Behringer Dualflex EX2100

Paul White finds Behringer's new 'more of everything' box a plentiful source of cheap thrills.

Put two or more engineers in a room, ask them to talk about exciters and enhancers, and the chances are that a lot of hard‑held opinions will surface. There are those who believe that having to use an enhancer at all is tantamount to an admission that you haven't done your job properly, while those in favour may fail to agree on the relative merits of the harmonic generation principle and the dynamic EQ approach.

For those as yet unfamiliar with exciters/enhancers and their sonic effects, their general aim is to make everything sound bigger, louder, cleaner, and generally more attractive than it originally did. Most such devices work mainly at the top end of the audio spectrum, where they either use dynamic EQ to subtly emphasise transient detail, or they generate new, high‑frequency harmonics from the existing upper mid and high frequencies of the programme material, and add these to the original sound. Either way, the result is a subjectively cleaner sound, with more separation between instruments and a greater sense of 'upfrontness'. The dynamic EQ system often sounds gentler, but on the other hand, it can only emphasise what already exists. If a mix is dull because there are no high frequencies present, then the dynamic EQ can do little to improve matters.

The harmonic enhancer or exciter synthesizes new high frequency harmonics which are musically related to the original sound, which makes it more successful when dealing with dull material. However, unless used sparingly, harmonic enhancement can sound rather harsh.

Something For Everyone

The Behringer EX2100 avoids getting involved in this argument by giving the user the option of both dynamic EQ (enhancement) and harmonic synthesis. The original exciters were pretty fussy as to what signal level was fed into the processing circuitry, so there was usually a separate Drive control with its own simple metering system. This has been eliminated in the latest generation of processors, and Behringer have their own automatic level control circuit, which simplifies setting up.

The EX2100 is a true 2‑channel unit, and the only common control is the Bypass button. Both the inputs and outputs are electronically balanced. A single Process control sets the amount of harmonic synthesis or enhancement; turn clockwise from centre and you harmonize, turn counter‑clockwise and you enhance, allowing any blend of the two methods to be used simultaneously. As with the Aphex exciter, a Tune control sets the frequency above which processing takes place, and this may be set anywhere from 1kHz to 8kHz. A further control, High Mix, determines how much of the processed signal is added back into the mix, and this works as the high frequency 'effects amount' knob.

A trend in recent years has been to add bass enhancement to this type of processor, so as to balance the subjectively more pronounced top end. The system used on the EX2100 uses a combination of EQ and phase manipulation to fill out the low bass and, like SPL's Vitalizer, a single control provides soft, full bass enhancement in one direction, and tight, punchy enhancement in the other. In the mid position, the Low Mix control has no effect.

In Use

Using the EX2100 is simply a matter of connecting it into the circuit via suitable insert points (not via an aux send loop!) and then deciding on whether to enhance or excite, or a bit of both. If your material is already sounding good, then enhancement may be better, but if you're in full salvage mode, the harmonic synthesizer may well come up trumps. The Tune control has quite an effect on how harsh the result is, and as a general rule, the higher you set the tune range, the less the mid‑range is affected. Somewhere between 2 and 4kHz seems best for most material.

After using the Mix control to add in the required amount of effect, you can bring in a little bass end, either hard or soft depending on the style of music. As with all harmonizer/enhancers, you have to keep bypassing the effect to remind yourself of how the original signal sounds, otherwise you can easily end up getting too excited!

The HF enhancement side of the EX2100 certainly adds definition and clarity, but there's something slightly clinical and unyielding about it, unless it is used very sparingly. This isn't serious though, and the Low Mix control adds a great deal of depth and warmth — which is enough for most routine tasks.

Summary

What I like best about this unit, aside from its ludicrously low price, is the way you can blend enhancement and harmonic synthesis. The overall sound quality is fine, with no unnecessary noise and plenty of headroom. Setting up a stereo mix means juggling with a whole set of controls, but it's quite clear what each control is doing, and there's nothing at all complicated about it. For those seeking excitement on a budget, the EX2100 would seem to be the one. You can buy better, but you'll have to pay a lot more.