spitzer
New member
Greets
I've been looking for a small interface for my home computer, mainly to record electric guitar. So far I have on my list Steinberg UR22 mk2, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 gen2, Presonus Audiobox USB 96 and... Behringer UMC202HD. They are in the same price range and externally (meaning "it looks like") they have everything I need.
All the reviews I've found have mostly covered things like the input preamps and such. However since I would ideally like for this interface to also replace my other (integrated and PCI) soundcards for all general use (LISTENING) I'm also interested in the outputs and especially the headphone jack, since I almost exclusively use headphones.
I've found specs for some of those interfaces but they are hard to interpret, some have the figures expressed with different names or in different units etc. For example I found a document that said the UR22 outputs 3.8 mW x 2 "nominal" and 6x2 "maximum" power from it's headphone output. What does that even mean? How can I figure out whether that is enough to drive my headphones? I need output power at least equal to my Asus Xonar (which is supposed to have some kind of an integrated headphone amp) that specifies an output power of 1 Vrms/3Vp-p with the hp impedance only being described as "optimized for 32-150 Ohm". From what I have tested by the way, the volume level is pretty much identical to that of the integrated Realtek 889. The headphones I currently mostly use are AKG K182s, I also have a pair of DT770s (80 Ohm).
With regard to the inputs I mainly just need a nice, clean signal. The Realtek is horrible, the Xonar is quite good for recording but there are other big problems with both of them, mainly the lack of direct monitoring. My larger setup not at home is built around an ADA8000 and the sound quality is plenty good enough for me so if the UMC202HD mic/line pre's are of similar quality, I would be happy with that. That small Behringer has more features than the others and who knows, maybe at some point I would realize I actually would have wanted those pad switches or something.
Thoughts? Recommendations? Which is the most stable, has the best drivers? Although again, emphasis on the headphone output power.
I've been looking for a small interface for my home computer, mainly to record electric guitar. So far I have on my list Steinberg UR22 mk2, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 gen2, Presonus Audiobox USB 96 and... Behringer UMC202HD. They are in the same price range and externally (meaning "it looks like") they have everything I need.
All the reviews I've found have mostly covered things like the input preamps and such. However since I would ideally like for this interface to also replace my other (integrated and PCI) soundcards for all general use (LISTENING) I'm also interested in the outputs and especially the headphone jack, since I almost exclusively use headphones.
I've found specs for some of those interfaces but they are hard to interpret, some have the figures expressed with different names or in different units etc. For example I found a document that said the UR22 outputs 3.8 mW x 2 "nominal" and 6x2 "maximum" power from it's headphone output. What does that even mean? How can I figure out whether that is enough to drive my headphones? I need output power at least equal to my Asus Xonar (which is supposed to have some kind of an integrated headphone amp) that specifies an output power of 1 Vrms/3Vp-p with the hp impedance only being described as "optimized for 32-150 Ohm". From what I have tested by the way, the volume level is pretty much identical to that of the integrated Realtek 889. The headphones I currently mostly use are AKG K182s, I also have a pair of DT770s (80 Ohm).
With regard to the inputs I mainly just need a nice, clean signal. The Realtek is horrible, the Xonar is quite good for recording but there are other big problems with both of them, mainly the lack of direct monitoring. My larger setup not at home is built around an ADA8000 and the sound quality is plenty good enough for me so if the UMC202HD mic/line pre's are of similar quality, I would be happy with that. That small Behringer has more features than the others and who knows, maybe at some point I would realize I actually would have wanted those pad switches or something.
Thoughts? Recommendations? Which is the most stable, has the best drivers? Although again, emphasis on the headphone output power.