- Hi, I'm Jordan from Kettner Creative,
in this video we're going to compare
the Behringer Xenyx Q1202 USB audio console
to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface.
Now both of these have the option to connect
to your computer with USB outputs.
So people often compare both of these to try figure out
what's right for them
when they first get into trying to figure out how to connect
an XLR microphone to their computer.
You might do this for a variety of reasons,
including live streaming, video conferencing,
home recording, podcasts recording,
or anything like that.
So we put together this video to give you the best
information possible to figure out which of these two
devices is most appropriate for you.
So let's start with pricing on either of these.
At the time of this recording,
they are very, very close in pricing.
We do have current pricing
and current specs of both devices
linked in the description below.
I don't wanna say
what the price is just because the prices
do fluctuate over time.
So please check out those links
for the most current pricing
and specs for either one of these devices.
So like I said,
there's four main things that people wanna know
when they're comparing these two devices.
The first is the USB output.
On the Behringer audio console,
it has a 16-bit and 48K USB audio input and output.
It sends two channels out of the console
and brings two channels back in.
The Focusrite Scarlett also sends two channels
and brings two channels in.
So they're similar that way,
but it can record at 24-bit or 192K,
that's a huge generational leap over the USB output
on the Behringer console.
Next, let's talk about the input gain.
The input gain on the Behringer audio console
here it goes up to 60 decibels.
That's quite good for an audio console.
On the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2,
it's 56 decibels.
It is four decibel shy.
This can be important when you're going to activate
some gain hungry microphones,
like the SHURE SM 7 B or the road pod mic.
Sometimes you need an inline preamps.
Sometimes you don't.
We do have more in depth videos on both of those examples,
using both microphones with both devices.
So if you're in that kind of area,
you're looking for a microphone like that.
And you know you're gonna be right on the bubble.
Please check out the links in the description below
where we test both of those microphones
with both of these audio consoles.
So you can figure out if it's right on the line,
it might persuade you one way
or the other.
Next we have input noise.
The Behringer audio console here has an input noise
of minus 131 decibels
when it's a weighted at 150 ohms of resistance.
The Focusrite Scarlett here,
has a noise a minus 128 decibels,
when it's a weighted as well.
What that means is that the Focusrite Scarlett
is just a little noisier than the Behringer.
So you will get a little bit more hiss in the background
of your recording.
When that microphone preamp is cranked up all the way.
The fourth thing that people really care about is plugging
electric guitars
and electric basis straight into these devices
for recording them.
On the Behringer audio console.
It is not recommended to plug an electric guitar
or electric bass
or any other instrument level input into this device,
because there is no pad on the input.
It just accepts a line level input.
It is recommended that you go out and buy a DI box.
So you run the instrument through the DI box to lower
the impedance of that signal
before connecting it to the mixer.
The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2,
has an instrument mode here.
There's a button that you can press
that will lower the impedance for you
and make it more appropriate for the audio interface
So that's a big win there.
So when you're looking at these four things,
the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 has a better USB recording
ability at 24-bit and 192K,
and it has that instrument mode.
So if you're plugging a guitar straight into it,
it does a better job of recording it.
The Behringer has more gain
and a little bit less noise on the input.
So wins in there.
Now aside from that,
you can tell that these are two very different devices.
So if we're not talking about specs,
let's look at the ergonomics of each one of these devices
and let's figure out what they're really built for.
The Behringer Xenyx USB audio mixer here.
You can tell has a lot more functionality built straight
into it when you pull it out of the box,
you get all kinds of tools
like compressors, EQ you can do effects on it.
This particular model
doesn't have the built in effects engine.
But what you can do is you can send it through the mixer,
through the effects
and you can run it to an outboard piece of effect.
So you can use something like a compressor
or an outboard reverb unit
or something like that.
Bring it back into the audio console
and process it all
before sending it to your computer.
Also on this device,
you can plug in a whole band set up.
Everybody plugs in,
you do a live session,
and you can record this stereo output of many,
many devices at a same time.
Now where this console is not totally built,
like the focus right,
is that is not really built for multi-track recording.
This is made for recording the stereo outputs.
You can hack it.
If you're trying to multi-track two devices at once
by panning the two devices left and right,
essentially turning your main outs
into multi-track recordings.
Another benefit of a console like this is doing live events
with it, these balanced outputs here,
you can connect it powered speakers
or monitors for your live event.
And at the same time,
you can use the USB output to do live stream
or to record your live event as well.
The Focusrite Scarlett on the other hand is really,
really based for home recording.
You can do live streaming with it,
but you definitely cannot do live events with it.
So the ergonomics and the way that this is built
it's a small compact portable device
that you can put in your backpack,
bring with you, do a session at a friend's house,
put it back in your backpack
and bring it home with you.
Or it'll just sit under your monitor.
And it doesn't take up too much desk space.
When you're doing your home recording.
Now you can see here,
it has two inputs and outputs,
but where this device is different than the audio console
is no matter what size of this device that you get.
Every channel that you plug in is multi-track recorded
by default.
This means when you connect it to your computer
and you start a recording,
it preserves the recording in a nondestructive way.
When you make changes on the Behringer console here,
if you make an EEQ change,
that's known as a destructive change.
You can't undo that EQ.
You can't undo compression after the fact.
So this device here is more based on doing all your editing
and software after the fact,
rather than on the device itself,
the Behringer is built for capturing a live session,
a live stream, a live event.
That's the very distinct difference between the purpose
of both of these devices.
So to sum it all up,
I would say that the Behringer audio console here is a Jack
of all trades and a master of none.
The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface
is a recording specialist.
If you wanna record and do all your edits in software
after the fact which is extremely popular,
this is the device for you.
If you're not sure what you wanna do,
you know that you might want to do some streaming
in the future.
Some recording you might wanna do a podcast
with more than two inputs,
and you just want to capture the stereo recording.
Maybe you are connected with somebody that does live events,
and you wanna start helping
them out with that on the side,
you just want one device
that gives you a ton of flexibility.
Then the Behringer Xenyx is for you.
If you're just home recording
and you're just leaving this on your desk,
then the Focusrite Scarlett is a great device.
You'll appreciate it's small form factor
and you and its ability to do great Multi-track recording.
So again if you wanna see pricing
or specs for either of these devices,
we do have links in the description below.
If you have any questions
or comments about this video
or a specific question that was not answered,
please ask it in the comment section below.
We do read every comment.
Also if you wanna see more videos like this in the future,
we have a huge playlist of videos
about the Behringer Xenyx,
we have a huge playlist of videos on the Focusrite Scarlett
So please like,
and subscribe to see more videos like this in the future.
Thank you for watching
(bright upbeat music)