How Bad is the Behringer 8 Ch. AD/DA?

chrisrulesmore · 16th June 2006

Yes, yes, I know Behringer is crap, but I'm wondering how bad this could be if clocked via BNC to my M-Audio 1814 which actually has better sounding converters than most interfaces I've tried.

I mean, for $200 bucks it seems like a no brainer for doubling the inputs into PT. Of course, the only other Behringer product I've ever owned was a small 6 ch. mixer that crapped out in about 6 months...

Basically, I'm looking to add 8 ch. ADAT to my interface so I can run 16 channels from my Studer into PT simultaneously.

-Chris

**DrDeltaM** · 16th June 2006

Do a search, many users have commented on this unit. In general, the consensus is:
- sounds good for the money
- improves a lot with external clocking
- inputs always go thru crappy pre-amp stage
- some users reported phase invertion of signal in one of the convertor stages

PoorGlory · 16th June 2006

Its amazing for the price. Eliminate the price from the equation, and its mediocre. The pres are definately useable, but not great. Just like most people around here will tell you, its the cheapest way to get 8 more decent mic preamps into your DAW. I am currently clocking this through the ADAT input from my Digi002R, which in turn is clocked via SPDIF from my Joemeek TwinQ. The result is definately a couple notches better than clocking from the 002R, or using the ADA8000 as the master clock. I believe the phase inversion people are talking about is on the XLR line outputs for each pre. But I would only use those for latency-free monitoring anyway, so it doesn't matter to me. Some people have talked about hearing some distortion is some of the channels, but I have not experienced it.

Go to www.portomusic.com/v1.1/ to hear some stuff I recorded with the ADA8000. Click on Discography and then select "EP". The three songs on "EP" have all the drums recorded with the ADA8000. The guitars and bass were with the much-hated Presonus BlueTube DP, and vocals were done with a CAD e300 through an M-Audio TAMPA. My pre collection is a lot better now, and consequently the Behringer gets less use, but I think the results here were decent.

Conclusion: I reccomend it to expand your input capabilities, because its a decent unit and its price will allow you to spend more money on some nicer pres in addition to the Behringer.

AlphaDingo · 17th June 2006

If you can't make a good recording with it, the problem is you.

username · 17th June 2006

or whoever your recording/their gear

hgen · 17th June 2006

Actually I recorded 4 songs at a mates house into his AW4416 via the ad8000 and was blown away at how good the sound was! I couldn't get over how good it sounded, I was really surprised. The AW4416 pres were absolute rubbish compared to them. The sound quality for Rock is great.

Matti · 17th June 2006

Or Alesis AI-3, without pre`s and unfortunately BNC wc.
Matti

Theo Desktop · 17th June 2006

I think 'it's good for the money' is a pretty cliche comment for the ADA8000.

Realistically, for dumping from analog tape back into PT I don't think this is the device you want. As DrDeltaM mentioned, the inputs always go through the mediocre preamp stage, and even with them turned all the way down you are still going to be adding some undesirable color to you sound (something like the AI-3 that Matti suggested is a better option).

I've used the ADA8000 when recording for scratch tracks and a tom or two, but nothing critical like your suggesting. If you were summing out of PT onto tape it may be a decent option.

The M-Audio converters are decent but aren't that great, and they are not going to improve the quality of the ADA8000 that much.

But, hey, it's good for the money!

Theo

chrisrulesmore · 17th June 2006

Yeah, this is definitely a short term fix until I can work up to an 8 ch. Apogee.

Point taken on the unwanted preamp stage, but I still don't know if it is possible to clock the Alesis externally via ADAT...anyone?

Honestly, I've owned a Rosetta 200 that definitely yielded an audible improvement, but I think converters are WAY less critical than people make out on gearslutz.

Just my experience.

-Chris

**DrDeltaM** · 17th June 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisrulesmore

YPoint taken on the unwanted preamp stage, but I still don't know if it is possible to clock the Alesis externally via ADAT...anyone?

Yes, you can slave the AI-3 to ADAT clock.

rokuez · 18th June 2006

http://productionforums.com/viewtopi...bc6bec5dcee704
What A/D D/A Adat Converter Maximizes functionality in terms of tracking with audio clarity for emu 1212m for under/around $1000

I've read stuff about the build quality of the ada8000 being sub par, and I want my gear to last so I wanted to find the next best thing under 1k $ and was told either RME ADI-8 DS for a high end or PreSonus DigiMAX LT for something actually under 1k$

Theo Desktop · 18th June 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisrulesmore

Honestly, I've owned a Rosetta 200 that definitely yielded an audible improvement, but I think converters are WAY less critical than people make out on gearslutz.

Just my experience.

-Chris

Then you'll love the ADA800. Enjoy the cloud!

Theo

bobbo · 18th June 2006

i've had the ada8000 for about two years, and i've only used it a handfull of times, it sounded good, on the earlier stuff i did with it, but for some reason i got this clicking the last time i used it, it was really annoying, but it was just for scratch vox, so it didn't bug me that much. i just really wish it had inserts on it, so i could put some compression on vox while tracking. i still have it, and will prob keep it, even though i can record 12 things at once, and its rare to have to do more than that at one time. honestly it comes down to, what are you going to be doin with it, i get great recordings with what i've got, and i'm just a hobby engineer, and make some good money with it. but i've got my market down, and i don't need a bunch of thousand of dollar pres and comps, with my pricepoint and skill.

depending on how important it is to yah, you can take your reel to a nice studio that has good converters that'll charge you a fair amount to transfer it to protools. we've really got to keep the real studios in business, so they have money to buy high end shit to make super good recordings with.

16th June 2006	#1
chrisrulesmore Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 684 Thread Starter	How Bad is the Behringer 8 Ch. AD/DA? Yes, yes, I know Behringer is crap, but I'm wondering how bad this could be if clocked via BNC to my M-Audio 1814 which actually has better sounding converters than most interfaces I've tried. I mean, for $200 bucks it seems like a no brainer for doubling the inputs into PT. Of course, the only other Behringer product I've ever owned was a small 6 ch. mixer that crapped out in about 6 months... Basically, I'm looking to add 8 ch. ADAT to my interface so I can run 16 channels from my Studer into PT simultaneously. -Chris

16th June 2006	#2
DrDeltaM Moderator Joined: Sep 2003 Location: Belgium Posts: 4,347	Do a search, many users have commented on this unit. In general, the consensus is: - sounds good for the money - improves a lot with external clocking - inputs always go thru crappy pre-amp stage - some users reported phase invertion of signal in one of the convertor stages __________________ Mathijs Indesteege aka Mathew Lane mixing - mastering - audio restoration - plugins http://www.mathewlane.com DrMS. Focus on your stereo field. - NEW v3.2 OUT NOW! DrMS spatial processor - native RTAS/AU/VST plugin » Digital Audio Product Support Joystick Audio - Benelux High End Distributor http://www.joystick.be

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16th June 2006	#3
PoorGlory Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,804 1 Review written	Its amazing for the price. Eliminate the price from the equation, and its mediocre. The pres are definately useable, but not great. Just like most people around here will tell you, its the cheapest way to get 8 more decent mic preamps into your DAW. I am currently clocking this through the ADAT input from my Digi002R, which in turn is clocked via SPDIF from my Joemeek TwinQ. The result is definately a couple notches better than clocking from the 002R, or using the ADA8000 as the master clock. I believe the phase inversion people are talking about is on the XLR line outputs for each pre. But I would only use those for latency-free monitoring anyway, so it doesn't matter to me. Some people have talked about hearing some distortion is some of the channels, but I have not experienced it. Go to www.portomusic.com/v1.1/ to hear some stuff I recorded with the ADA8000. Click on Discography and then select "EP". The three songs on "EP" have all the drums recorded with the ADA8000. The guitars and bass were with the much-hated Presonus BlueTube DP, and vocals were done with a CAD e300 through an M-Audio TAMPA. My pre collection is a lot better now, and consequently the Behringer gets less use, but I think the results here were decent. Conclusion: I reccomend it to expand your input capabilities, because its a decent unit and its price will allow you to spend more money on some nicer pres in addition to the Behringer.

17th June 2006	#4
AlphaDingo Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 735	If you can't make a good recording with it, the problem is you.

17th June 2006	#5
username Gear addict Joined: Jun 2005 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 305	or whoever your recording/their gear

17th June 2006	#6
hgen 3 + infractions, forum membership suspended. Joined: May 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 803	Actually I recorded 4 songs at a mates house into his AW4416 via the ad8000 and was blown away at how good the sound was! I couldn't get over how good it sounded, I was really surprised. The AW4416 pres were absolute rubbish compared to them. The sound quality for Rock is great.

17th June 2006	#7
Matti Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Finland Posts: 3,756	Or Alesis AI-3, without pre`s and unfortunately BNC wc. Matti

17th June 2006	#8
Theo Desktop Gear maniac Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 167	I think 'it's good for the money' is a pretty cliche comment for the ADA8000. Realistically, for dumping from analog tape back into PT I don't think this is the device you want. As DrDeltaM mentioned, the inputs always go through the mediocre preamp stage, and even with them turned all the way down you are still going to be adding some undesirable color to you sound (something like the AI-3 that Matti suggested is a better option). I've used the ADA8000 when recording for scratch tracks and a tom or two, but nothing critical like your suggesting. If you were summing out of PT onto tape it may be a decent option. The M-Audio converters are decent but aren't that great, and they are not going to improve the quality of the ADA8000 that much. But, hey, it's good for the money! Theo

18th June 2006	#11
rokuez Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2006 Location: West Los Angeles Posts: 783	http://productionforums.com/viewtopi...bc6bec5dcee704 What A/D D/A Adat Converter Maximizes functionality in terms of tracking with audio clarity for emu 1212m for under/around $1000 I've read stuff about the build quality of the ada8000 being sub par, and I want my gear to last so I wanted to find the next best thing under 1k $ and was told either RME ADI-8 DS for a high end or PreSonus DigiMAX LT for something actually under 1k$

18th June 2006	#13
bobbo Gear interested Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 5	i've had the ada8000 for about two years, and i've only used it a handfull of times, it sounded good, on the earlier stuff i did with it, but for some reason i got this clicking the last time i used it, it was really annoying, but it was just for scratch vox, so it didn't bug me that much. i just really wish it had inserts on it, so i could put some compression on vox while tracking. i still have it, and will prob keep it, even though i can record 12 things at once, and its rare to have to do more than that at one time. honestly it comes down to, what are you going to be doin with it, i get great recordings with what i've got, and i'm just a hobby engineer, and make some good money with it. but i've got my market down, and i don't need a bunch of thousand of dollar pres and comps, with my pricepoint and skill. depending on how important it is to yah, you can take your reel to a nice studio that has good converters that'll charge you a fair amount to transfer it to protools. we've really got to keep the real studios in business, so they have money to buy high end shit to make super good recordings with.