Help me to choose audio interface

[Greenred]

Hello,

I had Tascam US144MKII and it was complete crap, drivers always conflicting with wireless internet driver... no balanced outputs... so sold it.
I am looking for some good quality card for around $200-$300.
I need:
*only one guitar input and only one mic input (It can be the same, never going to use both at the same time)
*only two main outputs (for two KRK speakers, that's it)
*it must be USB.

Most cards has two inputs (mic/instr.) so I guess I am loosing some quality/price by buying those since I need only one.
Also I don't need midi in/out since I am using AKAI mpk88 pro with USB.

What kind of card can you recommend to get the best quality/price deal?

I was thinking about Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (with two inputs) but maybe there is something that offers better quality sound?

Thanks

[max111]

Roland UA-22 ex is better than the 2i2, tried both and bought the Roland.

[fese]

I cannot recommend you anything in that price range from personal experience, but I can tell you this:
Anything you get in that range will have a similar audio quality. The differences are usually in the driver quality, usability, featueres and maybe additional software included.
As you already know, driver quality is the most important factor. From what I read/heard! the focusrite interfaces don't have the reputation for very fast drivers (but that might have changed), steinberg ur22 and NI komplete audio 6 are recommended quite often and are known to have solid fast drivers. But don't quote me on that

Most of the interfaces in your price class will have at least two combi inputs (mic/line/instrument) and two or four outputs. Direct monitoring is standard nowadays.
Sometimes there are little things that can annoy you - I bought a Presonus Audiobox once and found that the headphone jack was on the back and I had random audio dropouts. That interface got good reviews elsewhere, but didn't work for me at all.
So the best recommendation I can give is to buy somewhere where you can return the interface easily, if possible order two interfaces, compare them at home and send back the one you liked less. What works well for someone with his setup might not work for another person with a different setup (computer, operating system).

[Michael L]

Roland Quad-Capture.
2 clean preamps, usb, auto-level (very convenient), midi.
Must use low-impedance headphones.

[UltraJv]

The wifi problem you noticed is common to various computers, laptops, PCs, macs. That may not go away on your next audio interface. Most people switch the wifi off to temp solve it.

[Ph-J]

The wifi problem you noticed is common to various computers, laptops, PCs, macs. That may not go away on your next audio interface. Most people switch the wifi off to temp solve it.

And I don't have the same problem here with my US-144 mk2, it is very stable actually.

[hibidy]

Hello,

I had Tascam US144MKII and it was complete crap, drivers always conflicting with wireless internet driver... no balanced outputs... so sold it.
I am looking for some good quality card for around $200-$300.
I need:
*only one guitar input and only one mic input (It can be the same, never going to use both at the same time)
*only two main outputs (for two KRK speakers, that's it)
*it must be USB.

Most cards has two inputs (mic/instr.) so I guess I am loosing some quality/price by buying those since I need only one.
Also I don't need midi in/out since I am using AKAI mpk88 pro with USB.

What kind of card can you recommend to get the best quality/price deal?

I was thinking about Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (with two inputs) but maybe there is something that offers better quality sound?

Thanks

I've heard good things and bad things about the 2i2..but mostly good things. I think that they have got that series pretty solid driver wise. But I'd recommend considering a 2i4 because of the pad. No, you may not ever need it but I clearly recall a couple of people complaining about it being too hot for certain guitars. That way, just in case, it's there.

I wish I had a side by side comparison with USB vs the FW I have (a saffire 14) because on my two computers it's the very definition of rock-solid.

@wifi: Yes, this can easily be the wifi being used. Case in point, I had to search for a while before I found one that wouldn't interfere on this computer. Could be the soundcard, but I'm betting against it.

@Return policy: You're not going to get better advice than this. SOME places don't return any soundcard. Try if you can to buy elsewhere. Chances are good that you'll like it, but just in case.

[mhog]

FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 2i2 PROS:

(1) 24bit/96khz
(2) renowned focusrite preamps
(3) very clean. Recording noise: 0% (high quality AD/DA converters)
(4) ultra low latency: 5ms
(5) metal chassis, solid, beautiful, sexy brushed red
(6) ultrastable WIN driver
(7) perfect with MAC (class-compliant mode)
(8) high quality ADA convertors
(9) scarlett plug-in suite included

etc. etc.

[brekehan]

I haven't found a USB interface at all that works well with my new X99 motherboard. Everywhere I look the manufacturer will claim it doesn't work well on USB 3.0 and you must have USB 2.0 ports. At the same time the industry says, "We don't need to make USB 3.0 interfaces because they are backwards compatible with USB 2.0" Arg! screw USB. I tried NI Audio Kontrol 1 and MOTU Microbook II and both come up unrecognized, or just stop working in the middle of a set, occasionally and you have to unplug/replug them 10x or so, or reboot, or shutdown. There especially seems to be probems resuming from sleep. It annoys the piss out of me.

That said, MOTU had a nice feature NI didn't in that they offer a return channel so you can record what comes out of the DAW in external Windows apps like Audacity and make tutorial videos and what not. Can't do that with NI's.

I wish I could go PCIe, but I don't even understand how they work. It looks like to pay $1000 for a card that wires into another device you have to pay $1000 for and get 64 ins and outs when you only need 2. I've only seen a few even close to my price range and both had questionable reviews.

I'd go firewire, but I don't have a firewire on the X99. It seems I have something called M.2 Turbo.

[woggle]

I have been very happy with the Focusrite 2i4. I had some problems with a cheap presonus interface and had a high end mbox die 2 weeks out of warranty with cost of repairs more than buying a new unit ($200 to look at it before even repairing). But the quality of things like the Focusrite is so high now that you really don't need better unless other aspects of your recording and production chain demand it - which is unlikely for anyone who is not a pro.

Even though I have the Focusrite, i imagine there are a bunch of others in the same range that are also good - eg my presonus was a long time ago, they may be better now or I might have had a dud. The Rolands are meant to be good as well etc etc

[Kaine]

I haven't found a USB interface at all that works well with my new X99 motherboard. Everywhere I look the manufacturer will claim it doesn't work well on USB 3.0 and you must have USB 2.0 ports. At the same time the industry says, "We don't need to make USB 3.0 interfaces because they are backwards compatible with USB 2.0" Arg! screw USB.

They don't need to make USB 3 because it's damn hard to break the capability of USB 2 for bandwidth.

However the problem with USB 3 is that until the X99's nobody had standardized them and the units tested with one controller (say Intel) wouldn't always work with the drivers for another one (like the Asmedia).

Now on the X99 this should have been fixed because it's all built into the Intel PCH controller now... and if Intel had kept using the same drivers it probably would have been. Except they are not. They've handed driver development of too Microsoft and it's all broken again!.

I'm sure as firms realise this and update their driver sets to support the new MS standard it'll all be fixed, but given that most of them buy in driver solutions from third parties, this might take a while!

I tried NI Audio Kontrol 1 and MOTU Microbook II and both come up unrecognized, or just stop working in the middle of a set, occasionally and you have to unplug/replug them 10x or so, or reboot, or shutdown. There especially seems to be probems resuming from sleep. It annoys the piss out of me.

What board are you working with exactly? A few of them have noted USB issues at launch (Gigabyte range for sure, pretty sure I saw it on ASUS too) which have been fixed in later bios releases.

I wish I could go PCIe, but I don't even understand how they work. It looks like to pay $1000 for a card that wires into another device you have to pay $1000 for and get 64 ins and outs when you only need 2. I've only seen a few even close to my price range and both had questionable reviews.

RME AIO?

But yeah,PCI-e cards are becoming quite rare these days, even through they give the best performance. With artists wanting to move interfaces between the studio and the stage laptop solutions, external devices tend to win out sales wise.

I'd go firewire, but I don't have a firewire on the X99.

Fit a card. The standard FW400 cards that most of us builders use don't seem to be working (confirmed with a couple of firms) but the FW400/800 combo cards with Texas Instrument controller on it seems to be doing the job in testing. If you need to know more, let me know your location and I'll see if I can Google up something suitable for you near where ever you are.

It seems I have something called M.2 Turbo.

Unrelated, it's a new standard for higher speed storage solutions.

[brekehan]

I haven't found a USB interface at all that works well with my new X99 motherboard. Everywhere I look the manufacturer will claim it doesn't work well on USB 3.0 and you must have USB 2.0 ports. At the same time the industry says, "We don't need to make USB 3.0 interfaces because they are backwards compatible with USB 2.0" Arg! screw USB.

They don't need to make USB 3 because it's damn hard to break the capability of USB 2 for bandwidth.

However the problem with USB 3 is that until the X99's nobody had standardized them and the units tested with one controller (say Intel) wouldn't always work with the drivers for another one (like the Asmedia).

Now on the X99 this should have been fixed because it's all built into the Intel PCH controller now... and if Intel had kept using the same drivers it probably would have been. Except they are not. They've handed driver development of too Microsoft and it's all broken again!.

I'm sure as firms realise this and update their driver sets to support the new MS standard it'll all be fixed, but given that most of them buy in driver solutions from third parties, this might take a while!

I tried NI Audio Kontrol 1 and MOTU Microbook II and both come up unrecognized, or just stop working in the middle of a set, occasionally and you have to unplug/replug them 10x or so, or reboot, or shutdown. There especially seems to be probems resuming from sleep. It annoys the piss out of me.

What board are you working with exactly? A few of them have noted USB issues at launch (Gigabyte range for sure, pretty sure I saw it on ASUS too) which have been fixed in later bios releases.

MSI X99 SLI Plus

I wish I could go PCIe, but I don't even understand how they work. It looks like to pay $1000 for a card that wires into another device you have to pay $1000 for and get 64 ins and outs when you only need 2. I've only seen a few even close to my price range and both had questionable reviews.

RME AIO?

$899 seems like an aweful lot of money. I don't know how I would plug anything into it either. There are no 1/4" jacks, so where do my speakers plug in. Where do I plug in my mic and guitar? Do you have to buy another rack device that hooks up to it? Or a cable of some kind?

But yeah,PCI-e cards are becoming quite rare these days, even through they give the best performance. With artists wanting to move interfaces between the studio and the stage laptop solutions, external devices tend to win out sales wise.

I'd go firewire, but I don't have a firewire on the X99.

Fit a card. The standard FW400 cards that most of us builders use don't seem to be working (confirmed with a couple of firms) but the FW400/800 combo cards with Texas Instrument controller on it seems to be doing the job in testing. If you need to know more, let me know your location and I'll see if I can Google up something suitable for you near where ever you are.

Austin TX

It seems I have something called M.2 Turbo.

Unrelated, it's a new standard for higher speed storage solutions.

Also, important and hard to find in descriptions of these interfaces is that I need a means to record what I hear. Such as web streaming into Audacity and the ability to record me fiddling with knobs in Live for tutorial videos. The MOTU had a return channel that worked well for that when it worked with the old PC.

[Kaine]

MSI X99 SLI Plus

Ahh, I've not tried one of those yet (been on the to do list for a month now!).

However looking at the MSI page it appears they have released a USB fix (refers to a mouse, but it's wider spread than that) in the last bios update.

Did you update the bios when you built it?

http://www.msi.com/support/mb/X99S-SLI- ... #down-bios

$899 seems like an aweful lot of money. I don't know how I would plug anything into it either. There are no 1/4" jacks, so where do my speakers plug in. Where do I plug in my mic and guitar? Do you have to buy another rack device that hooks up to it? Or a cable of some kind?

Ahh right, I was just going off your previous comment where you said you needed basic I/O. No, your right, you need an additional bits. It has basic 2 in / 2 out in the box via phonos, the is a break out cable ( http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BO9632XLR ) with XLR's for $85, other than that you need a mic preamp box and that jacks the price up, so nope, not really an option.

Austin TX

Most likely option is one of these: http://www.lycom.com.tw/PE107.htm as that's what I use on my Gigabyte & Asus boards.

Try searching it for something closer but worst case scenario, QuietPC should be able to ship you one.

Also, important and hard to find in descriptions of these interfaces is that I need a means to record what I hear. Such as web streaming into Audacity and the ability to record me fiddling with knobs in Live for tutorial videos. The MOTU had a return channel that worked well for that when it worked with the old PC.

Driver dependent and I can't guide you as it's never been something I look for. Since it was removed at the OS level some firms have implimented it in the driver as you've noticed but it varies from firm to firm and even model to model.

However you can use something like Jackaudio or virtual audio cable to add the feature back into windows routing options.

[brekehan]

MSI X99 SLI Plus

Ahh, I've not tried one of those yet (been on the to do list for a month now!).

However looking at the MSI page it appears they have released a USB fix (refers to a mouse, but it's wider spread than that) in the last bios update.

Did you update the bios when you built it?

http://www.msi.com/support/mb/X99S-SLI- ... #down-bios

Yes. Bios and all drivers were updated first thing. I have the latest on their global website and have been checking it weekly hoping for a bios or usb driver update.

Most likely option is one of these: http://www.lycom.com.tw/PE107.htm as that's what I use on my Gigabyte & Asus boards.

Try searching it for something closer but worst case scenario, QuietPC should be able to ship you one.

I'll check that out today at lunch. Appreciate your replies.