Behringer Control2USB

I needed a monitor controller for my home studio but I was on a limited budget. I considered all the options in the under ¤200 range. I needed a controller for 2 sets of speakers (A/B) and one that would allow me, at a later stage, to add a sub-woofer. I also needed 2 Headphone outs. The only controller available in that price range that would fill my criteria was this Control2USB or its sister the Monitor2USB. I chose the Control for it's design & layout.
I have very good experience with Behringer gear and have found that they have improved significantly in quality in recent years. To date, I have never had an issue with any of their gear.

That said, now down to the unit itself. What can I say.... it is jam packed with features for a unit in this price range. Straight out of the well protected box, as is always the case with Thomann, this unit is big. It is aesthetically pleasing and is of a sturdy construction. It is very ergonomically well designed. All the buttons are very well located, feel good and respond well. The knobs feel a little cheap but function as intended. I find myself with my hand resting almost permanently on the massive Master Knob. Included are a USB cable for interface & firmware applications & an EU power cable. Thomann throw in a UK power cable free for countries that use this system of power such as Ireland.

Cons:
I have deducted 1 star as I would have liked to see Phantom 48v & also at least 1 XLR input for the interface applications. Also, on the Master Knob, the mark to show the current position is not visible from a seated position, something which has been mentioned in other reviews but should be easy to sort out for Behringer.

Pros:
Way to many to list. The amount of features is unbelievable in this price range. The build quality is surprising. It functions impeccably and will meet almost all requirements in any project, home or small/medium studio set up & it looks impressive.

If, like me, you are on a tight budget but require a unit that will allow your home or project set up grow with you, then this is the only controller you will ever need to purchase. I highly recommend! The next nearest rival is 2.5 times the price for almost no difference in features, functionality or ease of use. That and it, in my humble opinion, does not look as good as this unit.

Use
I bought this device to control 2 monitors
Focal alpha 8
Adam f7
This unit did it with this task perfectly.

Clarity
All was good until a certain point, namely: the volume knob began to wheeze.

Pros
- price VS features
- can work as a sound card via USB (very useful sometimes)
- up to 3 different monitor pairs
- 4 stereo inputs with independent level - I connected my electronic drums, pads and soundcard, and I had one more input for some reasons (for DJ staff with RCA, for example)


Cons
- the volume knob is not reliable


Total
A very convenient and versatile device for its price, but over time can fail

Edit: After just a few months of of use, all nobs are now cracking and hopping back and forth in level, as well as increasing the volume uneven for left and right. I wouldn't suggest this gear even to my worst enemy.

The phono preamp on this controller is so bad I wonder if the engineer that designed it either suffer from hearing imparement or never heard of the RIAA curve in the first place. while the midrange comes out correct, the 6000hz+ is almost 15dB too loud while the low range is lacking. I had to bypass the build in phono preamp and use the behringer ultra compact phono preamp to make this usable. so an extra device in the connection chain. TL;DR if you buy this with the idea of adding a record player to your setup, look elsewhere.