If you caught one of my posts last week then you know I was out of town doing a remote recording project. When taking your studio far away and trying to think through the simplest setup you can bring, it’s good to have great sounding, compact, and reliable gear. One piece of gear that I could NOT have done this project without is the ADA8000 from Behringer, an 8 channel preamp and AD/DA converter that fits in a 1U rack space.
The Behringer ADA8000
I’ve written before about how easy it is to expand your audio interfaces inputs with an ADAT connection and how many choices you’ll find on the market for products that do just that. But I have to say from the countless recording projects I’ve used it on, the Behringer ADA8000 is the hidden gem of affordable home studio gear.
For a mere $199 brand new, you get 8 pristine mic pres with phantom power (or 8 line inputs), 8 channels of A/D conversion (via the optical cable), and 8 channels of D/A conversion to balanced connections on the back. So you’re basically getting a great mic pre and converter for just $20 a channel! It’s just insane to think that other “budget” 8 channel mic pres run for at least twice what Behringer is charging for the same thing.
Home Studio Needs At Home Studio Prices
One of the simplest (but best) things about the ADA8000 is having the pres and line ins on the front panel. This makes recording in the home/portable studio much easier. This past week I was recording 8 channels of drums, then switching to keyboard line ins, then miking vocals and saxophone in another room. All the while I was constanly plugging and unplugging cables and not once did I have to reach around to the back of the rack and somehow reach the correct inputs. Simple, but super helpful for home studio folks who can’t leave mics plugged int all the time.
Combine the great sound and usability of this unit with a typical Behringer price and you have a real practical piece of equipment for real home studio musicians and producers. At $199, expanding your inputs for another 8 channels is now affordable for everyone. I like gear that works for real people with real budgets, and the ADA8000 delivers.
These Can Be Your Main Pres
I want to make one thing clear. Some people reading this might get the impression that the ADA8000 will suffice for some “extra channels”. That it might sound decent enough and be priced well enough to simply expand your inputs…but you’d never use them as your go-to pres. To that I would say, think outside the box of your preconceived notions and brand snobbery. The pres in this unit are quiet, clear, punchy, and perfectly suited for any kind of source. I personally have used them on projects for drums, guitars, and lead vocals with stellar results. These pres are just as good as any other pre or channel strip you would laugh at comparing them to.
So if you’re in the market for one of the many 8 channel ADAT ready mic pres, don’t forget about this hidden gem. Save yourself some major cash and be glad you’re getting just as good of as sound for less with the Behringer ADA8000. I know I am.
Comments
Hey Graham! for the naysayers out here, could you post a clip allowing the masses to hear the quality of this piece of equipment? Talk is cheap but good audio is priceless
[...] reading his post, I realized that the ADA8000 occupies a pretty cool niche in the BEHRINGER landscape. Many of our [...]
[...] reading his post, I realized that the ADA8000 occupies a pretty cool niche in the BEHRINGER landscape. Many of our [...]
hey Graham. can you use lines as headphone inputs?
Never used this myself, but have had the pleasure of using the old Behringer DDX3216. I have to admit that the pres on that mixer never cease to amaze me — they’re so clean and transparent, and when coupled with the onboard FX (including gates and compressors) on that board, I’d chose those over a hot chic! .. well, maybe not, but you get my point.
That said, if the pres on the ADA8000 are anything like those on the DDX3216 (I’d imagine they’re the same, but you never know), I’d love to own one or a few the day I have the gear needed to hook them up to my home computer (how I wish it came with a built-in firewire interface!
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Ankur, never used the DDX myself but I think you would definitely love the pres ont eh ADA8000. Transparent indeed, and can cover pretty much anything you through at them!
Chris. Great idea. My latest EP (for my band) was recorded using the ADA8000 and I will post download links within a week or two once it’s released for you all to hear!
Thanks for your recommendations Graham just picked up an ADA8000 the other day along with a focusrite Saffire PRO 24 DSP. Can’t wait to put them in action.
Excellent! Enjoy your new setup Glenn.2
Hi, I looked at this product a while ago, and you havn’t mentioned the adat converter that you use to send it into your computer because these seemed to be the costly items required when I was looking at this product/ones like it. thanks.
Hi Chris, the only thing you need is a TOSLINK cable to connect the ADAT pre to your audio interface (if it has an ADAT input). Here’s one at Sweetwater:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OPT103/
Us live sound guys have been using these for years, you’ll find many a Yamaha digital mixer with the ADAT expansion card in the back, connected up to a couple of ADAs. Good to hear it works well in the studio environment too.
To the DDX folk: the ADA came out as the expansion unit for the DDX, so its possible that the pres would be related, if not the same. The DDX was discontinued a goodly while back, but the ADA is thankfully still out there.
Hey I only need the DA side of it (not the inputs and AD hardware as I only require multichannel playback). Is the ADA8000 still a good choice? Most 8ch DA boxes I’ve browsed are more than $200.
What about 8xUSB headset connectors, to rubbish, too much for a USB bus to handle?
I only know of two FW ADAT interfaces with witch this would be the perfect starting point for a homestudio. Unfortunately, one of those interfaces plus an ADA8000 costs more than some 8×8 interfaces that deliver much more options. So, sadlly IMO, I can only see the ADA8000 as an expansion.
@ David, I finally managed to get both the DDX and the ADA!
While the ADA is awesome to carry around, the DDX is absolutely awesome. I love the onboard dynamics / FX on it 
.. still can’t tell if the pres are the same, but I like them both.
@ Alistair, I’m assuming you’re shooting your question to Graham, but since I saw it first, thought I’d share my thoughts anyway. I think it’s a great piece of gear even if you’re using it only for the 8 outs. Most USB interfaces should easily be able to handle 8 tracks of output, but I’d go with the ADA only because it’s a more flexible device if you have other devices with ADAT I/O.
@ Carlos – I remember having asked Graham about ADAT I/O devices recently and was pleasantly surprised that there are a bunch of them in the market.
– Saffire Pro 24, Saffire Pro 40 (which I bought recently), the M-Audio Profire Lightbridge, the Presonus Firestudio, etc. I’m sure most of these except for the last, are below 400 – 500 USD.
[...] gear on this record. Starting with the drums. We recorded 8 channels of drums into the Behringer ADA8000 preamp/converter. I wrote about this puppy before and it is rock solid. Simple to use and sounds great. All the [...]