Lynx Hilo 2 Audio Interface Review

[daniboun]

Seems to be built like a tank )
Reminds me the Benchmark LA4

 

[Snafu]

six different fonts on the face plate... + display and lighted button

 

[mash]

Hard pass on the driver issues alone. If they are ancient and buggy now, that will only get worse down the road until your expensive ADC become useless...although it does look like it could be used as a good doorstop.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

It is one of those pro boxes you buy to show. Weiss would be another entry in that category. Wonder how this would compare to the latest ADI-2/4 pro se, which has not been measured yet but supposedly should measure better than the ADI-2 pro. Voted "not terrible" because of driver and price.

 

[Sokel]

It absolutely has ASIO drivers for any modern PC to use.
And it also absolutely does it over the top, its price just reflects the quality, any support over the years, etc.

Thanks Amir!

 

[dfuller]

Re: the price,

Lynx has exceedingly long term support just like RME does. Part of my decision to buy a Lynx interface (I use an Aurora(n) 8) is that it will still be supported in a decade. They're also doing their manufacturing in the US instead of offshoring it. They're also built incredibly well.

Think Benchmark more than Topping, and it'll start to make sense.

 

[alekksander]

it's a looker too!

 

[Bacchusoo7]

This is aimed at recording professionals, right? Mac is still king in that world. Windows drivers are a far second because most of their market doesn't use Windows.

Just get a Mac mini for the bench for whenever you test pro audio gear and save yourself countless hours of hassle.

 

[Oukkidoukki]

This line from Lynx was widely used by mastering engineers some years ago. Many songs you listen have been captured by this so great results doesn’t suprise me. My attention was elevated when I saw the review because of this. Thankfully it did not dissapoint.

 

[SuicideSquid]

This is aimed at recording professionals, right? Mac is still king in that world. Windows drivers are a far second because most of their market doesn't use Windows.

Just get a Mac mini for the bench for whenever you test pro audio gear and save yourself countless hours of hassle.

It's a coin flip whether you're going to find Mac or PC in any given professional or prosumer recording studio. If it's a logic-based system it'll be Mac. Protools it's a tossup, Reaper PC or Linux. The idea that recording professionals are all on Mac is about 25 years out of date. And every piece of hardware I've used in this space has robust drivers for PC and for Mac.

 

[xanalog]

Thank you for the review, @amirm,

We are almost there for a hi-end consumer version, at a more affordable price though.
This one, unfortunately, ignores the need for eARC input, built-in WiFi and digital PEQ.

Then, it would deserve the name "Audio Interface", like the old pre/Proc separates.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Thank you for the review, @amirm,

We are almost there for a hi-end consumer version, at a more affordable price though.
This one, unfortunately, ignores the need for eARC input, built-in WiFi and digital PEQ.

Then, it would deserve the name "Audio Interface", like the old pre/Proc separates.

I think you may be misunderstanding what this device is. It does not need Wifi, eARC or PEQ. It's not a preamplifier, it's a professional ADC/DAC converter for recording studios and live applications.

 

[amirm]

It absolutely has ASIO drivers for any modern PC to use.

Well, you wouldn't know it from the company's support website:

It is clear that you are a second class citizen if you don't use Thunderbolt or PCIe. And while the driver for those mentions ASIO, it doesn't for plane Windows at the bottom.

I also don't understand how a stand-alone box like this can have PCIe interface.

 

[Josh83]

Does anyone know what chip this uses?

 

[Sokel]

Well, you wouldn't know it from the company's support website:
View attachment 473203

It is clear that you are a second class citizen if you don't use Thunderbolt or PCIe. And while the driver for those mentions ASIO, it doesn't for plane Windows at the bottom.

I also don't understand how a stand-alone box like this can have PCIe interface.

It's confusing because the input cards usually used for studio is not the LT-USB like the unit you tested but the ones who are uping its I/O to 16 channels, and that's also one of its big strengths, is highly configurable.

Like this one (tested on sound on sound)

It makes more sense for pro use, specially the Dante card.

 

[peniku8]

I think you may be misunderstanding what this device is. It does not need Wifi, eARC or PEQ. It's not a preamplifier, it's a professional ADC/DAC converter for recording studios and live applications.

I would argue that it should have PEQ (especially at this price point). Like with some of the newer RME interfaces, it's extremely nice to have roomEQ and or headphone EQ directly on the interface, especially with a nice headphone amplifier like that.

 

[Sokel]

Well, you wouldn't know it from the company's support website:

It can also be used completely stand alone:

In general, is a highly regarded interface, and apart from performance, versatility is one of the reasons.
It has a very extensive manual and even trimpots for reference-grade calibration.

 

[fin]

Thanks for the review! Saw this picture on their manual, I really like the front screen, real-time analyzer and VU meters. It's really nice to have, but also with some real cost...

 

[Ra1zel]

This device exists in this strange realm where it offers quite a lot but at the same time doesnt offer enough.

 

[Sokel]

Thanks for the review! Saw this picture on their manual, I really like the front screen, real-time analyzer and VU meters. It's really nice to have, but also with some real cost...View attachment 473200

View attachment 473210

The screen's main, useful value is when used standalone, you can access everything there this way.