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Baldo98 27 August 2014

Hi! I've recently bought a Behringer C-1 and a Behringer UM2 Usb interface. Today, I've noticed that there is a white noise in the background of my recording. I've tried, like said in other threads, to change the USB port of the interface, change the cable, and I've also tried recording away from the PC. But the noise didn't go away. Any solution?

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pcrecord Wed, 08/27/2014 - 03:19

I went through Behringer's website and I didn't find deep specs on the UM2 and neither the C1.
My bet is that the noise is normal, specially if you record far away from the mic ( more than a feet or sideways )
If you are too far or to the side, you need to push the preamps a lot more to get a good signal and so have more chance to have noises..
If the noise is there even when you are within a feet of the front of the mic, it maybe that the due to faint output of the mic and the power of the preamp are not being enough.

What is the software you use and how hot the record levels are ?
Usually, you don't need to record hotter than -12db on peaks to get a clean track. If you push it higher, you may end up running the preamp to high.

Oh yeah, are you recording in 24bit ? the noise floor of 16bit is way higher...

Then, behringer claims for midas preamps on that unit, but they are just design as midas.
Also, most budget gear from Behringer is noisy.. you need to find the sweet spot in setting up the pre and placement..

Boswell Wed, 08/27/2014 - 05:23

The higher members of the UM series are billed as having the Midas touch, but the UM2 has the original Xenyx pre-amp - not known as a quiet design. It may sound silly, but do check that you are singing or playing into the front of the microphone and not the back.

Could you post a clip on Soundcloud? In the clip we would need to hear you singing or playing loudly for a few seconds and then you not singing or playing for at least a similar time with no change in anything else.

anonymous Wed, 08/27/2014 - 06:29

"How can I see how hot my record is? Also where I can see if I am recording in 16bit or 24bit?"

You could start with the manual for the DAW program. You should either have a hard copy manual when you purchased the program, or, there should be an "online" (meaning within the program) help index as well.
DAW's are different in where these various settings are located.

Which DAW platform are you using?

If you are recording at 24 bit, or at a 32 bit floating setting, which many 64 bit DAW's offer these days, then db levels aren't going to be as crucial as they used to be with 16 bit.
Yes, of course you still need sufficient level into your track input from your audio I/O, but you certainly don't need to be pushing zero on your input levels. RMS levels between -15db and -12db, with peaks at or around -8db to -6db, will work just fine.

It's entirely possible that the mic or the preamp is defective (or maybe even both). Behringer isn't really known in pro audio circles for making great mics or preamps, so quality won't be nearly as high as other mics and preamp combos, and $50 bucks is chump change for any mic pre /I-O, so you shouldn't be expecting any type of real fidelity. But still, you should certainly be getting sufficient enough gain levels to record with - at least far better than those which you describe. My suspicion is that because either the mic or the pre is defective, you are having to turn the preamp up so far that noise is starting to overwhelm the signal... this is another indicator of a cheap, low quality preamp - cheaper mics and pres also have cheap converters and are inherently noisy, lack gain, and this certainly isn't the first time I've heard of noise issues with Behringer preamps/I-O's.

I need to ask: what did you really expect for $50? My question may come off as abrasive, but you are talking to a forum filled with pro engineers, musicians, songwriters and producers who spend 10x that much on a preamp - I/O as a starting point. Some of us have thousands invested into our gain stages. When we read someone's post where they say they spent $50 on a mic or mic pre, we just roll our eyes or respond in frustration, because $50 is nothing. There are some of us here who spend $50 on one speaker cable. Your mic and mic pre are your main primary source(s) of quality. These are your first links in your gain chain.
To start with less-than-good quality will only mean that everything you do to that signal afterwards will be an attempt to repair the source, and you can't. Your final sound will only be as good as the quality you have at the original source.

Comments about the UM2 are pretty negative across the board. Here are several customer reviews I found online for this preamp... BTW, I didn't have to look very hard. Here are four random reviews I found:

1. "Misleading description from manufacturer: ”Streams 2 inputs / 2 outputs with ultra-low latency to your computer”. Via USB it streams only from microphone. From the second input it streams only via analog connection (L/R). Quality is miserable."

2. "direct monitor function requiring both the gain and the output to be nearly maxed in order to hear anything, which causes a lot of background noise to be picked up. Which ultimately, for me at least, makes the direct monitor function useless."

3. "Cheap price, cheap sound. Noisy, unusable. I returned it and instead of getting a replacement I spent 50 dollars more and bought a Presonus Audio box instead which sounds great."

4. "Got the Berhinger UM-2 interface delivered yesterday. Brand new. Doesn't work. Won't even power. Nice job Berhingerr. Brand new ouyt of box hooked it up to USB and the power lite won't even come on !"

Typos are not mine. These are copy/pasted direct quotes from customers.

FWIW

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