Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD

973

USB Audio Interface

  • 24 bits
  • 192 kHz
  • 2 Inputs and 4 outputs
  • 2 combi-sleeves: XLR / 6.3 mm jack
  • MIDAS-Design microphone preamplifier incl. 48 V phantom power supply
  • Guitar input
  • 6.3 mm insert socket per channel for external signal processing
  • Signal and clip display
  • Pad switches per channel
  • Direct monitoring with mono / stereo switch and mix control
  • 6.3 mm jack Headphone output
  • Output and headphone separately adjustable
  • 6.3 mm jack output (A) and 2x RCA output (A and B) with monitor A / B switch on the front
  • MIDI input and output
  • Power supply via USB bus
  • Metal housing
  • Compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7-10, as well as Mac OS
  • Incl. USB cable
Available since August 2015
Item number 359082
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Recording / Playback Channels 2x4
Number of Mic Inputs 2
Number of Line Inputs 2
Instrument Inputs 2
Number of Line Outs 4
Headphone Outs 1
Phantom power Yes
Number of S/PDIF Connectors 0
Number of ADAT Connectors 0
Numer of AES/EBU Connectors 0
Number of MADI Connectors 0
Ethernet 0
Other Connectors No
MIDI interface Yes
Word Clock No
Max. sample rate (kHz) 192 kHz
Max. resolution in bit 24 bit
USB Bus-Powered Yes
Incl. power supply No
USB Version 2.0
Width in mm 185 mm
Depth in mm 130 mm
Height in mm 46 mm
Connection Format USB port Type B
Included in delivery USB cable, software
Zero latency monitoring 1
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$89
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U-Phoria goes HD audio

The Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD is a compact 2-in/4-out USB audio interface that can be operated under Windows and macOS, and offers excellent value for money. As its name indicates, it comes with high-resolution converters that can operate at sample rates of up to 24-bit/192kHz. The two input channels are equipped with high-quality microphone preamplifiers developed by the well-established British manufacturer Midas and achieve both detailed and natural recordings. With its four output channels available on phono sockets, the main output mirrored on balanced jacks for the main monitors, and a comprehensive monitoring and cueing section, the U-Phoria UMC204HD certainly offers an impressive range of features, especially at this price point, that will ideally cater to the budding recording enthusiast.

A studio in a box

The Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD's two XLR/jack combo inputs accommodate dynamic and condenser microphones, line sources like keyboards and drum synths, and high-impedance instruments like guitars and basses. Each input also features an analogue insert to connect to outboard gear (such as an analogue compressor), and an attenuation pad - which is impressive in this price range. A direct monitoring switch is also provided which allows monitoring at the inputs of the Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD without any perceivable latency, an important feature when recording live vocals and instruments. The monitoring section also includes a dedicated headphone output and volume control, as well as a handy crossfader between sources 1 and 2, for DJ-style cueing, e.g. when running virtual DJ software.

Extensive connectivity for beginners

The Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD is an affordable USB audio interface equipped with high-quality preamplifiers and a diverse range of features, including MIDI connectivity, and will particularly appeal to those who are new to home recording. The diverse range of connections on offer are sure to find favour here: The dual stereo phono outputs, for instance, allow convenient connection to a hi-fi system alongside active studio monitors, e.g. for A/B monitoring, which is very useful when mixing. The A/B switch can assign a different mix to the stereo output and the headphone output. Moreover, the insert option means that external effects such as compressors and equalisers can come into play, further enhancing the recording options available with this versatile and high-quality interface.

About Behringer

The company, which was founded in Germany by Uli Behringer and now manufactures its products in China, has been known for affordable and great-value equipment since its very first product, the Studio Exciter F. An array of mixing consoles (such as the Eurodesk MX8000), signal processors, and later sound amplification and monitoring equipment, has made it possible for countless musicians to fit out their home studios, practice rooms, and mobile PAs within budget limits that were previously unthinkable. The acquisition of other companies, including Midas, Klark Teknik, and TC Electronic, meant that new product groups were added - and also resulted in the technical expertise of these companies being incorporated into product development.

A sturdy companion

The Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD is a great "on the road" companion. Its sturdy and compact metal casing is perfectly suited to nomadic use, requiring no additional power supply thanks to its efficient USB power operation. Ideal for mobile recording with its high-quality preamps, it excels in live situations, seamlessly playing back effects and tracks from a laptop on stage. A notable feature is its internal MIDI interface, which allows direct and hassle-free connection of controllers like keyboards or drum pads. This is especially beneficial when MIDI over USB isn't available or when aiming to keep the laptops' USB ports free. The UMC204HD thus combines portability with versatility and caters to a wide range of mobile recording and performance needs.

972 Customer ratings

4.6 / 5

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582 Reviews

S
Incredible value for money.
S.R.M 15.01.2022
I've had this interface for around 6 months now, so I feel like I can provide some useful insight to the quality/functionality of this product. Time will only tell if it continues to provide such value.

The good:

- Build quality is rather good. It feels sturdy enough, and having used it on the go, it has survived my rather bumpy trips very well.

- Sound quality is excellent. The pre-amps get to a very good level without clipping and background hiss is minimal. I've been able to record a lot of tracks with this interface with excellent results every time.

- MIDI support is great to have! I used to use an old outdated controller, so having the option on this interface is great. I can confirm it functions as expected.

- Headphone output is good. There's nothing fancy about the headphone output, but it functions well. The sound quality is quite standard compared to a more expensive sound card or seperate DAC setup.

- When the software works, it works relatively well. (see more in the cons)

The bad:

- Knobs/potentiometers feel a bit cheap. I don't expect them to last for decades, but they work well enough. They can be replaced if you have the tools, but it's something to keep in mind if you plan to use this for many years.

- Software is a mixed bag. It took me a fairly long time to finally get the software functioning in a way that I was happy with. This concerned sample rates between the driver and windows, alongside repear complaining about it to begin with. Driver support is decent from Behringer, but the drivers are incredibly basic. Latency is excellent, but it can be a pain to set up in the beginning.

- The glitches! It doesn't happen much, but there have been a few times where the interface simply doesn't switch the audio source properly and it requires a bit of a software reset. This happens especially if I disconnect the interface and come back with it another day. (maybe expecting it to retain my settings is a little too much to ask)

Overall, I would really recommend this interface! The sound quality is the most important element of course and I think you really can't go wrong for the price. I don't feel like I would ever need to spend 2x the price for a similar interface from a different brand. I am even considering upgrading to a higher end interface from Behringer, simply with more input options. Highly recommended for the price!

Thomann service was brilliant of course. Delivery and handling was excellent as always.
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AndreyGrey 15.03.2021
Брал на репточку. по сравнению с домашней скарлетт 2на2 есть несколько моментов:
-Преампы чувствительнее. если скарлетт клипует на 10ч гейна, на той же гитаре бехр в клип уходит с 9. Но! есть понижение входа, хотя показалось, что частотку и динамику поджирает.
-ИМХО дико неудобная система мониторинга. на скарлетт тумблер вкл/выкл, тут надо постоянно рулями ловить баланс. и возможно из-за этого 3й косяк
-Перегруз на выходе наушников. после 13ч начинает срать в уши. Тестил и в байерах 770 на 250 Ом и в сенхах ХД180. все одно. После 13ч звук перегружается. на скарлет такого нет.
Из плюсов-пара выходов на мониторы, МИДИ, инсерты и конечно же цена. Собрано качественно, крепко, правда крутилки длинноваты. Дрова свои и немного мудреные, чтобы снизить с 48 до 44,1 пришлось через стандартную вин панель "звуки" поменять, а так неактивно было.
В целом 4/5. для того чтобы на репе демки накидать-за глаза, да и в принципе и посводить дома можно.
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T
Impressive for the price!
TrEr 29.05.2017
I got this interface for using at home on days when my studio is busy with other projects. Just to be able to do some recordings at home, for fun, but it turned out to be much better than expected and has also been used for serious work.

Lets get the bad stuff out of the way first:

-Pots have started crackling after just a few months use. Very disappointing!

-Jack line inputs/outputs feel VERY fragile. Especially the outputs on the back. So far they work fine but this is the kind of quality you just KNOW is going to break. I'm surprised they haven't used better connectors. The headphone and XLR connectors feels ok though,

-After using the interface for a couple of months I started having some trouble with losing connection to the laptop/DAW. It just suddenly was "disconnected" in the middle of a session. It happens very sporadically, perhaps once every 10 hours of use. Still very annoying. I guess I can live with it for home use but it completely rules out any professional applications. If this continues I will have to consider returning the Behringer for repacement/repair but I want to test it with another laptop/DAW first to make sure the problem is not elsewhere in my setup. It does seem very much like the problem is with the Behringer though as I've never had these problems before with the same laptop/DAW.

-I wish there were two headphone outputs. Obviously not a problem when I work alone but there are situations when two headphone outputs would have been nice. Using a splitter to connect two headphones did not work very well. The output could not handle it, causing distortion. I guess you can't have everything at this price/size so not a huge issue I guess.

Ok, so the good stuff:

-Price! Insanely cheap and excellent value for money!

-Sound. Based on sound quality I can easily use this for serious projects. My intention was to get the Behringer just for fun but more and more often I find myself using it to do overdubs for serious projects. I honestly can't tell any difference in sound quality to comparable recordings I do in my studio on RME/SSL interface/converters. I should add that I don't normally use the internal Midas micpres in the Behringer. I have brought home a small rack of gear that wasn't used in my studio. Cheaper stuff like Warm Audio, FMR, Toft etc. And I have to say: The difference between this gear and the more expensive outboard gear in my actual studio is a LOT greater than the difference between the cheap Behringer and my studio's more expensive interface/converters. I should also add that the Midas preamps in the Behringer are totally fine, just a bit characterless for my taste so I prefer to use outboard transformer based preamps if possible. Still, the Midas preamps are definitely not useless like the Behringer preamps of the past. For example, these Midas preamp are FAR superior to the preamps in the ADA8000. I might also add that I absolutely LOVE the fact that Behringer has included inserts on this cheap little interface. This means it's possible to use outboard compression/eq even when using the internal Midas preamps which is a HUGE improvement compared to many other cheap interfaces.

-Size. This was important to me. It fits nicely in a backpack together with a laptop so I can go anywhere (provided there's electricity...) and work on my music.

-Stability... Well, like I mentioned I've had some problems with the Behringer suddenly becoming "disconnected". I'm still not 100% sure if this is a fault with the Behringer or something else in my system (although everything points at the Behringer). But apart from these incidents it has been VERY stable and running efficiently at acceptably low latencies/buffer settings. I'd say the laptop it is connected to is far more likely to be the limiting factor for efficiency.

-Zero latency monitoring. While there is no fancy on-screen mixer it still works really well with a single knob adjusting smoothly between monitoring playback or incoming signal. Great, simple solution that just WORKS.

So, what's the verdict?

I guess the long term reliability will decide whether this is a good investment or not. There are signs that the build quality isn't the best but it sounds VERY good and is VERY cheap.

I'm generally not a fan of recommending stuff that's poorly built but in this case I'm making an exception. I really feel Behringer has pushed the limits of what is possible at this price point. I might eat my words if my unit breaks down in a years or two but still:

Highly recommended!
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documentation, documentation. oh... and documentation.
baffled 01.01.2022
the one and only bad thing about this (and other) behringer products.

the obvious does not have to be documented.
but if the implementation is quite different from what one would expect....

thats when documentation is needed.

in this case,
1) it says in the doc that main outputs are meant to be used for mixing and playback
thats true. but when they are plugged in, it also stops input into the USB
interface. so your DAW will NOT get the input signal from USB ......

2) a simple one liner stating :
NB : PLEASE BE AWARE :
the playback outputs (Jack / RCA ) ONLY output the incoming signal from the USB audio interface, NOT the mic/line inputs !!!!!

these two
would have saved me half a day wondering what I did wrong....
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