Behringer PEQ 2200 (1 Viewer)

[Hartwig Hanser]

Often I see the recommendation to use a Behringer EQ to smooth the frequencies for subwoofers. Is this EQ maybe also useful to remove a boom in the 100-400 Hz range of my surround speakers? Or does it degrade the signal too much (noise, hum, distortion??)?

 

[Blaine_M]

I just ordered one for my sub, I don't see why you would have a problem for your surrounds. You will only have a couple of bands of equalization in that frequency range, but that should be enough to do the trick. Mine comes on Thursday, so I probably won't have time to set it up for a while to give you feedback. Most of the time however when people on here are talking a behringer eq they are talking the Feedback Destroyer model, which has more adjustments, but costs a little more as well.....

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

It will have to be connected in-line between the receiver’s rear pre-outputs and the rear amplifiers. This means your receiver must have to have in and out connections for your rear channels, or you have to be using outboard amps.

If not, you won’t be able to use the PEQ-2200 – or any equalizer – for your rear surrounds.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Hartwig Hanser]

I know that I have to put the EQ between my Rotel RSP 1066 and the amp for my surround speakers (currently a pair of B&W Matrix 1/II on a Harman/Kardon 645Vxi - but soon my Rotel RMB 956 AX which currently powers the 3 front channels may be delegated for surrund use). It´s more a question if this for professional use designed machine is usable for Home theater and mulitchannel music or would degrade the sound too much. Thank you for your responses.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Hartwig,

It’s not so much a question of a professional audio product as it is a good pro-audio product. Behringer specializes in budget products, most of which are not highly regarded in professional circles.

That doesn’t necessarily translate to bad news for home audio users – after all, our equipment doesn’t have to withstand the rigors of an outdoor summer jazz festival or being bounced around in the back of a big truck traveling from one show to another.

However, in the case of the PEQ-2200, the specs aren’t terribly impressive. For instance, the frequency response deviation is a breathtaking +/- 3dB. By comparison, it’s not hard to find other pro-audio parametrics that keep frequency response deviations within .5dB or even better.

So – considering the level of equipment you have, IMO using the PEQ-2200 would be akin to adding a component from a HTIB to your system.

But then again, Blaine picked his up for a mere $50 on eBay. At that price it can’t hurt to try it. You could sell it for what you paid an not be out anything but your time and effort.

Here are is a links to the Behinger’s specs, as well as a few other professional parametrics for you to compare.

Behringer PEQ-2200
Rane PE-17
Symetrix 551 (discontinued)
Ashly PQX-571

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Blaine_M]

Wayne, I'm a newbie, sort of, what does that +/- 3db mean on the frequency response? I do see that is the same rating as the feedback destroyer pro that everyone seems to talk about.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Blaine,

Any piece of decent-quality home electronics should have (among other things):

• Low total harmonic distortion (THD), preferably better than 1%, to insure the component sounds “clean” rather than “dirty.”
• A high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, preferably 90dB or better, to insure a virtually dead-silent noise floor.
• Fairly flat frequency response, to insure that no unwanted coloration is added.

You can see an example of a frequency response chart in this graph, from a Home Theater Magazine article explaining test procedures for pre-pros:





The text accompanying the chart says, “A perfect response would be a flat horizontal line across the chart.” (Note: The blue line is the pre-pro’s sub output, which should be ignored for this discussion.)

As you can see, the piece of equipment in this chart doesn’t quite have ruler-flat response, but it is excellent nonetheless – it varies from the center OdB reference line by no more than +/- .1dB.

Now, considering the PEQ-2200, which Behringer specs at 18Hz- 30kHz, +/- 3dB and you can see if that was plotted on a graph like this, the line would at some point veer from the center 0dB line as high as +3dB, and at another point as low as –3dB. That’s a full 6dB variation in response. IMO any piece of electronics intended for a hi-fi application should vary no more than 1dB – preferably even less than that. (Examples of equipment specs with an allowable 1dB variation in response would be a +/- .5dB rating or perhaps +0db, -1dB.)

It may seem a bit disingenuous to expect a device intended to alter frequency response to have good frequency response itself. However, you only want response to change where you need it changed – i.e., where you apply filters. If response is changed anywhere else it’s adding unwanted coloration to the sound.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt