Stupid question about audio interface..

[Harry_HH]

The differences are tiny, not worth worrying about at that price range.

However, driver quality and build quality are definitely worth mentioning and in this case it's a good idea to avoid Behringer. The best starter interface out there would be one of the cheaper ones from Audient. They're good enough to actually hear a difference on the audio output compared to something like a Focusrite Scarlet range offering.

The quality differences may be considerable.
Especially, when we talking about audio pres, the differences are remarkable.
And of course the sample rate (and the bit debth) your interface records, affect to the audio quality.
And how your interface driver works together with your OS and DAW plays a role how the whole system works.

[dellboy]

Still sad that they expect you to use ASIO4ALL with their entry level interfaces.

So the cheapest model with proper asio drivers is the UMC202HD, all the ones below that use asio4all. That puts a different perspective on it at the low end. I just notice that Fender are now selling Presonus stuff direct with free shipping in the UK over £50. So the AudioBox iOne must be a strong contender at the low end as it comes with Studio One Artist and it costs just £64 here. Not sure what it costs in the rest of the world. Amazing bargain.

https://www.fender.com/en-GB/audio/inte ... 00107.html

[roman.i]

If you're into pro audio, yes the difference is noticeable. Mostly because of precise clocks in pro audio interfaces.
For home setup it's not much of a consideration.

[yul]

The only downside imo with asio4all is that the driver does not support multi client asio.

So you cannot watch youtube while your daw is running.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[tehlord]

The differences are tiny, not worth worrying about at that price range.

However, driver quality and build quality are definitely worth mentioning and in this case it's a good idea to avoid Behringer. The best starter interface out there would be one of the cheaper ones from Audient. They're good enough to actually hear a difference on the audio output compared to something like a Focusrite Scarlet range offering.

The quality differences may be considerable.
Especially, when we talking about audio pres, the differences are remarkable.
And of course the sample rate (and the bit debth) your interface records, affect to the audio quality.
And how your interface driver works together with your OS and DAW plays a role how the whole system works.

He didn't ask about pre-amps, he asked about output quality.

In terms of the Behringer audio interfaces, when people say they're rock solid it just means they haven't experienced any issues themselves yet. Behringer are notorious for poor QC across he board (they have to get their low rrp's from somewhere) and you'll end up noticing high noise floors, crosstalk across inputs, almost complete lack of customer support and driver updates etc.....compared with more solid offerings from other manufacturers.

Remember, if those prices were easily achievable, everybody would be doing it. There's a reason Focusrite, Steinberg, Audient, RME etc are more expensive, in some cases much more.

[AdvancedFollower]

The differences are tiny, not worth worrying about at that price range.

However, driver quality and build quality are definitely worth mentioning and in this case it's a good idea to avoid Behringer. The best starter interface out there would be one of the cheaper ones from Audient. They're good enough to actually hear a difference on the audio output compared to something like a Focusrite Scarlet range offering.

Yeah I've tried behringer, the weird thing is the driver is the same as the onboard audio driver?

What do you mean by that?

Also, which Behringer are you talking about?

Behringer UM2
It uses ASIO4all driver (universal audio driver that can be used with the onboard audio). No specific Behringer driver.

Ah. Well, especially ASIO4ALL is not responsible for anything sound related. If then the sound related differences are caused by the digital to analog converters.

Pretty sad that Behringer uses ASIO4ALL for its audio interfaces though... it's not optimal in terms of CPU consumption and latency. Better get one with dedicated ASIO drivers. I can recommend the Steinberg interfaces.

Only the lowest-tier Behringer audio interfaces like UM2 lack ASIO drivers. UMC202HD and up have dedicated ASIO drivers. I've used both the UMC404HD and UMC1820 and they're perfectly fine. The DACs and audio quality are comparable to other mid-range interfaces and the drivers are stable even though the configuration options are very basic.

[rod_zero]

Audio output quality is good enough in all modern interfaces. Biggest difference are still the quality of the drivers, IME between the entry level ones Steinberg has the best drivers for windows in USB interfaces, I have tried focusrite, maudio, behringer, tascam, presonus and their drivers are between just usable or plainly bad: unstable, get pops and crackles at low latency setting, audio goes bad if you change the settings, not multi client.

[dellboy]

In terms of the Behringer audio interfaces, when people say they're rock solid it just means they haven't experienced any issues themselves yet.

Nope, no issues with my UMC204HD after owning it for 8 years. The preamps are great. The output quality is great. No clicks or pops with my unit. The build quality is excellent. The drivers are asio and up to date for Windows 11, but not multiclient, which can be important for some people.

[AdvancedFollower]

Clicks and pops at low buffer settings are often caused by high DPC latency. This can be caused by drivers for things like the GPU, networking (Wi-Fi is especially susceptible) or even third party control panels, overlays etc. (various "tuning" software some OEMs like to bundle with their products). Some motherboards/BIOSes are also more prone to this so it might be worth it to check for updates. It can also mean that your buffer setting is simply too low relative to your CPU and the complexity of your DAW project.

LatencyMon is a good way to check DPC latency, as it will tell you what driver/program is responsible. Most likely it isn't the audio interface itself but something else on the system.

[swivel]

Nope, no issues with my UMC204HD after owning it for 8 years. The preamps are great. The output quality is great. No clicks or pops with my unit. The build quality is excellent. The drivers are asio and up to date for Windows 11, but not multiclient, which can be important for some people.

I had a Behringer UMC202HD for a number of years and just upgraded a few months ago to a UMC1820 and can confirm that that these are excellent, quality devices. The Behringer ASIO driver is solid and I haven't had to deal with it since setting it up - everything just works. The preamps are first class too as Behringer is using Midas tech, a company they acquired.

I paid a little over $200 for the UMC1820 which is amazing for 8 inputs and 10 outputs (and a MIDI port!). Going more expensive with a different brand doesn't guarantee anything better, see for example all the driver problems people have had with Focusrite Scarletts.