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Hi everybody.

Some four months ago I went through a very hard time searching for good studio monitors for my limited budget. At that moment, the Truths really surprised me. They sounded OK, and were a great deal for the buck...

I even convinced a friend/musician/neighbour of selling his hi-fi Paradigms and amplifier and to buy the 2031's, which he did.

Much to my surprise, one night I started hearing some radio interference on one of the tweeters. I turned off every equipment I had and unplugged the audio cable and the interference was still there… and on both monitors…

As I thought it could be a problem of my pair, I asked my friend to bring his own to my flat. We connected them to the power source and they caught the same radio interference.

Later, we realised that his monitors had the same problem, even at his place. Needless to say that they are IMPOSSIBLE to work with...

I called the person who sold me this equipment and informed him of this situation. Even more surprisingly, he replied that this was not the first case, and that he had had a call from another two customers a few days earlier with the same problem.

Therefore, he told me that the head of the Official Technical Service was trying to find out a sollution to this problem. Some days later, I was informed that the first pair of monitors they tested on their lab had the same RFI problems…

This means that the five pairs of Behringer Truth B-2031 studio monitors that I know of have this problem.

To add further insult to this injury, I’ve tested other speakers (cheap lousy speakers) and this did not occur. It only happened with the allegedly “FULLY ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDED” Truth B-2031’s…

One could think that this interferences are due to the area in which my friend / neighbour and I live. However, we are not the only ones with this problem, and the other two and the Official Technical Service live in almost the opposite side of the City.

Moreover, the place where you live should not be relevant when you buy FULLY ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDED ACTIVE STUDIO MONITORS…

I got a response from Behringer US on this matter, which states as follows:

"I read your PDF attachment and noted your comments and concerns. While I am not your distributor, I do sell many thousands of pairs of Truth monitors each year in the USA. While I can say that we have had some instances of customers with RFI trouble - fewer than ten in the last year - I can also say that it is an extremely low percentage of the units sold, and it normally involves proximity to a broadcast facility, fire or police station, or a military base of some kind. In such instances is would not surprise me to see the same symptoms manifest themselves in other units in the same general area." (...)

This "general area" is the City of Buenos Aires, which is 202 km2...

Today I got another mail from this "Company", stating that, since they had not received a reply to this mail in 48 hours, they considered this problem SOLVED...!

Far from it.

Anyway, I leave it to everyone in this forum to draw your own conclusions on this matter.

Cheers,
PBK
Buenos Aires,
Argentina.

P.S.: Sorry 'bout the length of the message

Comments

anonymous Thu, 06/24/2004 - 12:46

Unfortunately, sometimes the "Truth" hurts. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Not to make light of your situation. I really do sympathize. Unfortunately, this is the type of thing that happens when you buy cheap gear. I understand your choice may have been limited due to budget. I would advise you to try to sell them for as much as you can get, or maybe even return them. Then look into getting something the the Event TR series. They are affordable, and to my ear, much better than the Behringers.

anonymous Fri, 06/25/2004 - 05:42

Thanks for the comments.

Ron: I thought I had bought STUDIO MONITORS. STUDIO MONITORS are not supposed to be radio antennas. Either they are FULLY ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDED or they are not.

Eric: Thanks for the advise. The problem is that it is VERY hard to find monitors in Argentina. It is almost impossible to test them. The only options I've found here are the Truths, the Alesis M1 (which I heard and did not like at all) and some M-Audios. I was trying to decide on either the Active Tannoys, the Tapco S8s and now the Event TR8s, but I feel quite uncomfortable buying something that I did not listen to or test...

Randy: This is a lesson I'm beginning to learn... the hard way.

Cheers,
PBK.
Argentina.

Ellegaard Fri, 06/25/2004 - 08:23

D'oh, that sucks. My Truths haven't troubled me yet, neither have my Behringer mixer, but like you I found them much more linear and powerful than the others in the same price range.

If you get the chance, try and listen to the Tannoys and Event TR8s. Haven't heard them, but I'm heard the Tapco S5s, and if the S8s sound just a LITTLE bit like the S5s they must sure be horrible.

By the way... that radio interference, it couldn't be related to cables...?

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