Portable Audio Interface 2017 with good drivers?

[SpecialSpecimen]

After months of seemingly unsolvable issues with my Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 1st gen - I really need to get a new interface so i can get back to making music.

My number one concern is now STABLE DRIVERS!!

However, I cannot afford an RME.

Looking for:
-Windows 7 64bit
-laptop so need a USB interface
-stability and good performance is more important that I/Os etc..

What is the state of interfaces now - ZOOM UAc2 reports to be the best latency for the price, but unsure about zoom as a company.. Audient Id14 is another one im looking at..

Cheers for any help

[chk071]

What were your issues with the Scarlett interface?

[Zexila]

Steinberg should have solid drivers.

[Apratim]

dont buy zoom,maudio interface ever i had bought zooms interface(i dont remember it but it had some usb3 advertisement) drivers were awaful as F-U-C-K-
maudio (dont know the latest mtrack series) preamps were awful the noise floor was highly audible at 50% gain

behringer is cheap and better than maudio in audio and better than zoom in drivers but still works for me after my RME dropped from the stairs of my building while i was sifting from my old home

Steinberg being Steinberg (bit on costly side but reliable)

RME (sfx:bangs head on wall and cries inside.....) miss you RME

conclusion-
cheap stable replacement- behringer for life(get the HD versions other are awaful)
got money in the bank -RME for life

[SpecialSpecimen]

What were your issues with the Scarlett interface?

about 6 months ago it started to randomly freeze Ableton/Cubase, this got worse and worse until it wouldnt work at all (fine with vlc/browser though..). I updated to the beta drivers and this fixed the problem but then introduced a whole host of crackling when playing back any audio (linked to CPU usuage..scrolling through browser would cause playback to crackle etc..) - it would also intermittently just cut all audio playback (solved by restarting the scarlett), at first here and there, then it would progress to cutting out every 10 seconds. I updated to the absolute latest drivers with an irreversable firmware update and the issue remained - I also went through every conceivable troublshooting method with the rest of my computer. Eventually, a few weeks ago, I uninstalled the device in device manager several times until all the old drivers on the system were gone and windows could no longer automatically install the scarlett - then i reinstalled the latest beta driver. IT WORKED!! And I had glitch free audio for a month or so. Then...the other day...it started cutting out again. I tried to reinstall and go through the same method i previously followed - unfortunately this also brought back the crackling playback. And thus now I want to smash all my gear into a pile of pieces. That is my story. Tell your friends.

[SpecialSpecimen]

Steinberg should have solid drivers.

Ive read some not so great stuff about them as well...

The thing is, a lot of these interfaces were released quite a while ago as well, it seems like things havent progressed very much since i was last looking (when i bought the scarlett gen 1).

The Zoom seems to be the only one working with usb 3.. (which may or may not be a dealbreaker in terms of speeds, but in terms of the amount of people talking about driver issues between usb 2 interfaces and usb 3 hubs...seems to be an issue).

[thecontrolcentre]

I've had a good experience with NI Audio Kontrol 1. Bought it 10 years ago, drivers have been constantly updated. I'm now running it with Win 8.1 ... if I was to replace it it'll likely be a Komplete Audio 6, unless they bring out something new in the meantime.

[Zexila]

Ive read some not so great stuff about them as well...

I heard mostly praises about their drivers, Focusrite on other hand...even had drivers problem with my last one, go figure...

The thing is, a lot of these interfaces were released quite a while ago as well, it seems like things havent progressed very much since i was last looking (when i bought the scarlett gen 1).

Why is that a bad thing, you want solid drivers in first place, plenty of that older devices are solid on Windows 7 by now and trial&tested plenty by plenty of people over all this time.

[PurpleSunray]

Why is that a bad thing, you want solid drivers in first place, plenty of that older devices are solid on Windows 7 by now and trial&tested plenty by plenty of people over all this time.

The problem is, drivers don't stay stable all on its own.
There are windows updates and new hardware and new chipset driver and ..
The release / update cycles on the drivers are usually a pretty good indication about the quality of it.
Back than I had to wait about half a year (or even more?) to get win10 drivers for the Scarlett. Saffire still has no drivers as of today. At RME Win10 stable drivers where available weeks before the win10 launch. Also the update rates are quite different.. Focusrite updates drivers roughtly once a year, RME updates it at least once every quater.
Also providing "beta drivers" does not really help to build trust on a company... I mean, either those driver are ready, so release it, or they are not ready, so continue to test and fix. I'm NOT going to play Quality Control for you on my studio, cuz driver failure does not mean DAW crash.. but blue-screen. A krenel crash is the last thing I want to have on my studio PC, so just stop that beta shit, I'm not going to install any driver with "beta" on its name.

[Zexila]

Why is that a bad thing, you want solid drivers in first place, plenty of that older devices are solid on Windows 7 by now and trial&tested plenty by plenty of people over all this time.

The problem is, drivers don't stay stable all on its own.
There are windows updates and new hardware and new chipset driver and ..
The release / update cycles on the drivers are usually a pretty good indication about the quality of it.
Back than I had to wait about half a year (or even more?) to get win10 drivers for the Scarlett. Saffire still has no drivers as of today. At RME Win10 stable drivers where available weeks before the win10 launch. Also the update rates are quite different.. Focusrite updates drivers roughtly once a year, RME updates it at least once every quater.
Also providing "beta drivers" does not really help to build trust on a company... I mean, either those driver are ready, so release it, or they are not ready, so continue to test and fix. I'm NOT going to play Quality Control for you on my studio, cuz driver failure does not mean DAW crash.. but blue-screen. A krenel crash is the last thing I want to have on my studio PC, so just stop that beta shit, I'm not going to install any driver with "beta" on its name.

I understand, but my point still stands, some of the older devices are still supported and today work solid on Windows 7, don't see why is getting device like that bad thing, it's huge plus in my book.

[PurpleSunray]

I understand, but my point still stands, some of the older devices are still supported and today work solid on Windows 7, don't see why is getting device like that bad thing, it's huge plus in my book.

Well, Focusrite showed very well why this modell doesn't work.
I have two Focusrite interfaces @home and cannot use any of it anymore on my DAW PC.
It all was perefect on Win7. Then Win10 came in and everything broke apart. The Saffire started causing blue-screens, the Scarlett has audio dropouts and noize crackls.

So yes, your point still stands.
I have 2 perfeclty working audio interfaces, on my storeroom.
They are on the storeroom because they only work perfeclty with win7, but I have no win7 system anymore - so they are completly useless to me.
It doesn't help me if the interface works 110% reliable on that hardware with this specific windows verson - if I don't have it.

don't see why is getting device like that bad thing, it's huge plus in my book.

?? What's the plus on this?
How is getting a device with poor driver support, a plus over getting a device with good driver support?

[Zexila]

I understand, but my point still stands, some of the older devices are still supported and today work solid on Windows 7, don't see why is getting device like that bad thing, it's huge plus in my book.

Well, Focusrite showed very well why this modell doesn't work.
I have two Focusrite interfaces @home and cannot use any of it anymore on my DAW PC.
It all was perefect on Win7. Then Win10 came in and everything broke apart. The Saffire started causing blue-screens, the Scarlett has audio dropouts and noize crackls.

So yes, your point still stands.
I have 2 perfeclty working audio interfaces, on my storeroom.
They are on the storeroom because they only work perfeclty with win7, but I have no win7 system anymore - so they are completly useless to me.
It doesn't help me if the interface works 110% reliable on that hardware with this specific windows verson - if I don't have it.

don't see why is getting device like that bad thing, it's huge plus in my book.

?? What's the plus on this?
How is getting a device with poor driver support, a plus over getting a device with good driver support?

Sorry, you quoted my response to the OP and this has nothing to do with Focusrite or your case, I'm talking about Steinberg and other vendors that have good support and solid drivers on Windows 7 in correlation to his answer that that devices are old, OP is after stability (he made it caps in his opening line even), all I'm saying is that some older devices are solid on Windows 7 for quite some time and it's not bad thing getting one of them, instead of something newer, so plus in my book is older trusty device that passed the test of time.

[RexXx]

Haven`t heard any bad things about the Zoom UAC2 driver.
I read somewhere, the driver are programmed by a 3rd company and highly optimized for stable low latency usage.
Just in case they drop support, the Zoom UAC2 comes with a hardware switch on the back, which allows to change to "class compliant mode", so it doesn`t need any driver by zoom.

But if you want best support, you have to pay for it ... or look for a second hand device.

[Kaine]

dont buy zoom,maudio interface ever i had bought zooms interface(i dont remember it but it had some usb3 advertisement) drivers were awaful as F-U-C-K-

Some of, if not the best performing drivers under £400 once it's up and running. If your spec in your sig is still correct, then your problem is/was plugging it into an AMD and it advises an Intel USB controller on the box for a very good reason.

[PurpleSunray]

OP is after stability (he made it caps in his opening line even), all I'm saying is that some older devices are solid on Windows 7 for quite some time and it's not bad thing getting one of them, instead of something newer

I get what you are saying, I just do not agree.
If you look at the hardware, you are right.
An interface that is on the market since 10 years and which got 5 overhaults already, is likely to be better than a brand new device with lastest and greates (= buggy) chips.
But at the driver this is not case. A driver beeing on the market since 10 years is simply no quality criteria. It won't get any more stable by beeing on the market for 10 years.
It will get more stable by continuous maintenance and this where there is so much difference between the companies.
So my point is: if you are after stable drivers, you need to look for companies that care about maintaining their drivers and release updates often. Looking at the "first release date" has no meaning - "first release" in 1995 was a win95 driver, which has nothing in common to the win10 driver as used today. The win10 driver won't be any more stable, just because they already had a win95 driver back than.. you get what I mean?