Currently I own a presonus audio box usb... I recently stopped using it due to some renovations (so I'm forced to use laptop speakers) And I noticed a difference in FL studio.... When I load plugins it's almost instant. I was using the audio boxes driver, but am now using FL studio ASIO.

Does anyone know if I was doing anything wrong with the audio box to make plugin loading slow? All my vsts and fl are on my external SSD (which is 3 TB).

I'm also trying to decide between the MOTO m4 or M2 vs the Audient audio interfaces....

My Dream is to eventually get the RME babyface (but I'd like to recoup the money through music sales and currently I have no need of the RME since I'm not recording vocals, or guitars but just want a decent audio interface for quality/speed)

 

seriously i should buy a Audient ID44 MK2 or a smaller version if you dont need/use all the outputs.
I've used allot of Audio interfaces the last years ..and just replaced my Antelope Audio zen go with the Audient ID44.
And it's the most stable interface i ever used , period. Recordings sounds clean.

Look into this beast

 

I would personally only go for MOTU besides RME, M2 in my case for M1, were using RME 9632 on my desktop before that, rock solid.

 

I bought RME Digiface, I also purchased later ADA8200 for analog inputs. You can buy analog i/o later, if you can live it´s headphone output(I did that for months)

 

RME fireface 400 is what i got, its expensive and they dont make them no more, but i have that for 15 years and no issues.

 

I have not used the M4, but I assume it is just the M2 with additional I/O. I would take a pass on it. The USB port of that interface is very, very cheap. I have no idea why Motu put such a low quality component in it. You can barely move the cable and you can hear interference. And the really cheap usb cable that ships with it is worse than one you can buy at the gas station. On Mac, they sound good and need no additional software. If you are using PC, I would strongly look into the Audient because the Motu driver for PC can give some users problems. I have not used an Audient on a Mac at all, but plenty of users here have commented positively about them on PC; as opposed to the Motu.

I would pick a retailer with a good return policy and try the Audient first. I wouldn't spend 500$ for a temporary interface. For a permanent situation, I would think about spending the whole 500 on something second hand; because you will end up with options which are normally $1000 or so range units, when new.

 

I bought an M2 and I really regret not having bought the Audient. I'd narrowed it down to the MOTU, the Audient and the SSL 2. I've I was making the decision today, I'd buy the Audient.

 

In terms of ASIO driver, I still didn't find an interface that works as good as any of the Yamaha mixers. All-around amazing drivers, been using since 2017 with absolute zero issues. The only thing I don't like is that it only outputs two channels inside the DAW.

48khz@64 samples and 192khz@128 samples:



Preamps are a bit noisier than other interfaces according to measurements (check Julian Krause's Steinberg interface reviews, it's the same internals and drivers in a different form factor), but I don't have any issues with noise in my recordings. I was thinking about getting an SSL 2+ but I honestly don't feel like I need it. It's more like getting a new, shinier toy than anything else.

 

$500 got me an Audient id4 mk2 & a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X Open-back Studio Mixing Headphones a while ago
No regrets here, totally satisfied with my purchase,both working beautifully,cheers !

 

I have been using Motu interfaces and Midi I/O and Timepieces for many years. Cannot say enough good things about them. I purchased an M2 to use with my laptop, in other rooms. My Motu 828ES MK2 is screwed into the racking rails of my desk. It is AVB and wifi, but the M2 was really the cheapest way to go still. I thought the sound was great for an interface under 200$. That USB port is just sad though. I pretty much knew I would be returning it as soon as I took it out of the box and connected it. And now a few years after it's release, people having problems with it are slowly cropping up. Right after the warranty ends, imagine that. I wouldn't even be very surprised to find out they are not even actually manufactured by Motu themselves. The probably engineer and design, and email some files to China and wait for a boat to show up.

 

Been using an M4 as a secondary box for a few years and no issue, drivers nor USB connector. Maybe the M2 has a different design of the USB over the M4 dunno really. Great bang for the buck if you need the extra I/O. Nothing worse than forking out your hard earned cash only to find that you needed that one extra set of connections. The Audient are also great and updated recently.

 

Audient ID4 and SSL 2+ are great option to consider

 

You should save a little more and get the babyface.

 

Presonus do have very nice performance from their drivers. Loosely comparable with RME. Going from a Presonus driver to FL's included ASIO would be noticeable differences in i/o buffer and resulting round-trip latency. But not his problem loading his plugins.

Running a driver that is "living" on an external drive along with it's Host application is just asking for stuff like this. It's in no way the best thing to do to run applications and ***audio drivers!*** over Thunderbolt3/USB-C connection speed, even if it is a nice fast SSD. Installing FL to the primary physical drive where Windows is installed would fix this (or vastly improve at least). That is a relay of data from the cpu back and forth to the SSD for everything, and then a throughput bottleneck created by that cabled connection to the external drive.

Quick check: Locate the Presonus software/driver to check it's installation location. It's probably not on his external. More likely the same partition as Windows.

 

list the features you need to narrow down your choices.

1. How many inputs/outputs do I need?
2. Computer connectivity, eg: USB, USB-C, Thunderbolt etc.
3. Latency.
4. Reliability and ease of use.
5. Support from manufacture and warranty.

 

Why people recommend RME in here? They have nothing that fits the budget of $500.
MOTU M2/M4/M6 instead, are decent and affordable home studio interfaces. In my opinion, Audient iD14 and iD44 have better converters than MOTU, and good drivers also (leaving aside the gimmicky EVO). A mention for SSL 4ch: it seems interesting, I’ve never tested though.

That’s the best you can have for the price, otherwise you have to multiply 3 times the budget and enter into the world of real studio interfaces

 

@El Cycer I put RME Digiface here, because it costs under 500 €

 

I personally use a Babyface, but it was less than 600€ new a few years back.. If you can get it for that money, grab it ASAP!*
* mentioning RME just for the comparison ;)

But I recently purchased an Audient iD14 MKII for my close relative to use for teaching at the music academy. He is not tech-savvy at all, yet I was able to guide him through setting up a cue mix/loopback configuration so he can stream all audio sources simultaneously.

Can only vouch for Audient so far, esp considering the price and you can pick up one that has the I/O count and form factor that you need (I bet the sw/drivers are the same). I was strongly considering MOTUs, but for some supply chain reasons they were annoyingly out stock all the f** time. Audient went ahead and IMO if you have more ppl using the product there is generally more support and pressure for updated drivers etc (a guess)

 

RME Digiface has a pricetag of $629 and is not a full audio interface either: the preamp part is totally missing (only optical in/outs), this means spend other $$$ for some good adat expander

 

Last edited: Sep 16, 2023

You'll be able to find a used RME Babyface Pro for under $500, the first generation.