"Affordable" USB Interface options. Tascam vs Behringer? (US1800 US16x08 vs UMC1820

J

JohnnK

New member
"Affordable" USB Interface options. Tascam vs Behringer? (US1800 US16x08 vs UMC1820

On your guys recommendation, I purchased an EMU 0404 many a year ago.. it has run it's course, and now it's time to buy again, unfortunately!

I think I'd like to upgrade to something with as many inputs as possible in case I try recording drums again, and that was not a pleasant experience with 2 inputs!

So my options, and dilemmas, are as follows..

Product: US-1800 | TASCAM

Product: US-16x08 | TASCAM

Behringer: U-PHORIA UMC1820

Of which the later two are not released yet, I do not believe, but in a month or so..

So my questions and dilemmas are as follows.. Although I don't really see any advantage to the 1800 over the 16x08 except for price.

But between the Behringer and the Tascam, my only concern with the Tascam is that it has the 8 XLR and Preamps, which is good, but only the first two 1/4" inputs can be used for guitar direct line in, with the 1/4" inputs on the rear only being line-in (And really, I'm not sure if I have a use for those, since I really only record instruments?)

The behringer, although I cannot say for certain, looks to be similar to the EMU 0404 I have, in that each XLR jack can ALSO do an instrument level line in. Is this the case?

So, from my amateur view, it looks like, barring any sort of line in (which would be what.. Drum machine? Metronome? CD Player? Who knows?) with the Tascams, I could run 8 Mics, and 2 guitar/bass direct line in, if I was so inclined, but ONLY 2 guitar/bass direct line in.

And with the Behringer, I could run 8 mics in, OR 8 instrument lines in (or any mix inbetween, of course).

So that's sort of 1 point towards the Behringer I guess?

But, with the Tascam, since it has the extra 6 Line-In's on the rear, could I use some Mic preamps if I needed more mics (which I doubt, since I figure 3 mics for vocals, guitar, bass, and the rest for drums, but who knows what I may wish to do).

In addition, the Tascam seems to be better built, but I'm not sure if that is something I should be concerned with. I am looking at the XLR input jacks on the Behringer and they just look cheap (Actually they look very similar to the EMU 0404).

So basically, my dilemma is, 8 XLR inputs, and 2 separate instrument ins (plus assortment of various line-ins), vs 8 mics input OR instrument ins.

Also, of course, I am unsure about the preamp or converter quality of these two machines, so I guess that would be beneficial if anyone knew about that as well! haha

Thanks tons guys, appreciate it!!
 
Since the Behr hasn't been released yet, I'd be concerned with the unit's abilities and reliability. High-end behr stuff is very good, the cheap stuff not-so-much.

On the US1800, yes there are only two instrument (guitar level) inputs - how many DI in's are you looking for? Very unusual to record more DI guitars at one time than this!
 
Thanks for the reply!

I've never had any experience with Behringer, so good to know!

The US 16x08 isn't released yet either, but is Tascam known for poor quality as well? My only experience with them was a 4-track in the 90's, and even then I went with Yamaha. I imagine the internals are pretty similar to the US1800 though?

As for Instrument In's, you are correct, I probably wouldn't use more than two. I think the most I ever used was 2, BUT, since this time I'm looking to maximize inputs, I figured, who knows! And maybe I only ever used 2 because I only have 2, it's hard to say! :D
 
I don't remember hearing of any real quality issues with the Tascam stuff. I hear it all the time with the Behringer stuff. The preamps on the Tascam are clean and quiet. I've read where others have complained about noise from Behringer preamps. Not sure if it's on lower priced equipment, like MJB suggests, or on all products.

Drivers on the 1800 might be an issue, though I did not have a problem when I had mine; Win7-64bit. The only time I heard of an issue was when someone upgraded from a US-800 to a US-1800 and the 800 driver would not completely uninstall.

For me, doing the one-man band stuff, I only ever use 2 inputs at one time. People who are recording drums will need more inputs, but those are mics, not DI. But you probably knew that already. :)

HTH
cheers,
 
Thanks again!!

So maybe I'll pass on the Behringer, unfortunately. The price is tempting (for the new one, the UMC 1820 (January release, I think), they are talking about some Midas Preamps.. I know nothing about such things.. Anyone know anything?)

As for the Tascam, if I go that route (Which is looking that way, unless these 'Midas preamps" are something), can anyone think of any reason to go with the 1800 vs the soon-to-be-released 16x08? Only difference I can see is more line-Ins on the 16x08, but the price point seems the same, +/- $20 or so, and for that, I would probably spend the $20 if only for future support (hah, learned that lesson with the EMU!!!!)

I too usually record stuff one-man, as, "if you want something done right......", but every now and then I think I'd like to get a full on band recording, which is drums, guitar, bass, vocals (potentially back up vocals), so that would be micing the guitar cab, micing vocals (obviously, haha), potentially micing the bass, or going DI, and the rest for drums (so either 4-6 mic for drums, depending on how I do bass, and if I use backup vocals), which seems satisfactory, no?

Thanks guys, appreciate it! Not sure why I find my interface purchases so stressful.
 
If you can wait, go for the new model Tascam, looks to be the same thing, just updated. Not sure about the price difference - saw the US1800 for $178 (after $50 mail in rebate) last week
 
yes, you are correct, with a $50 rebate!! Oh man, now this complicated things further (or simplifies them, I suppose). haha Musicians friend is having 15%, so it would be $254 or so for the 16x08. However, I am not planning on purchasing until the new year, so that may be out the window.

I wonder if anything is actually different internally, or just a shiny new case (I mean, a few more line ins, but will I use them? Doubt it).

Or I wonder if support will be better, and that's a reason for the new one (If driver support stops for the 1800, I'm kind of out of luck if I switch to a new OS).. or they could use the same driver, for all I know.
 
If you're just after something without too many inputs that can get the job done without bankrupting you, many on HR have been proponents of the US 1800, certainly over any similar behringer product. I, myself, was considering it, but for my needs it was just too big. You mentioned how you want to record drums and how a drawback of the US 1800 is, while they have 8 XLR inputs, only 2 inputs can be used for guitar. Well, if you want to record drums, this shouldn't be an issue, and in general (as someone mentioned earlier) 2 guitar inputs should be more than enough, as it sounds like you rarely if ever record more than 2 guitars at a time.

If you have the room for it, don't want to spend much more than 200 bucks, and want to have more than 2 xlr inputs and preamps, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything better than the US 1800. For that price range and for your needs, I would consider it the go-to. If you upped your budget, of course, that would change. I'm typically someone who doesn't like to buy the first release of a product, as it often takes time to perfect it and work out the kinks. As such, I'd go with the tried and true US 1800. Hope that helps
 
calimoose said:
If you're just after something without too many inputs that can get the job done without bankrupting you, many on HR have been proponents of the US 1800, certainly over any similar behringer product. I, myself, was considering it, but for my needs it was just too big. You mentioned how you want to record drums and how a drawback of the US 1800 is, while they have 8 XLR inputs, only 2 inputs can be used for guitar. Well, if you want to record drums, this shouldn't be an issue, and in general (as someone mentioned earlier) 2 guitar inputs should be more than enough, as it sounds like you rarely if ever record more than 2 guitars at a time.

If you have the room for it, don't want to spend much more than 200 bucks, and want to have more than 2 xlr inputs and preamps, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything better than the US 1800. For that price range and for your needs, I would consider it the go-to. If you upped your budget, of course, that would change. I'm typically someone who doesn't like to buy the first release of a product, as it often takes time to perfect it and work out the kinks. As such, I'd go with the tried and true US 1800. Hope that helps
Click to expand...

Thanks! Well drums are secondary, but at some point, I WILL be recording a full band, so drum mics, plus guitar amps, vocals, and bass.. But yes, at this price range, two instrument ins from a 'reputable' company seems to be Tascam.. Although as I said, the Behringer seems to have Instrument in on every XLR jack, but, you guys have kind of talked me out of that one! :D

But I was under the impression the US1800 had issues (Power issues, headphone issues, driver issues) which is why I was contemplating waiting for the 16x08.. Although $175 is quite tempting.. That's about half what i paid for the EMU 0404!!

I have also been waiting to hear if there are any component upgrades inside the 16x08, however, Tascam it seems, does not want to respond to the lowly consumer unfortunately.
 
So every site I read about the 1800, those usb cycling power issues come up... Hardware issue, or computer setup issue? That would be the deciding factor right there, i would think (Since Sonar x2 doesn't like it when the Interface is disconnected, the program has to be restarted.. At least for me with the 0404 it does).
 
Just to fill in some gaps...

Yes, you can certainly patch any external preamp to the line inputs on the Tascam units. Also, while it's not really considered best practice, we actually just found out on another thread that some hotter mics with louder sources can actually work just fine plugged straight into the Line ins. You need the appropriate XLR>TRS cable, but it can work. So you're not really limited to 8 mics.

Likewise, there are a bunch of ways to get a DI guitar into either the mic or line inputs. A (preferably active) external DI box, the DI, line, or headphone out from an amp... I personally just run through a buffered guitar pedal (usually my Boss GigaDelay nowadays) into a line input and it in fact works better than the Instrument input, because the hot humbuckers on my guitars will overdrive the Instrument input, but the Line ins have a bit more headroom. So you're not really limited to just 2 instrument inputs either.

I have the US1641, which was before the 1800, and it seems to be just a little noisier than my other system, but it is definitely solid and reliable. The one big nitpick I have is that the gain knobs are very small and very fiddly. I was trying match the levels on two of the channels the other day and it nearly killed me!
 
Chili said:
I don't remember hearing of any real quality issues with the Tascam stuff. I hear it all the time with the Behringer stuff. The preamps on the Tascam are clean and quiet. I've read where others have complained about noise from Behringer preamps. Not sure if it's on lower priced equipment, like MJB suggests, or on all products.
Click to expand...

Quality issues were a problem with Behri.

With the X32 they have had a renaissance, and on the newer products, the quality issue does not seem to be there.

Note also that the U-Phoria uses Midas, not Behri, preamps.
 
JohnnK said:
So every site I read about the 1800, those usb cycling power issues come up... Hardware issue, or computer setup issue? That would be the deciding factor right there, i would think (Since Sonar x2 doesn't like it when the Interface is disconnected, the program has to be restarted.. At least for me with the 0404 it does).
Click to expand...

Just going to throw something out here...

You can find users posting issues with everything ever created. Any interface or software or hardware will not work with every users setup. Whether it be the system they use or the setup.

It usually comes down to improper setup/settings.

I hear constantly of issues with the software and interfaces I use and have used. I have rarely had any issue worth mentioning.

User error is usually the problem.

That being said, there is surely some crap out there. I never had a single issue with the Tascam 1641 or the 1800 on W7. Ever...

Well, the headphone level may be an issue, but I used a headphone amp that solved that. You would want one anyway if recording a drummer.
 
jimmys69 said:
JYou can find users posting issues with everything ever created. Any interface or software or hardware will not work with every users setup. Whether it be the system they use or the setup.
Click to expand...

Yep

And to add to this, people tend to post stuff when things go bad. When things are going well, they don't invite as much comment. So sites such as this tend to magnify the prevalence of faults.
 
I am using the 1800 on W7 and Win8.1 and I have had no issues other than when the USB port was turning off. But that is the problem with all USB devices.
 
Thanks again guys (I've never had a USB port turn off on me, which is why I'm curious why so many people are reporting it with the 1800).. I'musing w8.1 at the moment.. Who knows in the future. They are being discontinued (talked to music stores) so maybe price will drop, but maybe support will as well.

Gecko: You mention the Midas preamps in the behringer.. Does that change anything? Or, is it still a 'stay away from' type deal. Never bought any behringer thing, so I don't need to start now (no brand loyalty to them. hah)
 
JohnnK said:
Thanks again guys (I've never had a USB port turn off on me, which is why I'm curious why so many people are reporting it with the 1800).. I'musing w8.1 at the moment.. Who knows in the future. They are being discontinued (talked to music stores) so maybe price will drop, but maybe support will as well.
Click to expand...

I would dare to say that most people with a $300 budget trying to record a full drum kit may not likely be computer wise in regards to setup of recording interface with a computer. I would consider a $300 interface 'entry level'. Even though the 1800 is a quite reliable and worthy piece of gear, the level of experience with users of lower priced gear have a tendency to have issues because they are new to recording... I was there myself.

Support in regards to new drivers for say Windows 10, will likely not happen. But that does not mean the 1800 will not work on it. We can only hope. There is no specific W8 driver for the 1800, yet it works.
 
The 1800 has built up a formidable reputation here and on other forums as the only real game in town for value multitracking. Indeed the only problem I have read of is the rather weak headphone output but that is by no means an uncommon issue with AIs since there is a bit of a "nanny state" issue there. Almost all audio kit comes with a "Don't blast yer ears" warning! As has been said, headphone amp.

"Midas Preamps"? I would not set much store by this. "Clean" pre amps don't differ much anyway (be illogical if they did!) and in any case, anyone can stroll over to the next factory in China and get some electronics labelled "Midas"! Then, since Behringer are NOT going to give us schematics how do we know the pres are any different from those in the Xenyx etc? And Berries are not exactly moral paragons!

DI boxes, yes. Don't buy the Behringer D 120, got one, noisy. Look instead at Orchid Electronics. Super gear, super value.

As for future OS drivers, what is the problem? If you have built a stable, working Win 7 rig, stay with it.

Dave.
 
Thanks guys.. ok, Behringer out for good then, as I have no experience, and you guys do!

I currently have a stable w8.1 (stable enough, i suppose), but, I have a thing with upgrading OSs.. Call it a hobby! haha Although, you are correct, if I were to try to record a full drum kit, it would be at a rehearsal place we rent (mics and kits provided), so I would be bringing the w7 laptop anyways..

Ughhh, I'll wait until boxing day and see if anything magical pricewise happens, and decide then I suppose!
 
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