Berhinger DCX2496 SUB Duties Only troubleshoot

lokie · « **on:** 21 Oct 2018, 06:28 pm »

Cant get my Berhinger dcx2496 to work consistently. It seemed to be working perfectly for a while yesterday but then...
I started having troubles and reset to factory settings a week or so ago. Since then its works intermittently. I know these things can be temperamental but I cant figure out if its a stupid user error or something mechanical, etc.
I need some experienced eyes to look at my set up. You guys see anything out of line here?
I use the second out on my amp to input into the 2496. From there it goes to a stereo amp and then onto two IB subs which are located directly in front of the mains. I want stereo signals going to the right and left subs (not summed into mono).

I know the inputs and outputs are cranked up... just trying to hear a signal and making sure its not turned down too low.

Thanks in advance for the help.
So sorry for the un-rotated pics. I rotated them every which way i could and could never get them right. Another technical frustration today!

richidoo · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 12:38 am »

What are the symptoms you're experiencing?

The two common failure modes of the DCX are the power supply and the digital input chip. Both can cause intermittent problems.

Usually the cheapest fix is buy another one. They have a new cheaper version that's analog only which might work for you.

lokie · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 01:49 am »

Buy a new one? Ouch!!

After my initial panic attack , reality set in and I started to realize, your advice is probably right.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something stupid.

mgalusha · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 03:32 pm »

The ribbon cables can be troublesome in these as well, won't hurt to pull the cover and make sure they are well seated.

lokie · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 06:45 pm »

Quote from: mgalusha on 22 Oct 2018, 03:32 pm

The ribbon cables can be troublesome in these as well, won't hurt to pull the cover and make sure they are well seated.

Yea.. I read that in other forums last night. I took the lid off and checked all the cables. All looked good.
Hooked back up and got crickets... as in no sound. Thanks for the suggestion.

Tyson · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 07:19 pm »

The remote control has a mute button. Try toggling it back and forth to make sure the unit didn't put itself on mute somehow.

lokie · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 09:06 pm »

I don't have a remote control. Any way to do that manually?

HAL · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Oct 2018, 10:18 pm »

The right bottom of the front panel of the DCX2496 has a button under each output channel. They need to be green for the channels you are connecting to the subs.

It also has buttons on the left bottom to select the input channel to use. The channel button also needs to be green to be in use.

lokie · « **Reply #8 on:** 23 Oct 2018, 01:35 am »

Quote from: HAL on 22 Oct 2018, 10:18 pm

The right bottom of the front panel of the DCX2496 has a button under each output channel. They need to be green for the channels you are connecting to the subs.

It also has buttons on the left bottom to select the input channel to use. The channel button also needs to be green to be in use.

These? I don't think that's right. You use these buttons to access the programming screen. Once you make your adjustments you turn that button off to play. I tried it anyway, and it didnt work.

brj · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Oct 2018, 05:20 am »

Look at the lowest display element above the button you circled on both the inputs and outputs. It says 'mute', and the LED next to it will be red if that input or output channel is muted. The button that controls the muting function across all inputs and outputs is shown in your image, immediately right of the dial on the bottom row.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Oct 2018, 10:05 am »

Doug,

As brj has said.

Also, do you mind going to your input and output setup pages and unlinking everything? Just change the IN and OUT stereo links to off. If you are properly configuring subs, you shouldn’t be linking anything anyway since the crossover, slopes, etc...may be different for each IB sub. Incidentally, I disagree with your notion on not using the SUM feature but we’ll discuss that another day.

Press the MUTE button near the dial and make sure none of the INPUTS or OUTPUTS are muted (for now). Unmute it all.

Physically, you should be using INPUT A and INPUT B XLR’s (for your L and R channel inputs) and OUTPUT 1 and OUTPUT 2 XLR’s. That’s it. Nothing should be connected to INPUT C, or Outputs 3-6. Make sure the cables are well seated and working. Make sure your stereo amp supplying your subs is working. Make sure the preamp that is plugged into the Behringer for Inputs A and B is working.

Are the LEDs lighting up? The Input A and B LEDs should be lighting up if your preamp is putting out signal and if the outputs on your preamp are working. Verify that.

Short of the above, FaceTime is the best way to see what the problem may be.

Best,
Anand.

lokie · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Oct 2018, 07:28 pm »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 23 Oct 2018, 10:05 am

Doug,

As brj has said.

Also, do you mind going to your input and output setup pages and unlinking everything? Just change the IN and OUT stereo links to off. If you are properly configuring subs, you shouldn’t be linking anything anyway since the crossover, slopes, etc...may be different for each IB sub. Incidentally, I disagree with your notion on not using the SUM feature but we’ll discuss that another day.

Press the MUTE button near the dial and make sure none of the INPUTS or OUTPUTS are muted (for now). Unmute it all.

Physically, you should be using INPUT A and INPUT B XLR’s (for your L and R channel inputs) and OUTPUT 1 and OUTPUT 2 XLR’s. That’s it. Nothing should be connected to INPUT C, or Outputs 3-6. Make sure the cables are well seated and working. Make sure your stereo amp supplying your subs is working. Make sure the preamp that is plugged into the Behringer for Inputs A and B is working.

Are the LEDs lighting up? The Input A and B LEDs should be lighting up if your preamp is putting out signal and if the outputs on your preamp are working. Verify that.

Short of the above, FaceTime is the best way to see what the problem may be.

Best,
Anand.

Anand... Thanks for your thoughtful post and the facetime offer.

I think I made all your suggested adjustments and posting pics to confirm.
Checked all the connection between the Berhinger, preamp and amp.
The input LED's are not lighting

.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Oct 2018, 07:51 pm »

Doug,

So if the Input A and B LEDs are not lighting when you play a signal (and just to be clear, I mean the -40, -20, -5, -2, etc...area), then I really wonder whether the input section of your Behringer unit is flawed (the analog board), and/or if the unit is receiving enough output voltage from your preamp, etc...especially if you are claiming that all the XLR analog outputs on your preamp are working just fine (have you checked that?). I also wonder if your display LEDs are all working properly, because if they are not, then that can throw you in for a tailspin!

Bear in mind that the Behringer DCX2496 (unless modified) have pro level input and output levels, so it does take a little bit of juice (the stock DCX2496 has *standard* pro level inputs that means 22dBu or 9.76V RMS (!!) for both the inputs and outputs). That being said, you already have your input gain set to +5dB which effectively gooses up your output voltage from your preamp by X 2 (approximately). You may need to kick it up a little more to see if the LEDs light. Of course, don't have anything hooked up to the outputs of the Behringer when you are checking this as we are just trying to verify if you have enough drive voltage from your preamp in the 1st place.

What preamp do you have? Have you tried a different preamp? A different XLR cable? A direct connection from a balanced dac to your Behringer DCX2496 Inputs?

You basically need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your Behringer is faulty (Perhaps it is!). A lot to think about!

While you are at it, I am sure you have read and reread the manual.

Best,
Anand.

lokie · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Oct 2018, 10:00 pm »

My PreAmp is an Emotive Audio Epifania. It says it has an output impedance of 150 Ohms, not sure about the voltage but it has some very heavy transformers(fwiw).

This pre amp has driven this very Berhinger on and off for a year or so. I have to say that I have had intermittent problems during this time and cant say that I know for sure how I fixed it every time. I know once I reset to factory settings.

BTW... I made my own cable w RCA on one end and xlr on the other. Like I said, there were times when all worked perfectly. And it would be unlikely both cables would go out together. BUT... maybe the grounding scheme is causing problems?? I have some XLR adapters I could swap out.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Oct 2018, 12:25 am »

Doug,

Beautiful preamp with single ended outputs.

Doesn’t your Audionote 3.1 DAC have balanced outputs?

Best,
Anand.

lokie · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Oct 2018, 01:54 pm »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 24 Oct 2018, 12:25 am

Doesn’t your Audionote 3.1 DAC have balanced outputs?

Yes.

I know where your going w this. I will need to track down some cables. Stand by.

lokie · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Oct 2018, 05:24 pm »

I have a xlr to RCA adapter and a RCA to BNC adapter. Not sure if all "adapting" will work but will give it a try.

I don't see a digital input on the Berhinger. Use Input C and reprogram?

brj · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Oct 2018, 06:21 pm »

I believe that Anand was suggesting testing the analog XLR output from the DAC to the analog XLR inputs to the DCX, thus eliminating the pre-amp as a variable. You'd need a pair of XLR cables.

(But yes, input C is the digital input, if you wanted to try connecting your source to that input for testing.)

Basically, you're trying to isolate whether the DCX analog inputs are working or not. You need to know whether you have a good XLR input signal in order to exclude everything upstream of the DCX as a possible problem. Ideally, you'd test the same pre-amp outputs that you're using into the DCX into another system to confirm that the pre-amp is passing a good signal. If it is, then you can focus your efforts on the DCX exclusively.

jtwrace · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Oct 2018, 06:43 pm »

....or spend $15 to ship it to a kind member that can test it.

brj · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Oct 2018, 06:48 pm »

I'd perform the above tests first, however, in order to confirm that the problem is actually in the DCX.