Best Audio Interface for Sennheiser HD 600 650 6XX for Music Production, Mixing, and Mastering - Replace MOTU M4?

[designfx]

In any case, I'm still planning on testing some more options and I'll figure out a new plan.

Update time, for what it's worth. I did test several portable interfaces in a very subjective and unscientific way (I did not have time to do proper blind tests with help from a friend). In short, I ended up going with the RME Babyface Pro FS after hours of listening to quality masters I'm very familiar with.

I am not surprised at the result, since I've used other RME gear in the studio for years, but for portable stuff I usually opted for cheaper interfaces. But in this case, the time had come for me to go RME for portable stuff too. The headphone amp and conversion quality overall, for my preferences and needs, on the Babyface Pro FS, was IMO the best of the bunch compared to various portable interfaces from Steinberg, Zoom, Audient, and of course the MOTU M4, which started this trip down a rabbit hole. Again, all subjective.

I did not compare side-by-side with the MOTU UltraLite mk5 or the Black Lion Audio stuff that I had been considering before, for various reasons, although if the Babyface had let me down, then I would have ordered the UltraLite next. The BLA stuff was always a long shot based on reviews I've read, but I had been willing to try it out if I ran out of options. The Revolution 6x6 is particularly interesting to me due to the OTG port and streaming possibilities, so I may still look into that for a different project in the future. But for the purposes of this thread, the Babyface is the right solution for me.

I also did not yet test a separate headphone amp, but I'm planning to buy one anyway. Thanks again to various folks in this and other threads that have made suggestions. I'm currently looking at the Topping L30II and the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 as options, either one would be a nice addition to my tools.

Anyway, once I had tested the Babyface Pro FS, I was pretty much satisfied. And on top of that, as expected, the RTL dropped noticeably in my laptop DAW at similar load/usage levels on the same projects, and the DAW's performance meter was also slightly more stable with the RME driver than with the MOTU driver at low latencies. So it's a win-win for me, despite the added cost.

So to wrap up, I may still keep the MOTU M4 around for a third DAW or as a backup emergency interface. It did perform better than the other portable interfaces I tested in several other areas that matter to me, so it's still got some good value for me. For the price, after comparing to similar priced interfaces, the MOTU M4 is still a good option to have around for someone like me, despite the shortcomings.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts, and for this forum in general! It's a great resource for sure! Kudos to the long-time contributors and admin(s)!

 

[BoysRBackinTown]

Update time, for what it's worth. I did test several portable interfaces in a very subjective and unscientific way (I did not have time to do proper blind tests with help from a friend). In short, I ended up going with the RME Babyface Pro FS after hours of listening to quality masters I'm very familiar with.

I am not surprised at the result, since I've used other RME gear in the studio for years, but for portable stuff I usually opted for cheaper interfaces. But in this case, the time had come for me to go RME for portable stuff too. The headphone amp and conversion quality overall, for my preferences and needs, on the Babyface Pro FS, was IMO the best of the bunch compared to various portable interfaces from Steinberg, Zoom, Audient, and of course the MOTU M4, which started this trip down a rabbit hole. Again, all subjective.

I did not compare side-by-side with the MOTU UltraLite mk5 or the Black Lion Audio stuff that I had been considering before, for various reasons, although if the Babyface had let me down, then I would have ordered the UltraLite next. The BLA stuff was always a long shot based on reviews I've read, but I had been willing to try it out if I ran out of options. The Revolution 6x6 is particularly interesting to me due to the OTG port and streaming possibilities, so I may still look into that for a different project in the future. But for the purposes of this thread, the Babyface is the right solution for me.

I also did not yet test a separate headphone amp, but I'm planning to buy one anyway. Thanks again to various folks in this and other threads that have made suggestions. I'm currently looking at the Topping L30II and the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 as options, either one would be a nice addition to my tools.

Anyway, once I had tested the Babyface Pro FS, I was pretty much satisfied. And on top of that, as expected, the RTL dropped noticeably in my laptop DAW at similar load/usage levels on the same projects, and the DAW's performance meter was also slightly more stable with the RME driver than with the MOTU driver at low latencies. So it's a win-win for me, despite the added cost.

So to wrap up, I may still keep the MOTU M4 around for a third DAW or as a backup emergency interface. It did perform better than the other portable interfaces I tested in several other areas that matter to me, so it's still got some good value for me. For the price, after comparing to similar priced interfaces, the MOTU M4 is still a good option to have around for someone like me, despite the shortcomings.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts, and for this forum in general! It's a great resource for sure! Kudos to the long-time contributors and admin(s)!

This is my interface and I agree. It also had one of the best and most intuitive pieces of native routing software in the business which is almost worth it by itself. M4 is still the best at budget but the engineering of the Babyface is a step above it. Wish I could do more with the FPGA stuff but I feel like that’d be good in a product update.