Behringer Pro-800 vs Sequential Prophet 600 Sound Comparison

In his latest video, synthesist Starsky Carr does a head-to-head comparison of the Behringer Pro-800 and a classic Sequential Prophet 600.

The Behringer Pro-800 is basically an inexpensive copy of the Sequential Prophet 600 in Euro format. It bumps the polyphony up to 8 voices, though, and implements the GliGli mods.

Carr notes some sonic and functional differences in the Pro-800, saying “Simpler tones can be copied easily, as the raw tone is all there in the oscillators. The filter envelope amount, sustain and cutoff work together slightly differently than the original so adding filter envelopes makes things a little more difficult, add to that the linear envelope shapes aren’t the same – GliGLi updated the linear model in 2022 to reflect a more natural Prophet 5 Rev1/2 curve but this isn’t in the Behringer.”

“Other differences include the Poly-Mod, filter and LFO modulation ranges aren’t as wide in the Behringer.”

Check out the video, though, and share your thoughts on how well the Behringer Pro-800 captures the sound of the original Sequential Prophet 600 in the comments!

48 thoughts on “Behringer Pro-800 vs Sequential Prophet 600 Sound Comparison”

  1. B-ear-ringer sounds pathetically wimpy by comparison. Not even close. What kind of person buys this junk?

      1. Saying someone is probably working for them is not attack
        Its his first comment ever, first comment here, he use the brand name in his user name but can’t on the actual comment,
        where is he now? No replays after this harsh wording? And the actual comment, typical to the way they advertise.
        And what 36 write 36 in his user name??
        At least check his ip

      1. yeah, it’s upside down question mark guy. 36 is probably his age; silly kids these days.

        personally, I’ll never buy a sequential synth. never liked the sound, clone or otherwise. so this one is a wash for me. BUT, with BigB there’s many more fish in the sea! I’m up for a gaggle of Kobol’s to mess with, a Wave, UBxa, and lots of eurorack stuff. love the CV ADSR’s on those Kobol’s; a key trackers dream! yum!

  3. I used the Prophet 600 for 5 years as part of my live setup.
    I disliked the membrane buttons and they eventually became unreliable.

  4. It sounds different. After the first clip or two I could close my eyes and know which me was playing. The overall mid-hi frequency response and the interaction when multiple osc used. Which one is better is subjective but can’t deny they sound different. Interesting.

    1. This is the Catch-22 for Behringer.

      Behringer will sell a lot of copies, but they’ll always be viewed as inferior, because of the compromises made in the copy and because of the fundamental fact that they’re copies, vs something original.

      1. Except that they added 8 voices, and mods, and shank it to euro format. I imagine the envelopes might be better in the P800. I wonder how the P800 MIDI implementation compares to the first MIDI synth ever? But… did they really stick with membrane keys?

        Still an affordable 8-voice VCO synth seems nice (though I still like my DCO Prophet ’08 and its excellent mod matrix, extra envelopes, sequencing, and support for polyphonic aftertouch over MIDI.)

      2. So far I have only a Model D. From this limited sample, I can say that Behringer “cloned” the 70s-era Minimoog much better than did Moog in their last two attempts (the new $5000 one is really ridiculous!). So, I disagree with the blanket statement that copies can’t be as good (or better) than the original. I have a Solina on order, and from what I’ve heard of it so far, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed. As for the Pro-800, I also have one on on order (who wouldn’t at the price if they had the cash available?). Whether or not it sounds exactly like A Pro-600 or not doesn’t really interest me because I was never very fond of that synth from its release. From what I’ve heard so far, I’m pretty impressed with how it does appear to sound.

  5. I think at the price tag it is close enough to the original. In a song you will hardly hear the difference after mixing and mastering.

    1. In a song no one will care what synth you were using at all. Might as well use a VST (…in a box lololololololo)

    2. luckily, the vast majority of dissenting voices here don’t matter at all. there are plenty of open minded customers for behringer. you folks can have the high margin, over engineered, discontinued after the first version, then resurrected at 5 times the price in 20-30 years type products that litter the trade shows, silly magazines, and influencers year, after year, after year, after year. it’s a great treadmill the major manufacturers have you on – for them. enjoy!

      1. John – People like you are getting suckered into the false idea that you’re getting a bargain because Behringer synths are cheap compared to the originals – when the originals are only valuable because they’re rare.

        Behringer gear is designed for collectors on a budget. They’ve got you thinking you’re clever for buying cheap synths like they’re Pokemon cards. Enjoy!

        My experience with Behringer synths (Model D, knockoff Moog modules) is that they’re OK for the price, but you’re buying nostalgia on the cheap. It’s obvious to anybody who’s used pro gear where Behringer is cutting corners.

        1. thank you for your concern. however, I’ve been an design engineer all my long career. I’ve taken all my gear apart, and modified them as I ‘hear’ fit and I’m quiet satisfied with the cost/value ratio that behringer provides. I know exactly what they cut, and how to improve it if I care to, and I’ve improved a lot.

          if you can’t see the value here, that’s your problem. I’m well aware of what’s being produced, and how it compares to over-priced brand names because I’ve done the work.

          you’re just spouting the same old tired vintage rhetoric. have fun with that!

      2. No prob with Behringer, I own DeepMind12, Cat(nostalgia purchase), and the TD-3G. Membrane buttons were crap then and are crap now.

      3. I don’t know what planet you’re on where you can’t find reasonably priced name brand gear. My Novation Circuit cost under $300. My new Roland S-1 cost under $200. I own a stack of original little instruments from clever companies like Bastl and Meeblip that cost less than that.

        Why should I jump on the Behringer treadmill and buy their cost-reduced imitations of everyone else’s stuff? How does that help anyone but Behringer?

        1. Alternatives are good – nobody’s forcing you to buy b’s cheap analogue clones if they’re not your thing. There are VSTs, budget VA like the S-1, budget analog polysynths like the Minilogue, budget analog monosynths like the Uno, used synths, etc.. Personally I’m happy to see affordable VCO polysynths, but I also like my DCO synths.

      4. Bhringer supporters here are simply Behringer customers.
        The more they are insecure about buying into it the more they confront others who oppose it.
        It’s not about being open minded John, it’s about buying cheap knockoff synths from a brand with no morality so you feel bad about it enough that you try to justify it here.
        And what do they get? a cheap copy of an old boring synth intnded for people with gratification issues and people who are getting hard thinking they cheated the system.

        1. John stated that based on his evaluation of b. components and performance, and comparison against other instruments, he considers his b. gear to be a good value. This seems like a position based on investigation and personal experience.

          (My own experience is that I have one b. USB audio interface that stopped working entirely, one b. iPad dock whose audio inputs became unusable due to occasional clicking noises – a software/driver issue I suspect, and one b. mixer which still works OK. I’d still consider a b. synth however.)

          However, gadi’s response presents several claims without evidence.

          1. John explanation came after my reply but any way i was talking about people who confront others who are against this knockoffs, his reasoning to buy into it in the first place not contradict that, maybe even support it.

  6. Over on the Behringer facebook group page lots of posts coming in of not working, tuning off, midi not working or jumbled or randomly changes, sustain stuck on and wont go off, lfo problems.. `

    1. welp, Gligli’s involved in it. you gonna blame him too?

      you should have seen Prologue when it first came out. that was a nightmare.

        1. I wrote its a typical reply of a beringer costumer so the subject is the comment not whoever made it.
          Your rules, please don’t waste commenters time.

          1. wow, a behringer customer sounds like a behringer customer.

            I’m *happy* to be a behringer customer. much happier than when I was a roland, yamaha, korg, moog, etc… customer. you need to fid something to make you happy gadi, it’s so sad seeing you fight progress here everyday.

            behringer is supplying what many, many, folks have asked for years for at a price they can afford. when other vendors either over-price limited releases, or do mini versions nobody wants to play.

            there are 100’s of thousands of folks plugged into behringers facebook pages, compared to here with what… 30 folks here that just bitch and complain about nothing important over and over? yeah… you guys are really influential.

            1. Guy says Synthtopia’s comments aren’t influential…..after leaving five comments on a single article.

              Also – the largest Behringer synth discussion group on FB (BEHRINGER Synthesizers Users Group) has about 15k members, and it’s 50% people asking Behringer to knockoff another company’s product, and 50% people asking when a knockoff Behringer announced 3 years ago is going to come out.

              Not a lot of value from that or the main Behringer FB page, TBH.

          2. I’m guessing,could be wrong though, but judging by the 32,435 spiteful comments on here,your not a fan of Behringer synths? Then off you go mate, why try ruin it for everybody else? Clearly you’te better spending your time focusing on making music/looking at synths you want rather than trolling comments sections of synths you don’t

  7. Good demo. I have no dog in the hunt, but I’d love to see this offered by someone dependable. I had a Prophet-600 and yes, it eventually crapped out, with those membranes failing and the CPU getting Synth-heimer’s, but I got my money’s worth. I loved the voice of it and it MIDI’d well.

    This version deserves some fame if it holds up, but when one person loves a B item and 9 others list its failings, eh, wellll….. With 8 voices, I’d pay twice the price for a solid build version. Its not a sound design giant, but for lively pads and poly leads, it excels. It should be a regular on tabletops, along with mono synths & small modulars.

    1. “but I got my money’s worth. I loved the voice of it and it MIDI’d well.”

      +1 – totally agree
      At the time my Juno-60 needed the DCB bus thingy and IIRC wasn’t the 600 one of the first MIDI synths? Too many years ago lol.

  8. Its funny i beleived in the nay sayers, but i had to get the solina just because, and i found it amazing little thing well built sounds great, (i do have all the vsts botique analogue synths, elektron and anyother major brand a huge euro setup), especially with the finacial enviroment in australia at the moment, with in a week i had to order the blue marvin and love it, huge sound and is great next to my analogue solutions synths. Just my 2 cents!

      1. What does it matter if he/she/it/they is 36 years old. If I manage to live that long, I’ll be 72 (2 X 36) in a couple years. Oddly, I really liked the new Indiana Jones movie, and I’m sure my age has something to do with that!

  9. There’s a massive difference between the two instruments at 11:42 in the video — the Prophet 600 has a beautiful “fwump-fwump” filter close on the bass. The Pro-800 just doesn’t have it… at all.

    I get that people want a $400 Prophet, but this instrument has some serious voice flaws and bugs that need to be ironed out. I’d hold off until Behringer releases a Mk2 version with some hardware tweaks.

    1. Behringer owners be like “The collectors are all brainwashed. Only an idiot would buy anything other than a Behringer!!!!!”

      What they are really saying is that they don’t care if the copy is accurate and they think you’re an idiot if you do care.

      1. Only one of the 14 hardware synths currently in my studio is a Behringer (Model D). My two most recent purchases were a 3rd Wave and Vector. As for the Model D, it is the most faithful recreation of the classical Minimoog sound, bar none. As I stated above, it sounds much more like a vintage Mini than do either of the two clones, cloned by Moog, most recently released. I think the much of the problem is that some people only think they know something about how an original synth is supposed to sound. Personally, I do care about how copies sound and, even though I can afford to purchase a $5000 clone, I would still choose the Model D.

  11. Too bad there are so many childish comments here. I have a houseful of instruments, for many years, had the original pro-One among others. Just the music…what I hear…nothing else matters if you are a musician, engineer etc. I do hear a difference in quality of the sounds, some parts of the video more than others. The original seems to have more “presence”, and a fuller sound. This might have to do with the coloration of the sounds from the older circuitry-which might be introducing slightly more harmonic distortion than the Behringer clone-which oddly can make an instrument sound fuller and more present, at least that has been my experience growing from discrete component tape machines and synths to present day digital-whether recording or playing instruments. I have a Poly D and it sounds pretty close to what I expected-after all, a simple oscillator circuit is just that-it is the signal chain of attached components that can determine what comes out at the final signal end. But after listening to both these instruments here at least, I prefer the sound of the original, even if all else was equal. There is something lacking in the quality of what I am hearing with the Behringer-listening to both in my studio on a quality sound system I might hear these differences on an even more pronounced level, but can’t say for sure from this vantage point. The original analogs used less IC’s some older analogs were using discrete transistors in their circuits-these alone have different tonal characteristics, as did tubes which again, introduced harmonic distortion which some might describe as producing a warmer or fuller sound, and is very hard to duplicate with digital ICs and software algorithms which tend to produce less or no harmonic distortion which has its pluses and minuses.

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