Behringer UMC1820 Reviews

Great interface with very unique and clever features!

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).

amazing value

This is an awesome product for this price. The only downside that I can see and why it's getting 4 stars instead of 5 for features is that it can't operate standalone and needs a DAW.

Does it's job

The only negative thing is the quality of knobs feels a little bit cheap. But the sound is great, features are great, price is great too. So overall feel is good, especially if you only use it for demos, etc.

Love this!

What this thing can do for its price is just amazing and the sound is great! I had no problems installing this at all on win10 and works great on Ubuntu too. My experience with it has been extremely positive so far. Something that very few are aware of is that you can get this to work as a mixer without a computer which is awesome for jamming. The only negative thing that I have to report is that the gain knobs do not turn the volume all the way down. Instead, there's some standard input level and the knobs can only add upon that. Worths every penny and I really don't see a reason for someone to pay 3x the price for this for more expensive products.

Good interface for good money

I use two piece of this. One is connected via adat to ada8200 and to the usb and second is in other usb input in pc. In Mac I create a aggregate device and I have 24xlr inputs and 24 line outs for my mixing console and I mixing via console and using external hardware.

Great value for the money

The Behringer UMC1820 replaced my Zoom R16 in my home studio as with every Mac update the Zoom was just starting to have more and more compatibility issues. The Behringer does not need drivers for Mac, so it works instantly and seamlessly. I use it mainly to record vocals and acoustic guitar in my home studio, and also other instruments.

The Midas branded preamps sound very nice, definitely well above the price. The features in the front of the unit are plentiful, and I really like the fact that there are two separate headphone channels. Also, the speaker mute button is something I don't know how I managed without so far.

It would be nice to have all of the XLR inputs on the front of the unit, but this is just my preference and it would definitely have limited the features in the unit. I have been using the unit for a bit over two months now and I am very happy about the purchase.

The BEST interface (for the money)

This thing is absurdly cheap. It's basically 1/2th to 1/3rd of the price of its competitors such as the Focusrite Scarlett. The pre-amps on it are OK (I have been told they are the same as the ones on the X32 but they seem a little noisier to me) but the fact has ADAT and SPDIF is very useful for connecting it to legacy sound gear.

There are however some drawbacks. The build quality is quite poor and the casing bends easily with moderate force. It would be nice if it had 2 ADAT in/out ports so any external ADAT gear could be ran at 96khz rather than 48khz and the lack of a word clock sync is a major disadvantage when utilising ADAT/SPDIF connections with some equipment. The external power supply is also unnecessarily bulky for what it does and I don't know why they didn't go for an internal one - but, you don't always get what you want and this thing really is fantastically good value.

Great Product

this interface is a must! The Midas preamps are awesome and for the price is just amazing. The 2 headphone outputs are great and I have not experienced any problems yet. If you're on a budget and looking to start recording drums this is a must.

Exactly as expected.

As I read most previous reviews before buying this interface, I can now confirm most, if not all of them. The UMC1820 is no more, no less, exactly as I expected: Solid interface, easy to use, no problems clicks/pops or anything, and I should mention that the latest driver seems to work without problems (Windows 10). The control panel is indeed poor, but since most configurations are arranged through the DAWs, that's not a problem. Overall, it's just a great audio interface for budget studios, but don't expect miracles for its price, it already does more than needed.

Perfect for my home studio

I bought this interface for 96KHz recording into my Macbook with Logic Pro and it has worked flawlessly, no drivers, you just plug it in and it works.

Briljant product

Does what it needs to do and does it very very well. Great sound, insane frequency response and good sounding pre-amps. Very worth it's price and would definitely recommend. ASIO drivers work perfect on windows 10 as well, which is not always the case. Did not notice any latency issues in Pro-Tools not Ableton Live

Good sound card for iPad

Good sound card for iPad

Does everything it promises, but you may have driver problems AND heat

I'm actually quite satisfied with this product, the sound is pretty good (the pres are awesome), the in/out are what I needed, but there's two little flaws.

The first one is about the drivers not working properly on some devices/OSs, and even bringing to stupid problems like Youtube AND Reaper not playing simultaneously due to frequency mismatch (problems I didn't have with a small UR22). Plus, it actually heats up a bit.

Surprisingly good!

This replaced my old MOTU, which, simply just stopped working...

Anyway, build quality is really good, pots are good, all-in-all, a really good interface.

Keep in mind the price and warranty, there is really no alternative...actually, below a certain level, there is no alternative to Behringer AT ALL!

Great for the price

If you need 8 in and 8 out, and don't want to spend a lot of money you really cant go wrong with this. I've been using mine for about a month now with no issues.

Awesome!

This interface is awesome entry-level device! I'm using it for non-professional recording and I can't be more satisfied.

Recommend it to everybody with a tight budget!

Works without issue

Pre-amps are of good quality - fairly transparent, delivered in a timely fashion, well built, great price, excellent features.

home studio interface

This is a good value interface. It lets you hook up old analog consoles or digital desks that dont have usb recording like 01V96 that im using. It gives you 18 track mixer for live recording. The latency seems to be fine as i had no issue yet. I use cubase as my DAW and it works just fine with it. I cant see any reason why this interface wouldn't be in any home studio.

Great product

I am useing my Behringer UMC1820 for recording drums and band practice and it work great. Haven't had any problems with the interface and I have been useing it for almost a year now.

Makes solid drum recordings and demo tracks.

I am using mine with 8 mics and a MIDI in for my bass drum triggers.

Very happy with the product and the price!!!

Exactly what you should expect for that price and maybe more

I use this interface in the studio sometimes but the main usage is for live sets and gigs. If you are looking for an high end studio designed ADC/DAC that's not what you need (obviously), subtile crackle and noises are ordinary with the UMC1820. But if you are looking for an affordable and easy to move and versatile interface...here it is, this Behringer black brick will follow you everywhere and everywhen you need it, fits in a backpack, in a keyboard bag or in a flight standard hand luggage. Essential In/Out (8 mic-line-inst in/Main L-R + 8 line out), gain knob, pad and line/inst switch for each tracks, two separated phones out with dedicated knobs , MIDI In/Out, SPDIF/ADAT...in conclusion everything you need to play around. I traveled all around Europe with this interface and it never let me down and never made problems. The value of the UMC1820 depends on your particular needs, as everything.