Hi everyone,

Im looking to buy a new USB Audio Interface.

The only critera is:
(1) Strictly No MOTU's
(2) Must have 4x , 6x or 8x TRS Analog Inputs, as I would like to have atleast 3x Hardware devices connected in the studio.

I am finding it very difficult finding a reasonably priced interface with 4x , 6x or 8x TRS Analog Inputs. They tend to go from 0-2-8, 4 & 6 seem more rare. It is also confusing as some interfaces claim that their Instrument Line Ins work with hardware with higher impedance, others don't, however its a fairly unclear aspect of audio interfaces as it usually isn't very well described or represented in user manuals etc, so I would prefer just a reasonably priced 4x or 6x or 8x TRS Analog Input USB Interface.

Does anyone have any suggestions on brands / models with healthy amount of TRS Inputs ? it would be greatly appreciated.

thankyou

 

Price range would be helpful.

In the more affordable range $500, Id go with Focusrite 18i20, or Presonus 1818vsl, they also have ADAT you can link up another unit and have 16 i/os

Slightly higher price range $800 range Motu (sorry but theyre awesome)

Higher than that $1000 range RME.

I personally have the Presonus 1818vsl, I picked it over the Focusrite because all my other stuff was presonus, and I use Studio One. (Technically makes no difference, but I like the synergy lol)
I would not upgrade it for anything other than an a UAD Apollo, and since my current laptop doesnt have firewire, it wont be happening for a year or two.

 

Here's the main point ! *yes*

 

Quote for focusrite!
Really high quality preamps.

 

thanks for the info, appreciate it.

The price range is just basically trying to learn of alternative & reasonably priced interfaces on the market compared to the RME UCX & UFX.

Ive tried 4 MOTUs in the past, microbook, 2x Travellers, 828mk3 hybrid. The microbook had crackles & pops on 2 different pc's, the Travellers had out of alignment LCD Display Screens & the replacement had a Sample Rate that would change by itself whenever it wanted between 44.1 & 48, & the 828mk3 hybrid would not output anything on 2 different usb ports & had other symptoms that seemed driver related.

So im done with MOTU for the time being.

The thing I don't understand about the Focusrite 18i20 & Presonus 1818vsl is the amount of "Mic / Instrument" Line Ins they have & a lack of just standard TRS Inputs. Are those Mic Instrument Line Ins designed to handle hardware such as synthesizer modules / keyboard , samplers & any other hardware devices that use TRS Analog for audio output ? or is it a pure marketing scam where these connections are NOT what im looking for & they are trying to confuse me with all the digital inputs such as spdif, adat etc ?

From the research I have done, I am under the impression that those MIC / Instrument (XLR/TRS) Combo Inputs are not all designed as equal compared to the standard TRS Analog Balanced Inputs. Apparently some of these MIC / Instrument Ins have a "low" impedance, lower then the amount needed to use devices such as synthesizer keyboards etc, apparently they require a higher impedance connection compared to lets say a electric guitar for example.

Hope you can understand the point im trying to convey.

P.S. Mic pre amps are of no concern , I just need a healthy amount of TRS inputs for synths & samplers, price range does not matter.

thankyou

 

i would not use a USB interface Fire Wire or Thunderbolt i have to get a Fire Wire interface Fixed one time and they gave me a USB Loaner so i could still recored it worked like crap drop outs high latency and pop's and jittery shit i could not even use it that is just my experience

 

haha

so do you use a pcie card ?

yes unfortunately the crackles and pops is very common throughout USB & Firewire, it really does just depend on luck of the draw with your system usb configurations & motherboard chipset & interface drivers, apparently alot of the glitches has to do with IRQs and whatnot. its just really annoying.

All support ever has to say is "oh please try the device on EVERY USB PORT on your motherboard". But usually I already have my synths & controllers & things installed already & I don't like to move them around.

 

I had a Presonus Audio Box 44vsl and I hated it, the drivers were absolute shit and they never updated them. It constantly was dropping out and crackling when I would use wireless... so irritating. Have a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 now and it works like a dream, super super stable, no problems whatsoever in over a year of daily use. The only thing I miss a little is not having any onboard effects processing for tracking, but the latency is so low that it really doesn't matter, I can use all kinds of stuff in the box with no problem. By the way, on the 18i20, the inputs are all combo, with the 2 front ones having XLR (for mic only, not line), and 1/4 TRS, switchable to instrument inputs. The back six are only combo XLR (mic only, not line) and 1/4 TRS. I only mention the whole XLR being from mic only because I had an XLR cable from the line output of my ISA One (which is XLR) to the XLR input on the 18i20 and was having all kinds of gain staging issues. Just a heads up.

 

Look at a large image of the 1818vsl, the first two combo jacks are Instrument ie high impedance, and the other 6 are line ie low impedance.

I believe the Focusrite has a similar layout or switches which flip the impedance.

 

My personal experience: Love my PreSonus AudioBox 1818vsl. I use it in my home studio and use it on stage. PreSonus customer support is top of the line, Studio One DAW came with it, and I also got a 4 channel headphone amp as a rebate. Try their jambalaya recipe.

 

Sorry this is short and sweet because I'm away from my PC, but 2 suggestions:

- Behringer = some devices have multiple line inputs.
Looks like reasonable quality, on paper, for low prices.

- Steinberg URxxx
Similar to Behringer but more $$

 

Here is a link that may lead you to joy...
http://arturia.com/audiofuse/overview

 

I think it's not so clear what you really want, Mark.
Do you want an audio interface? Do you want an audio interface with preamps?
You say you like to have things installed in your studio - so you have a solid equiped studio?
If so, you already have a mixer and/or preamps.
This would be a good thing, so you don't need to care for stuff like phantom power on the interface and can invest the whole amount you would like to spend on what's most important: good a/d converters.

The best converters come from RME, Apogee and Pro Tools.
In the MOTU 828 mk3 hybrid price range the RME Fireface UC would be the best choice.

 

I was perusing their site the other day and this really caught my eye. They never talked about and I cannot find how much gain the amps put out and also there was no demo of the sound. Gonna have to wait to really compare this to my Babyface.

 

Ill say go for the RME if your serious about production you will not be disappointed

 

thanks for info peeps,

So the market really is as limited as I thought, it seems only MOTU & RME have the specs that im looking for, nothing else comes close really.

The arturia looks nice & innovative but is also packed of features not so relevant to my situation & it still lacks TRS inputs for its price tag.

RME UCX or UFX it is.

 

You are talking about something like this - iD22 | Audient

 

If he is, then also look at SPL Crimson.

 

thanks for info.

The problem is that most of these interfaces focus too much on Mic Preamps or just other live sound or mixing console features that are just completely irrelevant to my situation.

ALL I want to do is connect multiple hardware via TRS, I never thought it would be so difficult / expensive to want to connect upto 3-4 audio outputting devices.

 

Just so we understand your situation right and can help you better:
You have a mixing console and don't want to use it?
Or you don't have one and don't need one? If so, sure you don't need one in the future?

If you really don't want to buy a rme uc (799,-) you could buy an inxpensive small recording console and a 2 i/o audio interface. This should be possible under 500 bucks.
Or, you could buy a digital mixer with integrated audio interface like the Presonus Studiolive 1602.