Considering devices like the Cloudlifter are just gain boosts, if someone wanted to save some money they could use a device like this and plug it into their mixer or interface and get their gain boost from it.
My go-to for daily audio tasks is the Behringer MIC500 USB, especially for transferring cassette tapes from my 4-track recorder MT50 for my video projects. I recently swapped the Bugera 12AX7 for a Brimar 12AT7, and I'm loving the smoother sound!
As a voice over recorder when I saw this interface offered limiter, warm limiter, and limiter, I thought less work for me. There appears to be no changes in settings. I was not able to find information as to the values of the setting. This interface just lacked the required information that I required. I do like the idea, maybe the next version will have more information, adjustments of the values. I did like the size, the levels meter instead of a single peak indicator. It performed great using the Shure SM58 and Behringer's Ultravoice XM8500 which I prefer over the Shure SM58, Behringer did a great job on the XM8500 and I could purchase 5 of them compared to the Shure. And the MIC500USB is only 16 bit. Please make some changes and come back again and I will purchase again.
Hey Bandrew, grab some popcorn and a drink before you begin to read this 😅 I decided not to get rid of the U-Phoria UM2 as I upgraded my motherboard and all of a sudden, I get playback and input my mic though the interface itself. My problem is that I have a grounding issue. Originally, I had my mic going into the UM2 via XLR, and out into the PC via USB from the UM2 itself (No adapters were used for the mic). For live monitoring, however (This is where my issues lie), I used the two RCA outputs on the back connected to a 3.5mm female adapter. From there I plugged in a 3.5mm female to male splitter. The other male input went to the PC. That went well for months until this past week I realized that when I turned off the "Direct Monitor" my audio increased dramatically and that I wasn't using my headphones to their full potential (Besides a DAC of course). So fast forward a few months......New PC build. Due to me changing stuff around, I had removed the 3.5mm splitter and used it for something else. In doing so, I booted up my PC for the first time and went to play some music (Not expecting to hear anything) I got up to go get the splitter and realized that music was playing through my headphones. I was shocked as I thought it was only capable of mic inputs and playback of whatever device was that was plugged into its inputs such as a guitar. I opened up playback devices in Windows and saw that the UM2 was set to playback and recording. Cool, I thought. After recording a few videos with that setup, I discovered the grounding issue. Instead of buying a new power supply or repositioning the HD audio cable so that the PSU isn't interfering......I decided to try this setup: (As I don't know exactly what's causing the interference) Mic into XLR Input UM2 to PC via USB RCA to 3.5mm into PC via Line-In (Blue) PC to Headphones via 3.5mm front panel connector. Now I thought that setup was going to be perfect and it should've been. The problem is, my Neewer NW-700 only supports 1-Channel, 16-bit, @4800hz. Regardless of the fact that windows also has the option for 2-Channel, 16-bit, @4800Hz, the mic will only be played from the left side. Now that being said, when I enable Direct Monitoring (which is on 24/7 cause I can't stand not being able to hear myself when I talk) the mic comes through sounding muffled and weird compared to me plugging my headphones directly into the output on the UM2 itself with the RCA to 3.5mm which sounds the way it should (as if I weren't wearing headphones) but the second I switch back to using Line in, ALL the bass is removed and when I move away from the mic just a few inches, it sounds like I walked to the other side of my room, again when compared to being plugged directly into the UM2. Now, I check the advanced tab on the Line-In port. That port *ONLY* has the option for 2-Channles. At this point, I'm stuck and the only options I see are as follows: 1) Go back to the original setup and be forced to listen to a dramatically lowered volume (*Mic input* to XLR to USB to PC, *Live Monitoring* RCA to 3.5mm to splitter to headphones, splitter to PC (Can hear PC and Mic) 2) Skip the splitter, get full volume but put up with the grounding issue (possibly the mix of splitter and adapters v.s. computer components or may very well be the combination of the two) 3) Skip the splitter, still use the RCA adapter, have full volume control, but have horrible and I do mean *HORRIBLE* live playback of the mic. Can someone please recommend a 4th, 5th, or 6th, option. I'm trying not to spend money on a 2-Channel mic or even a different interface as the Neewer NW-700 and the UM2 are practically a perfect budget minded combination other than my current issues.
You should do a video dedicated to trying out different audio interfaces with the sm7b without a cloudlifter to see which one provides the most gain with the least hiss.
Low Cuts can boost the frequencies where they start. (In this case around 90Hz) This probably resulted in the audible low end of his voice being boosted. Vocals usually don't really go below 85Hz so that's why you probably hear more lows with the low cut enabled.
Good review. all music, whether manual or digital, FL studio or just using tapes, requires trial and error. the fact that the only time i heard noise without the tube being pushed means there is an external issue causing the noise, like you vaguely suggested. it might be the cord, guitar, or tube. you should NEVER add tube emulation to raw guitar unless its the amp. i would suspect the noise from the hi z electric guitar segment is from you turning up the tube to 20% rather than pushing the tube all the way down and pushing the master output volume up. the tube is what caused the hiss IMO. raw guitar di+tube is not raw into amp. youre not supposed to color the guitar raw input, but rather let the amp color it. if you increase the master on the hi z input and put the master up, i bet the hiss would disappear. the tube is just natural distortion. the point of this device is to increase the signal with no hiss. you need to see if the culprit was the master or the tube, but you didnt try the electric guitar with the tube on zero and increased master. dont rely on a tube for increased signal. rely on louder signal with less hiss. not telling you what to do, its just an easy basic fundamental we all forget. the electric guitar segment was probably clean if you rolled back the tube to zero and increase master. hope this makes sense, and also this is speculation lol trial and error huh
I've got the MIC200 and seriously the gain is too goddamn high at 100% and it just swathers things in noise and shit! The best thing is to swap out the 12AX7 tube for something a bit less VIOLENT AND ANGRY. Careful control of the gain and some noise post production makes it a good home unit (with the original hi-gain tube) but not a lot more! On more reading up, this device has the SAME 100% gain factor tube - 12AX7. If anyone buys it, consider swapping out the tube!
yeah you know thats why there is a Pad button to lower the gain by 20db and you have to make sure you do not enable OS side pre-amp for the microphone source. but I agree on the noise still been trying to figure out the tube inside exactly cuz a 12ax7 is a generic name not accurate model # there are ultralow/low noise 12ax7's out there. also if you got the same 'generic USB pnp' drivers installed like the usb500 uses. Note: the input mic source on 'recording' (under winblows that is not sure on mac) is not 0db when you max it to 100 on scale for 0 thru 100 right click the # field switch it from % and set it to db and you will see that 100 = +30db I found that kinda odd cuz most mics your preamp internally is separate from the actual level slider.
For a single Microphone the Behringer UMC22 might be a better choice? If not, why? Behringer UMC22 USB Interface only is 40 Euro here and the MIC500 Tube is 65 Euro. They are both rated as 16Bit and 48Khz but the UMC22 Interface has "MIDAS designed" mic amps. A little nostalgia and the nice manual controls look tempting on the MIC500. But the UMC22 seems to be the better choice if you want plain voice (for Skype, Voice Recording etc.) For the same price as the MIC500 (66 Euro) there is the Behringer UMC202HD with actual 24 Bit and 192kHz + MIDAS + 2 Combo XLR Jacks...that seems to be a bang for the buck as of now. Ugh...
I've just spent several hours watching your videos, thanks for the content , it's very instructive for someone who doesn't know this world very much. But i've a question about audio interfaces . This Behringer MIC500USB sound really great to me , comparing it to the focusrite 2i2 ( which is double the price) we only lack the 24 bits and 192 khz ? And if so doesn't really make any kind of difference for a youtube and gaming usage ?
I don't think it will have any huge impact on your quality. I have heard that a lot of producers only record in 16-bit 44.1kHz...therefore if it's good enough for professional albums that sell 100,000 copies, it should be good enough for youtube.
Isn't the latency on this unit basicly non-existent? I mean it's all analog electricity right, so the signal should travel with nearly the speed of light.
Worth pointing out that when you were testing the SM7B you had the output knob down almost all the way.. Considering that knob can give you +10db and you were sitting at probably -10db there you were actually robbing yourself of probably 20db of level... With the 60db on the gain knob and +10db on the output the total gain of the unit is actually 70db 👍 With the output knob all the way up you could have had the gain knob much much lower
The unit only provides +60db of actual gain, the output pot only controls the Phone output Volume. And if the volume pot did also affect the line out in it's current design, it would be post amplification, you would decrease your SNR and make the signal aswell as the noise louder. So use the maximum you can get out of the Gain without distortion, to have the best SNR, and only then increase the Volume. Gain =/= Volume. And one additional info on the side: This is actually not a tube amplifier, its a transistor amplifier and it just adds a little of the "saturated" sound of the undervolted tube on top.
I see on the back of the unit there are 1L and 1 R does this mean it can take stereo sources like stereo synths and drum machines for example? Cause I know the 1 R input is Hi Z. I guess it won't be a problem to match with the other 1L input.
Podcastage Look, baby. I know a good box when I see one. I gotta get my hands on it, and you deserve praise for keeping your shit in order. Now, let's pop these bottles.
Hey bandrew I have a sf-920 and i think its amazing for the price but i want to upgrade to a mic under 30 dollars. I dont have a audio interface so i want it to be plug in play. What do you suggest?
is this an acceptable replacement for a USB interface like a focusrite scarlett solo 3rd gen which i already have or get an art tube mp studio v3 and add that to my signal chain. my desk space is a wee bit limited btw.
Have you tried using it as a USB headphone amp? On mine, when you play something on the USB interface, and plug some headphones into the headphone jack on the back, the output is insanely hot, and rips right through the output fader even when the knob's all the way down. I'm trying to figure out if mine is defective, or if it's just broken by design.
Do you still have it, so that you could give it a try? At this point I'm really curious, but I'd rather not have to RMA mine just to see if a replacement does the same thing. Seems like a shame if they built something this nice, but then dropped the ball on the USB audio output.
yes that is because you need to check the soundcard source... reduce it to 50 it should help a lot. think the headphone circuit was tuned for more of high impedance headphones.
RU-vid people... I need help... I have to decide between the ART Tube MP Studio V3 and the Behringer MIC500USB. 1) If I take the Art tTube it has no USB output so i would need an extra USB Interface right? 2) If i take the Behringer MIC500USB it has an USB output so i wouldnt need an extra USB interface right? Or do I still need one? 3) Which one sounds better in ur opinion Thanks 4 the Help Ps Nice VID Thumbs UP Pps i want to use it to record electric guitar from my amp with a mic
Hi Bannana man 1) yes 2) you wouldn't need another one, 500USB is everything you'll need 3) ART sounds better to me but you would need another interface to it which will make your sound even noisier. I recommend you buying Zoom U22 instead of any of these. It costs as much as the ART preamp, but it has the USB port, it's a lot smaller and for the most important thing it's capable of recording in 24bit/96kHz which will give you a loooot better quality and a lot less noise and more headroom than any of these. Having 24bit capable interface asap is the best thing you can do for yourself! You will always be able to buy an external preamp if you would need more gain. It sounds great, quality of it is amazing and it's compact af.
Bannanakick - I own the MIC200 (older unit, similar spec to MIC500, no USB) which I believe has the same high gain tube as the MIC500 (the 12AX7 tube) - a full 100% which makes it angry and violent but also a bit noisy (make that REALLY NOISY) at higher levels. Careful control of the gain makes it a good home unit but not much more. It sounds a lot better with a lower gain tube at the 40-60% gain mark but there are better units out there than the MIC500 and ART Tube MP Studio V3 it just depends on your budget.
hi bro loved your reviews 5 stars... bro am confused in um2 or mic500usb...which one i should buy, i want to records stories and song can u tell me which one of this option is best for me.
Hve you opened this up and looked to see exactly what model tube is inside? a 12AX7 is model but also a series name. I love mine but would like to maybe eventually replace the stock one for a ultra low noise version of a 12AX7 as this one seems to be somewhat noisy in mine.. I do love it I got a Shure SM58 and I always had what I believe is a poor impedance match for PC soundcard inputs once I hooked it up to this the difference was clear as day. You can monitor yourself plus anything and/or use it as a independent sound card output for voice coms etc. ie. it doesnt act as a USB microphone it acts as a fully functional usb soundcard.
Not only did we have that conversation about my having of two cables debacle over the beloved RU-vid comment section, you review another piece of hardware that I have found in my searches and have deemed unusable in my work to much disappointment.
I got this one and I have problem with recording anything plugged into line in. I can monitor that by clicking direct monitoring, but when I'm trying to record that in audacity, all I get is a lot of noise and very quiet sound. XLR and HI Z works fine. I want to buy dbx286s, and use these Behringer as audio interface, bypassing an amplifier from MIC500, so it will not affect the sound, by I'm afraid that will not work.
Hi i have a question, I am looking for a new mic and I like Rode Podmic. Also I was plannig to buy this interface, but it has gain and output gain, can i use Podmic and MIC500 as interface and audio booster at the same time without buying a fethead or cloudlifter?
Hey :) I just bought it.. the problem i have now - I'm using Nuendo/Cubase and the the amp simulator I use is Guitar Rig but when I switch on "direct monitoring" the sound signal is nearly 1 sec too late.. the latency is damn high. Can you help me solving that problem?
Behringer is generally a shit cheap starter brand but the Midas preamp is in my opinion is a great neutral sound with slight emphasis in the higher ranges, which I feel would sound great if ran through a tube amp.
So... This is good amp for mic? Im doing lot of livestreams on pc and i really hate how my mic sounds, so im kind of looking for cheap somewhat ok amp for it..
So i buyed this today and i have one question HOW TO TURN THIS SHIT OFF???' .... they forget to to make ON/OFF switch,only way is to detach power supply cable ,any infoo....
im kinda late, but pls help...ive got the mic500usb combined with an AKG P5s and it sounds really noisy!! so much hiss the listener cant stand it. i use it just in video calls. so whats wrong with the hiss? is there any drivers available except those crupy asio?
I haven't tested any that I would really recommend for a professional studio. You're going to want to look at some really high quality interfaces that run like $500. I think Universal Audio is one company that makes them, but I can't recall for sure.
Does the data shown in 2:51 (Output impedance Headphone out : 24 Ohm min) mean that I can't connect a earbud with a impedance lower than that to the interface?
Hello looking to start a 3 person podcast as far as audio interface. What would be a cost effective option to set up 3 mica to 1 computer for recording. Currently have 3 xlr mics. Thanks in advance
hi youtube, do you think this one will fit t.bone sc 400 or better to get U-Phoria UMC202HD because it has 24 bit? Maybe some day I will get a better mic than sc 400
If you do? They have direct inject boxes specifically for guitar input. But you'll benefit more using it with a console or to pre amp it into a virtual guitar amp plugin in your DAW.
It's called a reamp direct out box. It converts line level output to guitar amp input impedance. You can record a dry signal into the computer and run it back out into different guitar amps. Get multiple guitar takes using a real guitar Amp instead of virtual. I Don't know how this thing would sound direct injected into the guitar amps input.
I have purchased this item. Are there any free downloadable plugins who purchase this. Shall be grateful if any information with corresponding link is provided.
I don't know what downloads there are, but here is behringers site for downloads. Search MIC500 and it should provide you with any downloads that are available: www.behringer.com/downloads.html
What do you mean? You want to run sound out of your computer through this device to get tube warmth? It is only a mono input so you'd be only doing so on the left or right channel if it's stereo, or you'd be downmixing to mono.
That's Dolby atmos resolution. After you upload your podcast? Your wasted Your time in that resolution. The upload will get compressed into a smaller format and lose the quality. Just stick with 16bit 48 or 44.1k. Recording in high definition high bit rates does nothing. Unless You're encoding it for a DVD player
Those kind of format interfaces are for movie production studios that record and edit at DVD format. That's why some interfaces can go into that type of resolutions.
@@massfusionstudio I see. So is there no trooth then to Scott Wilkinson saying that if at first you record in HD the lower format recording will be a better version than if you had done it at the lower format?
