Behringer ADA8200 Ultragain

I wish people would understand that this is not designed for single channel preamp stuff like lead vocals!!! Yes, it's flat sounding, but that's what I like about it. I don't care for hyped bass or mid range etc., everybody EQ's later anyway so I don't understand the fuss about having a coloured sound right out of the box. I use my Audient for single channel stuff and the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 + Behringer for drums and multi tracking. For loud sound sources like drums and cranked amps, I can't hear the difference between these midas preamps and the Saffire ones. Maybe on a quiet intimate vocal or subtle strings etc. you can hear differences but it's all about choosing the right tool for the right job. Why blow thousands on something which only gets used on extra toms etc. when you can't hear the difference anyway? It's disingenuous to do an A/B test on something it was not designed to do. The fact that it's ADAT and needs a host interface to piggy back off means that people only buy this because they need more channels for drums and multi-tracking. Nobody is buying this as a single channel preamp for vocals, so comparing singing tracks or solo instruments is pointless. This is an inexpensive expansion purely for when you need more tracks, like tracking a live band or recording drums.

Pros: Easy setup, flat uncoloured sound, quiet preamps, separate line-in inputs on every channel

Cons: There are none at this price point. Anyone who has issues with this has misunderstood its purpose.

I ordered the ADA8200 to expand the I/O on my Motu 828 MkII as I have 5 synths that I like to use and don't want the hassle of plugging and unplugging them. Also it is a good way of future proofing my project studio as my needs change.

The unit itself is one rack unit high and seems sturdily made and looks good in the rack. Hooking it up to the Motu was easy, but the documentation supplied is a bit thin in content. I ended up following the setup done by the reviewer in Sound on Sound magazine, which is where I had read about the unit in the first place.

I am only using the line inputs so I can't comment on the Midas mic pre-amps but it's nice to have these for when/if I record some vox in the future. I would have preferred for there to be fewer mic inputs in order to make space round the back of the unit for the inputs. These are all located in the front with only the outputs located on the rear panel. This means I need to use a patch bay and cables in order to keep the clutter of leads at the back. I'm sure It couldn't push the cost up too far to move to a 2U unit and tuck everything away at the back, perhaps with a couple of inputs at the front as other manufacturers seems to do.

Since I've had the unit I have to confess that I have barely noticed it. I set the input levels of the analogue inputs and accessed the sound through the Motu software or as inputs 9-16 in my DAW. This is the highest recommendation I can give really - the ADA8200 just works without any fuss.

This unit is great for running 1-8 mics in the same environment, as you'll get crosstalk naturally from your microphones picking up the surrounding environment.

However, if you had planned to mix and match dissimilar sources that cross talk becomes a pretty big nuisance. I was attempting to run mics on inputs 1&2 and an hdmi audio extractor on inputs 3&4. The signal from the mics was clearly audible on inputs 3&4, and vice versa.

Like I said, great for mic-ing a single environment / source. For example, drums. You'll get natural crosstalk much louder than the internal crosstalk. But for trying to isolate totally dissimilar sources you're going to run into trouble.

The ADA8200 is a fantastic way to expand the inputs and outputs from an existing interface (provided you have ADAT in / out on your interface already). I'm using mine paired with a Behringer UMC1820, which brings me to a total of 16 XLR inputs and 18 outputs, the pairing works exceptionally well and i'm yet to discover any flaws.

The Midas pre's are really really clean and have plenty of headroom. There is no colouration to the sound, so you get a nice transparent signal straight from the mic. Some sound engineers prefer a more textured preamp to get some character in the mix, but personally I prefer working with a clean unaltered signal. These pre's leave you with a blank canvas to cultivate any sound you want from the signal source. They provide ample gain for my RB500 ribbon mics without any unwanted noise.

Very simple to set up, currently working flawlessly in Windows 10 with Reaper, Just plug it in and and play! Syncing to my interface's clock was easy, I just set the clock source to ADAT In and the two units sync automatically.

If you already have an interface with ADAT and you want an easy and cheap way to get a few more channels, I would highly recommend the Behringer ADA8200. Please don't be put off by the brand... Behringer are good now!

One of the key advantages of the ADA8200 is its high-quality sound. This interface features eight inputs/outputs with superior microphone preamps that deliver clean, detailed and natural sound without distortion or noise. This makes it an ideal choice for recording vocals, instruments and other audio signals with a high degree of fidelity.

In addition, the Behringer ADA8200 Ultragain provides extensive connectivity options, making it a versatile and flexible solution for a variety of use situations. It features a variety of inputs and outputs, including analog and digital ports, allowing you to connect different types of equipment and devices without additional problems.

Just as importantly, the ADA8200 Ultragain features a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy to set up and use. It also comes with a rich set of software, including virtual instruments and effects, which expands its functionality and capabilities in music creation.

Overall, the Behringer ADA8200 Ultragain is a high-quality and versatile audio interface that delivers high quality sound, extensive connectivity and ease of use. It has become an indispensable tool for sound designers and musicians striving for high quality music recording and production.

For years I have been frustrated by only being able to record a maximum of two tracks in my DAW. Hardware I have the excellent RME Babyface and I use Cubase.

I have been totally blind to the ADAT interface on the Babyface until I started reading what you could do with this to expand analogue channels going into your DAW from the outside world utilising an A to D to A convertor such as the Behringer ADA8200 Ultragain.

The ADA8200 is by far the cheapest option on the market to give you 8 analogue channels, 8 in plus 8 out via the ADAT Lightpipe optical interface.

The hardware could not be easier to setup, the trick is making sure that you either slave your audio interface off of the ADA82000, or make your audio interface the master.

In my case, I configured the Babyface in Cubase to slave off of the ADA8200 and then added the ADAT buses in the Cubase Device menu. I was up and running very quickly. Being able to now simultaneously record up to 8 audio sources on separate tracks within Cubase is absolutely brilliant, I am overjoyed I now have this flexibility as I am a one-man musician with 16 external synths and love to jam...

Build quality of the Behringer seems to be really good, I can't believe they can produce equpment like this for the price....

I am not going to criticise the lack of features on this box, as that would be very unfair. If you want more features, then you are going to have to spend quite a lot more, simples....

Great product and great service once again from Thomann!