Behringer Ultravoice UV1: Vocal channel strip meets audio interface
4,6 / 5,0 | 
Behringer has announced the Ultravoice UV1 channel strip. With a Midas mic preamp, compressor, de-esser, enhancer, and gate, the UV1 features a complete vocal recording chain. And they’ve even squeezed an audio interface into it, so you don’t need anything else except a mic to record vocals or voice-overs.
Behringer Ultravoice UV1
After seeing Behringer’s announcement, one of my colleagues commented: “It’s like the dbx 286s and the Scarlett 8i really loved each other” – and that pretty much sums it up. The UV1 combines a microphone preamp and voice processor with an integrated USB audio interface and monitoring section. Simply hook up the microphone of your choice and connect to your computer via USB, and voilà, there’s your vocal recording chain.
The XLR-1/4” combo input on the front is wired to a Midas microphone preamp that delivers up to 60 dB of gain. Line signals can be boosted by up to 45 dB. The preamp offers phantom power and a switchable low cut filter for eliminating unwanted background noise. A pair of send and return jacks on the back allows you to add external effects if needed.
Next is a processing section with four distinct modules, and I think my colleague was right on the money when he compared the UV1 to the dbx 286s. You get a compressor with two simple Drive and Density controls and a gain reduction meter, a de-esser with adjustable frequency and threshold and an enhancer with LF and HF Detail knobs. There’s also an expander/gate section with threshold and ratio controls.
Behringer Ultravoice UV1 · Source: Behringer
Integrated audio interface
Very conveniently, Behringer has built a USB audio interface right into the UV1. This means that you don’t need any other gear (except the mic, of course) to record on your computer. While you can use the XLR or 1/4” analog line output to connect the UV1 to another audio interface or mixer, the USB functionality makes a separate interface unnecessary. The UV1 converts at up to 192 kHz / 24 bit.
There’s also a monitoring section with a headphone output and level knob. The mix knob lets you blend the direct input signal and USB playback for zero-latency monitoring.
With a complete vocal recording chain and interface right in the box, the Behringer UV1 looks like a practical and extremely affordable solution for recording vocals or voice-overs if all you need to record is a single microphone. And you still have the option to use another interface, should you prefer.
Price and availability
While Behringer hasn’t said when the UV1 will become available, the price is listed as USD 179. For a complete recording solution that includes the interface, that’ll be hard to beat.
More information about the Behringer UV1
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5 responses to “Behringer Ultravoice UV1: Vocal channel strip meets audio interface”
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At first i read Behringer Ultraviolence. That could be a cool name for an audio interface actually. Gonna email them the suggestion now.
So it’s main plus features on the Dbx 286s is the inbuilt audio interface and an on/off switch. Still only one mic input so no use for stereo image recording. Price wise it looks similar to the Dbx. It would be interesting to see a comparison test for self noise etc.
You have stereo line ins for stereo synths and send and return inserts, not available on DBX286S
The docs say TS line inputs and outputs, while the specs says TRS in and out. However, the word stereo is only used in reference to the USB connection. I don’t think this handles stereo via line inputs/outputs.
It’s a shame they didn’t include stereo outputs for a pair of studio monitors.
Pretty much a deal breaker for me.