NAMM 2010 Behringer news
| Posted in Music Technology
Behringer is enjoying arguably the busiest 2010 NAMM show of all, having announced a tremendous 50 new products to visitors including new loudspeakers, power amplifiers, a studio monitor range, and DJ mixers.
The EuroLive range of loudspeakers is sitting at the top of the release list with a wealth of new cabinets being released. Among them are the EuroLive VP1220D and VP1520D enclosures, each delivering 550 Watts through 12″ and 15″ woofers respectively plus 1.75″ titanium compression drivers.
Designed for stacking atop subs, pole-mounting or being used as wedge monitors, both loudspeakers use Class-D amplifiers and a mic/line input with two-band EQ.
They are joined by the B250D active 150 Watt PA speaker, which is “small enough to mount on a mic stand, a tabletop, atop a piano or electronic keyboard”. The cab weighs just 3.2kg and boasts an onboard preamp section so users can connect a dynamic microphone or external sound source. Users shouldn’t worry about being limited to the speaker’s relatively low output, either – a thru socket is included for connecting further active enclosures. A built in mixer offering three input channels and a switchable instrument ready input, plus a three-band EQ completes the spec.
Stepping up slightly in the new range leads to the 200 Watt Eurolive B208D and B210D speakers, both of which have again been designed to be lightweight and portable. The two loudspeakers have 8″ and 10″ woofers respectively plus 1.35″ aluminum-diaphragm HF drivers.
The B1500D-PRO and B1800D-PRO subs have also been launched, delivering 1000 Watts of low end and boasting built-in crossovers and limiters. The two woofers weigh 30kg and 38kg respectively and offer variable high frequency cut-off and complete satellite connectivity, plus a tunable low-frequency bass boost.
Next in line is a series of Europort loudspeakers featuring built-in effects. The range is described by Behringer as “everything needed for quickly setting up a small performance or public announcement” and comprises the 900 Watt EPA900 and 300 Watt EPA300, both of which carry on-board mixers, mic preamps, two-band EQ and a 24-bit effects processor. A Behringer XM1800S microphone and cable are included.
Also in the range is the eight-channel EPA900 and six-channel EPA300, with 10″ and 8″ woofers coupled with 1.35″ and 1.25″ HF drivers. Both models boast a feedback detection system and a Voice Canceller feature for Karoake, while the EPA900 adds a dedicated mono out.
Meanwhile, the 1200 Watt Neo Loudspeaker series has been designed with Neodymium magnets to decrease weight whilst ramping up power. The range represents Behringer’s highest powered active loudspeaker series so far.
The range includes two 12″ models, the 19 kg B912NEO and B812NEO, plus the 15″ B815NEO, which weighs 23kg. The speakers feature integrated mixers with noise gates, two-band EQ, and two mic/line ins.
Leaving the speakers behind but staying firmly in pro audio, the manufacturer has launched EPQ power amps, which reportedly use Accelerated Transient Response (ATR) to draw high power out of a lightweight amplifier.
However it’s not all new gear for live musicians – studios have got a look in as well with the Truth B1031A studio monitor. An active two-way monitor with an 8″ Kevlar woofer, the B1031A is described as delivering 50 Watts to a ferrofluid-cooled 1″ dome tweeter and 100 Watts to its woofer. According to Behringer, the Kevlar cone helps the monitor deal with high energy levels far better than a traditional paper cone design.
Two new series of mixers have been launched. The Xenyx range boasts seven additions with built-in USB interfaces and 24-bit effects processing, while the 1600 Watt PMP powered mixers include a switch-mode power supply to reduce weight and heat. The range comprises the 10-channel PMP1680S, the 16-channel PMP4000, and the 20-channel PMP6000, all of which include XENYX mic preamps, 24-bit effects processors, and feedback detection.
Among the more unusual inclusions in the huge new Behringer catalogue is the Virtualizer PRO 3D, described as using “Real Sound Modeling technology to give 71 stereo algorithms the power to accurately emulate a wide range of acoustic environments”. The processor includes 12 reverb programs, modulation, amp simulation, distortion and effects, as well as dynamic and psychoacoustic processing.
U-Control MIDI keyboard controllers are next in the schedule, including 25-key, 49-key, and 61-key USB models. The keyboards each boast 22 assignable controllers and boast more than 100 virtual instruments plus over 50 effects plug-ins. Each model comes bundled with Native Instruments’ Kore Player and Behringer’s own energy XT2.5 music production software.
Finally, the manufacturer has released a range of DJ mixers called the VMX series, including the seven channel VMX1000USB, the three channel VMX300USB, and the two channel VMX200USB. Each mixer has a USB interface, a BPM counter, VCA controlled Ultraglide faders, and a bundled copy of energy XT2.5.
About Barney Jameson
A contributor, editor and in some cases creator of more music and pro audio magazines than he cares to remember, Barney Jameson is a veteran of writing about gear, and a pretty keen singer songwriter to boot.
Having started his musical education reading old copies of the Melody Maker while riding the tube to University in the mid-nineties, Barney once sang in a band called Sugarstone, troubling record company chequebooks not quite enough to make it a career option. Instead, he achieved his goal of starting a music magazine of his own when he founded Playmusic in the early noughties. Later on, having exploited VIP access to as many festivals as possible, he wrote about the pro audio industry throughout Europe and the Middle East, travelling to far-flung destinations such as Dubai, Doha and Muscat (nice mountains).
As the latest addition to the DV247 team, Barney has big plans. But when he’s not plotting online domination of the musical instrument world, he keeps himself busy writing songs on a battered old acoustic guitar and playing them to audiences in his home town.
Tags: Behringer, Eurolive, Europort, Truth studio monitor, U-Control, VMX mixers, Xenyx
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