i disagree with their marketing / R&D policy which is:

Take everyone else's hard won technology, that they have developed (and payed for) and reverse engineer it, make clones as cheaply as possible and sell as many as you can.

This is bad for the industry. However if you want a cheap bit of kit that may not last to long, well they may be for you.

They are having their asses sued of for non QC compliance in the US at the moment. Make what you will of that. Like I said I still use their kit, but just not in my critical pathway.

All that said their are a number of professional engineers that I know well and respect immensely who use Behringer kit on a daily basis. However having been through a bunch of Behringer outboard gear (preamps, gates & compressors) I don't regret upgrading ! Their is not much similarity between a Focusrite pre or an Avalon pre and a Behringer. They just sound completely different ! They are also at very different price points.

If you really want a damming account of Behringer, check out the subject at www.homerecording.com. You may want to put on flame proof pants !

Behringer kit is great for starting out on and getting your feet wet with though don't be surprised if you end up selling it and upgrading in 12 months time!