Lets have real talk about audio interfaces

[tapper mike]

I remember feeding a ztar via hardware rompler (rom cards) and getting under 2ms using headphones. It was unnervingly fast. The audio hit my ear faster than playing a guitar on my lap.

[Dasheesh]

I remember feeding a ztar via hardware rompler (rom cards) and getting under 2ms using headphones. It was unnervingly fast. The audio hit my ear faster than playing a guitar on my lap.

i know what you mean tho. having played around on 6 ms, i was able to get it down to 4 ms with 16 bit popping sound, but it's a strange experience. almost like it hits you before you play the key. it's like a clairvoyant experience. very surreal. it was startling.

[rod_zero]

Another: an RME second hand, the Fireface UC or the original babyface.

[Johnny!]

Good practice is to check manufacturer website for the driver updates - how often/when was the last one/how many OSes supported.

Take Native Instruments - you can be sure that the moment they release a new interface, they'll stop updating drivers for the older ones (and till they do, they rarely update anyway).

Zoom seems interesting, especially in the Thunderbolt area in which they seem to be the only reasonably priced option

[SODDI]

You could try to get a used Echo Audiofire 2. I love mine and it was designed for laptop use. MIDI ports, headphone jack.

However, Echo is out of the audio interface business and you'll need a firewire port

[PatrickW]

+1 for RME : I learned it the hard way

[Schmidi]

After skimming through most of this thread, one very important thing really hasn't been talked about: the quality of components in the computer itself!

You can hook the best interface up to a crappy computer and still get clicks and pops at low latency folks!!!

[rod_zero]

After skimming through most of this thread, one very important thing really hasn't been talked about: the quality of components in the computer itself!

You can hook the best interface up to a crappy computer and still get clicks and pops at low latency folks!!!

what parts exactly?

A computer dedicated for DAW should have a decent CPu and enough RAM and HD/ SSD space, nothing more is needed.

[resynthesis]

Chipset - remember all the trouble with Firewire chipsets not working with some interfaces. I believe some USB interfaces can be troublesome

[Schmidi]

The right motherboard, RAM, and a dedicated graphics card make a huge difference in the stability and performance of a system.

Unfortunately, it's hard quantify outside of buying the parts and testing them yourself.

As a general rule I don't touch consumer series, under $500, laptop or desktops because they are almost guaranteed to use cheap parts.

That said, you don't have to spend a fortune either. My solution has been to buy good condition used workstation grade laptops. I've had great luck with the HP Elite Book line. Most major brands have a workstation line and there are some great used deals out there.

[Dasheesh]

this has been a far more intensive and confusing endeavor then expected. so much misinformation and sales pitches out there. i found this interesting thread comparing the latencies of the roland and the steinberg. my guess is that this was posted in 2017 when the rubix was brand new and the drivers have probably been fixed by now. all new products seem to be released before properly vetted and then given hot fixes on the fly. probably a better solution to real world testing. not discounting rubix yet, i just need to find out if they have fixed the driver issues.

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads. ... 2-mk2.html

[bmrzycki]

this has been a far more intensive and confusing endeavor then expected. so much misinformation and sales pitches out there. i found this interesting thread comparing the latencies of the roland and the steinberg. my guess is that this was posted in 3017 when the rubix was brand new and the drivers have probably been fixed by now. all new products seem to be released before properly vetted and then given hot fixes on the fly. probably a better solution to real world testing. not discounting rubix yet, i just need to find out if they have fixed the driver issues.

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads. ... 2-mk2.html

The Quad Capture and S10 drivers on Windows 8/10 are very good at low latency. I routinely run them at 48k/24 with a buffer size that has about 4 to 6 ms latency. It makes playing real-time very responsive and my 6 year old core i7 doesn’t cause any audible stutters. You can still buy the quad capture and I consider it to be superior hardware to the rubix line.

[sqigls]

After skimming through most of this thread, one very important thing really hasn't been talked about: the quality of components in the computer itself!

You can hook the best interface up to a crappy computer and still get clicks and pops at low latency folks!!!

what parts exactly?

A computer dedicated for DAW should have a decent CPu and enough RAM and HD/ SSD space, nothing more is needed.

a good power supply is somehow under-rated.
cooling...

anyway Woz thought long and hard about it all a billion years ago, one reason once you go mac, you never go back. In my honest and hard-earned user experience.

[Dasheesh]

The Quad Capture and S10 drivers on Windows 8/10 are very good at low latency. I routinely run them at 48k/24 with a buffer size that has about 4 to 6 ms latency. It makes playing real-time very responsive and my 6 year old core i7 doesn’t cause any audible stutters. You can still buy the quad capture and I consider it to be superior hardware to the rubix line.

nice post! i'm looking.

[Dasheesh]

bmrz i think they saw your post and yanked them all off the internet to force me to buy the rubix. i found a couple used but not sure if i want to take the chance.