Behringer UMC1820

922

USB Audio Interface

  • USB 2.0 audio interface, 18 x 20
  • Up to 24-bit / 96 kHz
  • 18 Inputs and 20 outputs: 8x XLR / 6.3 mm jack combo microphone / instrument / line input, switchable
  • MIDAS designed preamp
  • 2 ADAT / SPDIF optical inputs and outputs (S/MUX capable)
  • 2 Coaxial SPDIF inputs and outputs
  • 10x 6.3 mm jack line outputs (1 + 2 monitor output L/R)
  • +48 V phantom power can be enabled
  • Pad switch for each input
  • Gain control per input
  • Main output gain control with mute and DIM switch
  • Monitoring control with stereo / mono switch
  • 2 Separate headphone outputs with control
  • MIDI input and output
  • External power supply
  • Compatible with Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 and Mac OSX
  • Design: 19" / 1U
Available since May 2016
Item number 384432
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Recording / Playback Channels 18x20
Number of Mic Inputs 8
Number of Line Inputs 8
Instrument Inputs 8
Number of Line Outs 10
Headphone Outs 2
Phantom power Yes
Number of S/PDIF Connectors 1
Number of ADAT Connectors 1
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) 96 kHz
Max. resolution in bit 24 bit
USB Bus-Powered No
Incl. power supply Yes
USB Version 2.0
Width in mm 483 mm
Depth in mm 130 mm
Height in mm 46 mm
Connection Format USB port Type B
Included in delivery USB cable, Power cord
Zero latency monitoring 1
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$239
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The great U-Phoria

The Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 is the largest iteration of the affordable U-Phoria series. The 18-in/20-out USB audio interface in rack format can be used with Windows and macOS and operates at sample rates up to 24 bit/96kHz. The eight analogue input channels are equipped with microphone preamps developed by the established British manufacturer Midas, promising a sound that is as neutral as it is high-quality. With its versatile features and high connectivity, including expandability via digital connections, the U-Phoria UMC1820 offers all of the prerequisites to master even the most complex recording situations in the home or project studio.

Central audio interface

All analogue inputs of the Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 are designed as combo sockets and can be used to connect both microphones (phantom power switchable in groups of four) and line sources. At the push of a button, they can also be converted into instrument inputs for connecting guitars and basses. The rear main out and two powerful headphone outputs are separately adjustable, with a mix control to adjust the balance of input and DAW playback for latency-free monitoring of input signals. In addition, eight further line outputs open up extensive possibilities for playing cue mixes or using hardware effects. But the U-Phoria UMC1820 offers a wide range of connection options not only on the analogue side, but also on the digital side with coaxial S/PDIF (two channels) and optical ADAT (up to eight channels) connectivity.

High connectivity for beginners

As an affordable USB audio interface with eight high-quality microphone preamps, ten analogue outputs and expandability via digital interfaces, the Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 is a good choice for beginners who want to be prepared for extensive recording sessions. In addition to a variety of audio connections, an internal MIDI interface also allows for the direct connection of several keyboards or other controllers such as drum pads without taking up USB ports on the computer. In general, the U-Phoria UMC1820 feels particularly at home in a larger home or project studio, although mobile recording or use on stage is also possible without any problems. The interface can be mounted in a portable 19" rack, for example, but also fits into any backpack.

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.

Additional channels via digital interfaces

If you are planning live recordings of your own band or extensive drum recording with many channels, you can expand the Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 via the available digital connection options. Particularly interesting in this respect is the optical ADAT port, which can process eight additional channels in both directions at sampling rates up to 48kHz. At a full 96kHz, this number is halved by sample multiplexing. In principle, the U-Phoria UMC1820 can be connected in this way to all preamp modules that offer a corresponding interface. An obvious option is, for example, the Behringer ADA8200 Ultragain, which is also very reasonably priced and provides eight preamps as well as eight additional outputs. The clock synchronisation also runs via ADAT.

922 Customer ratings

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611 Reviews

Ja
Game changing product
Just a customer 30.08.2016
Firstly I'm really glad I bought this when I did, it's gone up in price significantly since I purchased, and I can see why. The price is still good for what you get.

I needed a 8-in 8-out interface (of course more I/O with ADAT) and I naturally looked at all the options from other makers, and because this was a secondary setup I decided to go for the cheap option.

out of the box you notice that Behringer have lifted their game in terms of construction. It's seems more than tough enough with good finishing. At this price point I don't expect pots with fastening nuts or exotic textures.

How do it sound? Very, very good indeed. I've heard some critics talk about how Behringer have just slapped the midas name on front of these products to make people think they are higher quality. I can assure you the preamps are as good as anything you'll get in the home to small project market. For instance they compare very favourably with my A+H ZED R16.It's also a noticeable step up from their Xenyx preamps (although they weren't bad at all), especially in terms of SNR. Indeed the SNR is very good and the sound is lovely and clear. I also achieved more than acceptable latency in DAW monitoring with no glitches. The first recording I made with this is one of the best sounding I've ever made, but this could be coincidental.

I tried out the ADAT with my ZED R16 out of interest and play back was fine. I found that I had glitches when recording that ended up being printed. The UMC was correctly slaved to the ZED so the glitches must be due to some other problem. I cannot blame the UMC1820 as I also tried SPDIF with a different input device and that was fine. So this is not conclusive, but I'm pretty confident with the right config the ADAT I/O will work fine and is no reflection on this unit. This kind of thing is sometimes tricky anyhow...

The provided control software is simple but effective. That suites me just fine. The only thing I had was that sometimes when turning on the PC, the UMC1820 was not recognised and needed reinstalling. i think this might be to do with USB 3.0 bus standards. However, I found that if I made sure the UMC was switched on before switching on my PC, the problem didn't occur. So I think it's mostly likely a glitch of some kind in one 'popular' operating system.

In summary I think this unit will make the heart of a fairly serious home or project studio, especially if you also combine it with an ADA8000 or perhaps the ART Tube opto 8 for extra inputs/flavour.

UPDATE: the problem with the unitmnot being recognised sometimes is completely solved by switching to a USB 2 port. No problem for me.

UPDATE 2: managed to get the ADAT working perfectly now both ways too.
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lm
Great interface with very unique and clever features!
linux musician 09.03.2020
My main purpose is to record several sound sources in a sophisticating quality in my home studio (2 keyboards (stereo), guitar, microphone, theremin).

I previously used a 2in/2out interface and due to the number of instruments a small mixer was necessary. The downside is more signal processing, thus affecting recording quality. Obviously a 4x4 interface wasn?t enough, so I was looking for a real capable solution (which is 8 INs).

I use this with two studio monitors. In addition I want to play music without the computer. Before this I had to unplug the interface and switch to the monitors manually every time.

My new solution is the MIX/MONITORING knob of the UMC1820. For me this is THE KEY FEATURE! It is just a knob and I didn?t really notice/understand it?s usefullness before I tried it the first time. I can switch between standalone monitor control (with a clever mode "stereo" - simple, but does the trick) or recording/playback. No mixer, one unit for all! Even more: I can monitor the real latency of the recording software. In the middle position one can hear the direct monitor and the sound with latency superpositioned and feel the latency.

I use this unit under linux (jack, ardour) and it works out of the box. With the KXStudio Kernel I get a roundtrip latency of 7,3 ms (this is independently measured folks, not a fancydandy Windows display number!), which is quite good for me.

Mic preamps were not my main focus (as I don?t own proper mics). By the way: Before Behringer acquired MIDAS: ... ohhh high quality preamps, excellent repsonse!!! After: ... sounds fairly OK, ... but obviously focusrite is superior! Really? Come on guys...
Digital signal I/O features are also not used (no suitable gear).

Other nice to have features:
- 2 MIDI ports with activity LED
- 2 loud! headphone jacks
- potential for a 7.1 surround mix setup: I will definetly run some experiments with such a setup later on!
- potential for live (software) mixing with a small band

and the bottom line: it?s sub 200 EUR!
To be honest: I would have paid more for it, if had to!
The 2,5 times more expensive Scarlett 18i20 has (in my opinion) inferior features (MIX/MONITORING knob).
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A
An absolute beast for the price!
Ashesborn 29.08.2021
So, you get 8 input channels with great preamps, 2 headphone jacks which (if need be) allow you to route a separate mix to each via your DAW, easy real-time monitoring, MIDI IN/OUT, not to mention a variety of other useful buttons, knobs, and ports... all of that for the cost of many lesser audio interfaces? Sign me up!

The sound quality is great. Out of the box, I was having some strange issues witch digital clicking and popping, but they were gone after updating the drivers, so make sure you do that before you panic.

When it comes to output latency, 256-384 buffer size seems like the sweet spot if you are also running some software instruments and effects. Quite standard. A live instruments- and analogue-only setup could probably be pushed even further, but I have not fully tested that.

The only questionable "quirk" of my unit is input 7 making a humming noise even with its gain knob turned all the way down, but the moment I plug anything into it, the noise disappears, so I just make sure to keep it in use.

To sum up, this does not look or feel like a 200-dollar interface – it is solid and packed with features. If you are on a budget, I would definitely recommend this one.
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Punches way above its price range
awts7s 03.02.2021
There's a lot of snobbery around the Behringer brand and I think that's the only possible reason for this product being so affordable. I run a pro studio that deals mainly with post production, composition for tv and film and a lot of work in the box. I do also record full drum kits and other things that call for more inputs. I bought this to give me that flexibility for those occasions I need to set up more ins and outs.

The UMC1820 easily stands up pre-amp and A/D conversion wise against my equivalent Apogee gear which costs a lot more. Sure, I need to drive the input gain a little harder on quiet sources but the noise floor is so low it really doesn't make a difference. For a whole project I just ran everything in and out of the UMC1820 and the end result was just as good as the projects I recorded using my Apogee gear. Anyone who says you can't deliver professional audio work using Behringer gear is just plain wrong - I've done it and will continue to do so!

I learned to record using a really similar PreSonus interface. Anyone looking to set up a home studio or even just add really affordable inputs and outputs to a pro setup should look no further. This really does everything you need. I've just ordered the ADA8200 ADAT to add another 8 ins to this and I can't think of many recording situations which would call for more.

Really superb gear at an unbeatable price point. Buy one and start making music. More expensive gear won't suddenly make your recordings better, this is definitely good enough!
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