Behringer ULTRAGAIN PRO MIC2200 Audiophile Vacuum Tube Microphone/Line Preamplifier

I operate an alternative broadcast studio, we create music related content and broadcast it on the internet. We needed some stand-alone microphone preamps and after searching the internet I decided to give this Behringer unit a try. This single rack space unit provides two independent microphone preamps, each of which is equipped with a single band of sweepable parametric equalization to adjust the timbre of the final output. Before I even tried the piece as a preamp I opened it up to look inside. DO NOT EXPECT TO CHANGE THE TUBE The tube is mounted in such a way that it is probably impossible to change it out for a different one. Fortunately the preamps sound good with the stock tube. There is no schematic provided so it's really impossible to say how the tube is implemented in the circuit and how much it actually contributes to the tone of the unit. HOW DOES IT SOUND The preamps sound very good, full, rich, crisp highs, deep lows, it's a function of the microphone you connect to it as far as I can tell. For comparison I A-B compared this preamp to our very expensive API 3124+ preamp which is a 4-channel unit that we paid over $500 per preamp-channel for, that is 10-times the price per channel of this Behringer unit. I'm not going to say the Behringer beat the API but they were a dead heat in most listening tests. My female partner who is not too technical (but has great ears) thought the Behringer was just as good as the API. We also have a Grace m801 which is another over-$500/channel preamp, she definitely liked the Behringer sound better than the Grace (personally I think it was the EQ on the Behringer that affected her choice when comparing to the Grace). If my API or Grace preamps go toast I will definitely have them repaired. If the Behringer dies, it's going in the trash and I'll buy another one. It's simple economics and at $100 for two preamps that sound as good as they do these are really nice. They sound good. They have an industry standard packaging. The input and output connectors are excellent. It even has a line input mode so you can add a little tube distortion to a line-level signal (I have not tried this because we don't need it). We broadcast between three and ten, live one-hour shows per week using this preamp for vocals. NOBODY in our listening audience has ever complained and none of them know we switched from our high-end pieces to this very inexpensive preamp. Now our expensive preamps are back over in our production studio and are used for recording tracks that play behind our live performances during the shows. RELIABILITY We have not had any problems with this unit. It is warmed up for an hour before each broadcast, I've never heard any noise or bad stuff come from it. We have A LOT of Behringer gear in our studio, it lives right along side gear from Neve, API, Allen and Heath, UA, Meyer, Lexicon and Apogee. Out of 103 pieces of Behringer equipment I've bought we've had two pieces that had problems and those occurred right out to the box. I had much worse reliability with Crown amplifiers than Behringer products and I really like Crown amps, regardless of the problems, they just sound so good. In my experience the Behringer products have provided professional results for an amazing low price. That's a win-win in my book.

Took a bunch of days - and huge feedback loops to get this set up correctly. Does lots of different things and does them differently. Ended up created a setup guide mainly for myself, also for others that may have trouble getting it into their home studio. Once you get it installed correctly, you'll find it's a great, great preamp for recording and it gives every mix a nice friendly warmth. And - it's a bargain! NOTE: turning MIC2200 Mic/Line function off/on disconnects/reconnects XLR cables.This lets you switch from Mic2200 Preamp to Tube without recabling. (Green MIC/LINE on is for Preamp. Off is for Tube) NOTE Also, Mixer Main Output cables should be disconnected from 896HD Inputs when Recording, connected when Mixing/Mastering to avoid feedback loops. (You can leave MIC2200 XLR outputs connected. But if not disconnected from the mixer those XLR cables will feed the signal into the 896HD) AND, the MIC2200 XLR output cables should be connected to 896HD Inputs when recording, but disconnected when Mixing/Mastering Recording with MC2200 as preamp Connect XLR cables from Mic or Inst to Mic2200 Inputs Connect XLR cables from MIC2200 outputs to 896hd Inputs Disconnect XLR cables from Mixer to 896HD Inputs Press Mic/Line button on MIC2200 to select PreAmp function(turns Green) Create new track in DP matching 896HD inputs. Select Red REC button. Disable Monitor outputs (speaker) and Blue Play output (arrow) Or get a nasty feedback when you start to record Select DP Output (probably Main Output) Create levels comfortable to MIC2200 (-3) DP (12db) and artist. Disable REC button on DP when finished Mixing/Mastering with MC2200 as tube Connect Phono cables from Mixer Aux Send to MIC2200 Phono Inputs Connect phono cables from Mixer Aux Return to MIC2200 phono outputs Connect XLR cables from Mixer outputs to DP inputs. Check settings. Slowly raise playback levels to make them comfortable to MIC2200 (-3), DP (12db) and artist. Before checking mix/master, turn off MC2200. Or you’ll Tube track twice

Is this going to compete with a preamp listed at 10x the value? absolutely not, but they are reliable and not too noisy. I often use these to power room mics and/or talkback mics and I leave these on all the time. These also give my high-quality preamps a rest when doing day-long video/audio sessions and similar when audio doesn't need to be mixed for music. I wouldn't use these for cutting an album if I had any other options available but who knows, if you're creative in the box and you have a lot of digital simulation to work with, these aren't going to hum like crazy, at least mine don't, and you might be able to use them depending on what you are trying to do. I will say, that big ol' level meter is sure easy to glance at and tell whether or not you've got a solid level coming through; design is pretty ergonomic.

I Purchased this unit primarily for sweetening up a violin pickup and an acoustic guitar with an LR Baggs pickup. I'm highly impressed with the improvement in the acoustic guitars tone and character. The parametric equalizer is fantastic for dialing in perfect tone. The unit is dead quiet, the only noise noted was when I tightened up the bandwidth and boosted level into the upper 3rd of its range on the parametric eq. In microphone applications the unit performs equally well and the low cut worked great for reduction of handling noise. This is a fantastic tool at a bargain price. I own an ART tube MP preamp also and this unit is definitely a solid step up from the MP. Thanks to Behringer for making great quality affordable products for musicians on a budget. The only knock I can come up with at this point is that the manual is extremely basic and if you're a new user of mic pre's you're kind of on your own. It would be nice if they had included some application recommendations for basic settings,

I only use this as a tube amp for vocal. For the price, I can drive 2 mics, and fit it in a 1U space. The tube sound is good enough for live performance for as long as I don't crank it up too much, it also helps with the gain of the SM58 as it's much lower than my other Line6 mic. I used to have multiple Studio Projects VTB-1s and ART Tube Pacs but their tubes seem to have died due to old age, and I mainly cared for the tube feature in them, so stepping down to the MIC2200 is fine with me. If you want to get warmer vocal sound, and don't want to invest too much for it, the MIC2200 is the way to go, imo. However, buying Behringer products always require crossing fingers (and hope that they last). So I'll update should I encounter problems.

When my beloved Symetrix 528E preamp died, I looked around for a quick and dirty replacement. I ended up buying this Behringer because of the price. It was not exactly what I needed, but the price was right and it had two analogue outputs. It lasted just long enough to make it out of its warranty period. At first I had to deal with odd noises from its output, then signal dropouts, then it stopped working completely. I replaced it with a DBX 286s, which has cheerfully kept working for years. There are other issues with the Behringer that are less relevant than the build quality, but still red flags: Everything to due with the vacuum tube in this unit is questionable. The tube is featured prominently in the center of the front panel, behind a glass window. There's no easy way to get AT the tube to replace it. Also, the tube is inexplicably lit up by orange LEDs so it looks like the heaters are glowing brighter than they actually do. All of this is the sizzle, because the steak itself is rotten. Avoid this model at all costs.

I use this as a microphone preamp with an AKG Perception 220 microphone. There are 2 ins and 2 outs, 1 balanced/1 unbalanced on each channel. I am not an expert on studio equipment so this review is from a personal position. I run this direct to my digital recorder. I get a good clean sound on my vocals. Still to early to give reliabilty and flexability of this unit. The unit is 2 channels, has rack mounts and is sturdy, not sure on the tube yet. New to the Behringer product line, but so far I like it and will explore its potential. 5 stars for price, quality, features, amazon.

Behringer Ultragain Pro MIC2200 It's a easier power on, not so sharp like the old, but bear in knobs as a toy gear, as in voice gear. It's really a tube streaming, but not so sharp as the Bugera charts the frequency for the stamp it presents for voice or frequency asset for the streaming Sound. It really do acoustically and deeply sands the stuff. It's more secure about that power on, but not so different and stuff.

To accommodate a blend of dynamics mics and condenser mics, and add hardware gating/compression/de-essing, I had to get an additional preamp stage. I chose this unit to feed my signal into the Behringer Composer Pro-XL MDX2600, which, in turn goes back into the Behringer X1204USB mixer. The Mic2200's pres are capable, and sound clean. I don't know if the tube really does anything on this, and maybe I'm just fooling myself, but I prefer the output I'm getting using it, than what I get straight out of my X1204USB mixer, even without any processing. It's finish is slick and elegant, XLR and TRS connexions feel sturdy and the knobs feel competent. I'm definitely getting a second unit.

Amazing preamp for the price. It is dual channel compared to Dbx 256preamp single channel. However Dbx is more expensive with less features (I mean the channels and 2band parametric EQ with Octave bandwidth control and a phase reverse switch) practically it sounds warm and clean (I haven't explored much with the tubes) but, the output is absolutely great if you understand and learn to use it well. Overall a great product 👍

Sehr guter Preis Leistung! Die Feature des 2200 sind ausreichend gut.Satte Gainreserven vielseitige Filtereinstellungen.Jeder Kanal verfügt über fein aufgelöste LED Anzeige für den Ausgangspegel

顧客より「納品したナレーション音源にホワイトノイズが入っている」と言われ、この製品をスタジオブース側に設置しました。早速テスト録音すると今まで気になっていたミキサー（アナログ）の残留ノイズが全く気にならなくなりました。普段は声量の少ないナレーターの場合、かなり入力PADゲインを上げなければならず、それに従いノイズも上がってしまいますが（OPアンプ2個程度のヘッドアンプなので仕方ありませんが）本製品をマイクINPUTにインサートするとミキサー側の入力PADは0でも十分。よって古いミキサーでもまだまだ稼働出来るようになりました。全てのch入力分欲しいところですが、あとは中古で出回るのを待つのみです。

Good product for my home mini sound system set-up.