Behringer MIC100 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Limiter

• Hand-selected 12AX7 vacuum tube with UTC technology for exceptional warmth and lowest noise
• The ultimate sound-enhancing tool for virtually any sound source
• Perfectly complements studio-grade condenser mics
• High-end tube mic/line preamplifier for studio, live and hard disk recording applications
• Eliminates the "dull" sound of standard digital recorders and sound cards

If one desires an easy way to experience the audio advantages of vacuum tubes in the playback chain without the associated cost and heat disadvantages of too many tubes, one can place a vacuum tube buffer stage between one's digital program source (especially streaming audio, MP3, or lossless audio files) and one's preamplifier. The "gold standard" for doing so in an affordable manner is the Musical Fidelity Tube Buffer. Unfortunately, this product is very hard to come by. What to do?

If one purchases two Behringer Ultragain MIC-100 preamplifiers...each costing little more than the replacement cost of the vacuum tube it contains...and four 1/4" male phono to female RCA connectors, one can create a budget tube buffer stage. The trick to making it sound good is to adjust it so it doesn't add volume to the final output. Unity gain. One can effectively approximate the "no add" setting by ear.

Why bother? The strident "grain" associated with computer audio files is smoothed. Voices seem to come forward in the mix. And, for whatever electrical and psycho-acoustical reasons, the final sound seems just a bit more natural.

I use two Behringer Ultragain MIC-100s as a buffer stage between a Behringer U-Control UCA-202 DAC and a Behringer Eurorack UB-502 mixer to provide state-of-the-art amplification for my Vic Firth isolation headphones. The resulting sound is absolutely top-drawer and completely belies the bargain price I paid for these components.

Enjoy!

Buy Behringer MIC100 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Limiter Now

I've been using this mic-pre for about a year now and have had no problems.

I have used it as a preamp for a large-diaphragm condenser mic (+48V), as a line level converter (active DI box), and as a high-imp converter (DI box). All three have passed with flying colors. I encounter no noticeable additional hum or noise with this unit, though I recommend letting the tube warm up for a few minutes before recording.

Keeping the gain at minimum (+26dB) is crucial in avoiding excess noise and hum. With many tube-based mic-pre's, it is common to increase gain before accordingly adjust the output level as a means to force the warm, "tube compression" sound, but with this unit, I would recommend the opposite. The output, even at max, is surprisingly clean and noise-free. Only when the output nears +10dB (max) should you start toying with the gain. If you really need the "tube" sound, go for a more expensive model; that's not to say you don't get tube compression from the MIC100 it is just very subtle, which I like.

This unit does get warm to the touch, which is why I wish it had an off switch. It does come with a power cable clip, though, so it's easy enough to unplug without loosing the wire behind all your other equipment. The built-in limiter is a nice addition, though I prefer to disable it and instead record at safer (i.e. lower) level, adding any necessary limiting and/or compression in post. LED level monitors are highly responsive, giving quick, accurate level readouts.

Recommended!

Read Best Reviews of Behringer MIC100 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Limiter Here

I use it to record vocals and guitar into an audigy 2 zs sound card using an SM58 mic. The sound is good enough for getting my ideas down and making songs demos. To expect something noise free at this price is just stupid.

If you want high end quality you are going to have to pay for it.

Want Behringer MIC100 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Limiter Discount?

Largely based on the reviews I read here at Amazon, I bought one of these MIC100 pre-amps to see if if would 'warm up' the sound of my hollow-body electric guitar. It does that, both on the front end (i.e., between the guitar and my amp) or the back end (between the amp's line out and a P.A.). Lately, I have been using it to warm up the sound of a low-cost mic, sometimes connected line-in to the same amp, and sometimes to a mixer or direct to a P.A.

I have to say that, for me, it works great in both roles. In fact, I may purchase another MIC100, so I have one for the mic and one for the guitar.

I should point out that this is for live performance. I understand that for studio work there are more expensive products that probably work better and, one assumes, have more features. For my purposes, this thing is great. I like it so much, I use it at home when I'm just playing for my own pleasure.

Noise hasn't been an issue, for me. Yes, it will get a bit noisy if you max the Gain knob, but I never do that. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 gets me the quality of sound I want. The Volume control doesn't add any noticeable noise at any reasonable level even at home, where there's minimal background din.

On the advice of another reviewer, I ordered a replacement tube for it, but I haven't actually got around to replacing the OEM tube. If there's a dramatic change for the better when I finally do that, I'll send in a supplementary review. For now, I'm sufficiently pleased that I have no feeling of urgency about swapping out the tube.

This is the third Behringer product I have purchased that has met or exceeded expectations. I see occasional comments, here and elsewhere, about their lack or reliability and/or quality control, and used to be a bit concerned about it. However, after a year and a half with my VT50FX amp (used pretty much every day), several months with the MIC100, and some time with a bought-used GM108 amp, I have no inhibitions about Behringer products.

Any mass-market manufacturer is going to have the occasional deffective product get into a customer's hands. The real issue is will they treat you right when it happens. I have read that Behringer does, though I haven't had reason to explore this myself. So far, I am pleased and impressed with my Behringer gear...especially that VT50FX amp.

[One exception is their guitar effects pedals. I've owned three of those (purchased, untested, by mail order); they all worked, but none did what I expected/hoped it would do. This may be more my fault than Behringer's, but once I got a Zoom Multi-effects unit, the pedals were relegated to the cupboard. These are definitely a try-before-you-buy item.]

Save 25% Off

Works great, only complaint is that I use this in a RF enviornment and it is not rf sheilded very well, so on some frequencies it is not useable. EG: 21 MHZ.