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Reviews For: Behringer Tube Ultra-Q T1951

Category: Audio Accessories for Transmitter & Receiver

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Review Summary For : Behringer Tube Ultra-Q T1951
Reviews: 3MSRP: NLA ($150 street)
Description:
Part of the now largely defunct "Ultra-Tube" line, you get vintage looks, solid-state reliability, and 12AX7s run in starved plate fashion for adding some tube-type even harmonics to your mix.

This is a two-channel 4-band parametric equalizer, using a toroidal power xfmr, servo-controlled balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs, and the aforementioned "Warmth" control that mixes wet/dry the output of the EQ through one 12AX7 for each of the two channels. Each channel has fully independent controls for all functions and features. Can be set for studio or consumer audio standards for line level. Standards 2U rack-mount item, also comes with rubber feet for stacking. 120VAC or 230 VAC mains power, depending on market.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/T1951.aspx
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0035
W7AGR Rating: 2015-07-21
great eq /buen equalizador Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Higly recomended great look for shack easy to manipulate better than other eq's this one is a keeper 73s. ///////////// Altamente recomendado se mira muy bien en la estacion facil de manejarse/entenderse mejor qe otros eqs este es para dejarlo con uno 73s
KC0GSB Rating: 2010-03-28
Nice EQ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Never used it on the radio. Mine is for the Hi-Fi. Does a great job there. I use the Behringer DSP 1100P for the radio.
KI6QYJ Rating: 2009-04-19
Better than W2IHY dynamic EQ for less than half the price Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Sadly hard to find these days, everyone is long sold out. But they do pop up on the used market from time to time.

Vintage looks, solid state reliability, and a 12AX7 for each channel run in a starved plate configuration so you can mix in whatever amount of harmonic "tube sound" you like.

Parametric EQ is always better than dynamic, which is why studio audio generally only uses parametric. Each channel has servo-controlled balanced or unbalanced inputs, switchable between studio and home line level standards, and with either 1/4" balanced TRS or XLR I/O. Each channel has 4 parametric bands which can be switched in and out as needed. Each channel is adjustable for center frequency, bandwidth, and gain, so you can design your own filtering with a minimum of phase shifting and other artifacts and noise. Bottom- and top-end bands are also switchable between shelving and peaking, so they can easily be used for high- and low-end roll-off without a lot of mucking around.

Like the rest of the "Ultra-Tube" line, vintage-look knobs and meters, plus wet/dry mixing of the final audio output through a starved-plate 12AX7 to add some tube harmonics.

Ditch the stock Svetlana 12AX7s for something, anything, that's better (I use Baldwin/Sylvania tube organ 12AX7s from the 60s, which are cheap and plentiful) and you can't do better for ham use. Not quite up to real studio-grade standards, but for AM or eSSB you can't buy anything that will sound any better on the air. A lot more adjustability with less noise than the W2IHY's closest functional equivalent at less than half the price.

Large, 2U rack-mount chassis takes up some real estate, and the light bulbs behind the 12AX7s to make them "light up" like tubes through the clear plastic windows do generate some unwelcome heat. Still, for the price, it's very hard to beat the performance, looks, and functionality of this gear.

I use it with a Behringer T1952 Tube Composer (noise gate/compressor/limiter) and MIC200 Tube preamp, with an Audio Technica AT-2020 studio condenser microphone, and have always gotten excellent audio reports, whether aiming for a smooth eSSB "AM broadcast" sound or packing as much punch into pile-up breaking DX audio as I can get. Gives me far more flexibility than W2IHY gear, for less than half the price, and it looks a lot more like ham gear "should" look than almost anything else you can buy today. Hard to go wrong, IF you can find one...