I hooked up this equalizer in a snap and there was an immediate improvement in my sound system. I have a medium quality amp and speaker set, suitable for a large living room setting. The equalizer was capable of significantly boosting sound volume and quality on all frequencies. The volume boost was very noticeable, resulting in me reducing my "standard" volume setting on my amp by half while still receiving the same output sound. Tone quality was markedly better as well. I have a total of three input signals to the equalizer, routed thru a separately purchased selectable 3-way A/V switch. The first input signal was from a streaming radio station which was run thru a netbook computer and output to the equalizer via a standard 1/8" mini jack to two RCA input cables. I considered this signal to be the biggest challenge for the equalizer, due to the snail's pace 24 kbps streaming rate and near transparent streaming radio input signal strength from the netbook computer headphone jack. The equalizer excelled on this low bit rate signal, and greatly boosted volume and sound quality on all frequencies. The second signal was from an HD radio, and the third from a portable CD player. Sound quality and tone was markedly improved with all inputs. The unit also has a low frequency cut-out to remove any rumble in the output signal.

The only complaint I have is that there is not much physical range from max to min settings on the boost/fade levers. The lever knobs are large and clumsy looking and are a full 1/3 of the size of the entire physical range of lever movement, making any really precise adjustment impossible. The numerical scale on the levers is also very tiny and hard to read. But considering the unit is a compact style, this is a minor complaint, since for the most part once an equalizer is set, it is seldom adjusted again. Also, there are a number of flashing lights and indicators on the front face of the device. Mine is in a stereo cabinet behind a closed wooden door, so I do not see these all the time, but if the unit were in plain view it could be irritating.

On balance, I am very happy with this equalizer, and would recommend it for a low to mid priced stereo system.

Surprisingly, the FBQ800 has no real competition. I would have thought there would be an abundance of equalizers from which to choose. But no. The ones that do exist have intolerable design gaffs. For example, most of the few other units, including Behringer's own offerings, annoyingly, have separate controls for right and left channels which I feel is overkill and makes for bulky, ugly, inconvenient products, unlike the sleek, almost-comically-compact, finely-focused FBQ800.

Despite its light weight, seemingly budget build, limited connection options and unbalanced circuit, the FBQ800 provides a powerhouse of audio control. It can bring the most stubborn room / audio-system to life. Its versatility is truly amazing - but at the same time seems "just right". For example it has a switch which selects whether the nine frequency sliders work at plus or minus 6db or 12db. Thoughtful and helpful.

The FBQ800 provides superb audio quality and essential sonic control at a friendly price and I would dearly love to give it a five star rating.

However, I've removed one star because Behringer can seem unhelpful with supplying a power supply for replacement or for 240V mains power countries. Warning: surprisingly, in this day and age, 240V will fry the US power supply.

In particular I was unable to buy an Australian power supply after months of conversations with Behringer and its associates. I resorted to using a bulky, expensive transformer.

Worse, because of the power supply's unusual AC output (rather than the more-common DC) and its less-common 2.2mm internal plug diameter (I think - rather than the more-common 2.1mm) it's difficult to impossible to even buy a generic third-party 240V power supply. Beware.

I am really amazed that this is about the only "in line" EQ that is in existence, without investing in a very high dollar component EQ. And it works amazingly well. I love it so much that I am purchasing a second one as a backup in case the first ever fails and the device might be discontinued.

My background...former dance club owner/operator who had a chain of 6 very large dance clubs which had a capacity of 1,000 to 3,000 patrons each, in major markets (Omaha, KC, Atlanta, etc). We were very successful because we delivered the ultimate sensory experiences, with extremely high quality sound systems, spending over 70K in each club on sound gear, using MacIntosh Amps, Urei Equalizers, Crown Crossovers, linked to JBL and Cerwin Vega Professional Speakers and independent array super tweeters. Thus, my personal demands at home, have me using Equalizers on all 3 sound systems in my home (home theater with 144" HD projection screen with amp/EQ/floor standing speakers, and slightly less exotic setups for the flat screens and amps/EQ/speakers in my living room and bed room).

I feel that any sound system without external dedicated EQ hardware, dramatically limits its capabilities and quality of listening experience, so I have high end equalizers in all three of my AV setups. I use these in conjunction with dedicated amps and stand alone speakers. Recently I bought a fabulous portable speaker made by ION...the Block Rocker (at Sams). This is now my "go to" mobile sound for back yard entertaining, transport to friends pool parties, take to the lake camping or anywhere else I want mobile sound (in various rooms in my home). The ION puts out fantastic sound, but I can take it to a much higher level using this Behringer. And the Behringer is actually a perfect fit to rest in a recessed tray that is part of the ION's top.

Here is my main frustration with today's devices. I have an iPad Air2 with dozens of playlists, to suit different moods, genres, and preferences, with all songs downloaded from hundreds of CD's which I collected over the course of 12 years in the music business. I ripped them in iTunes to get them onto my computer and other devices. My music library has about 3,000 songs in it, on the iPad. Apple may do a lot of things well, but they are absolutely clueless when it comes to EQ. My iPad has ridiculous EQ presets which are totally useless in tweaking the sound to even a marginally decent level. Apple must have used deaf/mute software engineers to create their on preset EQ settings.

The perfect EQ curve on a ten to twelve band equalizer is very similar to the slider settings shown on the Behringer product images with their 9 band settings...a "bell curve" that dips in the mid ranges and rises at the low end and the high end.

I was extremely surprised, and very happy with the ION speaker but there were certain artists and certain songs that were far to shallow or shrill to be enjoyed, when mixed in with those which sounded fine. The ION does not have any controls on board, other than master volume, so you can't adjust bass, treble, mid range, etc. So I searched far and wide to try to find a compact equalizer which would be as mobile as the iPad and the ION working together to make them really come alive.

This little baby did the trick magnificently. And it has the perfect interface cords and adapters to link to whatever you have. This unit has 2 different input and output options, for you. The female input ports include right and left channel guitar plug inputs or right and left channel RCA in. Same for the output. The guitar plugs which come with this unit, feature right and left channel plugs which "Y" terminate into a stereo mini male plug, which allows you to connect directly to any headphone jack (such as smart phone or my iPad). On the output side, I use the Behringer guitar plugs to mini stereo adapter, going to the ION Aux input. This Behringer is so absolutely simple to hook up and use. You do have to plug the Behringer into a power outlet, using the provided 12V brick adapter. And I purchased 10' and 20' cord extensions with stereo mini females at both ends to extend the cord range from the Behringer to the ION speaker, so that I can be sitting in a lawn chair with iPad and EQ at my finger tips, and with the speaker set towards the edge of the deck. Sometimes I do the opposite and set the Behringer on top of the ION and set it to my preferred EQ curve and then run the long cord to wherever I am sitting Lots of flexibility if you have an extension cord to go with what Behringer provides.

Once I got it hooked in line between my iPad and the ION, I was amazed at how much better I could dial in the sound to make that ION sound like a speaker 5x's the price I paid for it at Sams. All I can say is WOW. It is obvious that true sound engineers created this device, because they have all the right amenities built in (many of which you might not even find on rack mount EQ hardware). There is a low cut filter which prevents over driving the bass when certain artists songs are pushed too hot (as in pavement pounding bass that some artists boost to uncomfortable levels). This limits the potential for speaker damage when spikes occur that are unnatural and unpleasant.

I also like the visuals of the line level controls for both input and for output. You can tell visually when music is starting to "clip" with the green to yellow to red LED lights dancing up and down. We relied on line level clipping indicators all the time in the club business to control sound to comfortable levels within the club (and to protect and preserve the tens of thousands of dollars invested in speakers, which also had redundant custom control limiters built into them). And these same limit indicator lights were essential to recording music mixes that maintained equality of volume and quality of sound, from song to song. So. Unexpected and great addition to this fantastic little piece of equipment.

So, my preferred settings are the U-shaped bell curve on the 9 band sliders, with the line level indicator lights fully to the top of the "greens" and dancing very slightly up and down into the yellow zone. First I fire up the iPad and set its volume control to somewhere between 80-100% and then turn the Behringer "Input" line level dial to the point that the lights are all green with momentary flashes into the yellow. Then, as I listen to music, I turn the volume control on the ION speaker to about 50%, which gives me plenty of head room for going louder outdoors, if desired. While listening, I then switch the Behringer level control to "output" and use the level control dial to monitor any clipping that might occur, going to the speaker from the iPad, while again keeping all lights at the top of the green and dancing slightly into the yellow.

All in all this unit has all the bases covered, to allow you to get peak performance out of mobile listening experiences, using equipment which might not be part of your more robust home sound systems. HOWEVER, this does not mean that you can't get very satisfactory results by hooking this inline from any amps to any speakers that you might own (especially if you have not invested in high end EQ gear, or you do not want to spend several hundred dollars for a home system Equalizer). I am not sure what it would take to use this in a surround sound multi channel setup, but if you can figure out a way to integrate it, you will be very happy with the results. I personally prefer a 2 channel setup with very high end right and left channel speakers in front, supplemented by 2 channel branches coming from the rear.

Even though this is extremely light weight and when you first take it out of the box, your first impression might be "what the heck? Is this some kind of cheap toy?" Believe when I say it is not. No need for a lot of weight and bulk, considering that everything today is driven by little super computers on micro chips in smart phones. Don't let the package fool you. This is one robust piece of equipment that "kicks ass".

I had to return the first ones I bought for the light on one of them wasn't always working than just stopped working. The replacements don't seem to have this problem and work just fine, the first ones I bought the light went out on the first day I used them, so far these replacements the light stays on, an option that would be nice for all the lights if they be turned off for once one light starts failing the unit doesn't look right anymore. The sound and equalizing is fine it's just 9 bands so it's not too many and both channels share the same equalization which is kind of good or not depending on what you need this for. It also has rca input and output along with 1/4 trs in and out, rca works with most home systems so this is an easy product to incorporate into your sound system at home.

Pros: Sounds great. All controls functional. Right and left channels controlled at the same time.

Cons: Feels like an empty box. Some leds on the band adjustments have intermittent connections. Gain control in some positions can affect right/left balance.

One of the main things I wanted was to have both the right and left channels controlled at the same time. Most EQ's split the right and left so you have double the number of controls, but then I end up chasing right and left channel differences. This is much simpler. A change on any given band does both the right and the left simultaneously. I only needed basic treble/bass manipulation, so it has done well in that department. The gain knob isn't perfect - I notice some right/left balance changes if I turn it down, so I just leave it at 0. My volume is controlled by the TV, so this isn't a major deal for me. Power supply is UL listed, so that is a plus as well.
Some reviews indicate these units have longevity problems and I can understand that. The switches used probably won't take much use before problems start to show up. I will see how it works out. I don't turn it on/off or anything like that, I just leave it on all the time. Will see how it holds up over time.
For the price, I have no major complaints. It does what I need it to do.