Behringer MONITOR2USB Monitor Controller Reviews

Great piece of gear for my home studio! Feels very solidly built.You could probably pay $1000.00 more if you want to get a 1% or 2% benefit in sound quality, but there is nothing here not to like. Clean and clear sound, with no noise whatsoever at normal volume settings. If you turn it almost all the way up, you will start to hear a tiny bit of hiss, but that would be at 10 times the volume my ears could stand. My monitor system consists of a pair of Mackie HR28's and Audio Technica 50mx headphones, both processed differently with Sonarworks Ref ID. Using the MONITOR2, I can switch between the Mackies, and an AIWA home stereo system, which is connected to 2 sets of speakers, using a simple passive switching panel I got on Amazon. When I switch to the stereo system, I disable the Sonarworks, to get the unprocessed sound, to get a feel for translation to consumer sound. I use "ADPTR AB" plugin to hear reference tracks in my DAW, and I listen to my mixes and the reference mixes in all situations when I am finalizing my work... The headphone crossfeed function is pure genius, built right in, and works as well as the "Can Opener" plugin, and maybe better. I also love the fact that you can input USB or analog, or both. The front panel big knob feels very solid, and is detented. Love it! So well thought out. Behringer has always come up with products that I have thought up in my mind, and wondered why no one was making such a thing. Years ago, I stopped buying their products, due to poor sound quality and/or poor build quality. But I found that some of their products were quite excellent, and dependable,,,, and right about the time they bought out Midas, it seemed like the quality went way up. Hope this helps.

The only other thing I could find on the market that provided close to the same features was the Dangerous Source (which I actually used to own). No colouring of sound or anything. This unit is easily worth triple what they are charging.

This device really helps the small studio owner route and balance multiple inputs and outputs! I was disappointed that Studio One does not allow a different input and output device. However this box solves many other routing issues and frees up outputs on your board. As always Rob Amaral is an awesome consultant and continues to provide an extraordinary experience even when he is on vacation! Keep up the great work Rob!

I use this to bounce between 2 sets of monitors and a sub, as well as to get them all going at one time. The Monitor2USB is quiet, well made and perfectly designed for my needs. This is up another league entirely from Behringer's "min-mon800" in terms of performance construction & quality of components.

Sweetwater got it here in 2 days. Packaging was very good. Unit is heavy, well built and everything looked perfect. Hooked it up all balanced to my interface, two sets of monitors and a sub. Works great! Every button, knob and light works perfectly. No noise, no clicks, no problems of any kind. Sound is transparent. Tried both headphone outs and they also work perfectly. Pretty great product. And for the price, unbelievable!

This is a great option for quick switching monitors to ab your mixes. The best parts: 1. the usb option makes the routing easy. Additionally it"s nice that you also have the analog option. 2. A dedicated mono channel. 3. The crossfeed knob for headphones -gives a great spatial effect, and finally the hardware. 4. Build is strong and the parts used feel solid. I had some Behringer products in the past and can attest that sometimes you don"t know if it"s gonna last -often there is a reason why things are so cheap, but this is a big improvement in the quality,sound reproduction and functionality. I really recommended it as a great multi monitor option! I don"t write reviews usually but As a the fellow shopper, Sweetwater shoppers reviews are so helpful, I figure I should start contributing. Thanks to Kent -Sweetwater sales rep -for always making sure the customer is taken care and satisfied.

I was looking to get the Control2USB as a project studio monitor switcher, but the lack of XLRs on the unit made my cabling complicated. I use Ableton, and route my stereo signal out digitally through my Behringer x18 which only has XLR outs (well, apart from the headphone jack that is.) The X18 then went straight into my monitors which are also XLR in only. The issue became how to control the volume from the mixer if A) I wanted to mute the monitors and only play through headphones while doing microphone recordings or B) Control the mixer volume without having to fire up the ole' Kindle and use the software every time. Enter the Monitor2USB. The XLR I/O jacks are perfect for someone trying to keep their signal path as balanced as possible. The face plate doesn't have as many choices as the Control2USB, but I have never found myself needing anything more than what I have. The buttons have a tight, professional feel, as does the center VCA control knob. The unit is also VERY quiet. Both the VCA control and headphone outs are loud and full, and I do not notice any coloration to the signal at all. If I could have requested one change to the unit, it would have been designing XLR / 1/4 in. combo jacks into the back I/O panel instead of the the standard XLR only. I think that would have made this unit a 6 (The unit is still a 5 since it is perfect for what I need it for, but additional flexibility never hurts.) It really is worth the money.

I was looking for something to simply plug both sets of monitors in for referencing purposes and not have to run back and forth to the car to test mixes on. A simple purchase of a $16 mono computer speaker and this bad boy solved my problem immediately. I was worried with the purchase of a Behringer product because all I heard was "don't buy that, Behringer is trash, etc..." but I have to tell you, this is a phenomenal price of gear. It's great to be able to switch monitors at the flip of a button and also collapse the stereo field to mono immediately as well. The crossfeed feature for headphones is a nice touch, along with the two headphone jacks and dim switch. Don't let your sales associate pressure you into spending $500+ for a simple monitor controller when this is all you need! Of course they all own the high-end gear because of their ability to buy at cost but for normal customers, budget is sometimes considered and I don't think this controller is lacking or is simply "great for the price". It's great period. Compact, sleek and effective.

Like others, I have purchased Behringer in the past and it was garbage. The company has revitalized itself in the last 5 years and I now own both a X32 Rack + Monitor2USB unit.

I say "special use case" as I mainly use this as a master attenuator with interest in in LIVE playback only. This unit allows me to run my X32 at optimal level (near zero db) while controlling the overall sound in my bedroom music studio. I use this leveraging all 16 channels with a Motif-XF, Jupiter-80, Integra 7, sequencing, etc...

I can attenuate my overall room sound as well as lets my optimize my live sound setup to giving me a faithful sound whether the sound pressure is of a whisper, or stadium level sound.

Bottom Line: If you need a master attenuator with little to no color.....this is an amazing product.

this monitor controller is the best it always works great. will buy behringer again.

Great Product ...no coloring on the sound and the price is unbeatable

The Monitor2usb arrive I fast and work great. It is a beautiful and cost effectively way to change monitors when mixing. Thanks to Sweetwater and to Ikes Taylor for the great service and attention.

This is an excellent product. Perfect simplicity with straight forward features. I like the locking XLR connections on the back. The USB source works great with my MAC with no drivers to worry about. The DIM audio button is great for a quick volume reduction. The dual headphone amps are great with independent volume controls. The cross feed feature seems to be best used in its lower level settings to give you a nice subtle cross feed. The big volume knob is up front and ready to use. Works great with my active KRK Rokit monitor and sub system.

Super Clean and Noise Free Signal! I was a bit nervous about running my UAD Apollo twin thru the inputs for fear of the Monitor2USB adding coloration to the sound, but this unit is AMAZING and does what it's supposed to do at a fraction of the cost of some other models. The monitor/headphone outputs sound Great!. Nice job Behringer!

Great quality great knobs! no color! clean as can be

only thing it doesn’t have is a talkback or a mid side switch. but can’t beat it for the price. great knobs on it to!

works awesome no sound coloration !!!!!

Bought the Monitor2USB because I needed a 3 set speaker switching controller.
Never been a Behringer fan but I recently bought a single Beritone "Auratone" cube clone and was impressed.The reviews on the Monitor2USB were good and price was right so I took a chance.

I haven't used the analog inputs yet but the USB input sounds surprisingly good.
I wish there was some specs about the D to A in the manual. That and the headphone amp keep me from giving it 5 stars.The headphone amp isn't bad though.

The unit has a passive sound to me. I am guessing it isn't with the VCA vol. But sounds really good for the money.
I would not hesitate to recommend it to most audio people.

This is a great product!!! finally... I am able to control my monitor levels and they sounds great!!!! my signal levels are "finally" in peace ...there is not more weird noise, electrical humming coming out of from them!!!
I love the big knob; -great atenuator - I don't have to mess around any more my levels with RME Totalmix FX software!!! - as a monitor controllers; they work great for me,,,thanks!!!

The MONITOR2USB is quite a versatile offer from Behringer. Wish it would come in aluminum silver. It is sturdy on the outside, but the buttons have a "cheap" actuation feel to them. The main volume knob is decent and has ok granular control over the volume overall. There are two independent input sources and three possible controllable outputs in total, the 3rd one being just a mono centered channel. The physical inputs and outputs are strictly XLR only, unlike my Audient soundcard which has combo XLR and jack connections. Love the quality of the headphone preamps. The are fairly clean and "analog sounding", although they lack that super clinical and detailed reproduction of dedicated headphone preamps. The cross feed feature is really dumb. It equally feeds each channel content to each other with no regard to the actual cross feed phenomena while listening to a pair of live monitors: basically, it is a "mono" mix button. The price has increased $ since last year. Still, no other brand can touch what this one offers for the price. In fact, all the others are better in every category, but they be HUGE, awkward to place and quite expensive. I place My Audient Id14 on top of this thing and it is accessible and space saving. Will it last? Nothing I have ever owned from Behringer made it past 4-5 years, taking good care of it. But considering the price, I think it is quite amazing. Best thing was Sweetwater's professional staff that resolve my issue when it got delivered to my 12 year old address.

After my second Monitor station died in the middle of a session I needed something more reliable that wouldn't break the bank. My sales rep 'Jordan Dean' suggested this piece and I have no regrets.
While I miss the mute button and the built in headphone amp on the monitor station the work around was simple and affordable.
Good looking out Jordan!!!

I"m giving it 4 stars for all it does and it"s connectivity functionality, the headphone amplifier alone is great for high end headphones.
I"m deducting 1 star only because it records 16bit 48kHz and it"s latency struggles at anything below 128 samples.
But I solely use it as a monitor switcher, to which it give a clean signal and latency isn"t an issue. I have my Steinberg interface (through which I record my vocals and synths) feeding the MONITOR2USB with XLR, and Im able to easily switch between monitors with just a quick switch of a button.
It"s perfect for what it"s supposed to do. The lack luster usb interface is just extra icing.

Thanks Sweetwater for your excellent service. This Monitor controller works as described. Does not add any noise. I'm satisfied with my purchase!

I have never been a fan of Behringer products. I have to say that is no longer the case . When I get described my needs for a monitor station to my Sweetwater representative he suggested the Monitor2USB. I told him my concerns with the Behringer products and he assured me this was an excellent product. He was right, it does everything it says it does with absolutely no issues I was shocked what a great product for a great price this barons your product is very, very good. It was exactly what I needed the USB in his outstanding for reference material and I used one of the headphone outs into my existing headphone amp And now have 5 headphone outs, 2 monitor outs and the USB in for refefence material. Thanks for the recommendation Mike!

I love this product but I have an important criticism that I hope Behringer will fix and that could be significant for some users.
I have my DAW interface connected to Input 1 via XLR and my laptop connected to Input 2 via USB. I love this because it allows me to listen to my reference tracks on CD through my monitors without having to fire up my whole interface setup. It just sounds fantastic through my monitors and through my headphones with a little "crossfeed" engaged.
Here's the problem. In addition to my main monitors, I have a single powered Behritone speaker that I use for mono monitoring at times when mixing. (The other reason I needed this.) I initially connected this to the Monitor 3 output which is mono. I am disappointed to say that there is cross talk, leak, bleed, whatever you want to call it of signal through this 3rd output channel when it is not selected. This is a bummer! This does not happen at all with Monitor outputs 1 or 2. I actually sent my first Monitor2USB back to Sweetwater to try out a replacement but it does the same thing. Despite this, there's nothing out there that compares to the Monitor2USB at this price point, so I'm keeping it. I just run an XLR Y-cable from the Monitor 2 output to my Behritone, it works great with no sound bleed at all, and I'm happy enough.
When I read about this device, I understood that all 3 monitor outputs were designed for full spectrum output. However, my guess is that the mono Monitor 3 output was initially designed for a sub only; the sound bleed I'm hearing is higher frequency and probably would be absent in a low pass situation with a sub.
Again, I love this product; I wouldn't part with it. Hopefully, Behringer will fix this annoying little flaw.

This thing is just right! I just wanted a big volume knob and the ability to split my main outs to two systems (control room and live room). I will definitely make use of the extra phones outputs and the extra source input as well. Mono and Dim features are handy too. The crossfeed thing is interesting, but not sure if I'll use it. I do wish the numbers on the big volume knob would light up to indicate the knob's position, but then of course the price would have go up too so....

I totally dig this thing and the flexibility it gives me in such a tiny box. The thing that I question about it is the build quality. It may just be the one that I got but the main knob is super touchy. In just touching it, the volume will momentarily jump up and then drop back down. If i want to lower the volume just a little, when I go to turn the knob the same thing happens, it jumps up for just a second and then it'll go down as I turn the knob. It's not a huge problem, it's just a pain when I've got my monitors at a high level and get the blast in my face.

I've also noticed that when I have the volume turned all the way down, it'll still bleed through to my monitors.

For the price, I still really dig it but there are a few little things like this that make me wonder how long it will last.

I have had this device for a couple years now, and have had the same issue as Chris from Florida described. My speakers are at mid level even. Overall, it is a great device. So I'd put this at a Could-be-better star rating, as that issue can probably be improved in a future build or something.

Bottom line, it did solve my problem of having a device that can control volume to multiple devices, and needing a subwoofer output. Also the sound quality is superb.