Old 12-04-2016, 06:20 AM   #1
Dannii
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Default Behringer ADA8200 Anyone?

Does anybody have personal experience with the Behringer ADA8200 ADAT interface?

I'm looking to expand the i/o of my RME Fireface UFX and I've actually read some fairly decent reports about this particular Behringer device.
My primary use for it will be in my studio for line level inputs from my keyboard rig and a few extra outputs to use as hardware FX sends and synth inputs. At present, I have them going through mixers (28 channels total) and into eight inputs on the RME but I'd like to have each synth on its own dedicated input. The price of the ADA8200 makes adding 16 extra ins and outs (via two ADA8200s) to my rig quite appealing and the fact that there's numerous positive reviews about them is encouraging.

The vast majority of my work is at either 44.1K or 48K so the 48K upper limit on these is no issue for me.

If you own one or more of these units, I'd appreciate your thoughts on its quality and reliability.
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Old 12-04-2016, 08:05 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReaDave View Post
Does anybody have personal experience with the Behringer ADA8200 ADAT interface?

I'm looking to expand the i/o of my RME Fireface UFX and I've actually read some fairly decent reports about this particular Behringer device.
My primary use for it will be in my studio for line level inputs from my keyboard rig and a few extra outputs to use as hardware FX sends and synth inputs. At present, I have them going through mixers (28 channels total) and into eight inputs on the RME but I'd like to have each synth on its own dedicated input. The price of the ADA8200 makes adding 16 extra ins and outs (via two ADA8200s) to my rig quite appealing and the fact that there's numerous positive reviews about them is encouraging.

The vast majority of my work is at either 44.1K or 48K so the 48K upper limit on these is no issue for me.

If you own one or more of these units, I'd appreciate your thoughts on its quality and reliability.
Hi ...

I used to have the former version Behringer Ultragain Pro-8 ADA8000 and a RME HDSP Multiface I and they worked flawlessly together ... NO sync probs whatsoever . I wasn't doing any of that synth stuff, but I used the combo to multitrack an acoustic drum-set and I was doing so fine I regret I departed with these devices .

a perfect set-up for the poor man ... (((:

- zergei W -
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Old 12-04-2016, 10:21 AM   #3
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Dave - I used to have 2x ADA8000 and swapped them out for a pair of focusrite Octopre LEs with the digi board.
Pretty much no observable (aurally) difference between the two.
Sadly they both have the same really shit jack sockets, though!

I would say that the ADA8200 can only be better, since mostly it consisted of an improved power supply and better preamp design!
I have one friend who owns one but never had the ADA8000 or the focusrite before, so no comparisons there either,
What I will say is that you will be surprised how handy the extra 16 OUTS will be.
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Old 12-12-2016, 03:07 PM   #4
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Thanks heaps for the thumbs up guys. This pretty much mirrors most of what I have read from others too. The ADA8200 seems to be getting very favourable reviews even amongst the typically more fussy crowd in a certain forum with the letters GS.

I have a good friend who has given me a really good deal on two of these ($300 less than the retail price on the pair) so I'm going to take the plunge and make the purchase on Thursday (pay day for me).

Ivan, I already have numerous uses for the extra outputs in mind too.
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Old 12-13-2016, 02:02 AM   #5
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Seriously, guys, I have some long involvement with trouble shooting the original ADA8000 WITH Uli Behringer`s participation.
The achilles heel of the 8000 was the placement of certain key components in the power supply and of course the basic design of same. One of the most important changes in the 8200 is the complete redesign and re-spec of the power sdupply, according to Behringer.
Given the number of warranty claims they had on the original design, I rather suspect this is true.
That and the "Midas design preamps" should add up to a decent bit of kit, especially for the price.
I just sold one of my Focusrites to our drummer as he needs the extra 8 I/O more than I do. IF I ever find myself needing more than the 8 I currently have, I would definitely go for an ADA8200.
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Old 12-13-2016, 03:35 AM   #6
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I also have the Pro 8 Gain digital ada8000, had it for about 6 years now, maybe longer, useed it with my RME ff400, had zero problems with it.
Sadly i can't use either atm , have to build a new desktop pc.

My only gripe is the preamps seem a bit lite on the gain side, ive sometimes run them all but flat out to get enough input gain.

I've mostly used it for acoustic drums and have no complaints about the quality especially for the price, so i can only imagine the ada8200
is an improvement so i don't think you could go wrong.

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Old 12-13-2016, 04:11 AM   #7
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Happy ADA8200 user here. I am using it to expand my E-MU 1212m...works flawlessly! No sync problems whatsoever (the ADA8200 is set as ADAT slave).

Can´t comment on the mic preamps since I am using the line inputs exclusively.
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Old 12-13-2016, 09:37 AM   #8
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SoulOne82,
Great to hear of your positive experience with the 8200. I'm pretty much planning to do the same thing with mine regarding line vs mic inputs. I'm sure the mic pre's will be useful but I'll be using it predominantly for line inputs from my keyboard rig (which now has 28 outputs!)

Thanks too Wolffman for posting about your experience with the 8000.

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Originally Posted by bikerider View Post
Give us some feed back on how they perform. I'm looking to expand my new UMC1820 with one of those when I have the extra coin for it.

At $310can locally, it's cheaper than any other 8 channel preamp I've seen.
Will do. I'll be posting about them for sure. I'll be ordering them tomorrow and will post details once they arrive and I have them up and running.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ivansc View Post
Seriously, guys, I have some long involvement with trouble shooting the original ADA8000 WITH Uli Behringer`s participation.
The achilles heel of the 8000 was the placement of certain key components in the power supply and of course the basic design of same. One of the most important changes in the 8200 is the complete redesign and re-spec of the power sdupply, according to Behringer.
Given the number of warranty claims they had on the original design, I rather suspect this is true.
That and the "Midas design preamps" should add up to a decent bit of kit, especially for the price.
I just sold one of my Focusrites to our drummer as he needs the extra 8 I/O more than I do. IF I ever find myself needing more than the 8 I currently have, I would definitely go for an ADA8200.
Good stuff Ivan. I had similar power supply issues with my original Ultracurve Pro 8024. It was a pretty simple repair though and was just dry solder joints from excess heat. I did that repair going on ten years ago now and it is still running. I don't use the EQ for much but it has a really nice spectrum analyser which is always handy to have in hardware.

Regarding the 8200s pre's, they are supposed to be very close to the sound of the Venice ones (they are supposed to actually be the same circuits) and those are well respected by most who've used them. One of the engineers who works at the company I'm purchasing my ADA8200s from is a big fan of Midas desks and loves the Venice preamps. That company is where I started my professional work in sound engineering 1/4 of a century ago. I was also the head electronics tech there and part of my job was designing, repairing and installing permanent PA systems in clubs and other venues and building, operating and repairing concert touring rigs. We were also Roland and Yamaha authorised service agents (they still are actually) so I obtained many spares and service manuals for my synths and studio gear during those days.
The times out on tour were long and exhausting but I got paid well and that provided the foundation for my studio.
The founder and owner has been a good friend of mine ever since and his son is now running the retail section of the business. He's given me a REALLY good price on these.

....well, that was a little more than I was planning to post!!! Nostalgia has a tendency to do that!!
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Old 12-13-2016, 11:45 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReaDave View Post
I'm pretty much planning to do the same thing with mine regarding line vs mic inputs. I'm sure the mic pre's will be useful but I'll be using it predominantly for line inputs
A lot of users think they're able to hear the difference between mic and line inputs of their interfaces or preamps. But don't get fooled. In case of the ADA8000 (and I'm sure the ADA8200, too) they hear a resistor devider consisting of a 10k an 1k3 resistor Take a look at the ADA8000 schematics. And believe me, this design can be found very often.

I'm using both, the ADA8000 and 8200 and I'm absolutly convinced about the sound. Best bang for the buck IMHO! (no, I'm not working for Behringer) And as ivansc mentioned, the power supply was (hopefully) improved with a switchmode powersupply (SMPS). The 8000 had a linear supply which ran hot and dryed the electrolyte capacitors over (long) time.
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Old 12-13-2016, 04:24 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by zacki View Post
A lot of users think they're able to hear the difference between mic and line inputs of their interfaces or preamps. But don't get fooled. In case of the ADA8000 (and I'm sure the ADA8200, too) they hear a resistor devider consisting of a 10k an 1k3 resistor Take a look at the ADA8000 schematics. And believe me, this design can be found very often.

I'm using both, the ADA8000 and 8200 and I'm absolutly convinced about the sound. Best bang for the buck IMHO! (no, I'm not working for Behringer) And as ivansc mentioned, the power supply was (hopefully) improved with a switchmode powersupply (SMPS). The 8000 had a linear supply which ran hot and dryed the electrolyte capacitors over (long) time.
Good to hear of your experience with both of these.
True about the input section of the preamp too. That is indeed a common thing. My thoughts were more along the lines of using the inputs at low gains for hot signals from synths rather than the typically higher gains used with mics. Most preamp designs have better specs at lower gains.
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Old 12-13-2016, 06:47 PM   #11
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I used to believe that using an attenuator was To Be Avoided At All Cost. That came from the DIN norm's habit of attenuating everything to mic level and then amplifying again. That seemed idiotic to my younger mind, back when DIN plugs were everywhere .

I'm not so sure anymore.

I wonder what the rationale is for doing it in so many designs. I'm currently restoring a Sennheiser M101 portable mixer. And that thing has -20, -40 and -60 dB pads before the transformer going into a preamp with 76 dB gain. Surely, in those days, with transistors like the BC107 (BC109C didn't even exist yet), noise would be a concern?

In the case of the M101 the electrical isolation that the transformer provides would have been the prime reason, as it is broadcast gear. There are trannies on every in/out on that thing. And saving a few pennies would be a reason for some other designs. But the gear that has a "real" line-in, as audiophiles like to call it, is a small minority. And that includes a lot of high-end expensive gear. When I measure S/R on the M101 it doesn't seem to make any difference. Frequency range is more affected by the transformers than S/R is by these pads.

Any thoughts?
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Old 12-13-2016, 07:32 PM   #12
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I have an ada8200 running into a Focusrite 18i20. Both are very clean and clear, low noise.

I have some mic preamps for 'color' that I run into them sometimes, which also I suppose gives me a comparison. So ya, clean clear, dont feel like I hear the pres.
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Old 12-14-2016, 04:00 PM   #13
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Cheers again guys.

Cyrano, I'm with you on that. In fact, using the input attenuator method is often a good way of utilizing the balancing function of the mic pre's to avoid doubling up on possibly redundant circuitry. In the vast majority of designs, the balanced signal ends after the initial input amp and if that is a decent, low noise design, why repeat it unless you want individual control of a line and mic source on the same input channel (which doesn't really make sense anyway).
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Old 12-14-2016, 04:02 PM   #14
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I've just placed and paid for an order of two of these and they should be here early next week. I'll be posting my initial impressions here once they arrive.
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Old 12-17-2016, 11:31 AM   #15
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Another satisfied AD8000 user here, use mine mostly for synths, I have it plugged in 'both ways' via ADAT to my Multiface, so I can use it as an output to feed synth filters and the like.

Entirely acceptable quality wise, simple to setup and has caused me zero issues in the time I've had it.
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Old 12-17-2016, 01:31 PM   #16
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Another satisfied AD8000 user here, use mine mostly for synths, I have it plugged in 'both ways' via ADAT to my Multiface, so I can use it as an output to feed synth filters and the like.

Entirely acceptable quality wise, simple to setup and has caused me zero issues in the time I've had it.
Great to hear.

My ADA8200s should be here tomorrow.
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Old 12-19-2016, 12:08 PM   #17
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Quick update...

My ADA8200s arrived yesterday and I did a complete reorganization of my main equipment rack to incorporate them.
I haven't had a lot of time with them yet but I did set up a quick test project in REAPER with my Minimoog plugged into both the Fireface UFX and one channel of the first ADA8200 to do a quick listening test (I split the output and fed the same signal to both inputs). So far, I am impressed. The audio sounded pretty much identical.
I did a null test by flipping the polarity of one of the signals and it didn't quite null. The top end was slightly different with the Behringer seemingly slightly brighter. The midrange and low end nulled for all intents and purposes.
Upon further investigation, the lack of null in the top end wasn't a frequency response difference. It was a phase response thing which I suspected given the audio sounded the same. When adding an all pass filter at close to Nyquist frequency on the 8200 audio, both tracks almost completely nulled. From a listening perspective though, it isn't an issue at all.

In summary of this very quick test, I have to say the Behri and the UFX both reproduce the Minimoog with clarity and transparency.
I have both ADA8200s locked to the RME (with the RME as master clock) via a Lucid SSG192 using word clock and so far, they have been rock solid.

I'll be doing some more in depth tests over the coming days and will post my results and some photos here.

So far, I am a happy camper and appreciate all the recommendations here. Thanks guys.

Edit - I forgot to mention that these units have a solid feel to their construction too. The jacks seem decent, the pots are smooth and the sync switch on the back has a quality feel to it. I quite like the red brushed aluminium finish to the front panel too.
Obviously Behringer are aiming to shrug off their early days reputation of cheap and nasty. This device has none of those attributes and it comes with a three year warranty.
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