Pls recommend USB audio interface under 200

[hankg]

Under $200, latency, input for guitar or bass (in addition to line in and mic), stability and decent sound are my priorities. I would prefer 2x2, with 2 DI in, midi and USB-C.

I have a Lenovo legion 5 laptop, with a Ryzen 7, 16G (no thunderbolt), running reaper and really hope to get latency down enough to monitor live with a few low-latency plugins.

Additional info, if it helps
I gather I should really try for a unit that has a proper aiso driver instead of aiso4all due to latency, considering I want to monitor wet, but I can't tell who just provides aiso4all drivers.

I'm also not clear on what latency is OK - I see really contradictory claims (4msec is awful vs under 12 is imperceptible) - and can't just see for myself until I have an interface. Any thoughts?

I do know for low latency I really should record dry, but that's hard with some of the stuff I play - and I have no outboard effects or amp after I lost most of my gear a while ago. I finally have an electric guitar, laptop and a little nux mighty plug practice headphone amp.

Thanks for any input.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Motu and Focusrite are the leading brands. Measure well and fulfill your latency requirements. Plenty of models to choose from. But not USB C, but why is this a requirement for you?

I have a Focusrite 4i4 and use it to play guitar, keyboard and with Ableton Live Suite.

 

[Cocokola]

I just purchased a MOTU m4, my only complaint is it doesn't have software controllable preamps. It has USB c so no power supply is needed.
The sound quality is closer to the Midas Pro (blue) preamps that I used for decades in pro audio. It has far superior specs than the Focusrite - although rumor has it due to chip shortage Focusright is redesigning new versions.

 

[Matthias McCready]

Perception of latency is quite dependent on the musician; realistically as long as you are under 10ms you are probably fine, few people can notice less than that. All digital systems have some amount of latency.

Another helpful way to think of latency is that roughly 1ms = 1ft. So if you have played electric with an amp that is 10ft away from you have been bothered by the "latency?" 10ft doesn't bother me, 20ft I started to notice, 30ft is weird, and 60ft is actively difficult (I have to focus on what my hands are doing vs what I am hearing).

Point being is, I wouldn't worry too much about latency; it shouldn't be an issue for interfaces. Also plugin processing time/DAW buffer times would be the latency consideration here, rather than the hardware; that is quite dependent on your computers processor specs and how much you are throwing at it.

For $200 (or under) you are going to be purchasing a product in that price category; roughly they will all have similar features and quality. The good news is that these days most inexpensive interfaces sound quite decent.

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Also if this will ever be part of a live setup (playing a gig rather than recording/practicing at home) might I recommend purchasing a Radial USB-Pro? If you purchase from a good dealer they are available for south of $200, which is cheaper than purchasing an inexpensive interface and a DI separately. They are rock solid, require no drivers, have headphone output (to check that it is spitting out signal), and go straight to XLR. This is also a more robust chassis than most interfaces. I have seen many interfaces die from being thrown around in backpacks and such.