behringer reference?

No reason why the Behringer shouldn't work BUT keep in mind that it is much easier to make a good 10 Watt amp than a good 100W amp and so on to 500W.
You would probably NOT get the extra extension & quality you paid for from the speakers.

There has been a lot written about this amp on Audiogon and also in the Magneplanars user group, and I for one am a big fan.

I have three of them so far, and use two in a monoblock configuration for mini monitors on my main desktop at home.

Compared to my Mark Levinson 23.5, they sound a bit dark and congested.

But for the price, I would think they are pretty much impossible to beat and well worth a try. FYI, some people think they do not perform as powerfully as their specifications suggest.

I actually like the looks of the amps in person, but the front panel and controls are a bit cheap and plasticky.

You might also check out their more powerful amps where the 1500 is rumored to be the best of the bunch. The only problem is that they come with fans which are a bit noisy, but some enthusiasts change the fans to quieter ones.

You will also find a lot of complaints about the cheap build quality, lack of reliability etc etc. Although not built like a Rowland for obvious reasons, mine have been perfectly reliable and I suspect a lot of the complaints come from dealers whose vastly higher priced equipment gets embarrassed by Behringer.

Good luck.

People call Behringer equipment, "cheap" and/or "cheaply built" because it is. Why do you suppose the front panel IS, "a bit cheap and plasticy"? In the venue installs I do, my cheaper customers always get Behringer. It's the cheapest and easiest to replace when it goes bad. I also always insist they get a DEQ 2496 for the ease it delivers in EQing the room(gotta love that 6th oct RTA). Same Day Music has a very easy return policy, and I've had to use it a number of times. I can't complain, and no one else should either. For the money- you can't beat it! I'd never personally use it in a home system. What makes you happy is strictly your business though. Try one out, and if you don't like it- you've got 60 days to send it back. (http://www.samedaymusic.com/prodsearch?q=&cat2=2947&cat=2747&ob=p91&rl=&rh=&button=Filter+Results&form=search)

Rodman99999

I am not suggesting that Behringer is state of the art, or even approaches the build quality of truly "high end" gear.

I am, however, considering the possibility that a disproportionate part of the savings

(or in the case of "high end" gear, the high cost)

is more a function of

a) the absence or presence of silky smooth controls and exotic chassis work

than it is a function of

b) a similarly dramatic difference in sound quality or reliability.

I suspect this is a more nuanced and accurate view of Behringer than "no duh of course it's cheap because it is cheap, PS it's cheap, and by the way, why do you think its cheap?!"

My apologies to those who are trying to pay a mortgage and/or feed their families by selling, say, Ongaku amps or Harmonix "tuning" devices.

Cheers,