Hi! I was looking at three interfaces – ID14 MKII, M4 and Clarett+ 2 Pre – for purposes of recording vocals/guitars and listening through headphones with low (ER4SR) and high (in the future) impedance, on a MacBook. Durability is important, as I would like to keep such an interface for many years. After some readings, I have come to the following conclusions:
- The Clarett+ 2 Pre offers an overall complete package with great pre-amps. A review of the previous model showed its headphone output has power and fairly low impedance, but also crosstalk, noise and balance issues, which may be either present or not in the new model. Its price is significantly the highest in the group.
- The M4 seems to be the best middle-ground interface with an affordable price, but I have seen that its headphone output is very weak with both low/high impedance headphones.
- The ID14 MKII presents good features for an affordable price and its headphone output has plenty of power, but also a high impedance (22 ohms) that makes it not suitable for the ER4SR. It also cannot be used in a standalone fashion with wall power, unlike the other two interfaces.
- Has the revision of the ID14 MKII with new chips changed anything regarding the headphone output impedance? If not, would it give me very audible issues with low-impedance headphones (e.g. ER4SR at 45 ohms)?
- Given the absence of standalone functions, does the ID14 MKII need a computer with the Audient software opened every time I want to use it?
- Is the headphone output of the M4 really so weak that I may feel not having sufficient listening volume with certain headphones?
- Given these concerns, could the price of the Clarett+ 2 Pre (at least double that of the ID14 MKII) be justified, especially if the problems with the headphone output of the previous version have been solved?