Seeking help to avoid mistake in buying USB Audio Interface as a first timer

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http://www.dawbench.com/audio-int-lowlatency2.htm old but you get the idea of performance across brands.

I have had maudio, steinberg, focusrite and RME. From the two cheap ones I would go steinberg without a doubt.
dedication to flying

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That's a really old list!

In the meantime I ran across this from the Pianoteq Forum, dated 12/12/17;
mcoll wrote: ... managed to find somebody who posted round-trip latency time for the UR22 mkii (9.2ms @ 64 samples, stable) and for 2i2 2nd gen (7.9 @ 64 samples, stable).
Could be considered anecdotal for the lack of corroboration, but at least it's a bit more relative to the models in the price range asked for.
It also goes on to say the member bought the Steinberg as they considered the difference negligible.
For these two, it seems both are great options. But when I bump myself the extra fifty for double the ins, I like the layout and simplicity of the Steinberg better.
So I have to ask, why is the UR22 a "MKII" and the UR242 not?

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dellboy wrote:A good budget option might be the Steinberg UR22 Mk2.

I have never used it,but,being Steinberg,the drivers are likely to be very good.

Also,it has very good preamps if the reviews are to be believed.

On top of this, it comes with Cubase Al which would be a great introduction into audio and midi composing.

It lacks a pad function,which the others have,but that not's a big deal.
UR22 mkii was my first interface. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Solid quality. Was also nice to have a physical mix knob.

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Googly Smythe wrote:Cheaper Focusrites have a bad reputation for their drivers. The drivers are those pesky bits of software that handle the communication between your software and hardware.
RME has an almost god-like reputation, deservedly so. They're worth the extra money.
No they aren't. There are dozens of perfectly good interfaces for way less than you'll pay for RME. RME may once have been worth the considerable premium you'll pay but that's hasn't been the case for many years.

Anyway, I have a Focusrite 2i2. It's great but it's not the one I use most often. That (dubious) honour goes to a Zoom U-24, which is even better but is half the price. It is super-quiet, you won't get any noise in your recordings at all, and it runs at really low latency without any problems. One of the things I like most about it is that when you switch it on or off you don't get any loud clicks through your speakers like you do with most other interfaces. It just feels better thought-out. It also runs on batteries so you don't even need a spare USB port for it in a pinch.

Another unit to consider is a Yamaha AG06. It doesn't have MIDI but most modern hardware synths do MIDI over USB anyway, so it's not the limitation you might think it is. It will future-proof your set-up because of the extra connectivity and it includes on-board effects that you can program through your computer.
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BONES wrote:
Another unit to consider is a Yamaha AG06. It doesn't have MIDI but most modern hardware synths do MIDI over USB anyway, so it's not the limitation you might think it is. It will future-proof your set-up because of the extra connectivity and it includes on-board effects that you can program through your computer.
Thank you sir for your suggestions.

I just looked for Yamaha AG06. A line in its description goes like this:

Andthe AG’s flexible Hi-Z input lets you connect a wide range of instruments like guitars, bass guitars and synthesizers.

This raises a question in my mind.

Do we always require Hi-Z input to record synthesizers?

As mentioned in OP, I am not a guitarist or singer. I will record synth only.

So, should I consider the interface with (at least one) High-Z input?

Thanks. :hail:

Have a nice day..!

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Dee.P.Tree wrote:
BONES wrote:
Another unit to consider is a Yamaha AG06. It doesn't have MIDI but most modern hardware synths do MIDI over USB anyway, so it's not the limitation you might think it is. It will future-proof your set-up because of the extra connectivity and it includes on-board effects that you can program through your computer.
Thank you sir for your suggestions.

I just looked for Yamaha AG06. A line in its description goes like this:

Andthe AG’s flexible Hi-Z input lets you connect a wide range of instruments like guitars, bass guitars and synthesizers.

This raises a question in my mind.

Do we always require Hi-Z input to record synthesizers?

As mentioned in OP, I am not a guitarist or singer. I will record synth only.

So, should I consider the interface with (at least one) High-Z input?

Thanks. :hail:

Have a nice day..!
AFAIK, Hi-Z is NEVER required to record synthesizers, it's for recording guitar or other high impedance inputs.

Also, if you only have one interface, I would want it to have a physical midi port. I'm posting this from my home office/studio B where I have a very simple two channel interface and my digital piano, which does not have USB.

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@BONES,

Are you the same BONES who has review on Amazon.com for Zoom U-24?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/B01 ... IX7CLSEKR8

Nice review too..!

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@ghettosynth

I will go by your words, thanks!

I'll not consider Hi-Z input as must have feature to use interface with synthesizers.

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After good words about the Steinberg interfaces, its UR series is under my radar.

Thanks everybody who have participated in this discussion.

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Dee.P.Tree wrote:@BONES,
Are you the same BONES who has review on Amazon.com for Zoom U-24?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/B01 ... IX7CLSEKR8
Nice review too..!
Yep, that's my review. Thanks for the kind words. I'd been using my Analog Keys as an interface until I got my MicroMonsta, just because it's easier. But now I've got the U-24 out again and everything I said in that review still holds. It's a great little piece of kit.

Here's my review of the AG06 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R2S7DP ... dctrvw_srp
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

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BONES wrote:
Googly Smythe wrote:Cheaper Focusrites have a bad reputation for their drivers. The drivers are those pesky bits of software that handle the communication between your software and hardware.
RME has an almost god-like reputation, deservedly so. They're worth the extra money.
No they aren't. There are dozens of perfectly good interfaces for way less than you'll pay for RME. RME may once have been worth the considerable premium you'll pay but that's hasn't been the case for many years.
Yes they are, once you compare the latency you can achieve with great stability and free of "pops and cracks" sounds. Alsio, if you need the extras they come with that are great (totalmix, adat expansion, word clock, great midi implementation with minimal jitter).

Again, this is on windows, on Mac almost all interfaces have decent performance.
dedication to flying

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I can run my $99 Zoom U-24 with 64 sample latency, which gives me a total system latency below 5ms (input + output + buffer) and it never stutters or crackles, even when I am jumping the playhead all around an arrangement. Of course, that's just nerdy guff, it's not relevant to anything, because on stage we usually run with 512 sample latency on whichever I/O we are using, just to be on the safe side. And to be clear, my bandmate triggers drum sounds from the PC with his OctaPad, so latency is really important for us on stage. It's just that it's only important up to a point, beyond which you are only doing it for bragging rights or to justify spending a lot more than you needed to. After all, most hardware synths have latency in the order of 20-25ms (a 256 sample buffer at 44.1kHz sampling rate will give us total latency in that area) and no-one ever notices that.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

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Bones, are you using windows or mac?

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PC running Windows 10.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

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Hey everyone, sorry to jump in, I'm also looking for an audio interface to be bus powered, good latency, input/daw balance knob and have separate control for headphones. I was thinking on Steinberg UR22 MKII. Also Audient ID4 got my attention, it's a little bit more expensive, but I've heard that UR22 has better drivers. Zoom U-24 is quite expensive around here, it's more expensive than Audient ID4, which doesn't make it a good deal. Another choice would be Focusrite 2i2 or PreSonus AudioBox USB96/iTwo. For now I'm leaning towards the UR22 MKII but I wanted your opinion on this.

LE: I've picked Steinberg UR22 MkII. Drivers seems to be really stable and they go really low on the latency side. I'm quite pleased with my choice for now, we'll see in time how good it is.

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