That's good to know. I was close to buying one of their lower end models - Volt 2, probably.. or a 276 if I could have scrounged up the cash. I only need a couple ins and outs, and needed to "upgrade" my Scarlett Solo. I settled on a Arturia Minifuse 2, instead, cause the price was right and I knew it would do what I needed it to do.

 

Yes, RME makes good solid interfaces. Are they the best of the best? No. Are there cheaper alternatives that are on the same (or better) monitoring quality level? Yes.

It's like a puzzle and you need the pieces to all fit together nicely. Important factors to consider before buying are: Budget obviously. What your specific uses are (I/O connectivity, sample rates, laptop portability and/or desktop etc) and hardware equipment compatibility. Your room. Your speakers.

My point being, if you're using an old OS, DAW and PC, your room is a sonic mess and speakers are low-mid consumer grade garbage, the newest best interface in the world wont be of much if any help. In that case, there are superb dirt cheap options available. If however you're using bang up to date everything PC wise, well treated room, high end ATC monitors and headphones, then yes, the differences will be immediately obvious and spending the extra cash on the high end "best" interface makes sense (and for me, that would not be RME).

All of that said, if I were looking for a great backpack type portable solution, RME would be my first choice.. a new well equipped laptop, some good $400-$500 headphones and a new RME Babyface Pro, that would be a very nice portable rig.

 

+1 for RME.

 

Another one for RME. We should start a cult.

 

Did someone already mention RME? ..ohhh, ok. +1 then

I totally agree that the priority should be space - room - architectural planning - treatment - monitors - interface etc. Though these priorities vary, whether you are a composer, songwriter or mix.. or mastering engineer.

The strong point of a RME for me is not (only) the sound. The drivers, stability, routing, build q., flexibility all come before that

I have a pretty decent pc now, but if you have (to use) an old one with an old OS - there again RME will save your ass more than anything else that I know.

...ok ok I admit, it's all a LIE it's a cult! ...help!

 

Would be good to know if you are doing any recording at home or all in the box.
If all in the box I do not think an interface would make a difference with your current setup.
I would save the money, buy a bad ass midi controller, or a synth.

Actually I would not save the money but buy some kind of gear.

 

Buy the driver, not the interface

(Yes, it's another vote for RME)

 

RME SUCKS. Their drivers are the worst, the preamps are muddy and customer support is nonexistent. The knobs fall off if you just look at them the wrong way, and if I think about it, the only good thing about them off the top of my head is that they make great paperweights on a windy day.

RME lovers are a cult of the damned. Run, don't walk away from this horrible beast of an interface.

 

Thanks for the heads up brother, I really was about to do this last year before having to wait. Now I'm glad I had to wait financially because it seems I would be in deep had I went down this route. When I do finally upgrade my interface I was going to go with Audient or RME if I wasn't going to choose Universal Audio and now I know I won't thanks to this here thread.

 

Not worth it, even when it's on sale.
Former UAD user here, virtually all their plugins have native alternatives now, even by themselves with Spark.

And Clarett fidelity is on the same level as SSL2 even though it has double the price. And UAD Twin is even more expensive than Clarett.

I bought a decent budget Interface so I could expand on my room acoustics, and it was totally worth it.
Best christmas gift ever :P and yes that's saying a lot about my past christmas experiences.

 

RME have never had great convertors or sound quality... just OK. The drivers yes, they are great.

So... do you want to record the drivers or the AD/pre-amps?

Prism is what you want. RME is just a tarted up low end interface with solid drivers.

Titan, Lyra 2, Atlas...

Below that there's a good few cheaper options before you get down to RME level sound.

 

I go through 3 RME interfaces a week before they break, but it's worth it as you can get 2 days usage out of each one.

 

Totally agree. I got mine for zero latency Vocal recording. Other than that there's no upside. They don't look after Customers on PC at all. Had all kinds of stability issues and ended up stuck on an early version of software after an upgrade cost me a month repairing it. Had to reset its firmware

Last I saw they aren't even supporting VST3 yet. VST2 is already outdated, so all the plugin you get with the device won't work on Windows in the near future. I think some DAWs already stopped supporting VST2

To use VST3 Spark you need to be online and accept all their spyware crap

The model of UAD is crap to me. Ridiculously expensive for software that has alternatives. If you don't need Pre-Amps then its hard to make an argument for UAD

 

Did you not get your invite yet???

 

I would say we are more like Vegans. We don’t come knocking at your door about RME, but give it 10 minutes into an audio conversation and you will know…

 

one major complaint I sadly do have about Babyface (Pro) is lack of onboard DSP Dynamics functionality,
RME did a compromise decision Babyface and Babyface Pro to remove Compressor/Limiter/Expander/Gate feature in favour of USB-powered-only operation possible,
it may not be a dealbreaker for most folks though ;)

speaking of deals, be aware there's also MADIface Pro which is basically same thing as Babyface Pro, only exception being optical MADI instead of optical ADAT, it's usually far more expensive, but you may find a deal at equal or lower price than Babyface Pro everyone is obsessed about,

also, if you can find a really good deal on old Babyface, I can assure you it's a rock solid device despite being way older, it's also bit smaller than newer Babyface Pro (also because having breakout multi-pin instead of full thick XLR connectors built-in)

 

well according to MC (a.k.a. our lord and saviour) the babyface line is wing shaped so you can throw it farther than any other interface on the market. So even after they break they will outperform the competition when you kobe it into the trash or out the window.

 

My Babyface is probably 10 years old now and is still supported by RME. I bought it second hand for cheap and it's still going strong. When I need to record more than two tracks at a time I have an ADAT port hooked up eight extra inputs on an even older Presonus Digimax LT from the mid 2000's. The combination sounds way good. Total cost...CHF 350°°.

 

Got my eye on this one

 

Can't see a USB port... Is it Mac only?