This is a review and detailed measurements of the Behringer UMC204HD Audio Interface (ADC/DAC/Mic Preamp). I reviewed it a long time ago. OK, it was just two years ago but in dog years, it is a long time. I had a different audio analyzer there which made it difficult to measure USB devices. And I only had an ifi DAC on hand and between the two, the UMC204HD did very well on distortion front. Since then I have had a lot of requests to measure its ADC input and refreshing of its DAC measurements using our much more extensive measurement set we use today. So here it is.
The UMC204HD costs just US $97 including free shipping on Amazon. That is quite a good price for something with so much functionality that looks half decent on your desk:
The unit is strictly USB powered which is its main downfall as you will see in measurements. A juiced up version with external power would do better but I believe its appeal is partially the fact that it doesn't need external power.
Here is the rear and connectors within:
For testing, I measured the Main Out and two inputs in front.
DAC Audio Measurements
As usual, we start with our dashboard feeding a 1 kHz digital signal at full amplitude ("0 dBFS"):
What? Was our beloved DAC so bad? Is it the case of childhood slide being so tall because we were so short then?
I seemed to recall the output voltage was lower when I first tested it. So I dialed down the input by 3 dB and performance hugely improved:
Distortion is way down, below -100 dB and noise floor has also subsided by whopping 35 dB! I don't think I have ever seen such a dramatic saturation at max output. Wasn't sure how to classify the 204HD performance now so put both in the DAC graph:
Note that you can do the same via the front panel by turning the gain down.
We can see the distortion mechanism in play just as well in our intermodulation distortion versus level:
You can see the sudden peak on the right as we get past -3 dB.
Jitter performance is good:
Linearity shows one channel to fall behind as we have seen in other measurements. Otherwise it would score better:
Fortunately we are accurate with respect to 16 bit content (-96 dB).
ADC Audio Measurements
Our dashboard is the same here as the DAC with the roles reversed (analog in, digital out):
This is with 0.54 volt input. Anything beyond that hammers the input stage causing distortion. Here is our ranking among other audio interfaces we have tested:
It is better than low-cost consumer products like SoundBlaster series but doesn't compete in the "Pro" class.
You can see the early saturation in our IMD versus level again:
Frequency response at 192 kHz shows some peaking above audio band:
It is the opposite of what I like to see but easily corrected in your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation software). And it looks worse than it is by rising just 0.7 dB or so at 60 kHz.
Dynamic range is once again is just good enough for 16 bit content:
Response to our 12 kHz signal is very clean, albeit with high noise floor:
Wideband THD+N versus frequency gives us elevated response:
Conclusions
If you don't saturate the input/output stages of the UMC204HD, you have a decent, all-in-one audio interfaces with a bunch of functionality at a reasonable price. Go beyond that and performance gets ugly fast whether it is the DAC or ADC.
I could have given it the headless panther but as a face saving measure for myself , I decided to give it the "I don't know" panther award. You all can judge its performance (and mine) as you see fit. Just remember: panthers have sharp teeth! They can get revenge if allowed....
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As always, questions, comments, corrections, etc. are welcome.
The panthers are back from their little vacation and feeding themselves well. But it won't be long before they get hungry again and pester me for good food. So please help by donating using : https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The UMC204HD costs just US $97 including free shipping on Amazon. That is quite a good price for something with so much functionality that looks half decent on your desk:
The unit is strictly USB powered which is its main downfall as you will see in measurements. A juiced up version with external power would do better but I believe its appeal is partially the fact that it doesn't need external power.
Here is the rear and connectors within:
For testing, I measured the Main Out and two inputs in front.
DAC Audio Measurements
As usual, we start with our dashboard feeding a 1 kHz digital signal at full amplitude ("0 dBFS"):
What? Was our beloved DAC so bad? Is it the case of childhood slide being so tall because we were so short then?
I seemed to recall the output voltage was lower when I first tested it. So I dialed down the input by 3 dB and performance hugely improved:
Distortion is way down, below -100 dB and noise floor has also subsided by whopping 35 dB! I don't think I have ever seen such a dramatic saturation at max output. Wasn't sure how to classify the 204HD performance now so put both in the DAC graph:
Note that you can do the same via the front panel by turning the gain down.
We can see the distortion mechanism in play just as well in our intermodulation distortion versus level:
You can see the sudden peak on the right as we get past -3 dB.
Jitter performance is good:
Linearity shows one channel to fall behind as we have seen in other measurements. Otherwise it would score better:
Fortunately we are accurate with respect to 16 bit content (-96 dB).
ADC Audio Measurements
Our dashboard is the same here as the DAC with the roles reversed (analog in, digital out):
This is with 0.54 volt input. Anything beyond that hammers the input stage causing distortion. Here is our ranking among other audio interfaces we have tested:
It is better than low-cost consumer products like SoundBlaster series but doesn't compete in the "Pro" class.
You can see the early saturation in our IMD versus level again:
Frequency response at 192 kHz shows some peaking above audio band:
It is the opposite of what I like to see but easily corrected in your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation software). And it looks worse than it is by rising just 0.7 dB or so at 60 kHz.
Dynamic range is once again is just good enough for 16 bit content:
Response to our 12 kHz signal is very clean, albeit with high noise floor:
Wideband THD+N versus frequency gives us elevated response:
Conclusions
If you don't saturate the input/output stages of the UMC204HD, you have a decent, all-in-one audio interfaces with a bunch of functionality at a reasonable price. Go beyond that and performance gets ugly fast whether it is the DAC or ADC.
I could have given it the headless panther but as a face saving measure for myself , I decided to give it the "I don't know" panther award. You all can judge its performance (and mine) as you see fit. Just remember: panthers have sharp teeth! They can get revenge if allowed....
--------
As always, questions, comments, corrections, etc. are welcome.
The panthers are back from their little vacation and feeding themselves well. But it won't be long before they get hungry again and pester me for good food. So please help by donating using : https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/