Advice on audio interface in the 500€-700€ range

[Breccanecca]

Hi everyone,

Long time forum reader but first time posting. I think I need some advice as I am looking for a new interface for music production, but the scarce availability of most products is making my choice pretty difficult.

I’m on a Windows 10 Ryzen system, and I need 2 inputs with preamps as a minimum (appreciated optional would be independent line inputs for synths). My budget can get up to 700 euros, but for that I’d like a solution where in particular I have a good headphone output. I have recently returned a Motu M4 as I couldn’t manage to make it stable on my system whatever the tweak, so I have sort of excluded M2 and Ultralite MK5 as I think the drivers are all from the same generation.

Given such premises, my choice was going to fall probably on a Babyface pro fs, but unfortunately it is not available anywhere right now (at least in Europe). At the moment my eyes are on the new Clarett+ (also unavailable but hopefully they’ll come by sooner than the RMEs), or alternatively on a Tascam 4x4hr. I think with both of these I’ll probably need an headphone amp, as they seem not to have the greatest headphone out. Audient seem very good on paper, but on forum threads there seem to be a number of people complaining about driver issues or other failures. I know it's a biased sample but I'm a bit scared.

Is there some other interface I’m missing or something I should bear in mind about the options above? What kind of headphone amp would would you suggest (at the moment considering Schiit - also hard to find in Europe right now - and JDS but open to suggestions)?

Thank you

 

[Rizzle]

Audient ID14 Mk. II, I know plenty of people that run it (at least other Audient models) on a Ryzen (2600 or 3600) with Win 10 without driver issues. That might not help you, just anecdotal evidence, but you could always try it out.

 

[AnalogSteph]

This one may not be easy. The Arturia Audiofuse v2 is also 6-8 weeks out, not sure about Apogee Duet (might be working better on a Mac), and Audient iD44 not only is 9-12 weeks out but doesn't have the loudest or lowest-impedance headphone out in the lineup either (iD4/14 MkII are hard to beat unfortunately, but are lacking enough inputs). The US-4x4HR obviously isn't in the same league converter wise but would be a really decent piece of kit nonetheless; likewise a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. (Not like I think there is much wrong with the trusty CS4272, I'll take its ADC over an AK555x any day unless you specifically need >~108 dB(A) worth of dynamic range. What we gained in converter performance and latency we lost in antialias filter design.)

Our choices among good inexpensive mains-powered headphone amps are a bit limited but e.g. a Topping L30 would get the job done (Audiophonics have it in stock; the more expensive L50 or A50s are also available on Amazon). The EU version Atom Amp only crops up once in a while and then sells out fairly quickly. Schiit Magni amps have not been sighted in a good while.

I'm just afraid that you might end up running into much the same issues that you found with the M2 when using another interface. Ryzen systems are notorious for USB issues, and if for example you have a B450 board you would be well-advised to be using an up-to-date BIOS.

 

[Breccanecca]

Audient ID14 Mk. II, I know plenty of people that run it (at least other Audient models) on a Ryzen (2600 or 3600) with Win 10 without driver issues. That might not help you, just anecdotal evidence, but you could always try it out.

Thank you, Rizzle, that's indeed encouraging, I may just try these Audient out and see how they fit in my system.

 

[Breccanecca]

This one may not be easy. The Arturia Audiofuse v2 is also 6-8 weeks out, not sure about Apogee Duet (might be working better on a Mac), and Audient iD44 not only is 9-12 weeks out but doesn't have the loudest or lowest-impedance headphone out in the lineup either (iD4/14 MkII are hard to beat unfortunately, but are lacking enough inputs). The US-4x4HR obviously isn't in the same league converter wise but would be a really decent piece of kit nonetheless; likewise a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. (Not like I think there is much wrong with the trusty CS4272, I'll take its ADC over an AK555x any day unless you specifically need >~108 dB(A) worth of dynamic range. What we gained in converter performance and latency we lost in antialias filter design.)

Our choices among good inexpensive mains-powered headphone amps are a bit limited but e.g. a Topping L30 would get the job done (Audiophonics have it in stock; the more expensive L50 or A50s are also available on Amazon). The EU version Atom Amp only crops up once in a while and then sells out fairly quickly. Schiit Magni amps have not been sighted in a good while.

I'm just afraid that you might end up running into much the same issues that you found with the M2 when using another interface. Ryzen systems are notorious for USB issues, and if for example you have a B450 board you would be well-advised to be using an up-to-date BIOS.

Thank you very much, AnalogSteph, I secretly hoped to get your take on this, as in the last few months I've read a number of very informed posts you wrote on here.

What you say about Ryzen systems is very true... It is encouraging for me that at the moment I am managing to run a Zoom R8 as an interface in UAC2.0 mode without any issue, but I did experience the notorious USB issues in the past on this system, and it took some tweaking and a BIOS update to sort them out. Also, some of this tweaking took place after I returned the M4, so who knows, maybe it could even work now.

I'm a bit worried about the Audient interfaces for issues relating to drivers and general reliability (I was told PSUs are not very good but I actually lack the knowledge to assess these claims...), but the 2 line-ins requirement is not something I couldn't do without (most days I use just my soft synths anyway), so I may eventually just try one of those out.
Do you have any thought on the new Clarett+? Independent reviews seem quite positive, the only real issue being the headphone amp (referring in particular to the review on prosound.ixbt).

Thanks also for the advice on headphone amps. There are some EU Atom+ on Italian Amazon at the moment, would you go for one of them or an L30? Price is basically the same.

Thanks again!

 

[AnalogSteph]

I'm a bit worried about the Audient interfaces for issues relating to drivers and general reliability (I was told PSUs are not very good but I actually lack the knowledge to assess these claims...)

Most reliability problems I'm aware of were with the iD22, which seemed to have issues with one electrolytic cap that was either of bad quality or plain inadequately sized. Other than that they seem to be doing OK.

Do you have any thought on the new Clarett+? Independent reviews seem quite positive, the only real issue being the headphone amp (referring in particular to the review on prosound.ixbt).

Having an NJM4556A still beats the lowly NJM8565 in the gen3 Scarletts by a country mile (that actually is seriously lame for a headphone out and their biggest weak spot)... at least you're getting half an O2 output stage's worth.

The Clarett+ seems fine... I have no issues with the converters used (CS5381 + 2x CS43198), but the opamp complement is rather on the bread and butter side of things for the price, resulting in rather so-so IMD (swept) results... NJM5532s, some NJM8565s, mic pres are THAT1583 (expected EIN ~-129 dBu(A) as specified). The upside is that enterprising users equipped with soldering iron and hot air gun should find an upgrade path for measured performance. I'm sure it'll sound fine either way, the only upgrade potentially audible would be going for THAT1580s as those would be pushing EIN from merely good to first-rate.

The option of running an interface of this caliber entirely on bus power (provided a 15 W capable USB-C port is available) is definitely nice to have, though I imagine many may still opt to use the external power supply in order to conserve some of the host system's battery power.