"andy" wrote in message
oups.com
Thanks for the pointers.

I had not been assuming PA gear was bad but simply that a raised noise
floor and mild audible distortion would not be a major problem for PA
purposes and therefore tolerated in order to get costs down.

Maybe true with the bottom-bottom-end stuff. Once you get out of the dregs
and into brands like Ashly, Rane, DBX, Klark-Teknik, and even much of the
more recent Behringer you're talking very good stuff.

Would I use a Behr DCX2496 as the core of a multi-amped system? Far pickier
people than I have already done so!

http://www.behringer.com/DCX2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG

To be honest, I would feel safer buying industrial type electronics
rather
than home electronics if I knew it was fit for my purposes.

The volumes of product sold by the larger pro-audio companies is relatively
high. The critical nature of their market tends to force bad stuff off the
market unless it is impossibly cheap. How many audiophiles or audio stores
do thorough bench tests on new products? Most pro audio groups have the
equipment, know how to use it, and don't think twice about testing new gear
thoroughly, both by ear and on the bench.