Sorry for starting the thread up again, I just thought that I would share my opinions and experiences with the BX4500H and other Behringer gear I've owned or owns.
Firstly, I do not agree with the numerous "Behringer just crap" comments. It seems like most people don't get the fact that Behringer is a brand that focuses on budget equipment, and the equipment they make are in the cheap range, both price and quality wise. Most people seem to compare Behringer to 1000$+ amps, and of course the Behringer don't hold up to the more expensive and well sounding amps that most of us do play. If you do take the price in mind, the sound, features and quality is not that bad at all.
I do not use any of my Behringer gear anymore, not because it's bad, but because I do have something much better. But I'm pretty damn sure that I would never have been able to keep my interests in playing bass, if it weren't for Behringer. Back when I started playing in one of those early teen Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC jam bands, I was glad I had my Behringer BX4500H. I had no money myself, and my parents gave it to me as a christmas gift, and I was extremely happy about it. It had plenty of power to keep up with the two guitarists, both using 200 Watt Randall half-stacks and a really loud drummer, all of whom didn't understand the concept in "less-is-more" meaning we always played at ear-damaging sound levels.
My experience with the BX4500H has generally been good. It was a great beginners amp for me, until I got to the point in my "career" where I could afford better equipment. I went all 70's tubeamp (Traynor YBA-3) and Ampeg cabs, which is just miles ahead of the Behringer.
Now to the technical part. I've had 3 Behringer BX4500H amps. My first one did blew up (though not in that dramatical smokey way), and I got a new under warranty. The third one I got for free, so I do own two functioning units right now. Of pure interest I did wonder wether the amp were really 450 Watts or not. And yes, in fact it does deliver 450 Watts RMS into 4 Ohms without clipping. The thing is that the amplifier does have a built in limiter circuit, which reduce the output signal if it is to reach more than 60 Vpeak. This does in fact mean that the amp can put out a sine wave at 60 Vpeak without clipping. A sine wave that is 60 Volts peak has an RMS value of 42,4 Vrms (60 volts divided by the square root of 2 which is 1,414. This is basic electronics theory). 42,4 Volts over a load of 4 ohms gives a current of 10,6 Amperes. When you times the amperes with the volts, you get the power (watts). 10,6 times 42,4 gives 449,6~450 Watts. The amp does in fact deliver 450 Watts. Curious as I am, I did of course take the amp apart, just to see how it was built inside. Generally the soldering of the boards looked nice and the power transformer is actually overrated in output power. It was rated at least 550VA (though the actual effective power output is somewhat less) and I was actually kinda surprised about that, since I did expect to see an underpowered transformer, as this is usually allowable since no-one rarely pulls full power out of the amplifier. From a technical point of view, the amplifier holds up to it's specifications, power-wise.
The sound quality is, as you might expect from an amplifier in this class, not exactly something to yell HURRAH! for, but it's fairly noiseless (though it could be alot better with decent and correct ground wiring), the EQ does it's job and it has the deep and bright switches for adding extra lows or highs. The shape-filter is a fine addition for those who want to fiddle a bit with their tone, but people (including myself) usually outgrows that feature, when you find your own sound in more expensive gear. The ultrabass function is as such useless, but my experience is that it's generally not as bad as people usually say. It has some difficulty tracking notes from the D-string and lower, but if one is to keep playing above that, it works quite well.
Generally you get features and power that no other brands get even close to matching in that price range. Think 450 Watts, 5 band EQ, low and bright switch, effect loop, tuner out, built in DI out and decent sound.
Most people seem to compare Behringer to GK, Ashdown, Hartke and other more expensive brands, and that does not seem fair in my eyes.
The Behringer is targeted (intentionally or not, I don't know) at the entry level musician, and therefore they do play the low price/loads of features card, which typically seem to attract beginners which is fine. Not everyone has the money to afford an Ampeg, EBS or GK rack as their first amplifier.
I've been happy with my Behringer in the period I did use it, but thats over now, like my teen period obsessed with Metallica-jam bands.
I would definitely recommend beginners to buy Behringer amps, as they do offer a lot of features for the buck, and the sound quality is not that bad at all.
Of other Behringer equipment I've owned/do own, I can mention the Bass V-Amp Pro, mostly a toy for me, never used it seriously. I also owned the Bass Equalizer pedal and the Bass Chorus pedal, both which did their job decently.
Also, the band I play in now used some Behringer gear in the beginning. We had a Behringer power mixer, through which we put both bass, guitar, keys and multiple vocals. Though the mixer was driven into severe clipping and the sound was directly aweful, the board never failed on us. Keep in mind that I did play bass through it (back then it was my secondary band, so my bass rig was in my primary bands practice room, until I left that, and the secondary band became much more serious and professional)
Whoa, that was a whole lot of crap, doubt if anyone even want to read all that. Anyways, I am ill and stayed at home from work today, so I had nothing else to do.
I think i was so happy to have my new rig that I just lost my mind...... I won't let that happen again (though secretly.. I am happy that I now have the ability to be too loud!)
