Hello everybody! I'm planning on getting a new audio interface soon. I've used Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 but it died recently. So I'm planing on getting something similar in the similar price range.
This are my current audio interfaces I've been looking at:
-Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 ( Should I just get the new one??)
-Presonus Audiobox iTwo
-Presonus Audiobox 22VSL
-Alva Nanoface ( not sure how good this is, is it just a cheap copy of Babyface by RME ?)
-Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6
-Steinberg UR22

If anyone have used any of those can you recommend which one would you get ? My current favorite are Scarlett 2i4 and Komplete Audio 6. Thanks!

 

If you've never had issues before, stick to your Focusrite. Some people reportedly have had driver compatibility issues with Focusrite. Except the Alva interface, from an unknown developer, all your options are equally good, imo. " a cheap copy of..." is the worst you can do to your recording setup."

 

I agree with mercurysoto but if you'd like a change, UR22 would be a good choice. You should look for a UR22 Mk 2, because it's IPad compatible. On PCs I haven't had any compatibility issues. Hardware quality is good even for mobile use.

 

Alva isn´t unknown they are the main suplier of audio cables for rme
maybe they did a quasi development, like the alcatech rpm, or the nuendo audiolink

anyway i would call or write alva or rme regarding that interface.

what is it that you do or want to do. and exactly how much is $

 

I've used an NI Komplete Audio 6, good for the price.I've changed ( well after using RME UC better sound than NI) for Focusrite Clarett 2 pre: the sound is really good, much better than NI and even better than RME.Very nice pres and the latency is very good.Had a driver problem for the Midi but it's solved now.

 

The price is around 250$/€. I'll be pretty much only recording some guitar ( direct input) and basicly for monitor control. I was looking at Clarett2pre but the price is just too high and its only thunderbolt which is something I don't have :D I have also been looking at Steinberg UR242 recently. Good reviews on that one too. It has some DSP effects also If I remember correctly.

 

Last edited: Feb 3, 2016

I'll look into them. Thanks for the heads up.

 

I tried the Focusrites...their drivers were crap, and their pres were a bit soft. Not mention their front switches are cheap and one of the buttons broke off.

I'm currently using the Steinberg UR44, which is solid, pres are hotter than the Focusrites, and the drivers are stable.

I am tempted to jump back to the MAudio Profire as I got better performance from firewire than USB.

 

Focusrite has the nicest pres out of your choices. Clean and quiet. They use the same preamps from their 2i2 to 8i8 and up. The price of their interfaces goes up with the amount of inputs and outputs. Even with their cheapest products you're still getting a quality preamp. It's no Avalon M5, but finding a better preamp in the price range of the 2i4 is improbable.

Then again you say you're not recording vocals so...

 

Mackie Onyx Blackjack looking damn sexy also

 

I'm sorry to say this, but this a misleading myth that started 2 decades ago, when USB carried 1.1 mbps and Firewire 480 mbps.

The truth is that USB2, the world standard, fires audio at 480 mbps and Firewire 1 (the one format for audio interfaces) uses 400 mbps, but the numbers mean squat. This bandwith has been proven to be more than enough to carry 24 channels of audio with reasonable latency, so they both work well. The technical differnce is that FW is a continuous stream of audio while USB buffers the data and sends it in chunks.

When people experience USB transfer issues, it is usually beacause of bad port handling. The 480 mbps of bandwith is shared by and allocated to *every* peripheral connected to the same hub. If the USB root is freed and dedicated to an audio interface, performance is smooth. Firewire is out; it is being phased out by Thundedrbolt, at least in Macs. PCs have never really caught on FW, so people have to buy PCI cards to attach to their motherboards.

Neither USB3 or FW2 have caught on audio hardware developers. Thunderbolt is immensely fast and latency is negligible, so bit by bit the future might look in that direction.

 

Last edited: Feb 3, 2016

big fan of the UR22 here as well.. sturdy.. and rock solid drivers as well... if you don't need the ipad compatibility,
you can get the first version used... for a song ( no pun intended)

 

Nothing to do with copying RME, another company used the same outer casing only (they had a shared distributor or something like that).

 

at this price range try ZOOM UAC-2

 

I'm using a focusrite Scarlett 18i20 and I've not run into any driver issues (yet)
The latest version of mix control software has a firmware update included that may have solved other people's issues they was having but I have only been using it since November . I've not encountered any problems Infact I love this sound card the sound quality is marvellous . I've not run into any latency problems on my Mac with it either . Plus it's a bonus with all the included plugins (soft tube bundle with the new drawmer processor,red 1,2 Scarlett bundle )

 

I would stick to the same AI if I were you. Focusrite is the industry's best. I own 2 (home studio and portable studio) and these things are reliable, well built and transparent with excellent, latency-free operation. Not to mention, you won't have a learning curve to deal with or the need to learn the idiosyncrasies of a new product and it's support...

Alva is an unknown entity (for the most part) in the U.S. and has almost no distribution. That does not mean anything though. It could very well be an amazing product... it's just that you will find very little opinions about it from your American friends...

 

Last edited: Feb 3, 2016

it is no myth at all, but it is of no consequence anymore (faster cpus)
usb is/was directly linked to the cpu cycles while the i/o of fw is directed by a seperate chip
usb handles smaler (data) packets different han larger packets
that is why fw400 is a much more stable datastream than usb2 (+ full duplex)
problem lies with moderate drivers for fw lead to dropouts
only exellent or validated drivers work on every chip
only a handfull of vendors like rme, metric halo and prism do it right
+ you can connect fw to thunderbolt with a simple cable
fw800 is still full duplex only tb und usb 3.1 or c can handle it too

a good vendor but that is quite a reach ;)

 

Last edited: Feb 3, 2016

RME or nothing!

my RME HDSP 9632 (pci port) works and sounds solid like a rock since... 2006. !

Since i got an rme, i have never EVER bothered again about 'what sound interface to get', i may change it for another RME pci-e port only in the future case if the motherboard manufacturers will completely phase out the pci32 port

(i highly presume the same statement applies for all other RME products)

 

I guess you are shooting well above the OP's spending range. On the higher fringe, there are other makers. I am sold to Universal Audio.

 

If you can get me an RME interface for around 250-300€ I'd love to take it :D If my budget was high enough I would most likely go wind UAD anyway but that's another story.

Currently I'm pretty impressed with Steinberg's UR 242. I'm going either 2i4 or UR242 I guess