Behringer FCA1616 buid in MIDAS preams

djfn

Hi!

I own a Behringer FCA1616 audio interface. I think it's a pretty decent peace of gear in its pice range, and I'm getting "cristal clear" recordings, so I'm happy with it (All happness my budget can get, of course)

I bought the past week a tube mic form behringer, the T-1 (for about 125$), and after changing the cheap tube for an Electro Harmonix one, It sounds warmer an good enough for me (and for my budget, again)

Now I'm getting on the preamp and compressor part of the chain, and I wonder if the cheap tube preamps Ken talks about, (ART Tube MP Studio V3, Presonus TubePre V2...) will make any difference (for good), or if the MIDAS preamps on my behringer are better than they are and I can keep my money, and in this case, what kind of gear must I get to get really better than the Behringer at a reasonable price.

Can anybody help me to decide?

Thanks!

highmtn

Those MIDAS preamps should be pretty good. The Presonus might be better, but if Behringer used the Midas design (and they supposedly DID) then they should sound pretty good. You might like the tube sound of the Presonus better. I've had a couple of ART items that I wasn't too impressed with, but if Ken says it's OK, he would know. He wouldn't tell you a piece of junk is good. If you want better than the Presonus, you're going to have to spend more like around a thousand dollars probably. If you're going to spend that kind of money, I would spend it on a better mic and probably use the Behringer/Midas pre.

We all end up doing the best we can with what we can afford. The entire signal chain matters. Mic, Preamp, compressors, DA/AD converters...

Get the cleanest you can afford and try to get the best out of whatever that is.

Good Luck!

Bob