Audio Interface Suitable for Measurements

[Inertiaman]

Revisiting this thread in 2024 . . .

Is there something more recent than the E-mu 0202 / 0404 which folks would recommend for a low budget USB interface that would be suitable for modest component measurements with REW?

My needs/preferences:
- budget $50-200, more than happy to acquire used or new
- USB-C rather than USB-A would be convenient, but not critical
- might use it for digitizing the audio from some old cassette and reel-to-reel tapes (handful of live band mixes from 80's, so xfer fidelity not critical)
- primary use as a front-end to REW to measure electronics. Nothing at the level of performance/detail here on ASR. Rather, some fairly basic measurements to help pass/fail some used amps and pre-amps, aid in debugging if I attempt repairs, measure crossovers, etc
- the absolute first project will be to measure a KEF Kube active "processor" (for 103/3 speakers) so I can emulate its freq response using a 4 band PEQ and get the Kube out of the signal chain on that system

E-mu 0202 and 0404 are still available on eBay/etc, but they are getting ~ 15 years old and I've got to believe something better has come along at this price point?

I know a few hours of internet rabbit hole could probably bring me the answer, but I'm hoping to get some candidates here w/ less effort!

EDIT: several used/mint Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for sale locally for $70-90. Any reason to avoid these? Amir's test/review indicated decent performance, and they have an INST switch to adjust gain/impedance for connecting a probe (? my guess) rather than typical line signals, which I presume would be necessary if using to measure things inside an amp.

Also see an ESI Amber i1 for $115 new, very recent product which should be able to leverage newer chips, but not sure it it has things like the INST function above.

 

[AnalogSteph]

If about a -100 dB THD+N will do, there are various audio interfaces that are squeezing about all there is to be had out of their respective codecs in terms of line inputs and outputs. Tascam US-2x2HR (CS4272), Topping Professional E2x2 (presumably AK4621) and the Universal Audio Volt series (CS4272) come to mind. Should be roughly the same ballpark as the EMUs (though their ADC is a tad bit better and the 0404 also had a better DAC).

If you need something to clearly trounce a 0404 USB, you'd have to blow your budget and go with a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th gen (CS43198 + CS5381) or MOTU M4 (ES9026PRO + ES9840). These are about as much as a 0404 USB would be when adjusted for inflation (which in USD adds up to about +50% since 2007).

 

[Inertiaman]

If about a -100 dB THD+N will do, there are various audio interfaces that are squeezing about all there is to be had out of their respective codecs in terms of line inputs and outputs. Tascam US-2x2HR (CS4272), Topping Professional E2x2 (presumably AK4621) and the Universal Audio Volt series (CS4272) come to mind. Should be roughly the same ballpark as the EMUs (though their ADC is a tad bit better and the 0404 also had a better DAC).

If you need something to clearly trounce a 0404 USB, you'd have to blow your budget and go with a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th gen (CS43198 + CS5381) or MOTU M4 (ES9026PRO + ES9840). These are about as much as a 0404 USB would be when adjusted for inflation (which in USD adds up to about +50% since 2007).

Thanks for the suggestions, that helps a lot.

Any reason that a 4th Gen Scarlett 2i2 wouldn't suffice? Same performance as 4i4 and sufficient functionality (two line inputs) for my needs? Or am I missing something functionally between the two?

 

[audio_tony]

Revisiting this thread in 2024 . . .

Is there something more recent than the E-mu 0202 / 0404 which folks would recommend for a low budget USB interface that would be suitable for modest component measurements with REW?

My needs/preferences:
- budget $50-200, more than happy to acquire used or new
- USB-C rather than USB-A would be convenient, but not critical
- might use it for digitizing the audio from some old cassette and reel-to-reel tapes (handful of live band mixes from 80's, so xfer fidelity not critical)
- primary use as a front-end to REW to measure electronics. Nothing at the level of performance/detail here on ASR. Rather, some fairly basic measurements to help pass/fail some used amps and pre-amps, aid in debugging if I attempt repairs, measure crossovers, etc
- the absolute first project will be to measure a KEF Kube active "processor" (for 103/3 speakers) so I can emulate its freq response using a 4 band PEQ and get the Kube out of the signal chain on that system

E-mu 0202 and 0404 are still available on eBay/etc, but they are getting ~ 15 years old and I've got to believe something better has come along at this price point?

I know a few hours of internet rabbit hole could probably bring me the answer, but I'm hoping to get some candidates here w/ less effort!

EDIT: several used/mint Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for sale locally for $70-90. Any reason to avoid these? Amir's test/review indicated decent performance, and they have an INST switch to adjust gain/impedance for connecting a probe (? my guess) rather than typical line signals, which I presume would be necessary if using to measure things inside an amp.

Also see an ESI Amber i1 for $115 new, very recent product which should be able to leverage newer chips, but not sure it it has things like the INST function above.

Here's some good suggestions.

Hardware and Sound cards for audio measurement

Hardware and Sound cards for audio measurement

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