BehringerUMC204HD Audiophile 2x4, 24-Bit/192 kHz USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Midas Mic Preamplifiers,Black

So first of all this interface straight out of the box is of sturdy construction and comes with the required usb to hook it up.It provides 48v of phantom power to my DI box no problem, and the preamps have a very distinctive texture that in my opinion are second in sound qualiry only to Audient, who are very expensive and give you less inputs and outputs for your money.Both preamps are that weird hybrid kind that accept both jack leads and xlr cables, possibly more but unsure as i only tend to use those two.The pad that you can toggle to set the preamp to line level or instrument level is pretty nifty and could save you from having to use a di box depending on what you're plugging into it.Direct monitoring is pretty cool too you can switch between stereo and mono, very useful when you use headphones, and can also adjust the mix to the point where you can only hear whats going into the interface, or what's coming out of your DAW, and any blend of the two.As well as the headphone jack on the front it can also have i think it's two sets of monitors hooked up to the back which can be switched between on the front of the interface.Only drawback personally is that the LED system to check levels and clipping is ony like, two lights one green one red but that's fairly common amongst interfaces in and beyond this price range.All this coupled with the fact that it'll probably outlast my laptop and has midi ports on the back, makes me say that this is the ideal audio interface for producers/recording engineers, etc, who are starting a home setup, want a lot of options in terms of functionality and dont want to upgrade for a long time. And it's extremely useful for people of all levels as a portable interface.Fantastic piece of hardware for a fantastic price.

The 204 differs from the slightly cheaper 202 in that it has MIDI DIN I/O ports and has 2 inserts for connecting to outboard gear. It also can monitor directly in mono in both left and right channels - something the 202 can't do. For this reason I think the 204 is worth the slight additional cost.Both combo TS/XLR inputs have indepently switchable input impedance and phantom power. Nice! The Midas preamps are truly excellent, extremely low noise and the device has plenty of dynamic range. It also has sufficient gain to drive insensitive dynamic microphones like the Shure SM7B without additional in-line amplification. And the unit is built very solidly.The ASIO drivers seem to work reliably and the device has very low latency.In short, it meets or exceeds the features and performance of most competitor interfaces costing significantly more. And what you save on kit can go towards other kit or virtual instruments and good plug-ins instead.No wonder this little box of hi-fidelity audio goodness has been wildly popular for years. You simply can't go wrong with it.

Quick Summary:Positives:+ 2 XLR inputs+ Extensive hardware controls+ Supports mono and stereo output via a hardware switch+ Low latency headphone monitoring+ Works on Linux+ Amps produce a clean signal until just below maximum gain+ Good range of outputs+ The price+ Good build qualityNegatives:- Amps are sufficient for dynamic microphones but not impressive in terms of volume.- Powered over USB only- Possible buzzing at maximum gainI am giving this interface 4 stars because it is a good product for its price. However from the perspective of someone using a dynamic microphone, the low amount of gain is a shame. I have not tested this interface with a condenser microphone so I cannot comment on the phantom power.Starting with the good, the interface is of good build quality, it is made from metal and feels sturdy, in terms of the casing and the knobs, I don't feel as though I would accidentally damage it in normal use at all. 2 XLR inputs is always nice to have, and these are both monitored separately. The headphone monitoring is quite good, there is a bit of noise, however the latency is very low, it feels instant to me. Mono and stereo output is supported via a hardware switch, which is nice as other interfaces will often only allow you to change this in software.The amps are good in terms of signal quality, I find that they are very clean right up until you turn them to max gain, where electrical buzzing can be heard.My favourite part about this interface is that it just works on Linux. I have found issues with other interfaces such as the scarlet solo 3rd gen, where linux will not allow you to have a mono signal, so the microphone would only be heard from one channel, ie one ear for headphone users. I have had no such issues with this interface, and I can control everything I need from hardware which is a big plus.Unfortunately this interface is powered over USB which limits the power of it's amplifier. The overall gain for dynamic microphones is quite low, I am not sure what the exact measurements are, but it certainly doesn't feel loud, however it is likely just fine for instruments and singing, for spoken voice it does okay, but it would be nice to have more volume headroom, not that this interface is any worse than other USB interfaces in terms of gain. I do hear some occasional electrical buzzing, but I am not sure if that is the fault of the interface or not.If you are okay with the drawbacks, this is a great interface for the price and I can recommend it.