Behringer U-Control UCA202

This is a cheap entry level DAC and does look a bit flimsy. The USB lead is hard wired which is a shame as the possibility of using a filtered lead is not an option. On the plus side the DAC is plug and play and no additional drivers or software is required. Audio quality from the phono output sockets is very good and I have looked at the output on my oscilloscope so can confirm that the frequency response is flat throughout the audio range. Channel balance is good and the signal to noise ration is more than acceptable for home studio use. The headphone output is weak and does not drive my Sennheiser HD530's very well at all. The output distorts if the volume is turned up anything more than can be described as 'quiet' The ADC side of the UCA202 is unfortunately featureless, sound quality is good but there is no way to adjust the record level which means that you need to control the level going into the UCA202 to avoid clipping or noise. I feel that an adjustable gain pot either in software of on the UCA202 itself would make the unti far more useable.

In conclusion. You get what you pay for, sound quality is good but the unit looks flimsy and lacks features. The headphone output was lacking output power.

I always have a spare UCA202 with me.
I use this as main output when DJing with a MIDI-controller, or when playing background tunes from a computer without a good soundcard.

Pros:
Soundquality is great. I see no reason to buy another DAC. No noticeable coloration if your electrical environment is clean.
Headphone amp is surprisingly good, probably serviceable for < 100 ohm headphones. But get a "main" headphone amp if you're serious.
Cons:
- USB isolation is not very good, and ground hum from other devices connected to your computer often sneaks through. This is solved by properly grounding your equipment, or probably by applying a DI-box to the output.
- Plastic chassi - be careful.
- No gain adjustment on in or output. I find I get the best sound if I software limit the output to about 90%.

The U-Control comes along in a pretty cheap silver plastic dress.
As it connects via chinch and minijack (+SPDIF) it is more an external usb soundcard than a musicians audiointerface. But connected to an analogue mixing desk it performs better than many onboard sound devices. I used it for two years as part of a low budget homestudio. It did a good job compared to built-in-mainboard soundcards. In a race against medium price range usb interfaces (100-150€) it has no chance in sound quality. Besides that it was always pretty hard to keep recording levels in a good range to prevent distortion. Having the price in mind it is worth the money. Keeping the sound in mind it is worth to spend more.

At the moment I´m using it at my office computer to listen to music. It´s doing nice here.