RME Babyface Pro FS Portable Interface Review

[Bern]

Tanks for the input,

I used Pro FS with 2 Windows laptop, never have any issue with powering Pro FS from USB bus alone. so far it is stable.
For recording my tweak is only set the ASIO buffer size to 256 samples to lower the round trip latency for overdubbing the vocal.
For my In-Ear Monitor measurement setup which I also use Pro FS, I powered the Pro FS externally using a series for 3x 18650 batteries which provides around 10-12.6 Volts. Pro FS has been stable on both scenarios of USB powered or externally powered.

This is the battery case that I use to power Pro FS externally, last very long for I think more than 10 hours. Haven't really measure how long, but from experience I think more than 10 hours.

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My main complain with Pro FS is some of the gain steps are fake steps and doesn't really change the gain. For example, I set the IN1 gain to 20 dB. monitor the level. When I increase the gain to 21 dB, level doesn't change. When I increase again to 22 dB, then the level increased by 2 dB. So the 21 dB gain is fake gain step that actually doesn't do anything. This is just an example, I don't remember exactly which are all the fake gain steps. But I found it quite often when I use Pro FS for measurement.

Thanks for the input, Earfonia.

When you say that you never had any issue with powering Pro FS from USB bus alone, were your laptops plugged in or running on battery?

The idea of using an external battery for the RME is a good one. Those are sure handy in some situations. That said, I figure that if I end up plugging in my Macbook, it will give enough stable power to the RME.

Interesting point about the gain steps. I'm not at the point of recording yet—I'm still working on upgrading/updating everything in my new setup—but I'll keep an eye on that when the time comes.

 

[MC_RME]

My main complain with Pro FS is some of the gain steps are fake steps and doesn't really change the gain. For example, I set the IN1 gain to 20 dB. monitor the level. When I increase the gain to 21 dB, level doesn't change. When I increase again to 22 dB, then the level increased by 2 dB. So the 21 dB gain is fake gain step that actually doesn't do anything. This is just an example, I don't remember exactly which are all the fake gain steps. But I found it quite often when I use Pro FS for measurement.

There are no 'fake' gain steps. You might have seen this effect when measuring noise. The used preamp controller from That includes click suppression on gain change. Without a signal (only noise) the gain change might not happen, but will as soon as a signal is back.

You might check that functionality again.

If you still find this effect with a sine at 'normal' level, please tell me all details (driver, firmware, OS, exact model).

 

[Blumlein 88]

I haven't experienced the gain problem with the one I have doing measurements. I use it on both Mac and Windows 10.

 

[Earfonia]

Tanks for the input,

Thanks for the input, Earfonia.

When you say that you never had any issue with powering Pro FS from USB bus alone, were your laptops plugged in or running on battery?

The idea of using an external battery for the RME is a good one. Those are sure handy in some situations. That said, I figure that if I end up plugging in my Macbook, it will give enough stable power to the RME.

Interesting point about the gain steps. I'm not at the point of recording yet—I'm still working on upgrading/updating everything in my new setup—but I'll keep an eye on that when the time comes.

Both. I often run on laptop battery, never have any problem with power instability on Babyface Pro FS. I have Babyface Pro as well and never have power issue on both in all kind of setup I've tried.

 

[Earfonia]

There are no 'fake' gain steps. You might have seen this effect when measuring noise. The used preamp controller from That includes click suppression on gain change. Without a signal (only noise) the gain change might not happen, but will as soon as a signal is back.

You might check that functionality again.

If you still find this effect with a sine at 'normal' level, please tell me all details (driver, firmware, OS, exact model).

Hi! I did some test today to show you the fake gain steps.
Test setup: OUT3 (3.5mm headphone output) >>> IN1 (XLR input)
I use REW generator to generate 200Hz tone at OUT3 and REW level meter to monitor the effect of the gain steps.

Setup:

I increased the gain by 1 dB, as you can see in the video below, the gain only take effect every 3 dB:

Here is the SN of my Babyface Pro FS, please let me know if this behavior is normal or my unit has bug.

Thank you!

 

[MC_RME]

You could easily work around this issue by using the input channels in stereo mode. This (mono mode) bug was fixed in firmware 129 (February 2021). The current one is 130. Your driver (and with it TM FX) is outdated as well.

Next time you find an issue please just send us a mail stating that something does not work as expected. I really don't like to be accused of selling units with features that don't exist (fake).

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

 

[Earfonia]

You could easily work around this issue by using the input channels in stereo mode. This (mono mode) bug was fixed in firmware 129 (February 2021). The current one is 130. Your driver (and with it TM FX) is outdated as well.

Next time you find an issue please just send us a mail stating that something does not work as expected. I really don't like to be accused of selling units with features that don't exist (fake).

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Thanks for the fix! I upgraded both my Pro and Pro FS and the 1 dB gain step now works properly.
Well I was not happy to find out this bug either, and I was quite disappointed to know that such a basic feature like input gain was not working properly.

I've edited the title and the description of the video showing the gain step bug to avoid misunderstanding from other viewers, and set the video to unlisted.

Next time I found what I think could be a bug, I will report directly to RME.

 

[Bern]

Both. I often run on laptop battery, never have any problem with power instability on Babyface Pro FS. I have Babyface Pro as well and never have power issue on both in all kind of setup I've tried.

Thanks for the reply, Earfonia. I recently did a live recording with a trio I'm part of, running everything on battery power, and it worked well, without a glitch.

I have one question, if you're familiar with these things... The percussionist in the trio runs 3 mics into a mixer and the mixer's output goes out in mono into one of the Babyface line input. We were not clear about setting the proper gain in the mixer. As with all mixers, it has both a top Gain knob and a volume fader. So what's the proper gain stage here before it hits the Babyface?

Any input would be appreciated—whether from you or anyone familiar with this kind of setup.

 

[Monstieur]

Thanks for the reply, Earfonia. I recently did a live recording with a trio I'm part of, running everything on battery power, and it worked well, without a glitch.

I have one question, if you're familiar with these things... The percussionist in the trio runs 3 mics into a mixer and the mixer's output goes out in mono into one of the Babyface line input. We were not clear about setting the proper gain in the mixer. As with all mixers, it has both a top Gain knob and a volume fader. So what's the proper gain stage here before it hits the Babyface?

Any input would be appreciated—whether from you or anyone familiar with this kind of setup.

The top knob is the input gain on the ADC and the fader is the digital gain in the mixer. I would start with the fader at 0 dB, maximize the source device output SNR, and finally adjust the input gain so it doesn’t clip.

Since it’s a line input your should set the correct reference levels on the input and on the source device.

 

[Bern]

The top knob is the input gain on the ADC and the fader is the digital gain in the mixer. I would start with the fader at 0 dB, maximize the source device output SNR, and finally adjust the input gain so it doesn’t clip.

Since it’s a line input your should set the correct reference levels on the input and on the source device.

Since I'm relatively new to all this... What does "maximize the source device output SNR" means? Then by "adjust the input gain so it doesn’t clip," you mean at the mixer, right?

Thanks Monstieur.

While we're at it, I just hit another snag... Since I've got the Babyface, which is recently, so far I've only been using it with my monitors. Now, today, as I was mixing my trio's first recording, I wanted to listen to the mix through my headphones. Now, no matter what I try, I just can't get any sound. I'm using Totalmix in DAW Mode, using Logic, and both the Babyface and Totalmix show that I have a signal when I playback the mix in Logic, yet I can't hear a thing, no matter what combination I try with the Assign button of the Totalmix Control Room.

I must be overlooking something, either in Logic, in Totalmix or the Babyface itself. Right, but what?

 

[Monstieur]

Since I'm relatively new to all this... What does "maximize the source device output SNR" means? Then by "adjust the input gain so it doesn’t clip," you mean at the mixer, right?

Thanks Monstieur.

While we're at it, I just hit another snag... Since I've got the Babyface, which is recently, so far I've only been using it with my monitors. Now, today, as I was mixing my trio's first recording, I wanted to listen to the mix through my headphones. Now, no matter what I try, I just can't get any sound. I'm using Totalmix in DAW Mode, using Logic, and both the Babyface and Totalmix show that I have a signal when I playback the mix in Logic, yet I can't hear a thing, no matter what combination I try with the Assign button of the Totalmix Control Room.

I must be overlooking something, either in Logic, in Totalmix or the Babyface itself. Right, but what?

Maximize the output volume on the source mixer to the equivalent of 0 dB or line level. Then use the minimum possible gain on the BabyFace Pro FS so it doesn't clip. You don't want to apply gain on the BabyFace Pro FS as that amplifies noise from the source.

In DAW mode you must configure the DAW to output to the headphone jack - the BabyFace Pro FS will not route any inputs / outputs in this mode. DAW mode doesn't mean "use this mode if you use a DAW". It's a simplified mode which disables most features of the BabyFace Pro FS (which you paid for). You likely want normal mode and configuration using TotalMix FX.

 

[Grooved]

The top knob is the input gain on the ADC and the fader is the digital gain in the mixer. I would start with the fader at 0 dB, maximize the source device output SNR, and finally adjust the input gain so it doesn’t clip.

Since it’s a line input your should set the correct reference levels on the input and on the source device.

He would need to do the same (fader @OdB, gain...), but the small difference if they have an analog mixer is that there are no ADC and fader wouldn't be in the digital domain.
@Bern is it a digital or analog mixer (used for the 3 mics of the percussionist) ?

 

[Earfonia]

I have one question, if you're familiar with these things... The percussionist in the trio runs 3 mics into a mixer and the mixer's output goes out in mono into one of the Babyface line input. We were not clear about setting the proper gain in the mixer. As with all mixers, it has both a top Gain knob and a volume fader. So what's the proper gain stage here before it hits the Babyface?

Any input would be appreciated—whether from you or anyone familiar with this kind of setup.

My reference for all input is usually peak at around -18 to -12 dBFS max per channel. That's usually the optimum gain for any channel. Well it is depend on whether it is analog or digital mixer, the max clip level will be shown differently:

Whatever the scale is, what I do normally is:
1. Solo the mic channel so that the main level meter on the mixer is showing the level only from that particular channel.
2. Ask the musician / singer to play or sing the loudest part of the song, while we turn the mic gain knob and monitor the peak on the level meter to peak at around -18 dB from the maximum peak level on the meter scale. No need to push higher than -18 as when they perform they might play or sing louder than that when they got warmed up. For speech when the speaker is the explosive type, we even need more headroom than 18 dB.
3. Do the same for all channels.

For only 3 channels it is usually fine to set all the mixer fader at 0 dB or around -3 dB from 0 dB. Adjust accordingly to get proper balance sound. If more mics are used we will need to lower down the faders accordingly.

Into the input 3/4 of the RME Babyface Pro / Pro FS, I would start by setting the IN34 to +4 dBu reference level, gain at 0 dB. Then set the mixer output till the level meter for IN34 hits around -18 dBFS at peak. If the mixer output to whatever reason is still too low to peak at -18 dBFS, we can increase the IN34 gain. If it is still too low (something is wrong here), then we switch the IN34 to the -10 dBV reference level, and adjust the gain till we get the -18 dBFS peak.

Please take note that the Input 3/4 of the Babyface are unbalanced inputs, only TS, so please use proper cable when connecting from mixer output which usually is balanced TRS output into the TS input of the Babyface. We need to disconnect the 'R' pin from the mixer output to avoid it being shorted to the ground. Some mixer have short protection on the output, some don't and the output port might get faulty when shorted to ground for too long.

Cable No 9 from this table:

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This -18 dB from peak / -18 dBFS gain staging is pretty common and so far works well for me to get enough headroom before clipping while maintaining good SNR.

Hope it helps.

 

[Bern]

Grooved... It's a digital mixer, the MG10XU.

Earfonia... Thanks for the detailed response. That's helpful. About the cable, if you're coming from a balanced source, does it have to be XLR or TRS to TS cables for the line inputs or it can be TS to TS too?

Monstieur... I understand that learning to work with Totalmix makes sense. On the other hand, I'm used to work with Logic which I've been using for years, so working in DAW Mode makes sense to me, to begin with, especially given that Totalmix is a handful to figure out, to say nothing of how exactly it interacts with Logic.

In any case, I still haven't figured out how to switch between listening to a mix on my monitors and on my headphones separately. I take it that one can do that in DAW Mode. The mix plays on my monitors fine, but I can't find how to have the phones work, though I played with all the Assign options of the Control Room. In Logic, for all I know, there shouldn't be anything special to do.

In any case, I still managed to do a first mix of my trio's last rehearsal that I'm happy with. I can definitely hear a lot more definition or clarity with the RME than what came out of my old Presonus Firestudio—though I have to say, about the phone issue, that I liked the simplicity of it, with its 2 volume knobs, one for the monitors and one for the phones that simply worked out of the box. It's OK. I'll figure it out. Eventually.

 

[magchiel]

In any case, I still haven't figured out how to switch between listening to a mix on my monitors and on my headphones separately. I take it that one can do that in DAW Mode. The mix plays on my monitors fine, but I can't find how to have the phones work, though I played with all the Assign options of the Control Room. In Logic, for all I know, there shouldn't be anything special to do.

Not sure how this works in Logic, but in Reaper and Mixbus, you can setup a separate monitor (output) channel that you can route to a different hardware output, in this case 3/4 being the headphone output of the Babyface. Solo/mute to flavour. Surely something similar is possible in Logic.

 

[Earfonia]

Earfonia... Thanks for the detailed response. That's helpful. About the cable, if you're coming from a balanced source, does it have to be XLR or TRS to TS cables for the line inputs or it can be TS to TS too?

In any case, I still haven't figured out how to switch between listening to a mix on my monitors and on my headphones separately. I take it that one can do that in DAW Mode. The mix plays on my monitors fine, but I can't find how to have the phones work, though I played with all the Assign options of the Control Room. In Logic, for all I know, there shouldn't be anything special to do.

In any case, I still managed to do a first mix of my trio's last rehearsal that I'm happy with. I can definitely hear a lot more definition or clarity with the RME than what came out of my old Presonus Firestudio—though I have to say, about the phone issue, that I liked the simplicity of it, with its 2 volume knobs, one for the monitors and one for the phones that simply worked out of the box. It's OK. I'll figure it out. Eventually.

The idea is to avoid shorting the output R pin (XLR pin 3) to the ground. But I guess TS input of Babyface doesn't have connector for the R pin, so using TRS-TRS cable should be fine I guess. The R pin most likely will not be shorted to ground.

As for Headphone and Line Out monitoring I guess you can easily set it in the Totalmix Routing Matrix.

 

[LTig]

Grooved... It's a digital mixer, the MG10XU.

The Yamaha MG10XU? Don't think it's a digital mixer. It's analog (all channel and master controls are analog) and has a USB interface working like a PC soundcard.

 

[MC_RME]

The idea is to avoid shorting the output R pin (XLR pin 3) to the ground. But I guess TS input of Babyface doesn't have connector for the R pin.

In fact the BF Pro does have TRS Inst input jacks with R shorted to ground.

 

[Atanasi]

About the cable, if you're coming from a balanced source, does it have to be XLR or TRS to TS cables for the line inputs or it can be TS to TS too?

If you need to leave the negative pole floating, a splitter from a stereo TRS to two RCAs is a readily available adapter. You could connect one of those to the source, and then you have the balanced signal splitted into two poles. Take the supposed left channel, usually white RCA, which is the positive pole, leave the other pole unconnected, and continue with an RCA-TS cable to the TS input.

Take note that some sources actually recommend shorting the negative pole to the ground, and you should consult the manual to verify which wiring is correct.

 

[Grooved]

Grooved... It's a digital mixer, the MG10XU

Like @LTig said, it's actually an analog mixer (with digital effects) and an ADC-DAC part to send to/receive from the computer via USB.
There is no digital domain on each channel, but keep the same way to work : fader (rotary here) at 0, then gain as needed. Then you need to keep room between you Master on the mixer and the BF (it's here that you enter the digital domain)