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Behringer UMC204 HD Audio Interface Review

Seta Seta Pop

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I know I'm late here but... which one do you recommend to use as a DAC with Magni3+ and to digitalize some vinyls I have impossible to find in the web 202 or 204?
Thank you!
 

AnalogSteph

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If that's all you'd need this for, a consumer-level soundcard with unbalanced I/O may be a better choice (Xonar U7, X-Fi HD or similar)... you may even have decent enough onboard audio already.

If you do have use for some of the other functions as well, notably the balanced mic input, then the UMC204HD with its RCA outputs and insert jacks (which provide an unbalanced ADC input) would be my weapon of choice.
 

Seta Seta Pop

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If that's all you'd need this for, a consumer-level soundcard with unbalanced I/O may be a better choice (Xonar U7, X-Fi HD or similar)... you may even have decent enough onboard audio already.

If you do have use for some of the other functions as well, notably the balanced mic input, then the UMC204HD with its RCA outputs and insert jacks (which provide an unbalanced ADC input) would be my weapon of choice.
Thank You!
 

guenthi_r

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I dont think this interface is too bad at all (for the price, entry level).
A quick loopback measurement (without searching for the sweet spot):
Behringer_hubi.png
 

xaviescacs

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First of all thanks to everyone as this is all very informative. I've recently purchased this unit because I needed some flexibility at a low price and I have a couple of questions.

I don't like devices to be powered by the computer, so I bought a USB splitter that has to inputs, one of them with only the power and ground cables, similar to this one, and I have it connected to a USB power supply. Do you think it's better to cut to power cable (I assume not the ground one) that comes from the computer?

Another question. The unit has a pair of "Playback outputs" at fixed level. Do you think they work at full output and therefore they are bound to sound like the worst case shown by amirm? I would verify that for myself but I don't have a way to measure the output voltage of those.

Thanks!
 

ZööZ

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Another question. The unit has a pair of "Playback outputs" at fixed level. Do you think they work at full output and therefore they are bound to sound like the worst case shown by amirm? I would verify that for myself but I don't have a way to measure the output voltage of those.

Thanks!

I would think so, that's why I have the 3/4 output set to -4db from the umc control panel which should be analogous to what amir did while testing to get the improved results, I could be wrong though.
 

xaviescacs

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I would think so, that's why I have the 3/4 output set to -4db from the umc control panel which should be analogous to what amir did while testing to get the improved results, I could be wrong though.

Thanks! The umc204 doesn't have that option, right?
 

ZööZ

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Thanks! The umc204 doesn't have that option, right?
No you can't control the rca outputs from the device itself... I meant the umc control panel for windows
 

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xaviescacs

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No you can't control the rca outputs from the device itself... I meant the umc control panel for windows

I use Linux, Ubuntu. However, you put me in the right track. :D Can you change the volume only for the RCA outputs? Or this is the overall volume of the device? By default, Linux sees the device as an 4.0 analogue output, that is, a pair of stereo outputs, so I believe there should be a way to control the ouptput volume independently. There willl be some bit loss but given the performance of the device it won't be the limiting factor. I will post again if I manage to configure it. Thanks.

UPDATE: With pavucontrol it can be done straightforward, as one can separate set the output level for each of the 4 channels, and simply set the RCA ones, in my case the first ones to appear in the control panel, to have a -4 db output.

See picture (I know, it's not in English, but I think the concept is clear and changing the whole OS language is too much of a trouble just for this screenshot):
pavucontrol.png
 
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xaviescacs

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Had to kludge up a cable

With a Stereo Jack to a double mono Jack there is no signal in, although I assume that the right al left signal goes to the right and left tips. I guess that the problem is that ground in the mono connection is bridging the ground and the ring in the input. Therefore, I should build my own splitting cable, from 1 male TRS to 2 male TRS but with the rings unconnected. Is that right?
 
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ZööZ

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I bet that's mechanical transformer hum, an all too common occurrence towards the budget end - it's a Presonus after all, not a Neumann or Genelec or even an ADAM. (Apparently you're not the first one to notice it on this model.).

The strangest thing just happened... I got a second Temblor T10 today, in hopes to get rid of some irritating room modes (for example I could hear 50hz bass like my left side wall was eminating the bass) in addition to resolving the issues I got it for it resolved the irritating hum altogether, 100% gone.

I ran the second sub from the sub out of the first one... the noise is still there when I power the subs on, for about 1,5 seconds. Something to do with some impedance or load getting bigger and so shifting it out of audible band, maybe? Full disclosure the first sub had gotten better during last month or two, the buzz was fainter, so much so I couldn't detect it @ my MLP but if I went close to the sub it was still audible, but now I can't hear it an inch away from the backside of the sub, neither could my youngest son.

So upgrading to dual subs did all I was hoping and more, too bad it didn't make them extend to 20hz like promised in the specs (otherwise I really like these little buggers)
 

mt8848

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Hi!

Making an Entry into the World of external DAC /AMPS. USB C Dongles were my first thoughts . But Audio Interfaces peaked my interest because of the MIC inputs and abit more power to handle headphones . This versatility would allow a wide range of use-cases of recording , streaming , Listening , Monitoring, Guitar Amp Sim etc .

UMC204HD is not Available where I am . UMC202HD is available . One of the Difference is Stereo Monitoring that I know . Or Is there anyother things that is different . Another one is Audient EVO 4 , which is very fancy and Modern looking and looks like it can match UMC204HD in features such as Stereo monitoring , Loop Back etc . Plus the main part of Headphone DAC/Amp .

Headphones would be very entry level .

Anyone who has Tested Audient EVO 4 ? How would that be compared to Behringer ?

Thanks .
 

Bruce Morgen

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Hi!

Making an Entry into the World of external DAC /AMPS. USB C Dongles were my first thoughts . But Audio Interfaces peaked my interest because of the MIC inputs and abit more power to handle headphones . This versatility would allow a wide range of use-cases of recording , streaming , Listening , Monitoring, Guitar Amp Sim etc .

UMC204HD is not Available where I am . UMC202HD is available . One of the Difference is Stereo Monitoring that I know . Or Is there anyother things that is different . Another one is Audient EVO 4 , which is very fancy and Modern looking and looks like it can match UMC204HD in features such as Stereo monitoring , Loop Back etc . Plus the main part of Headphone DAC/Amp .

Headphones would be very entry level .

Anyone who has Tested Audient EVO 4 ? How would that be compared to Behringer ?

Thanks .

I have a UMC202HD and it's perfectly adequate as a DAC -- and its not-so-great headphone amp should be OK for "very entry level" 'phones. You will need a pair of 1/4-inch TS to RCA adapters or an equivalent stereo cable to hook it up to most consumer audio gear. I haven't delved into its input/recording functionality enough to comment on that.
 

mt8848

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I have a UMC202HD and it's perfectly adequate as a DAC -- and its not-so-great headphone amp should be OK for "very entry level" 'phones. You will need a pair of 1/4-inch TS to RCA adapters or an equivalent stereo cable to hook it up to most consumer audio gear. I haven't delved into its input/recording functionality enough to comment on that.

Yeah not much of a Musician / Content creator myself but leaving a room for that . The difference between 202 and 204 , How much of a deal breaker is it for Actual Musicians/Steamers that if MIC is plugged in , while Monitoring , it only plays through One ear . On 204 it is stereo or dual mono something .
 

Jimster480

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Yeah not much of a Musician / Content creator myself but leaving a room for that . The difference between 202 and 204 , How much of a deal breaker is it for Actual Musicians/Steamers that if MIC is plugged in , while Monitoring , it only plays through One ear . On 204 it is stereo or dual mono something .
It doesn't really matter, I've used it for all sorts of things and it works great.
 

BeerBear

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For the "inserts hack", if you don't want to solder, a simple solution is a TRS male to 2x RCA female cable like this:
p1349.jpg

You need two of these for both channels. Then just use the right channel RCA connectors and ignore the left ones.


Anyway, I did some RMAA measurements/recordings, using the tiny Apple USB-C soundcard (dongle) for the signal.

First, the front inputs:
apple to front.png


Next, using the inserts on the rear:
apple to inserts.png


Finally, using the motherboard's line input (Realtek ALC1220-VB):
apple to realtek.png



So maybe it's better to just use your motherboard's line input over this Behringer. :)
YMMV of course.
 

AnalogSteph

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You need two of these for both channels. Then just use the right channel RCA connectors and ignore the left ones.
Or if you just need a decent enough balanced mic preamp in a pinch, you could probably power the thing from a USB charger and run the left channel outputs into your onboard line-in or whatever.

Anyway, I did some RMAA measurements/recordings, using the tiny Apple USB-C soundcard (dongle) for the signal.
Did you use two separate, galvanically isolated computers for this? On the same machine it'll be hard to avoid ground loop issues otherwise, the crux with unbalanced connections. This spectra would clearly tell, which is why I tend to prefer a full report over just the summary.

First, the front inputs:
apple to front.png
Input level too high. Try 2-3 dB less, distortion should improve dramatically. My guess is you were somewhere around -2 dBu.
 

BeerBear

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All good points. I'm attaching the full reports (html) for the three measurements.
The devices were all connected to the same PC.
The Apple device's level was set to the max and the Behringer's gain to about half, IIRC (for the front inputs test).
It does indeed seem that lowering the Apple's output level and upping the gain on the Behringer can improve the THD and IMD results, at the expense of Noise/Dynamic range. I can post some more results later.
 

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anli

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Hi! Has anybody measured phone amp (say, loaded with 16-32E and feeding result to insert input)?
 

BeerBear

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Yeah, I was just about to post my updated results. :)
I did some RMAA measurements again, because the last time I used some janky improvised cables that were actually affecting the results in some cases. Or a loose connection here and there can mess up the results...
Posting the screenshots of the summaries, but you can find the full reports and a few more tests in the attached zip:

RCA 3-4 outputs on the UMC204HD to inserts, max volume:
01 rca 34 max vol_cropped.png

(RCA 3-4 outputs have the best performance. RCA 1-2 and the main outs measure almost the same, but with slightly worse crosstalk.)

Apple USB-C on the phone to inserts, max volume:
02 apple on phone max vol_cropped.png


Headphone out on the UMC204HD with the Philips SHP9500 headphones (using a splitter) to inserts, volume at 12 o clock:
03 hp+shp9500 at 12_cropped.png

and its frequency response:
fr.png


Apple USB-C on the phone with the Philips SHP9500 to inserts, max volume:
04 apple on phone+shp9500 max vol_cropped.png

and the FR:
fr-apple.png



Some notes:

I didn't include the front inputs measurements, because they're the same as last time and they are still bad.
But the insert line in performance is actually good and this time it beat the onboard Realtek. :)

The Philips SHP9500 are 32ohm headphones.
The maximum volume for the headphone test on the UMC (the one in the zip that doesn't say volume) was at a bit over half. That's also about the max before RMAA started to complain about too much distortion in the signal.
The max I'd use in practice with these headphones is around 11 o'clock volume (without the splitter).

Audio that's played on the UMC204HD from Windows leaks into its inputs, mostly into the right channel. :oops: This happens even without any headphones or speakers being plugged in. I'm not sure how much this affects the loopback tests, I didn't investigate too much, it's just something I noticed at some point. You can see it with some recording app that shows input levels when you play loud sounds with the UMC as the playback device.
 

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