BEHRINGER SRC 2496 opinions kindly requested.

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I have the src in my chain for almost one year now. I run all digital and also the analog from the preampout to it. The preamp is now only used for tuner and turntable input.

I cannot find any disadvantage soundwise by incorporating that unit.
Contrary, to feed a digital signal direct to thye src instead of passing it through cdp's own dac and then from the preamp to the src/ or the deq sounds better to me - better presentation of the upper range, more clarity.

I had decided to go all digital as I also incorporate in my chain a deq and a dcx 2496.
Now I feed all signals with max. level to the src, and the volume control happens after output of the split signal from the dcx.

As I said - I cannot find any disadvantages. The advantages are that within my chain I can run various digital signals direct to the unit, have them upsampled, use it as as a/d converter for my analog sources, have a headphone preamp included and all at a very reasonable price.
It also allows conversion of other digital formats - digital radio/dat to be fed directly to it bypassing the internal dacs of those units.

I see no reason to pay more for a similar unit by another company at a higher price.
The only thing I miss is the lack of control through a usb/ midi or parallel port connection from my laptop - which is possible for the deq and dcx. But - for the 145 can. dollar I paid for a new uit, that would have been asking too much.
 
Does someone have the schematic of the src 2496? I would like to add resistors or fet to make the opamps working in class A but before doing any modifications on the seven opamps (3 for the output D/A, 3 for input A/D and one for the headphone output) I need to know how the are working.
I have also look the datasheet of the akm converter but I am not sure that src 2496 is using the same configuration showed in the application notes.
Greetings
Marco
 
Dear Friends (e amici italiani),

Thank you very much indeed for the kind replies full of valuable information.
Well, I have bought it but I have two problems now:
1) the analog outputs are balanced (and I have unbalanced equipment);
2) the lid vibrates audibly.
I would like to try NEUTRIK xlr-rca adapters (any user here?).
Then I don't know if it would be better to try to isolate the small transformer (the origin of vibrations) with a little rubber pad under it or to stick some lead sheets to the lid.

As always any opinion would be very much appreciated and welcome.

Anyway I have been pleased to read positive comments on the italian site.

Kind regards,

beppe61
Torino
ITALY
 
Ciao! First of all that balanced problem isn't a problem. The people who bought it says that in the manual there's detailed info to make an adaptor... In a xlr you have 3 pins: a screen, a + and a -. Just connect the RCA's ground to the screen, the + to the signal, and tie to ground the - pin. Read on that italian forum: there's detailed info even there for converting the outputs.

About the tranny vibrating, put some blue tack to isolate it from the chassis. On that italian forum that I've mentioned before there's also info about this.
 
XLR to rca conversion is adressed in the manual - page 13 in the english edition.
That the housing vibrates is rather unusual, is it the transformer? or does the housing vibrate when excited through the speakers? In the latter case - sampening pads help. Maybe through the transport some fasteners got loose?
 
Ciao! First of all that balanced problem isn't a problem. The people who bought it says that in the manual there's detailed info to make an adaptor... In a xlr you have 3 pins: a screen, a + and a -. Just connect the RCA's ground to the screen, the + to the signal, and tie to ground the - pin. Read on that italian forum: there's detailed info even there for converting the outputs.
There has been several discussions on whether to ground the - pin of the XLR. I chose not to for my application, thus gaining 6 db S/N. Your application may be different.

Do research this on several Behringer threads and come to your own conclusion. For Pro applications, the manual is correct

Doug.
 
Here you can find the adapter ( and also where to buy addresses)http://diehard.proelgroup.com/diehard/it/product.jsp?id_prod=11099577048230 I have built the cable following the instruction of the manual.
My src2496 don't have any problem with transformer vibrations is silent at all also if I have read of some other users having the same problem. I am impressed of the sound and the soundstage that the src2496 is able to make compared to may old CDP a Philips CD880 it takes away the harshness and the sound is more pleasant and relaxed.
Ciao
Marco
 
Dear Giaime,

Thank you very much for the extremely helpful link.


Dear audio-kraut,
XLR to rca conversion is adressed in the manual - page 13 in the english edition.

I read it but I am tempting by those wonderful NEUTRIK adapters and moreover I am not that good at DIY.

That the housing vibrates is rather unusual, is it the transformer? or does the housing vibrate when excited through the speakers?

It vibrates also without sound from the speakers.

Dear DougL,

There has been several discussions on whether to ground the - pin of the XLR. I chose not to for my application, thus gaining 6 db S/N. Your application may be different.
Do research this on several Behringer threads and come to your own conclusion. For Pro applications, the manual is correct

This is most interesting. I will try this way.
Thank you very much for the hint.

Dear redpepper,

Here you can find the adapter ( and also where to buy addresses)http://diehard.proelgroup.com/dieha...ank you all heartily. Kind regards, beppe61
 
HELP on SRC2496

Thanks for any comment first...

I just bought a SRC2496, but when I hook it up for testing, there are 2 "problems" that I encountered:

1. it hums (from the left side of the box around the input selection side)
2. according to the user manual page 9, last line: "In SRC mode D/A converter is always active", but I do not get any signal from the analog output. Is this normal or this box cannot be used as a SRC and at the same time as a D/A converter?

Maybe I did not set this thing up properly, but I read the manual 2 times already, and I did not see anything wrong with my setup...:confused:
 
Several feel the analog output to be very poor, so they bypass it completely. I think not; DAC's were not made to drive cables. I plan on building my own analog stage. Anyway, The DAC and the A2D are not state of the art, but seem to be quite reasonable. Better than a typical AVR. I bought mine to compare with the pure analog unit I built and to me a short cut to the sub matching and eq. I have not had time to compare it as a DAC/crossover only with my outboard USB dac. On my list of things to do. In a few weeks, I may have had a chance to give it a good workout.

I do have concerns with digital level control.

I bought my XLR to RCA adapters from Sweetwater. Cheap. That was after I went through the effort of building dedicated cables (RCA to XLR) for may main system with the original Bheringer crossover I have.
 
Thanks Jonners: my hand are so itchy, so I open the lid and found that there is a jumper cable NOT connected! Poor QC problem. After connecting the jumper, SRC mode has analog output. However, when I set it to A/D and D/A mode, I need to set the digital input side to "DIG IN", otherwise, I still do not get analog output... Another strange thing, according to the operating manual. :confused: Thanks if you know this is normal.

I am truly amazed by Behringer SRC2496 even it uses lower-end AK4393VF instead of AK4396 DAC, and CS4820 does it job just fine (I saw some postings saying this chip has some bugs, I am not sure it is true or not).

My plan about modding the SRC2496 is the following:

1. cut all on-board power supplies ( 2 x 5V, +/-15V ), and build my own power supply modules.
2. DAC output LPF: I am going to use only single-ended output by cutting the redundant single-ended to balanced stage of: AK4393 output --> JRC4580 LPF --> single ended to balanced 4580 stage, and change the OP amp to LME49720 (same OP for headphone to get more precise monitoring).
3. Since I am not using ADC at all, I am going to remove all 4580 OPs ADC buffer amps, and ADC power supply) or replace them by THS4032 if I cannot perform the above mod.
4. recap with Panasonic FC/FM caps and enhance the OP amp power supply decoupling.

These changes may not be a state-of-the-art mod, but it at least will completely enhance the ability of SRC2496. So far, I am not sure if these changes will create oscillation problems, and I will report back later when i finished the project.

A very nice reading about SRC2496 can be found at:

Behringer
 
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I've haven't worked on my SRC2496 so far, but people say you have to be very careful because the board quality is not great, and it's very easy to lift traces.

I would be thinking about a taking a direct output from the dac chip via transformers, thereby eliminating the opamps.
 
Steve, I too just got a SRC2496 after reading the Lampizator's review (for the price of the unit I thought why not try it).

Now I'm thinking which output stage to build
-Tubes
-Transformers
-Direct out via some caps

Why did you decide against the tubes?

I like tubes, and I worked on tubes for more than 20 years! But, now I live in a small apartment in NYC... I have no choice: my home brew 6C33C Circlotron OTLs, my 6SN7 fully balanced preamps are now all in the storage, only because one reason: heat! So, now I am using Quad CD67 --> Quad Pre66 --> Quad 606-II (modified) --> Quad 12L2 for my system :sad:

For the priority, I suggest people read that web first, that person is not fooling around, he is really serious about MUSIC NIRVANA! After getting some idea about lampizator, then give it a shot! As he mentioned, the transformer approach is 90% as good as lampizator. So, I will try my approach, then the transformer way.

BTW, you can use Jensen transformer instead if you are in US, and again JENSEN TRANSFORMERS, INC. - APPLICATION SCHEMATICS has tons of information. Regarding desoldering and reworking on the PCB, please use: Chip Quik: Easy removal of surface mounted devices the cheapest kit will be enough. Do not use brute force way... this kit is also available from Digikey or Mouser, but there are some useful video clips in the above site teaching people how to do things properly.

Hope these info help? BTW, can src2496 output analog when set in A/D and D/A mode (not in DIG-IN)?
 
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When SRC set in A/D and D/A mode, does the input sampling freq has to be the same as the freq send to AK4393?

When I look at the schematic of SRC2496, I found that the upsampled signals are directly output thru TXP and TXN, and signals sent to AK4393 are not these digital signals! Should I get one for SRC and the other SRC for just DAC? If so, I need to make sure that SRC can output analog signal, when I feed it with digital signal...
 
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