Behringer UMC404HD Audiophile 4x4, 24-Bit 192 kHz USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Midas Mic Preamplifiers for Recording Microphones and Instruments

This is a fantastic USB soundcard. It supports 4 simultaneous inputs and outputs, with 4 mic preamps featuring 48V phantom power. It also has MIDI in and out, a headphone socket, and control knobs to control input gain and output levels. The inputs are available on both balanced XLR and balanced line input sockets. Outputs 1 and 2 are available on balanced XLR, balanced line, and unbalanced RCA phono. Outputs 3 and 4 are available on unbalanced line and unbalanced RCA phono connections. All four channels also feature mono insert returns, allowing for use of external hardware effects. Controls are as follows: four input gain knobs, one per channel, as well as a button to switch between mic level and line level input signals. On the output side, there's a single knob to control the level of outputs 1 and 2, another for the Phones output, and a Mix knob. This knob controls the hardware mixing between input and playback levels - if turned towards the left, any signals coming into the inputs will be sent to the main outputs 1 & 2. This allows monitoring of any inputs alongside anything being played back, allowing you to record one or more instruments or vocals while listening to previously recorded tracks. This is done entirely in hardware with zero latency and not requiring any software setup. If you'd prefer to keep the input signals out of the playback, turn this knob all the way to the right, marked "PB" for Playback. Four buttons are also provided to independently pad each input channel. Finally there's a button that controls the Phones output, configuring whether it is monitoring outputs 1&2 or outputs 3&4. This allows for A/B switching between two mixes, if you set up the outputs appropriately in software. The device connects to your computer via standard USB 2 cable. It is provided with a small DC power supply, enabling use of the device without an active USB connection. The power supply can be used in addition to the USB connection to ensure a clean, noiseless power feed. On Mac it will be detected immediately, on Windows you need to download drivers from the Behringer website. These drivers include both standard Windows audio and ASIO support, and installs a systray icon which activates a control panel. This control panel allows changing buffer settings, bitrate, sample rate, and so on. I have used the device in both Windows 10 and macOS High Sierra, using Adobe Audition, Sony Sound Forge and other audio apps. All apps will see four inputs and four outputs, and each can be used independently in a multi-track project. You can be recording to four new tracks while simultaneously playing back four already recorded tracks. Thanks to the four mic pre-amps, you can record up to four microphones directly into the sound card. Optional 48V phantom power means it can work with condenser mics and any other that need power supplied. It is therefore an extremely handy device to take on the road, allowing you to record and play back with only this soundcard and a computer or laptop, no mixer required. You can control the gain of each input independently. Playback settings are more limited in hardware - you can only control the volume of outputs 1 and 2. Control of outputs 3 and 4 needs to be done in software. Audio quality is excellent. The device supports full 24bit / 192khz in both recording and playback. I am no expert sound engineer, but I have made recordings direct into the device from a couple of Behringer condenser microphones, and I have used it for playing back up to four channels simultaneously in live theatre productions. In all cases it sounded great, with no noticeable noise, hum or distortion. This is a really excellent and flexible sound card. It has enough inputs and outputs to cover a variety of requirements, yet is still small and portable enough to be thrown in a bag and taken anywhere it's needed. As mentioned I've used it to record from a couple of condenser microphones, and also to provide the music and sound effects for several theatre productions. In addition I'm also now using it as my main PC sound card. Because it has four outputs, I can use it for basic quadraphonic surround sound - there's a setting for 4.0 surround in Windows and macOS sound preferences. Connected to a decent amplifier and speakers it provides really superb audio quality for music and watching movies. Highly recommended for anyone who needs top quality recording and playback of up to four in and four out. I think it's excellent value for the money considering everything it can do.

I bought this Audio Interface to set up a home studio (read 'spare bedroom'!) as it had good reviews, I have used Behringer products before and have found them to be very functional and excellent VFM. I was originally going for the UMC402HD as I wasn't sure that I needed 4 x Inputs/outputs but for the extra cost, I thought it was worth paying. I hooked it up to my DAW (Cakewalk), plugged in my guitar and was up and running in 10 mins., okay, add another 10 mins for downloading and installing the drivers and within a couple of minutes after of twiddling knobs, I had a rudimentary track created. First impressions are very positive, everything seemed to work as I'd hoped and any limitations were mine. However, one shortfall, is the manual, in this case read 'couple of pages'. Yes you can get by but the coverage of the 'output' section on the rear facing panel is quite frankly pathetic and gives the impression that it was rushed out to meet a deadline. It really is apalling and lets a very good product down and left me just plugging leads into every socket until I got a sound. If you are an experienced music Producer or Engineer, you may not have the same problem but surfing the 'net, there are a lot of questions on this subject and quite frankly, not much in the way of answers. It really does let down a very good product. In conclusion, a very good piece of recording equipment and there are numerous testimonies to this on Youtube but just a shame about the manual. By the way, it does come with a UK plug.

The Behringer UMC-404HD was great in most aspects. 4 in, 4 out, with Out 1 and 2 fed out through a number of possible connection types. I use old and newer versions of Mac OSX (Snow Leopard and Mojave) and Windows 10. It uses built-in Core Audio on the Macs so does not require drivers. For Win 10, the drivers downloaded from the website work well. No issues with the onboard MIDI interface either. Latency is very low too, provided your processor allows you to set the buffer to a small value. I was able to set to 128 samples on the old Mac Mini with a Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB of RAM. My only slight gripe is that you can only monitor one pair of outputs at a time through the built-in headphone socket, switchable between Outputs 1/2 or 3/4 via a button on the front panel. This doesn't matter so much if you are using music software (DAW) and Outputs 1 and 2 as the main, stereo mix. This aside, overall, it's a great quality, very versatile, 4 input audio/MIDI interface and really inexpensive for what you get.

Linux plays nice with it. No drivers or hacking necessary. Thanks to it being class compliant. Good companion to Ardour. XLR outputs are a plus, as well as inserts. Comes with a power supply of unknown quality, but the noise floor is acceptably low. Under Linux it seems to produce the fewest Xruns at 48khz but is almost as stable at 192khz. Bit depth confirmed at 24bit. As far as it's sound I would say mostly revealing but with some smoothing.. just a wee bit. In this instance you don't want smoothing, you want clinical accuracy. MIDI functionality works well and with some configuring in Ardour for the midi interface and appropriate tracks/busses can play back and capture simultaneously. Works nicely with an old Yamaha PSR-282. I'm sure control surfaces would work equally well with the proper configurations. It is a Behringer product so I don't expect it to live forever. Corners are cut to bring the cost down. Don't bash it about and it should last. Connectors are nice and tight and pots sound clean.

This USB 4 Channel audio interface has proven itself many times in my home studio set up and i don't think that i could survive now without it. Highly recommended.

Atendeu as expectativas. Ótimo custo benefício.

La Behringer U-PHORIA UMC404HD è una scheda audio davvero sorprendente per la fascia di prezzo. I 4 ingressi combo con preamp MIDAS offrono un suono pulito e dettagliato, il monitoring diretto è perfetto per registrare senza latenza, e i driver sono stabili sia su Windows che su Mac. La costruzione è solida e professionale, il pannello frontale è ben organizzato e la connettività sul retro (uscite bilanciate, insert, MIDI, ecc.) la rende versatile sia per home studio che per piccoli setup live. L’unico “difetto”, se così si può chiamare, è che i potenziometri sono un po’ duri da ruotare. Nulla di grave, anzi danno una sensazione di robustezza, ma qualcuno potrebbe preferirli più morbidi. In conclusione: affidabile, completa, ottimo suono e rapporto qualità-prezzo imbattibile. La ricomprerei subito! 🎛️🎶

Que es para mí gusto mucho mejor que una foscusrite en las pruebas y que lleva amplificadores midas es de 24 bits y 192khz y tiene salidas normales y balanceadas y midi y 4 entradas y adaptador de corriente. Buenísimo el producto. Llega muy rápido y envío gratis en Amazon más barato que si la compras en behringer.

Rock solid interface with no glitches, no issues, no latency. Works without drivers or special software right out of the box for Mac. The preamps are crisp, clear, transparent and silent. The multiple outputs make using external effects almost as easy as using plugins. The UMC404HD is a steal at this price.