caused intermittent connectivity due to improper crimping on the connector side."

Jason

Hi Jason,

Thank you for correcting my post. I apologize for the incorrect data and any confusion it caused.

John C., I still recommend contacting our care team. They will be able to confirm the issue.

Pat
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

Hi Jason,

Thank you for correcting my post. I apologize for the incorrect data and any confusion it caused.

John C., I still recommend contacting our care team. They will be able to confirm the issue.

Pat

Now that that's all out in the open.. is there a way to fix the ribbon cable on these older units? or check them to make sure they don't fail?

Jason
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

I think y'all are confusing the DEQ2496 with the DCX2496. The DCX was the digital crossover/dsp that had the ribbon cable issues and the "frying bacon" sound that was frequently encountered on earlier models.

The DEQ was a digital stereo equalizer that had 31 bands of graphic and 10ish bands of parametric EQ along with some other bells and whistles. I don't know of any major issues with the DEQ involving ribbon cables, but early versions of the firmware had a polarity flip that was resolved in version 1.14 I believe.

I tested this and posted a lot about back on the LAB Lounge on PSW a few years back.


If you have "sticky audio syndrome" I recommend using some contact cleaner.

P.S. Fun anecdote. A while back I was mixing monitors on a Ramsa W840. I think that was the model. Anyway, the board was in rough shape and one of the channels had a form of sticky audio syndrome. During the course of the gig, the output level from one particular channel would weaken and weaken. Not really realizing what was going on, I would adjust the fader and/or trim if I was running out of room on the fader as the singer asked for more level. This happened over the course of two or three acts, and since I was mixing monitors the whole time and the mics weren't changing, I didn't realize just how much gain I had given it. In a moment of extreme excitement on stage, the lead singer for the last act twirled around and knocked over his vocal mic by accident. It hit the deck hard and created such a spike in signal, that it blew the cruft out of the channel and into next week. My reaction wasn't quite fast enough, and the resultant blast of feedback from the over-trimmed channel nearly deafened all of humanity. I quickly squelched it, but needless to say, I really hate sticky audio syndrome.
 
Re: Behringer DEQ 2496 question

I think y'all are confusing the DEQ2496 with the DCX2496. The DCX was the digital crossover/dsp that had the ribbon cable issues and the "frying bacon" sound that was frequently encountered on earlier models.

The DEQ was a digital stereo equalizer that had 31 bands of graphic and 10ish bands of parametric EQ along with some other bells and whistles. I don't know of any major issues with the DEQ involving ribbon cables, but early versions of the firmware had a polarity flip that was resolved in version 1.14 I believe.

I tested this and posted a lot about back on the LAB Lounge on PSW a few years back.


If you have "sticky audio syndrome" I recommend using some contact cleaner.

P.S. Fun anecdote. A while back I was mixing monitors on a Ramsa W840. I think that was the model. Anyway, the board was in rough shape and one of the channels had a form of sticky audio syndrome. During the course of the gig, the output level from one particular channel would weaken and weaken. Not really realizing what was going on, I would adjust the fader and/or trim if I was running out of room on the fader as the singer asked for more level. This happened over the course of two or three acts, and since I was mixing monitors the whole time and the mics weren't changing, I didn't realize just how much gain I had given it. In a moment of extreme excitement on stage, the lead singer for the last act twirled around and knocked over his vocal mic by accident. It hit the deck hard and created such a spike in signal, that it blew the cruft out of the channel and into next week. My reaction wasn't quite fast enough, and the resultant blast of feedback from the over-trimmed channel nearly deafened all of humanity. I quickly squelched it, but needless to say, I really hate sticky audio syndrome.
Perhaps there is more than one sticky audio mechanism, The one I am familiar with, punching through an oxide layer (an insulator), generally is on/off, not fractionally attenuated. (often happens in insert jack switches).

But who knows.. I recall one amplifier with a misguided thermal protection scheme that would fold back the gain as it got hotter and hotter... Lots of fun in a monitor rig, since after it cools down, it restores the full gain and the system takes off feeding back for no apparent reason.

JR