Signal levels.

[jamesperrett]

I've just taken my UCA222 apart and had a look at the input circuit. It looks like there's a small inductor then a 220 ohm resistor feeding a 22uF coupling capacitor in series with the input. There is also a 22k resistor from the input side of the coupling capacitor to ground. So I'm going to try a 22k resistor in series with each input to give around 6dB attenuation and I'll report back.

[red16v]

Originally Posted by Welsh Anorak

That's a co-incidence - I was just wrapping up a repair on an 862 when I saw your post! These cheap mixers - and their bigger Behringer friends - get a very bad press from many users. True, they certainly don't stand up to abuse but if used carefully in a home studio they will last well. Thrown in a flightcase after a lively gig - no.
They are good designs made with cheap components so that well-specced gear can be available to less well off users. Come to think of it, that was NAD's philosophy too.
Glyn

I have bought the Behringer Xenyx802 for £48 all up from Amazon. My first impression is that it will certainly do the job I want (and more if i wanted it to). Seems to be good value to me and as it will be staying firmly in my study I don't think build quality will be an issue.

I just need to find out more about tape shedding and squealing and I should be off and running!

[jamesperrett]

I've just made up a cable with a 22k resistor in series with the input which actually gives a 10dB reduction in signal level. This will be fine for those sources such as 12" singles or overdriven cassettes that are normally too loud but I've noticed a strange low level tone that varies between 800Hz and 1200Hz (even with no input connected) so it is probably better to use a standard cable for normal signal levels.

Red16v, as it looks like you are local I'd be happy to show you how I handle shedding tapes. Just send me a PM if you would like to come over some time.

[ricard]

Originally Posted by red16v

I have bought the Behringer Xenyx802 for £48 all up from Amazon. My first impression is that it will certainly do the job I want (and more if i wanted it to). Seems to be good value to me and as it will be staying firmly in my study I don't think build quality will be an issue.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy Behringer stuff for this type of setup, but my experiance with my Berhinger MX802 8 channel mixer was that it worked fine for 10 years, then odd things started to happen like low level hum on one of the channels. At that point I was upgrading my studio anyway so I didn't really care, but it has raised some doubts in my mind as to the lifespan of their products. It hadn't been used especially heavily either, certainly not moved around at all, and only used at the most a couple of hours a week on average.