Bamboszek
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2018
- Messages
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Lately I started looking at state of the art audio interfaces market. I'm especially interested at two or four channel devices.
Currently I'm using rather basic and cheap Audient iD4. Apart from only one mic preamp and recent issues connected with USB power at my motherboard it is solid piece of hardware. Because of that external power supply is highly preferred so USB power dropouts and freezes would be avoided.
Someday I want to upgrade to near field monitors such as Neumanns or Genelecs so currently I'm looking for worthy interface companion
Mainly used for playback. Apart from that sometimes interface gonna be used for DAW recording and maybe for measurements in pair with Autoranger.
Based at these three main goals I've chosen a few applicable options.
1. Reliable and future proof
2. Stable drivers with low latency
3. Reasonable analog performance of at least 100dB SINAD at both A/D and D/A
(Link to spreadsheet)
Note that specifications come from manufacturers manuals. I consider them as serious companies and believe they are more or less accurate.
RME was my first idea. Company support longevity and their driver stability is almost legendary. Analog performance is decent but not best. I don't really like that form factor but this is smaller issue. Basic DSP such as channel routing.
Antelope and Universal Audio both are highly regarded at professional market and offers advanced DSP effects such as emulation of guitar amplifiers or console preamps.
Twin X looks almost perfect but can be connected to PC only with TB3. This means no AMD based PCs - only Intel with expensive TB3 equipped motherboard. A bit expensive side.
MOTU M4 offers excellent analog performance, especially considering it's price. Unfortunately there are some reports that drivers are unstable and there is no external power supply. Focusrite Clarett 2Pre USB and MOTU UltraLite mk4 are other options but I'm not sure about drivers too.
Apogee Duet specs looks very good but IMHO breakout cable is unacceptable in terms of ergonomics and reliability.
There is also Prism Sound Lyra 1 (yeah, same Prism Sound which manufactures audio analyzers) which is ridiculously expensive.
Any other ideas or suggestions?
Currently I'm using rather basic and cheap Audient iD4. Apart from only one mic preamp and recent issues connected with USB power at my motherboard it is solid piece of hardware. Because of that external power supply is highly preferred so USB power dropouts and freezes would be avoided.
Someday I want to upgrade to near field monitors such as Neumanns or Genelecs so currently I'm looking for worthy interface companion
Mainly used for playback. Apart from that sometimes interface gonna be used for DAW recording and maybe for measurements in pair with Autoranger.
Based at these three main goals I've chosen a few applicable options.
1. Reliable and future proof
2. Stable drivers with low latency
3. Reasonable analog performance of at least 100dB SINAD at both A/D and D/A
(Link to spreadsheet)
Note that specifications come from manufacturers manuals. I consider them as serious companies and believe they are more or less accurate.
RME was my first idea. Company support longevity and their driver stability is almost legendary. Analog performance is decent but not best. I don't really like that form factor but this is smaller issue. Basic DSP such as channel routing.
Antelope and Universal Audio both are highly regarded at professional market and offers advanced DSP effects such as emulation of guitar amplifiers or console preamps.
Twin X looks almost perfect but can be connected to PC only with TB3. This means no AMD based PCs - only Intel with expensive TB3 equipped motherboard. A bit expensive side.
MOTU M4 offers excellent analog performance, especially considering it's price. Unfortunately there are some reports that drivers are unstable and there is no external power supply. Focusrite Clarett 2Pre USB and MOTU UltraLite mk4 are other options but I'm not sure about drivers too.
Apogee Duet specs looks very good but IMHO breakout cable is unacceptable in terms of ergonomics and reliability.
There is also Prism Sound Lyra 1 (yeah, same Prism Sound which manufactures audio analyzers) which is ridiculously expensive.
Any other ideas or suggestions?