pderbidge
Senior Member
Recently my 1rst Gen Scarlett 2i2 was causing major freezes when mixing. I tried 2nd Gen drivers which helped but didn't solve the problem completely. It is likely that the hardware is just getting old or my new system build and software just doesn't play nice with the drivers. Whatever the case I was forced to use my backup travel interface- the Behringer UMC202HD. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this affordable little beast. The preamps are every bit as good as the ones in the Scarlett if not a bit more detailed. The Scarlett has a bit more warmth but not so much so that plugins couldn't make up the difference with the "midas" designed pre's. Of course these aren't likely the same quality as Midas boards but I'm pretty sure they are the same pre's used in the Behringer x series consoles. There are some cheaper Behringer interfaces that I would not reccomend but don't confuse those with this HD series.
Before I get to the good, I'll mention a couple of drawbacks. The 202hd only does stereo direct monitoring which means if you are a singer and you need to monitor your vocals then you will either hear yourself only in the left or right ear depending on the preamp you are plugged into. The 204HD solves this with a button that allows you to choose mono monitoring. The other downside is that even the 404HD does not have a line input that bypasses the preamp. This means if you want to use an external high end preamp and you plugin to the line input on the combo jack, the signal is still passing through the preamp. Most Audio Interfaces are like this (except for the new 3rd Gen Scarletts). Aside from the Scarletts it's safest to look for an interface with line inputs that are separate from the combo jacks you see on the front. Many people feel the issue is overblown since the preamps on these interfaces are fairly transparent and should not add color or noise when passing through the preamp at 0db. Still, it would be more ideal to have line inputs on the back of the interface rather than inserts that Behringer adds to the 204HD and the 404HD. Speaking of inserts, you can actually use them as a line input (using a TRS cable half plugged in depending on the external preamp output tip ring sleeve configuration) but it would not be a balanced input in this scenario.
Now onto the good.
1. Preamps. They sound great
2. EIN (the noise floor of the preamps)- This measurement is not spec'd by Behringer (go figure) but others have measured this response and it is an amazing -129db or more. That's a better EIN than a lot of more costly interfaces.
3. The AD/DA converters are really good. Once again some measurements I've read about in independent tests show that these are some really good converters.
4. Gain- Gain is decent. It's about 51db and anything above 50 is decent. Good enough for most decent mics without getting too noisy when the gain is turned up. Sure it would be nice if it was 70db or more but considering it's price point 51db is quite acceptable. To give you a reference the Audient ID4's are 58db of Gain.
5. Latency. I measured Latency of my unit to be 6.9ms at 64 samples(That's Round Trip Latency). Reaper reports 2.8ms. At 512 samples Round Trip I get 29ms (Reaper reports 12ms). That's really good. Just a bit slower than the Focusrite 3rd Gen at 64 samples where I believe RTL is around 6ms but actually waay better than the Focusrite's 48ms at 512 samples which actually matters to me more since I mix at higher buffers.
6. Last, but not least and probably most important to me are the drivers. The drivers are rock solid and I've not had a single issue with stability which mirrors all the other reviews I've read on this thing.
So Here's my take. If you want an interface under $150 I think the Behringer is the way to go but get at least the 204hd for the more versatile direct monitoring options. If you're willing to stretch it out I think the new Audient ID4 is the next step up worth paying for. It has a little bit better preamps wich are not night and day difference but the Latency at 512 samples is around 26ms which is up there with RME. The Latency on the Audients used to be bad but the new drivers have solved this. Less inputs than a 404HD though and a 404HD costs less than $150. Also bear in mind that the ID4 does not use the Burr Brown converters that are raved about on their bigger brothers.
If you're willing to spend $300 or more then things get more competitive and options start to open up a bit but for under $200 I think it's hard to beat the Behringer. After my experience I've decided to upgrade to the 404HD for more inputs and mostly for the ability to do mono direct monitoring. My next step will be to get an external preamp- probably gonna start with the Golden Age Pre-73 to have something with a little color while my Midas pre's will be my transparent pre's for now.
Before I get to the good, I'll mention a couple of drawbacks. The 202hd only does stereo direct monitoring which means if you are a singer and you need to monitor your vocals then you will either hear yourself only in the left or right ear depending on the preamp you are plugged into. The 204HD solves this with a button that allows you to choose mono monitoring. The other downside is that even the 404HD does not have a line input that bypasses the preamp. This means if you want to use an external high end preamp and you plugin to the line input on the combo jack, the signal is still passing through the preamp. Most Audio Interfaces are like this (except for the new 3rd Gen Scarletts). Aside from the Scarletts it's safest to look for an interface with line inputs that are separate from the combo jacks you see on the front. Many people feel the issue is overblown since the preamps on these interfaces are fairly transparent and should not add color or noise when passing through the preamp at 0db. Still, it would be more ideal to have line inputs on the back of the interface rather than inserts that Behringer adds to the 204HD and the 404HD. Speaking of inserts, you can actually use them as a line input (using a TRS cable half plugged in depending on the external preamp output tip ring sleeve configuration) but it would not be a balanced input in this scenario.
Now onto the good.
1. Preamps. They sound great
2. EIN (the noise floor of the preamps)- This measurement is not spec'd by Behringer (go figure) but others have measured this response and it is an amazing -129db or more. That's a better EIN than a lot of more costly interfaces.
3. The AD/DA converters are really good. Once again some measurements I've read about in independent tests show that these are some really good converters.
4. Gain- Gain is decent. It's about 51db and anything above 50 is decent. Good enough for most decent mics without getting too noisy when the gain is turned up. Sure it would be nice if it was 70db or more but considering it's price point 51db is quite acceptable. To give you a reference the Audient ID4's are 58db of Gain.
5. Latency. I measured Latency of my unit to be 6.9ms at 64 samples(That's Round Trip Latency). Reaper reports 2.8ms. At 512 samples Round Trip I get 29ms (Reaper reports 12ms). That's really good. Just a bit slower than the Focusrite 3rd Gen at 64 samples where I believe RTL is around 6ms but actually waay better than the Focusrite's 48ms at 512 samples which actually matters to me more since I mix at higher buffers.
6. Last, but not least and probably most important to me are the drivers. The drivers are rock solid and I've not had a single issue with stability which mirrors all the other reviews I've read on this thing.
So Here's my take. If you want an interface under $150 I think the Behringer is the way to go but get at least the 204hd for the more versatile direct monitoring options. If you're willing to stretch it out I think the new Audient ID4 is the next step up worth paying for. It has a little bit better preamps wich are not night and day difference but the Latency at 512 samples is around 26ms which is up there with RME. The Latency on the Audients used to be bad but the new drivers have solved this. Less inputs than a 404HD though and a 404HD costs less than $150. Also bear in mind that the ID4 does not use the Burr Brown converters that are raved about on their bigger brothers.
If you're willing to spend $300 or more then things get more competitive and options start to open up a bit but for under $200 I think it's hard to beat the Behringer. After my experience I've decided to upgrade to the 404HD for more inputs and mostly for the ability to do mono direct monitoring. My next step will be to get an external preamp- probably gonna start with the Golden Age Pre-73 to have something with a little color while my Midas pre's will be my transparent pre's for now.
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. For headphone monitoring purposes the Behringer headphone output does just fine and I'm sure that it will work just as well for mixing as any under $300 interface. I'd be willing to bet that even the under $500 interface headphone outputs aren't all that great in comparison, maybe slightly better. For me, I use my JBL speakers to mix and only use the headphones to get a different point of view at times so the built in headphone amp is just as good if not better than my old Focusrite. I think I might get the SMSL SAP2 since it's fairly inexpensive and see if I get a better headphone mixing experience. I even wonder if Behringer's own $24 headphone amp is better than the built in one. I'd better not get too carried away cause I need to save up for either a Golden Age Pre 73 or a Warm Audio Tone Beast to have something different to use on main vocals when I feel it's warranted.
