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The speakers are built in such a way that if you sit them on a flat stage and someone bumps them in front, they may fall over backwards!!! This is because they are set up (with a very poor cabinet design, in my opinion) to be used sitting upright OR leaning back to function as a monitor speaker. They have a "little tiny footprint", compared to how far they stick out in back of the speaker to accomodate the monitor position legs. This is a constant source of aggrivation to me as I drive to the gig and my speakers keep shifting around in the back of my van on the way! Although this is not a problem at the gig if you use them on speaker stands (I usually do), it's something to consider if you usually place your speakers on the ground. This is probably my only major gripe about these units. By the way, if you want your speakers on stands and you don't have someone to help you lift and place them, plan on spending lots of time and energy trying to get the pole into the stupid pole-mount hole under the speaker, as well as an inevitable occasional smashed finger. On a lighter note, the EQ (just 2 band) is quite musical, and when I'm playing bass, the low EQ makes a big difference in the sound of the bass patch. Also the high EQ can really help adjust for a "ringing" or "thudy" room.
Quality:
They seem to be made like a tank! I've not had any trouble with the ones I have now. I bought one in "Blem" condition however, and that one worked for about a week and then just made a "pop" and stopped working. However to be fair, when it first arrived, I was already suspect. These speakers have a MASSIVE piece of metal on the back, I assume to mount them to a wall in a permanent setup. The metal is probably at least 1/8" thick. I think a Mack truck could run over this piece of metal without damaging it. Well, on the "Blem" unit I received, this huge hulk of metal was very badly bent in toward the speaker. I can only assume that the company that sold me the unit must have dropped it from a very high place to incur such damage (perhaps from an airplane). Judging from the dent, I'm surprised that it even worked at all! Anyway, that unit was returned, and I bought a new unit to replace it, which has been a real gem.
Value:
I think Behringer probably has the best powered speaker in it's price range. If money were no object (or less of one), I would go for Mackie equipment, but Mackie's powered speakers start at about twice the price and go up from there. Someone commented in an earlier review that he used the Behringers as home stereo speakers when not playing with the band. Although I've not tried that, they certainly would pass the audiophile test. When we play background CD's during breaks, the sound is every bit as good as my expensive home stereo, and loud enough to carry through a decent sized hall. Also, I always get comments from the audiences about how clean our band sounds when I use these speakers. We play jazz, standards, showtunes, soft rock, etc. so we're looking for a crisp, sparkling sound, and these speakers deliver.
Desirability:
If it were lighter and shaped a bit better, more stable when sitting on a flat floor, and could be turned up to full gain without the annoying hum, it might be close to the perfect unit for medium-sized gigs!
Sound:
The sound is "transparent", as Behringer says. It just doesn't distort at all. Sound is crystal clear. When I'm not using them for mains for my PA setup, I take one in place of my keyboard amp. Since I frequently kick bass while playing gigs, the dual amplifiers (High/Low) in the B300's keep the bass thumping through even when I'm doing a lot of string patches, horns, etc. on the top end. A normal keyboard amp (most don't have bi-amp setup) sounds great UNTIL I start playing heavy on the top end. Then the bass changes from punchy to whimpy mud! The Behringers just keep on pumping that bass regardless of what's going on in the high end, and are a much better solution than dragging a keyboard amp AND a bass amp to each gig! I've owned t
