Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD Audiophile 2x4 USB Audio/MIDI Interface with MIDAS Mic Preamplifiers, 24-Bit/192kHz Resolution

I picked up the Behringer UMC204HD for my secondary setup, mainly for work meetings and high-resolution music listening. While my main rig boasts a Focusrite Solo Gen 4, this little Behringer has pleasantly surprised me with its performance and value.Why the Behringer Shines:Simple Setup, Stellar Sound: The Behringer was a breeze to set up on my Windows laptop. No fuss, no muss, just plug it in and go. The audio quality, especially for high-resolution music, is impressive.Feature-Rich, Budget-Friendly: For my needs, the Behringer's feature set is more than enough. It handles my XLR microphone flawlessly and delivers pristine audio to my headphones and speakers. And let's not forget the price tag - it's a steal!No Frills, Just Performance: Unlike the Focusrite, the Behringer doesn't come with a bunch of software that I don't need. It's a no-nonsense audio interface that just works.A Word of Caution:I've tried other budget audio interfaces, like the M-Audio 192-4, and had a frustrating experience with driver issues on Windows 10. If you're looking for a reliable, plug-and-play solution, the Behringer UMC204HD is the way to go.Bottom Line:If you're not a music producer and just need a solid audio interface for everyday tasks, the Behringer UMC204HD is an excellent choice. It's affordable, easy to use, and delivers high-quality audio.

I'm no music producer, only bought this as a DAC and headphone amp for my PC for my JBL LSR305s.Pros:-Amazingly clear sound from both line-outs and headphone jack.-Separate volume controls for speakers and headphones. Convenient and awesome!-Feels very sturdy and stays firmly in place on the table despite having a pair of heavy Monoprice 1/4 cables hanging on the back.-More recording I/Os you can shake a stick at if you are into the recording scene. As far as I can tell, Behringer utterly trounces the competition here at this price point.Cons:-Headphone jack hissing occurs at idle when it's volume knob over 3/4 full. Mind you this is already at head-explodingly loud territory, so I won't deduct points here. (1/4 full is already PLENTY loud).-Emits a rather loud pop to the speakers when powering on and off along with the PC.Additional stuff:-If you are using Windows make sure to download and install the drivers first when Behringer's website BEFORE connecting the unit, especially if you plan to run multiple audio interfaces on the same PC. Else you would probably run into resource conflict errors like I did.-Main line out levels seems to be -10dBV not +4dBu (I could be wrong here).-USB cable is included. It is inside one of the styrofoam inserts.-For pure playback purposes, make sure the Mix dial is set all the way to PB and channels 1 and 2 are not muted in the Windows volume mixer.-If you are using 3.5mm 4-conductor TRRS headphones (those with built in mics for mobile phones), you need a 1/4 male to 3.5mm female adapter and it's a trial and error process to find one that is electrically compatible with the 1/4 headphone jack. I have one adapter that works perfectly and one that only outputs mono so YMMV. If you have TRS headphones though there is nothing to worry about.

I am setting up a small music workstation/recording outfit for my kids at home. Setup with this box was extremely easy, worked from the get-go. Played very well with Windows (WDM) system sound- no problems, just worked. I was leery of buying this box because the specs seemed too good to be true. That and a hit and miss past with Behringer products. As of late though, I've been quite impressed with the new products they're putting out. This is no exception.The build quality isn't only as good as much more expensive products, but it exceeds them. The chassis is a very sturdy metal, really chunky and solid (which is good). The knobs, while plastic, are also solid and attached to incredibly smooth pots. Honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find a smoother throw on a knob in any product, regardless of price. I am a professional musician/producer and own audio interface products by Apogee, RME, Motu, Presonus, and Avid. As far as build quality, this box is on par. My limited experience with the sound quality of this box thus far leaves me with the impression that the box is certainly adequate if not excellent. The mic pres are clean with plenty of gain. The conversion is also clean and absolutely not getting in the way of creativity or a great performance.Beyond build and sound quality, one of my biggest concerns with this box was latency as I am setting up a workstation that will be primarily built around virtual instruments (VSTi's) and Cubase. I currently have the ASIO latency buffer set at 64 and that's producing about 6-7ms of round trip latency. When playing virtual instruments it's about half that. The box also has a playback/monitor mix knob for zero latency monitoring when recording live instruments/voice. So far the latency performance is excellent and has far exceeded my expectations.Bottom line: You won't come close to finding something this well built and functional among any of the lower priced audio interfaces. The value for what you're getting is amazing.