Hi,
I just tested my new UMC1820 and at the first use, the sound from the headphones was not good... Lot of noise... Same with the inputs... When turning the gain knobs, there is a lot of hiss/noise coming..... I have to find a good position to avoid the bad sound.... So I tried to engage the pad and the sound becoming really better to my ears... And after some time of use, the sound of the headphones becoming better too.... But I don't have to push it too lood if I don't want lot of noise...

So is it possible that the converters needs some "warm up" time because they are new or something like that?? And is it right to engage the pads to have less noise?? I use synths.

I also have a Focusrite 18i8 2nd gen and the sound is really better for the moment...

Thank you for answer, Michael. And other users of this UMC1820...