Fredenstein Bento 6S

I bought this Bento 6S with my first two modules.

Great sound, no noticeable noise from the power supply, plenty of connections capabilities, best budget option on the market.
Construction-wise, one could wish it had lockable XLR connectors, but the overall build quality inspires confidence. The integrated power supply comes handy, when moving it around (most 500 racks have a separate power supply which should help minimize electrical noise)

ONE BIG ISSUE though: after filling it up with 6 modules (only preamps from reputable companies, no DIY), I had to face the dreaded and already well documented issue: the 500Hz noise. in my case it appeared as soon as one of the modules would have 48V phantom power activated...

I can not tell whether my case is isolated, as the "6S" revision was introduced to cope with this issue initially present on "6" units.

Thanks to Thomann customer service I was able to exchange it in favour of one of the competition which works fine.

I?ve had this for a few months now and it?s held up well. I?m new to 500 series stuff and really just wanted to try some out.

It?s solidly built and gives you some confidence. Seems to power the modules put in fine. I like the jumper switches to link units together internally. E.g I have a preamp going into a compressor in the next slot.

I only have two units houses in it currently, so it remains to be seen if it continues to performing the same manner with more power being drawn. Some people have reported some issues when fully loaded.

One small problem I had was mounting one of the modules...didn?t seem to fit right, but I rather suspect the module than the rack.

Other than that there?s not really much to say...it?s a unit that powers 500 series modules and provides IO. So as long as it does those things and doesn?t fall apart, it?s good right?

All in all a good purchase. I actually wanted to try out the Midas version, because it?s much cheaper, so i can?t really say if this unit is particularly value for money or not. However, it?s certainly cheaper than everything else with similar capacity on the market apart from the Midas.