Ok guys unfortunately about 75% music is written outside my studio. So I'm looking for a decent interface to replace my maudio fast track. I love how small it is, but the thing just can't seem to swing what I'm pushing. So what does everyone suggest?

 

What are your needs in the way of inputs and which operating system are you currently using would be a good starting point for this discussion, then listen for the chime.

 

RME Babyface Pro?

 

i dont need much really just an interface that is small and can handle the payload of most kontakt libs.

specs:
Lenovo edge 15
i7 2.4 ghz
8gb ram
windows 10
Live 9.2.2

 

You still haven't said what you actually want to connect to your laptop.

Do you want to connect speaker's, headphones, a keyboard?

Thats the kind of details needed for people to give any recommendations.

 

my bad, just headphones really. my main concern is buffer size. everything else i can do via usb

 

Have you used one? been seeing this unit mentioned a lot lately, apparently is behind on shipping so they must be popular.
What's the improvement over the previous babyface? just the pretty "aluminium" box they are always chirping about?
have not seen any really good reviews on this yet.. but looks interesting

 

I've just read about it, but it is complete redesign from the original. RME is always good and reliable

 

I use the Focusrite Forte with my laptop. Good sound and so far pretty stable.

 

Steinberg CI2+ would work fine for you. Its my laptops goto Asio card.

 

if you only need to use headphones, then there is no need for you to buy an interface. unless of course you have some overly stupid headphones that require an external amp.

 

using the laptops sound card changes the output sound drastically

 

If by "overly stupid" you mean good sounding, you'd be right. Actually, internal laptop audio is notoriously noisy and bad sounding. I'd avoid it even if I didn't need inputs.

 

By "overly stupid" I think he is referring to "high impedance headphones".

I'm all for RME btw.

 

Last edited: Oct 16, 2015

nope, i mean overly stupid as requires more ohms than your laptop can produce.

never had issues with headphones and internal audio, but then again ive only ever used macs, not windows.

 

you got it.

 

i own, like and suggest an apogee duet 2, or maybe even a smaller model might that be what your into more... btw, idk, but i'm on mac and i can notice a difference when plugging my hd-650's into my mac's headphone in, am i crazy?

 

I've used macs as well and I can't say the quality of the internal audio is top notch. Mac optical/analog combo outputs are also problematic after prolonged use. It could be adequate for some work, but sometimes it just doesn't cut it, IMO.

 

The RME costs more than the Lenovo edge 15...........

The Focusrite Forte is a great interface but if you use high impedance headphones you'll need to use the power supply.

If you want something really compact consider the Alesis Core 1 single channel or the Focusrite Scarlet Solo.

The abovementioned Apogee Duet is MAC only.

 

Mac or PC, it is the same crappy consumer level chip on board.
The only difference is between the ears.